Fitbit Exercises: Log in MFP?

gallicinvasion

Hello all! I received a FitBit Charge 2 for Xmas, and I’m still getting used to how the app connects with MFP. I read in the Fitbit group that you’re supposed to log purposeful exercise in MFP and match it with the time that the FitBit recorded your exercise, and the FitBit app will adjust your calories accordingly.

Is this right? I did this one day and it seemed to work; only one exercise record appeared in the FitBit app. But the following day, I did the same thing, and the exercises showed up twice in my FitBit app after logging them in MFP.

What’s the proper way to manage a connection between these apps with regards to purposeful exercise?

debrakgoogins

Yes, that is how you log your exercise. Be sure you have the negative calories enabled in MFP. When you log exercise into MFP, the FitBit calories earned will automatically adjust so that you are not getting double calories. It looks odd at first when you see that the FitBit calories are in a negative but you get used to it.

gallicinvasion

debrakgoogins wrote: »

Yes, that is how you log your exercise. Be sure you have the negative calories enabled in MFP. When you log exercise into MFP, the FitBit calories earned will automatically adjust so that you are not getting double calories. It looks odd at first when you see that the FitBit calories are in a negative but you get used to it.

Thank you! I’ll do this.

Any idea why I might see two separate exercise records for the same exercise in the FitBit app after manually logging the exercise in MFP? This only happened once but I wasn’t sure why.

Duck_Puddle

How Fitbit and Mfp work is that Fitbit sends mfp the total number of calories you’ve burned during the day. The difference between that numbers and the number of calories mfp thinks you burned during the day (which is the number of calories burned for your activity setting plus any workouts you enter) is what shows up as your Fitbit adjustment.

Unless you are using an older model Fitbit (like the One) that doesn’t have workout tracking, you don’t need to enter workouts on mfp. You’re not double counting, but you’re not doing anything useful either since those calories will come over from Fitbit anyway. The instructions you’re referring to were in place when Fitbits didn’t really have workout tracking and some (like the One) simply aren’t capable of tracking anything but step based activity.

So with some numbers...

Mfp thinks you burn 1600 calories per day (without exercise).

You wear your Fitbit all day. You record a 400 calorie workout on your Fitbit (Charge 2 can record workouts so this is fine). At the end of the day, your Fitbit says you burned 2300 calories, you have a workout entry in your Fitbit app from the workout you recorded.

If you leave all that alone, you’ll have a Fitbit adjustment of 700 calories (2300-1600). You won’t see a workout entry in your mfp diary, but the calories will still be accounted for. You will have 700 total exercise calories for the day.

If you enter your workout in mfp, mfp now thinks you burned 2000 calories for the day (1600+400) and you’ll have a Fitbit adjustment of 300 (2300-2000). You will have 700 total exercise calories for the day.

You’ll also probably have 2 workout entries in the Fitbit app (one from the Fitbit, one from mfp). What you enter for calories in the mfp entry is supposed to overwrite what Fitbit recorded for that time - so the total calories for the day won’t change (since presumably you’re overwriting the 400 Fitbit recorded with the 400 you entered on mfp). You’re not going to double count, but you’re not really doing anything useful either.

So if you have a Fitbit that can record workouts (a charge 2 can, some others cannot), then you don’t need to enter any workouts in mfp. You can-but it’s not necessary and it’s not really doing anything for you.

heybales

gallicinvasion wrote: »

debrakgoogins wrote: »

Yes, that is how you log your exercise. Be sure you have the negative calories enabled in MFP. When you log exercise into MFP, the FitBit calories earned will automatically adjust so that you are not getting double calories. It looks odd at first when you see that the FitBit calories are in a negative but you get used to it.

Thank you! I’ll do this.

Any idea why I might see two separate exercise records for the same exercise in the FitBit app after manually logging the exercise in MFP? This only happened once but I wasn’t sure why.

One is an Activity Record - merely a snapshot for that chunk of time for the stats and given a name created my Fitbit.
You can also manually create, and delete, one anytime if curious about steps, distance, or calories for a chunk of time. That's what a sleep record is really, just purposefully named.
You can record workout info in the notes for review later - very useful for seeing improvements.

One is a Workout Record - it replaces whatever Fitbit had in that chunk of time. If exactly the same, no matter. If different, the snapshot remains the same but it's totals are no longer in the daily stats, for whatever was replaced.
From MFP sync that means calories is replaced, for other sync accounts distance or steps and calories could be replaced.
No notes, no edit, delete only.
You can manually create one too, using the database workouts if it's a workout the Fitbit would be bad at estimating - like Weights or swimming perhaps.

But the Fitbit group FAQ does NOT say to create an MFP workout.
Might reread that section - recommended to use MFP database if it's workout Fitbit is bad at estimating, otherwise on MFP just create a wall post about workout, and let Fitbit keep what it came up with.

