Overwhelmed at "everything"

Aenielida

Hello all..

I am interested in getting fit and doing some toning overall. A few years ago (2 or 3), I began watching my diet, got a FitBit One.. and signed up for MFP and went to town.. lost nearly 30 lbs.. and felt great. I wasn't working out or anything.. but just staying active (the Fitbit kept me motivated there).. and watching my diet and logging helped with the rest). Well, I got out of the routine and over time.. I'm back to where I was.

My wife recently decided she needed to lose a couple of stubborn pounds on her waistline and got back to her stationary bike and also got a personal trainer.. and she's been doing great.. I guess I decided that was the kick I needed in the butt to get myself going again.

But looking at where I was.. I still have my trusty Fitbit One (been using it everyday since but I dont think anything had sync'd in a long time)... but now with new options and new apps for mobile devices I've got my head in a spin...

I want to begin some routines... to lose about 20-30 lbs.. and do some toning.. But with HRM's, wristband fitness trackers, apps, etc.. oh my!! Where do I begin...

I was hoping someone here might have "been there" and could offer me some advice... so here's what I have or plan to do.. guidance from here is greatly appreciated!!

* Fitbit: I still have my One and use it still everyday. Lately I've been syncing it and following my Dashboard daily. Even been monitoring my sleep... I love the Dashboard.. and wonder if the Charge HR with the HR function would be a worthy upgrade? Or just continue the One... I also have a Withings WiFi scale that is synced to my Fitbit account too. (so far lost about 4 pounds this week).

* MFP: I've been using MFP to log my intake.. my meals, and snacks.. and I've gone back to eating snacks (protein mostly) about 2 hours before my meals.. I don't use MFP for anything else honestly other than logging my food. I even log my water using the Fitbit app. And Yes.. I have MFP and Fitbit linked up already.

Here is where I'm confused.. my time is very tight.. so I would prefer to do my workouts at home or while I'm home.. I'm thinking of doing some stationary bike (since I have 2 at home).. or some running when the weather cools down some (it's BRUTAL OUTSIDE right now).. but I would like to be able to track my results with a min of fuss.. because knowing me.. if I have to write it down.. it becomes a nuissance and I'll probably not want to do it, etc... I also have an Elliptical machine too at home.. and a pool.

So I've downloaded pretty much every running and cycling app I can find on the Google Play store.. and it seems most have great GPS and tracking features... but for stationary bike/elliptical.. that's a problem.. no gps movement, no tracking.. =(

I would of course like to as accurately as possible track my calorie burn and so on.. but that ties to HR does it not? My stationary bike and Elliptical both have those HR sensors on them so I could use those... then I would need to input those into an app? Is there a more "integrated" solution? I know Fitbit has the MobileRun/GPS or something feature but again.. that doesn't help me on the stationary machines.

Would the Charge HR be useful for this? Would the HRM on the charge be usable in another app? Or strictly within Fitbit's Dashboard? Any other ideas for monitoring my workouts while maintaining my Fitbit daily data without screwing up everything? Maybe an chest HRM with my Fitbit One then?

FWIW, I also have an Android watch.. but it doesn't have a HRM sensor.. Do any of the HRM "Watches" serve as HRM for any of the apps?

I think I like the Fitbit/MFP setup so far.. and I just want to build on that foundation moving forward.

Thanks in advance!

lorrpb

Kudos for planning out your fitness routine and getting going again! To keep things simple, I suggest that you manually enter your stationery bike and elliptical training into either FB or MFP. FB has a timer feature to capture the length of your workout. Then enter the calories manually based on what the machine or HRM gives you. It only takes a second. Most of these apps overestimate the calorie burn anyway, so I wouldn't get too obsessed about the "accuracy" of your record. Even if all the gadgets are perfectly synced, the calorie burn won't be accurate.

editorgrrl

Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

sheermomentum

Goodness. You may be getting in your own way here. It only takes a few seconds (literally) to log an exercise activity. You are blessed with a number of wonderful alternatives at your fingertips. You would be best off simply deciding what you want to do today, doing it, and deleting all of those apps which, at best, give you only the vaguest illusion of control and convenience.

Aenielida

Thanks everyone for the input...

