fitbit help

FITBIT USERS!! Ok! I got a fitbit today (super excited) however instead of subtracting and giving me more calories (like it normally does when you exercise) it add and toke calories away from me. What is going on?

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Here's an explanation of Fitbit adjustments I wrote in the "Fitbit Users" group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users

    When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex & height, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (your TDEE). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

    Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)

    Log food & drink in MFP. No need to log step based activity. Log non-step based exercise (like swimming or spinning) either in Fitbit or in MFP--never both. If you choose to log in MFP, you'll be asked for start & end times. Then MFP will override your step data during that time.

    It will take trial & error to find what settings work best for you.
  • toad_allyinlove
    toad_allyinlove Posts: 39 Member
    Here's an explanation of Fitbit adjustments I wrote in the "Fitbit Users" group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users

    When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex & height, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (your TDEE). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

    Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)

    Log food & drink in MFP. No need to log step based activity. Log non-step based exercise (like swimming or spinning) either in Fitbit or in MFP--never both. If you choose to log in MFP, you'll be asked for start & end times. Then MFP will override your step data during that time.

    It will take trial & error to find what settings work best for you.
  • toad_allyinlove
    toad_allyinlove Posts: 39 Member
    Ok just so I understand mfp thinks it’s giving me enough calories based on what I told it.. when I started in oct I put desk job and my plan was to work out 30 mins a day and I was doing that but I have not sense it’s been cold. Should I adj that? So my fitbit is saying hey sense you’re not moving your butt you cannot eat those calories or you will not lose weight?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Unless something changed recently, the # of times you plan to work out has zero effect on your MFP calorie goal.

    When you set up your Fitbit, it had to guesstimate your burn since midnight. So your first day's burn is always a mess. I forgot how many days my adjustments were way off. They got progressively better, as if the system was "learning" my routine. So give it a while.

    It will take some trial & error to find what settings work best for you.
  • shelltherunner
    shelltherunner Posts: 33 Member
    I have found that I am penalized calories in the morning before my more active classes (I am a teacher). Once I have had lunch, taken my lunch break walk, and started my afternoon classes, I get them back. If I hit 10K steps per day, I am given more calories to eat. On the day I was sick, it took away calories because I did not move as much as MFP thinks I will.

    Exercise does not alter your automatic calories from MFP but the activity level you indicate does.
  • wallingf
    wallingf Posts: 29 Member
    Did you tell MFP that you would be "sedentary" for your activity level? or did you tell it you would be active? If you told it you would be active - then your calorie level was based off that. And as long as you were (as measured by your FITBIT), it was happy. But once you stopped being so active (as measured by your FITBIT), it took calories away from you (as well it should).

    I tell MFP that I will be sedentary and then when I am active, I just get more calories (via the FITBIT Adjustment). But that way, I don't have to worry about it one way or the other.
  • toad_allyinlove
    toad_allyinlove Posts: 39 Member
    Thanks guys I understand now. If I walk on a treadmill or a elliptical Will it count those as steps?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Fitbit tracks all step based exercise, so don't log walking or running. Elliptical's a grey area, so you'll have to do some trial & error to see what works best for you.

    Log all non-step exercise, like spinning or swimming.
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
    I set myself to sedentary in both MFP and Fitbit (even though I'm quite active) ... that way I start with a small calorie allowance for eating, and then it grows as I'm active. I can see what I would be limited to if I didn't exercise, and how much credit I get for my activity.

    The elliptical is my MAIN source of exercise. I have a One and I wear it on my bra and it picks up just fine. I will often "record an activity" by starting/stopping the timer and seeing my stats exactly, to compare the Fitbit estimates to other indicators (a HRM, machine readout or online calculator). There are some things I end up logging manually (bike, some weight workouts) but for the most part I just let Fitbit do its thing ... that's why I bought it, so it could do all the counting.

    I did a blog post about the Fitbit's features if you wanted to check it out ...
    http://jenbsjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/wondering-about-fitbit.html
    It can really do SO much! Love all my Fitbit feedback! We are a Fitbit family ... me, a couple of my kids, my parents, a bunch of brothers and SILs ... they can try to catch me, but I don't think they will! *Ü*