Fitbit

curlyblue21

Hi, just got a Fitbit, was going to start using it to help me loose my last stone but I don't really trust it to help me loose weight! I've been using my fitness pal for so long that I'm unsure whether I can trust a Fitbit...do people set your own goals on it or just go with the Fitbit?

rachel_murdoch

Hi I also have a fitbit and use mfp , you can sync fitbit with it and it will show steps on mfp daily exercise. Personally I use both, still record all my food on mfp and use fitbit as an pure motivator to move more. Your food record on mfp will automatically transfer onto your fitbit account so you do not need to log twice. I have only had my fitbit for a few weeks but I love it, really makes me aware of my daily movement and I am always trying to beat my previous days steps I can definitely feel weight coming off, it is a great motivator and I wouldn't be with out it now x

yarwell

curlyblue21 wrote: »

Hi, just got a Fitbit, was going to start using it to help me loose my last stone but I don't really trust it to help me loose weight! I've been using my fitness pal for so long that I'm unsure whether I can trust a Fitbit...do people set your own goals on it or just go with the Fitbit?

My Fitbit One feeds nicely into MFP and tells it when I've used more calories than my assumption of sedentary. I don't enter any food or exercise into Fitbit.com

curlyblue21

Oh right, how do I do that then, I'm tracking food on both at the moment which is a pain, does the Fitbit use the same goals as my fitness pal then?

yarwell

Just put food in MFP alone. MFP feeds food and other data to Fitbit once you've linked the accounts by going to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30

If you log any exercise in MFP specify the time and the Fitbit readings for that time period are ignored.

If you have your MFP goals set at anything other than sedentary then consider enabling negative adjustments (in diary settings page) for days of low activity.

amyjane_g

Hi, I am the same as Rachel - I also use my Fitbit and mfp ( I even have a GPS watch for when I go running) the great thing is that mfp syncs with so many other apps, allowing you to record your steps, food intake, exercise etc on all of your synched devices. My fitbit is purely that "kick up the backside" I need to make sure I am motivated throughout the day really. I find myself taking the stairs rather than the lift or parking a little further away in the car park as I want to smash my 12,000 step goal. (I have adjusted my goal) It is very satisfying to see a sea of green and smiley faces when you login to your Fitbit after you have achieved all of your goals for that day! I think Fitbit and mfp work really well together.

curlyblue21

Do you set goals on Fitbit or do you let the Fitbit set your goals because yesterday my Fitbit told me that I had gone over my food by 367 cals but on fitness pal it said that I had eaten 1.165 cals which is not over my calorie limit, should I just set a calorie limit on my Fitbit like I do with mfp?

LivingtheLeanDream

You can trust your fitbit within reason, its around 5% off, it overestimates the burn generally by a little but its a great guide to overall TDEE.

LivingtheLeanDream

Trust MFP calories and what it gives you, ignore what Fitbit says in regards to the calories left, just go by its overall calorie burn each day.
Log your food on MFP and your exercise that is not step related on Fitbit and they will work perfectly

amyjane_g

curlyblue21 wrote: »

Do you set goals on Fitbit or do you let the Fitbit set your goals because yesterday my Fitbit told me that I had gone over my food by 367 cals but on fitness pal it said that I had eaten 1.165 cals which is not over my calorie limit, should I just set a calorie limit on my Fitbit like I do with mfp?

I use MFP for my food log and calories and use that as opposed to my FitBit - My Fitbit is really for steps, HR and exercise logging..

yarwell

curlyblue21 wrote: »

Do you set goals on Fitbit or do you let the Fitbit set your goals because yesterday my Fitbit told me that I had gone over my food by 367 cals but on fitness pal it said that I had eaten 1.165 cals which is not over my calorie limit, should I just set a calorie limit on my Fitbit like I do with mfp?

I don't look at Fitbit.com for anything other than activity. Personally I would recommend you pick one or the other unless you want a career in data reconciliation. I stick to MFP for food related stuff.

Fitbit gets food data from MFP. Perhaps the 367 was half way through the day and you had eaten more than burned up to that point ?

unckate7

For me, I actually find it more accurate to go by Fitbit's calories than MFP. That's because MFP won't give you below 1200 calories per day, but on days I don't do much, my calorie expenditure is only 1300-1400. So if I were to follow MFP and eat 1200 calories a day, some days I'd only have a 100-200 calorie deficit, instead of the 500 calorie deficit I'm aiming for. Plus, if I do exercise, it will start adding calories to the 1200-goal, so my deficit would still be smaller than I want.

I still track my foods in MFP, but I sync it with my Fitbit and follow the calories on there. I have my Food plan on my Fitbit set to sedentary, so it starts me out with a low number of calories I can eat per day, and increases it throughout the day as I move more. Basically, what I do is I input the food I plan to eat during the day (usually somewhere between 1300-1500 calories). If I do this in the morning, Fitbit will tell me I'm 500-700 calories over my goal. So I know that I just have to keep moving until I've evened it out and hit my goal. (By this point, I pretty much know how much I need to move and how much I can eat.) This way, I'm sure to hit my 500 calorie deficit for the day.

If MFP gives you a calorie goal of over 1200, then you're probably safe using it's goals. But for shorter people with less to lose, MFP isn't going to tell you a goal that gives you a 500 calorie deficit. I'm ok with eating a smaller deficit if I plan that and know I'm doing that, but I want to have awareness of it. I don't want to eat 1200 calories a day in a week I'm not moving much, and expect to lose a pound.

ASKyle

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

You can trust your fitbit within reason, its around 5% off, it overestimates the burn generally by a little but its a great guide to overall TDEE.

Agree- I've read on Fitbit's site that many people say they are an inch shorter than they are to account for this.

curlyblue21

If I log food on Fitbit it's not syncing with mfp, is this possible?