I took the advice above and decided to (as they say): : "Just Do it!" ;-) I'm going to just focus on the basics and use Fitbit and MFP.

I did a spinning session on my bike... and activated the activity monitor on the One (to signal the beginning of the session) and then again when I finished. I took note of the bike's readings of Calories, etc..

When I went to my Fitbit dashboard (I wish the APP could do this).. the entry was there.. but showed I had recorded 1500+ steps, burned 66 calories during the session... but I could only edit description and times... didn't let me edit the calories. So I created another entry for the spin with the correct calories and the same start/end times. Simple.. Wasn't as painful as I thought.. HOWEVER.. do I KEEP the original entry with the 1500+ steps and 66 calories.. or do I delete it and only use it to make sure I entered the correct times?

Conversely.. would it be better to have entered it via MFP instead?

Thanks again everyone!! I'm making "strides."

garydeinert

You're doing great, to just get started and get moving. Over time you will get comfortable with not worrying about plus or minus 100 calories, just work extra foods off with exercise, and move along. Plus you'll get in better shape which means better / more competitive times, which means more calories burned in the same time period, which means better weight loss & less stress about plus or minus 100 calories! Fitbit, trackers, even MFP are helpful tools... but the most helpful tool is YOU and your motivation. Getting MFP friends can help that along, too. Welcome, you'll do fantastic!!!

Pinnacle_IAO

I feel you.
It can seem a bit much moving ahead with new habits. It's worth it - trust me!
The key is consistency. Eat right, exercise and log your foods and exercises every day.
Simple but hard!
Don't be deterred by anything, including the occasional fail.
You can do this, and you know you want to feel good, look your best and live well into old age.
It takes continued effort.

Good Luck

editorgrrl

Aenielida wrote: »

I did a spinning session on my bike... and activated the activity monitor on the One (to signal the beginning of the session) and then again when I finished.

When I went to my Fitbit dashboard (I wish the APP could do this).. the entry was there.. but showed I had recorded 1500+ steps, burned 66 calories during the session... but I could only edit description and times... didn't let me edit the calories.

Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the calories necessary to maintain your current weight. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time, so log your exercise in Fitbit—not MFP.

You did it exactly right up to this point. Why do you want to change your burn? Trust your Fitbit!

Aenielida

Thanks everyone.

I don't want to change my burn... I just figured the fitbit picked up 66 calories from the steps "on the bike" while my calorie "burn" from the spinning session registered as 163.

I didn't think both should stay... So I deleted the original place holder from the activity marker and used the same start time and duration.

Or should I keep both?

editorgrrl wrote: »

Aenielida wrote: »

I did a spinning session on my bike... and activated the activity monitor on the One (to signal the beginning of the session) and then again when I finished.

When I went to my Fitbit dashboard (I wish the APP could do this).. the entry was there.. but showed I had recorded 1500+ steps, burned 66 calories during the session... but I could only edit description and times... didn't let me edit the calories.

Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the calories necessary to maintain your current weight. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time, so log your exercise in Fitbit—not MFP.

You did it exactly right up to this point. Why do you want to change your burn? Trust your Fitbit!

editorgrrl

The original entry was correct. Delete the second one you made. And going forward, trust your Fitbit.

sheermomentum

Yaaay for getting going

I don't use a fitbit. (I keep reading about them and deciding against for myself.) But, I understand they are very sensitive to up and down movement, and so are most accurate for walking or running, or similar movements. I've seen forum entries here where people say they put it on their leg for cycling to get a more accurate reading. If that sounds about right to you based on your fitbit knowledge, I'd delete the fitbit entry and go with the manual one. You didn't say how long you cycled for, or how fast, but it would have to be a very short and moderately paced session to have only burned only 60 calories. An average sized man can burn 90 calories an hour sitting in front of the TV. But, as somebody else said, the most important thing probably is to get those exercise minutes in.

Mr_Knight

Elliptical is a lot less efficient at calorie burns than running, and similar situation for stationary bikes (at least the typical kind) vs riding roads/trails. If "time is tight", there's pretty much nothing that will burn more calories in a set amount of time than running - and do it in a way that lets you go out there pretty much every day.

Forget all the gadgets - none of them are particularly accurate - what *specifically* are you trying to achieve with your exercise?