Myfitnesspal and Fitbit

figureskater36

So I have myfitnesspal app connected to my Fitbit. As I go through my day it adds calories based on the step count! So usually by the end of the night I get this abundance of calories I get to eat. But I heard its not good to eat after 7pm. Is this true and if so should I just go to bed with calories left over not eaten? Will it make a difference in my weight loss if I don't eat what the app tells me to eat? Or is it ok to eat after 7pm if its telling me I haven't eaten enough for the day?

shadow2soul

The only reason to not eat after 7 is if it causes you heartburn or other issues that will prevent you from getting a good nights rest.

Some nights I eat right up to bed (which can range from 10 pm - 3 am) and others I'm done by 7. I always thought the be done by 7 pm was silly. I mean if you think about it, some people work until 7 and don't get to eat dinner till 8 or 9. Are they just supposed to stop at lunch?

Liftng4Lis

Timing is irrelevant, its all about CICO. You won't turn into a gremlin.

k2mexox

Be careful about the calories Fitbit gives you. Today was the first day I wore my new one to work and by the end of my work day it claimed I exercised and burned 300 calories when in fact it's my normal day to day job. So if I ate all those calories back then I would end up gaining in the end. However I went to the gym and burned a legit 600 calories and I chose not to eat those cause it was already 930 pm. Your choice. But watch where the calories burned are coming from. And try not to eat over half back of you do to leave room for error in either food logging or calorie burning.

Venus_Red

My Fitbit has gifted me steps when it was still in the charger.

It also grants you steps with non-dominate arm movements. I love mine, but I don't trust it to tell me my daily burn. I eat back 0-25% of what I supposedly burn and nothing more. And that's on an average 10,000+ step regimen (real steps that I know I take)

maidentl

k2mexox wrote: »

Be careful about the calories Fitbit gives you. Today was the first day I wore my new one to work and by the end of my work day it claimed I exercised and burned 300 calories when in fact it's my normal day to day job. So if I ate all those calories back then I would end up gaining in the end. However I went to the gym and burned a legit 600 calories and I chose not to eat those cause it was already 930 pm. Your choice. But watch where the calories burned are coming from. And try not to eat over half back of you do to leave room for error in either food logging or calorie burning.

If you have your Fitbit set up correctly, what it's actually telling you is that you're more active than expected and should eat some more calories. You shouldn't gain by eating them. At the end of the day my total burn on Fitbit - my deficit = the same number of calories MFP tells me to eat with my adjustment. That tends to be pretty accurate for me and many other MFP users. I'd try eating what you are given and assess the results before blowing off Fitbit's numbers.

shadow2soul

k2mexox wrote: »

Be careful about the calories Fitbit gives you. Today was the first day I wore my new one to work and by the end of my work day it claimed I exercised and burned 300 calories when in fact it's my normal day to day job. So if I ate all those calories back then I would end up gaining in the end. However I went to the gym and burned a legit 600 calories and I chose not to eat those cause it was already 930 pm. Your choice. But watch where the calories burned are coming from. And try not to eat over half back of you do to leave room for error in either food logging or calorie burning.

@k2mexox - Actually, it's saying that you burned 300 more calories than MFP predicted you would burn for your activity level. That's what Fitbit's do. They adjust your estimated TDEE here on MFP in the form of an adjustment which is added in your exercise diary.

Example:
MFP expects me to burn 1850 calories a day before exercise based on my stats with lightly active selected.
Fitbit has that my activity to day has burned 1989 calories (as of 11:39 pm). I have not exercised today. I did however get 7,069 steps.
Now on a day where I got 2505 steps, Fitbit has me only burning 1799. I lost calories that day, because I didn't meet MFP's expectations of a Lightly active person with my stats.
When I first started using Fitbit, I actually would lose calories with MFP set to Sedentary and workouts would bring me up to MFP's expectation of a Sedentary person with my stats at the time.

Is that making sense to you? It sounds like you underestimated your activity level. Fitbit is just correcting that.

For the record, Fitbit Zip & Flex underestimated my daily calorie burn by about 200 calories on average and the Surge (which I'm using now) has been about spot on.

figureskater36

Wow, thank you everyone for responding. I love everyone's info! Keep it coming. And if you're on Facebook I started a page called "Let's get healthy together!" Please feel free to check it out!!!

