Step Trackers

KathleenMarshall0128

Anyone else having a problem with getting your step tracker to work with MFP? I stated with the Pacer app. It refuses to update on MFP. Or it will track for a while and then go to zero.

I got frustrated and got a Fitbit. Now it not only tracks and then goes to zero, but now it won't add back calories.

What am I doing wrong?

TheMrWobbly

Step tracker are quite confusing as most are not particularly accurate in steps or calories. I put up a comment recently as my tracker gave me 500 steps on the way home which was a nice bonus as I was sat on the train at the time, others added that they got nearly 100 steps drying their hair, and other similar issues.

Even if they tracked the steps correctly the calories adjustment would depend on a number of other factors such as pace, incline, total time, length of step. Moving is always better than not moving but it does not equate to exercise in all cases. Fitbits with the HR monitor are good and generally sync well so I am not much use on that one.

I have gone with the MapMyWalk app as it is another UA product so the sync tends to work well though it can take a few hours for MFP to catch up. Maybe try both fitbit and MapMy apps to see how they compare.

Hopefully someone with a fitbit can help on the sync issue?

heybales

TheMrWobbly wrote: »

Step tracker are quite confusing as most are not particularly accurate in steps or calories. I put up a comment recently as my tracker gave me 500 steps on the way home which was a nice bonus as I was sat on the train at the time, others added that they got nearly 100 steps drying their hair, and other similar issues.

Even if they tracked the steps correctly the calories adjustment would depend on a number of other factors such as pace, incline, total time, length of step. Moving is always better than not moving but it does not equate to exercise in all cases. Fitbits with the HR monitor are good and generally sync well so I am not much use on that one.

I have gone with the MapMyWalk app as it is another UA product so the sync tends to work well though it can take a few hours for MFP to catch up. Maybe try both fitbit and MapMy apps to see how they compare.

Hopefully someone with a fitbit can help on the sync issue?

If you were to make an Activity Record for that chunk of train travel time and those 500 non-steps - I'd bet you'd find the calculated distance was minor as is the calorie burn, probably not much above BMR rate.

That's what move find with bogus step activity - the impact to an otherwise active day is minimal - more calorie inaccuracy allowed in food nutrition labels.

Now what can be bad is if your day is massively sedentary and a ton of even minor steps is seen incorrectly - think trucker all day sitting.
Now that can add up - and there is an app for that for start/stop travel and it'll adjust/log on Fitbit the correction automatically.

MMW as been found to massively inflate calorie burns for stated distance.

Fitbit is actually using same formulas - so it depends if the distance seen is correct - which depends on stride length setting being tweaked.

heybales

KathleenMarshall0128 wrote: »

Anyone else having a problem with getting your step tracker to work with MFP? I stated with the Pacer app. It refuses to update on MFP. Or it will track for a while and then go to zero.

I got frustrated and got a Fitbit. Now it not only tracks and then goes to zero, but now it won't add back calories.

What am I doing wrong?

Did you disconnect the Pacer app from MFP?

Where exactly does Fitbit go to zero - what figure is that?

Fitbit only sends to MFP a total calories burned figure (and steps figure, weight) that is used by MFP to do math with.

Fitbit Total burned minus MFP estimated daily burned minus MFP workouts = Adjustment.

That's it - pretty simple.