Using a Fitbit Flex

SEC_RULES

I need some help folks.... I have a Fitbit Flex but I don't know how to use it. I have my settings in MFP and I have Fitbit syncing to MFP but I don't know how many calories to eat. Do I just go by the MFP recommendations and let the Fitbit keep up with exercise. Do I eat the calories back? Please help.

paulperryman

Fitbit is useless for exercise except walking, Fitbit gives you a running TDEE and periodically syncs the difference between what MFP has reported you've eaten and what it thinks you've burned and gives that as an adjustment.

If you do specific exercise i'd log that on MFP or fitbit and set the calories manually if you have a HRM or something to track your actual burn, then that will override Fitibits adjustment and through all of this go by what MFP is telling you you have left, and if you wanna be safe for walking purposes only take half of what Fitibit is allocatiing.

as for eating back exercise calories or not, the goal is to maintain a deficit period, if you wanna lose weight and more then you need if you want to bulk up, so regardless of what you do you want to maintain one or the other, how much of a deficit or extra you eat is upto you. 500-1000 calories is a nice safe amount, that would be half-1Kg a week theoretically.

in summary use Fitbits calories as a running workout throughout the day it constantly give MFP an estimate which will either increase or decrease how many calories you have left to reach your goal set by MFP

paulperryman

Fitibit is just an accelerometer and a pedomoter, it gives a decent assessment of TDEE if you aren't doing specific exercises other then walking but otherwise it's only real use is a rough guide and a measure of how many steps you have done

SEC_RULES

Thank you sir. So the best thing for me in weight loss is just go by what MFP sets for me. Just let the Fitbit keep a running total off my walking for the week.