How do you record exercise activity

sharonlep

Hi.
I'm starting again - putting all my trust fully into just MFP and my Fitbit.
I've set my activity to moderate because even though I sit all day at work, I do move a lot during the day and try to get 10k steps in. So I think that would be moderate?
I want to track my occasional running and biking though but I'm scared to set that activity on my watch or Fitbit phone app as I'm doing it, in case it overestimates my daily activity. I can't get my head round it'll give me an allowance for my steps AND running steps on top of that.
What does everyone else do?

janejellyroll

I've synced by Fitbit to my MFP account and I let it do the calorie adjustments for me. It has worked well for me.

kimny72

I also sync my Fitbit, I set myself at sedentary so I start out with the bare minimum calories I might be stuck with if I don't get up and move. I have a non-HRM model, and if it doesn't pick up a shorter or lower impact or non-step based exercise that I do, I log the exercise on Fitbit, and let the syncing do the work.

My understanding is that if you log a workout, Fitbit takes into consideration the step calories it had already counted and only credits you with calories you're owed above and beyond that.

Ultimately, how well whatever strategy you go with is working can be judged once you are several weeks in. If you are losing slower than expected, you're eating too much. If you're losing faster than expected, you're eating too little. Unfortunately, patience and trial-and-error are almost always required

sharonlep

Thanks. I've synced it janej, but I'm worried about tracking anything other than steps on my Fitbit (which is like totally dumb because that's what it's there for and what I want it for!)
I had my activity set to low before but I read today that mfp gives higher exercise adjustments if you are actually quite active but set yourself as not very active. Swings and roundabouts I know but I want to get it all right from the start this time.

janejellyroll

sharonlep wrote: »

Thanks. I've synced it janej, but I'm worried about tracking anything other than steps on my Fitbit (which is like totally dumb because that's what it's there for and what I want it for!)
I had my activity set to low before but I read today that mfp gives higher exercise adjustments if you are actually quite active but set yourself as not very active. Swings and roundabouts I know but I want to get it all right from the start this time.

You do see higher adjustments if you're very active and set yourself to not active, but it's not a problem.

If you set yourself as very active, you see smaller adjustments because you're getting those calories up front.

If you set yourself as not very active and you are active, you get larger adjustments because you're getting those calories after the fact.

But the end result will be the same. It's just a matter of personal preference -- do you want to see larger adjustments or have more calories in your "base"? Different paths to the exact same end calorie goal.

I personally set my activity to low despite being very active because it's a nice little boost to see the adjustments (it's silly, but I'll take every mental advantage I can create!). It also means that I don't have to worry about subtracting any calories on days when I'm less active than usual.

sharonlep

Thanks janej. That's what I thought and I almost kept it to lightly active because I do a bit less during winter months, but, I get stressed if I go over daily food allowances so I think I prefer to see more calories to play with each day.
What would you class a lightly or moderately active though?

janejellyroll

sharonlep wrote: »

Thanks janej. That's what I thought and I almost kept it to lightly active because I do a bit less during winter months, but, I get stressed if I go over daily food allowances so I think I prefer to see more calories to play with each day.
What would you class a lightly or moderately active though?

Here's how MFP defines it (considering only regular non-exercise activity):

Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesperson)
Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. food server, postal carrier)
Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)

cmriverside

..and as an alternative, you *could* just use MFP's calculations and NOT sync your Fitbit (just use it as a side-experiment/backup.)

I mean, I'm old-school. I lost 80ish pounds before Fitbit even existed - just using MFP and adjusting as I went. I don't and didn't have any body tracking devices and it worked! I still don't have one and I'm still at my goal weight 12 years later.

heybales

sharonlep wrote: »

Hi.
I'm starting again - putting all my trust fully into just MFP and my Fitbit.
I've set my activity to moderate because even though I sit all day at work, I do move a lot during the day and try to get 10k steps in. So I think that would be moderate?
I want to track my occasional running and biking though but I'm scared to set that activity on my watch or Fitbit phone app as I'm doing it, in case it overestimates my daily activity. I can't get my head round it'll give me an allowance for my steps AND running steps on top of that.
What does everyone else do?

Fitbit tracking or knowing about your workouts won't cause it to overestimate your daily activity.
2 different things.

Your TDEE (Total Daily calorie burn) would be effected by an inflated workout though.
But you seem very active outside the workouts. So unless those workouts are like 6 x weekly for hours at a time - an inflated calorie burn on the workout in the scheme of your day isn't that great. Less than inaccuracy in food labels probably.

And then of course MFP is informed of your daily burn.

Now - with that many steps daily outside of workouts - it would be best to confirm and tweak the Fitbit settings for stride length if needed.

Ever walked a known 1/2 to 1 mile at 2 mph and confirmed the distance Fitbit reports?
That will indicate if stride length needs to be changed, because distance is used for calorie burn for daily activity.

Scotty2HotPie

I use MapMyRun (running duh) and the Strong App (Weights).

Both will record workouts automatically. However, I get crazy varied calorie readings, so I always adjust them manually.

For Runs - I use about 100 calories per 10 minutes... so a 30 min run = 300 calories
Weights - About 200 calories per hour

Using these general guidelines has worked well for me in losing and maintaining weight.

ScorpioGirl70

I have been debating on getting a version of the FitBit, I am pretty confused as to which one to get. That being said. I have already determined, if/when I get one. I do not plan on syncing it with MFP. I will use the information and add it accordingly manually to the MFP program.

I am a book type person, pencil and paper, old school. I love the technology in our world today, but for me, recording it manually tends to make everything more of an actual thought process, which makes me work more towards my goal.

I actually have a journal that I log everything in using MFP once a week. It helps me mentally analyze what I need to change or consider changing or what I am not understanding about the entire process. I color code good numbers vs bad numbers so at a glance I can see if there is a pattern to my days/weeks. I note any extra stresses on days that I had or how I was feeling on those "bad" days.

cmriverside

I note any extra stresses on days that I had or how I was feeling on those "bad" days.

I particularly like this aspect of journalling. My food/weight/health/calories/exercise are all on a spreadsheet on my computer, but I do make notes to explain or just notice what was going on with me that day on days I have really high calorie or on days I'm under.

Stress - and how I perceive things - is almost always the guiding force on days I eat 1500 calories OVER, and conversely it is the impetus behind really low calorie days so I know part of my issues are always going to be psychological. I simply have cravings for particular foods that I know will lift my mood or I have stomach upset that makes me not want to eat.

heybales

ScorpioGirl70 wrote: »

I have been debating on getting a version of the FitBit, I am pretty confused as to which one to get. That being said. I have already determined, if/when I get one. I do not plan on syncing it with MFP. I will use the information and add it accordingly manually to the MFP program.

I am a book type person, pencil and paper, old school. I love the technology in our world today, but for me, recording it manually tends to make everything more of an actual thought process, which makes me work more towards my goal.

I actually have a journal that I log everything in using MFP once a week. It helps me mentally analyze what I need to change or consider changing or what I am not understanding about the entire process. I color code good numbers vs bad numbers so at a glance I can see if there is a pattern to my days/weeks. I note any extra stresses on days that I had or how I was feeling on those "bad" days.

Helps to mull over those things much better.

I will say that using the log manually method means you need to pay attention to MFP's 4 rough levels of daily activity.
And log the exercise it's not accounting for.

Because the sync would correct both things.

So on typical non-exercise days where you still perhaps walk dog, or whatever - just log those days for TDEE from Fitbit, and confirm you have MFP set correctly for your non-exercise level.