Fitbit + logging exercise?

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BattleTaxi
BattleTaxi Posts: 752 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What do you guys n gals do when it comes to syncing your fitbit with MFP and logging exercise? Do you do BOTH?

For example, I am doing 30DS but have been manually logging in my exercise, not wearing my fitbit. I didn't know if there would be conflicting calories or something.

Any and all feedback is much appreciated! Thanks!

Replies

  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    I have recently synced up my Fitbit to the MFP account. There is a little conflict in the calorie counts to Fitbit, but otherwise, it makes it easier (you won't have to manually enter in the exercise). I find that the Fitbit is slightly more accurate in the activities that I'm doing, so I try not to enter in the exercises manually (perhaps only make notes to myself on the page, but little else).

    Syncing up the pedometer to this account also overcomes a small shortcoming in this app, the one where they don't give any calorie credit for strength training. So I'm all for the syncing up of accounts.
  • ze_hombre
    ze_hombre Posts: 377 Member
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    When you enter an exercise MFP will ask the start time and duration. It will then ignore any step data during that time frame.
  • BattleTaxi
    BattleTaxi Posts: 752 Member
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    When you enter an exercise MFP will ask the start time and duration. It will then ignore any step data during that time frame.

    Ah!! Thank you! I was wondering what the importance was of the time next to the duration since it doesn't seem to show anyways after you enter it.
  • mariposa224
    mariposa224 Posts: 1,269 Member
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    When you enter an exercise MFP will ask the start time and duration. It will then ignore any step data during that time frame.

    ^This. I wear my fitbit all the time. Whenever I enter my workouts or if I did a walk using my HRM, as long as I accurately record the time I began and the duration, fitbit adjusts accordingly. :flowerforyou:
  • olerolls
    olerolls Posts: 70 Member
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    Oh, awesome! I did not realize the MFP will disregard Fitbit steps during the time you were working out. I have been taking my Fitbit off for workouts, but then I tend to forget to put it back on so I'm missing lots of steps.
  • nadz6012
    nadz6012 Posts: 126 Member
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    @WKwebby, you can look up calorie counts for strength training, it's just in the cardiovascular section. Beware it's much lower than one would think.
  • koru_clark
    koru_clark Posts: 5 Member
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    I have actually found, in general, Fitbit accurately accounts for your workout so have stopped manually entering my exercise and just let the adjustment play into my overall calorie goal for the day. Obvious issues if you are a swimmer and I have also felt like it under values biking a bit. I have been losing in this model so it seems to be working for now.
  • BattleTaxi
    BattleTaxi Posts: 752 Member
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    I have actually found, in general, Fitbit accurately accounts for your workout so have stopped manually entering my exercise and just let the adjustment play into my overall calorie goal for the day. Obvious issues if you are a swimmer and I have also felt like it under values biking a bit. I have been losing in this model so it seems to be working for now.

    Ok so I got a question for you, ksufatty, I am using the fitbit to record strength training now since MFP doesn't record cals for strength. However, on my Fitbit app, it says 213 calories, and on MFP it says 46 or 49. Do you know why that is? Is it an error??
  • RedheadHen
    RedheadHen Posts: 249 Member
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    I tend to log whatever my HRM says. If I'm just walking I don't log it at all - FB will take care of that. But jogging - with hills - I'd go with my HRM and log that activity here on MFP. I also wear my HRM during my workouts. Seems to work out perfectly that way. But it helps to have a HRM. I don't log anything over on FB - but I do check it to make sure it records the correct times! ;-)
  • nikkip1982
    nikkip1982 Posts: 18 Member
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    When you enter an exercise MFP will ask the start time and duration. It will then ignore any step data during that time frame.
    I didnt know this! Thanks!
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
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    Fitbit won't actually ignore the STEP data ... you will keep the steps you took, but if you log and input calories burned, that will overwrite the calorie burn that Fitbit estimated.

    I move the Fitbit to my sock for my stationary bike, (it doesn't catch any movement on my waist or bra) and while it doesn't give me a ton of steps (40min/10 miles gets be about 2600 steps) it overestimates on calories, giving me 400 when the bike says 240, and the HRM says 200. So I do log, and correct this (I was doing it on MFP, but then there has been all the time errors ... you need to watch and make sure the time transfers properly, lately it's been easier to just do it on Fitbit).

    I'm doing 30DS right now. HRM gives me 150-180 calories per session, the Fitbit only 130 or so ... but do you know what? I just isn't enough of a difference for me to bother logging it. I will usually go into my activity record and put down the HRM estimate in my notes just for my reference ... but I figure if I'm missing 50 calorie credits from exercise, well, that's a little less I'll feel justified in eating, and that is ok.

    Before 30DS I was doing an hour full body weight workout a couple times a week. I'd leave my Fitbit on, then after I would log it. It doesn't up the calorie count by much, but at least it gave me a "moderately active" spike on the visual graph of my day. I like to look at that and be able to "see" my workouts!

    Always keep the Fitbit on (unless you are swimming). No reason at all to take it off, even if you are planning on logging manually.
  • jeshatchett
    jeshatchett Posts: 1 Member
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    I am needing clarification...even though fitbit is counting steps during exercise, I should still be logging exercise and calories burned into MFP?

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