Fitbit exercise diary is much nicer than MFP. For most.

gallicinvasion

Duck_Puddle wrote: »

How Fitbit and Mfp work is that Fitbit sends mfp the total number of calories you’ve burned during the day. The difference between that numbers and the number of calories mfp thinks you burned during the day (which is the number of calories burned for your activity setting plus any workouts you enter) is what shows up as your Fitbit adjustment.

Unless you are using an older model Fitbit (like the One) that doesn’t have workout tracking, you don’t need to enter workouts on mfp. You’re not double counting, but you’re not doing anything useful either since those calories will come over from Fitbit anyway. The instructions you’re referring to were in place when Fitbits didn’t really have workout tracking and some (like the One) simply aren’t capable of tracking anything but step based activity.

So with some numbers...

Mfp thinks you burn 1600 calories per day (without exercise).

You wear your Fitbit all day. You record a 400 calorie workout on your Fitbit (Charge 2 can record workouts so this is fine). At the end of the day, your Fitbit says you burned 2300 calories, you have a workout entry in your Fitbit app from the workout you recorded.

If you leave all that alone, you’ll have a Fitbit adjustment of 700 calories (2300-1600). You won’t see a workout entry in your mfp diary, but the calories will still be accounted for. You will have 700 total exercise calories for the day.

If you enter your workout in mfp, mfp now thinks you burned 2000 calories for the day (1600+400) and you’ll have a Fitbit adjustment of 300 (2300-2000). You will have 700 total exercise calories for the day.

You’ll also probably have 2 workout entries in the Fitbit app (one from the Fitbit, one from mfp). What you enter for calories in the mfp entry is supposed to overwrite what Fitbit recorded for that time - so the total calories for the day won’t change (since presumably you’re overwriting the 400 Fitbit recorded with the 400 you entered on mfp). You’re not going to double count, but you’re not really doing anything useful either.

So if you have a Fitbit that can record workouts (a charge 2 can, some others cannot), then you don’t need to enter any workouts in mfp. You can-but it’s not necessary and it’s not really doing anything for you.

heybales wrote: »

gallicinvasion wrote: »

debrakgoogins wrote: »

Yes, that is how you log your exercise. Be sure you have the negative calories enabled in MFP. When you log exercise into MFP, the FitBit calories earned will automatically adjust so that you are not getting double calories. It looks odd at first when you see that the FitBit calories are in a negative but you get used to it.

Thank you! I’ll do this.

Any idea why I might see two separate exercise records for the same exercise in the FitBit app after manually logging the exercise in MFP? This only happened once but I wasn’t sure why.

One is an Activity Record - merely a snapshot for that chunk of time for the stats and given a name created my Fitbit.
You can also manually create, and delete, one anytime if curious about steps, distance, or calories for a chunk of time. That's what a sleep record is really, just purposefully named.
You can record workout info in the notes for review later - very useful for seeing improvements.

One is a Workout Record - it replaces whatever Fitbit had in that chunk of time. If exactly the same, no matter. If different, the snapshot remains the same but it's totals are no longer in the daily stats, for whatever was replaced.
From MFP sync that means calories is replaced, for other sync accounts distance or steps and calories could be replaced.
No notes, no edit, delete only.
You can manually create one too, using the database workouts if it's a workout the Fitbit would be bad at estimating - like Weights or swimming perhaps.

But the Fitbit group FAQ does NOT say to create an MFP workout.
Might reread that section - recommended to use MFP database if it's workout Fitbit is bad at estimating, otherwise on MFP just create a wall post about workout, and let Fitbit keep what it came up with.

Fitbit exercise diary is much nicer than MFP. For most.

These are both AMAZINGLY HELPFUL summaries!!! Thank you so much! All demystified.

callsitlikeiseeit

i use my fitbit only on occasion so all the ins and outs i dont know.

I have the charge 3 at the moment, i think. I do enter my exercise in mfp, but enter 1 for number of calories burned and go by the fitbit adjustments.

Whether or not its the right thing to do, i dont know, but it keeps a log in both places of the exercise but doesn't double it up calorie wise, if that makes sense.

heybales

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

i use my fitbit only on occasion so all the ins and outs i dont know.

I have the charge 3 at the moment, i think. I do enter my exercise in mfp, but enter 1 for number of calories burned and go by the fitbit adjustments.

Whether or not its the right thing to do, i dont know, but it keeps a log in both places of the exercise but doesn't double it up calorie wise, if that makes sense.

If you are syncing - this is terrible advice.

That means the chunk of time you log your workout as just got replaced on Fitbit with 1 calorie.

Unless you are doing 1 minute only then no big deal though still incorrect, and adding basically bogus workout info to Fitbit.

Do you actually use the Exercise Diary on MFP that it is important to have an incorrect calorie workout there?
The Fitbit exercise Diary is much more useful, unless it's doubled up with entries half being bogus - then that should make review and comparing interesting and frustrating.

Or are you mainly wanting the MFP wall post for friends to see you did a workout with a non-descript single entry line?

editress

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