WBB55

k2mexox wrote: »

Be careful about the calories Fitbit gives you. Today was the first day I wore my new one to work and by the end of my work day it claimed I exercised and burned 300 calories when in fact it's my normal day to day job. So if I ate all those calories back then I would end up gaining in the end. However I went to the gym and burned a legit 600 calories and I chose not to eat those cause it was already 930 pm. Your choice. But watch where the calories burned are coming from. And try not to eat over half back of you do to leave room for error in either food logging or calorie burning.

I found my FitBit One to be accurate within +/-70 calories per day or so over the long term based on my actual loss rate. If you have your settings set to sedentary but actually move around and walk at work, then yeah, it might give you 300 calories. I don't know what you're basing your 600 "legit" exercise calories on, but at the end of the day I'd honestly trust the FitBit to be accurate. It might be you burn more calories just living your life than you think you do. And sometimes people find they don't burn all that much at the gym (but they keep going since it's so beneficial to their health).

chelleb1974

shadow2soul wrote: »

k2mexox wrote: »

Be careful about the calories Fitbit gives you. Today was the first day I wore my new one to work and by the end of my work day it claimed I exercised and burned 300 calories when in fact it's my normal day to day job. So if I ate all those calories back then I would end up gaining in the end. However I went to the gym and burned a legit 600 calories and I chose not to eat those cause it was already 930 pm. Your choice. But watch where the calories burned are coming from. And try not to eat over half back of you do to leave room for error in either food logging or calorie burning.

@k2mexox - Actually, it's saying that you burned 300 more calories than MFP predicted you would burn for your activity level. That's what Fitbit's do. They adjust your estimated TDEE here on MFP in the form of an adjustment which is added in your exercise diary.

Example:
MFP expects me to burn 1850 calories a day before exercise based on my stats with lightly active selected.
Fitbit has that my activity to day has burned 1989 calories (as of 11:39 pm). I have not exercised today. I did however get 7,069 steps.
Now on a day where I got 2505 steps, Fitbit has me only burning 1799. I lost calories that day, because I didn't meet MFP's expectations of a Lightly active person with my stats.
When I first started using Fitbit, I actually would lose calories with MFP set to Sedentary and workouts would bring me up to MFP's expectation of a Sedentary person with my stats at the time.

Is that making sense to you? It sounds like you underestimated your activity level. Fitbit is just correcting that.

For the record, Fitbit Zip & Flex underestimated my daily calorie burn by about 200 calories on average and the Surge (which I'm using now) has been about spot on.

I just got a FitBit last week, and have been looking at the calories burned each day in comparison to MFP. I have not added specific exercise or activity to my day yet, and was pretty certain the calories burned via FitBit were the calories I burn in my day to day activity (plus staying alive) and am glad to hear that I was not off base in this assumption. I tend to burn approx. the same amount each day, so I know looking at MFP how many calories I can eat in a day and still be within range, even if I FitBit and MFP haven't synched yet.

~Chelle

pegastarlight

There's been no studies that have proven it to have an effect on humans for weight loss, though there have been some indications that not forcing a long fast period in the evening can disrupt your circadian rhythm. If you're eating later and find you're not resting as well, then go ahead and cut that back. But if you're getting good rest with your late evening snack, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

dubird

Time of day you eat has no effect on weight loss. Now, if you're prone to acid reflux, you don't want to eat to close to bedtime as it can active it. And I'm sure there are certain meds you have to eat at specific times for. But eating right before bed will not affect your weight loss. I might actually help because for some people, it makes then not as hungry in the morning so they eat a smaller breakfast.

figureskater36

I really appreciate everyone's input. Thank you so much. I have lost almost 5lbs in about a week and a half and down over 5" all over! I am extremely excited with these results in such a short time and am learning to trust exactly what Fitbit and MFP are telling me. I love that its all FREE and they synch up. To me its just so cool! I try to end the day with some calories still needed but not many! And I have been always making sure I do at least 10,000 steps a day whether that includes just walking or a full workout! :-)