Fitbit steps & track exercise?

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kcwwoa
kcwwoa Posts: 19 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So my Fitbit One syncs my steps with MFP. Do I also record my exercise activity? Wouldn't that be earning extra calories?

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  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    You should only record non-step based exercise, and log all exercise in your fitbit app, the results will sync up to MFP automatically.
  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
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    Short answer is: No. There is no need to log any step-based exercise (walking, running, dance) on MFP. Your Fitbit will handle that. However, if you do log it in MFP you won't get extra calories. Instead, you'll overwrite Fitbit's (probably superior) estimate of calories burned with what you logged manually, which kind of defeats the purpose of wearing the Fitbit.

    Non-step based exercise (swimming, weight lifting, bicycling, etc.) should be logged in MFP or Fitbit but not both. Fitbit is thought to use a slightly better approach to estimating calories, though, so I log all exercise in Fitbit.

    You might want to join the Fitbit Users Group here on MFP. There are lots of helpful people over there.

    A valuable thing to read is the FAQ in the stickies there. It answers your question - in depth - with lots of other information as well. Here's a handy link: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy/p1
  • roverstreet196
    roverstreet196 Posts: 2 Member
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    Why since the UA take over does my Fitbit log negative numbers until a certain step value? Did I miss an announcement?

  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
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    roverstreet196 wrote: »
    Why since the UA take over does my Fitbit log negative numbers until a certain step value? Did I miss an announcement?

    No, that was there since before UA bought MFP. It is a diary setting called "Enable Negative Adjustments". What it means is that you've been less active than MFP's calorie burn estimation expects. On most days, it should start negative but go positive as you become active (assuming you sync your Fitbit occasionally during the day). However, on days when you're less active than predicted by your MFP activity level (if you're sick in bed, for instance) it will stay negative, giving you fewer calories to eat.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    kcwwoa wrote: »
    So my Fitbit One syncs my steps with MFP. Do I also record my exercise activity? Wouldn't that be earning extra calories?

    Not if you are accurately recording the time of the exercise. It overwrites the calories Fitbit gives you for that specific time.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    To add, if you do other exercises than simply walking you might want to add - like biking, swimming, etc

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