Question about syncing Fitbit with MFP

azwen
azwen Posts: 237 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My niece has a Fitbit now, and loves it, and my sister-in-law is getting one soon. So, since I have been looking for something to track/motivate me, I'm considering it. But how does it sync with MFP? Not the technical aspect, but does it give you credit for all calories burned, and you don't enter your exercise separately?

I think the social aspect might be fun, and I've been thinking of setting goals for myself to get more active outside the gym. But I'm wondering how this works, especially since everyone says that the only accurate calorie burn info comes from a HRM. Is the Fitbit accurate enough?

Thanks!

Replies

  • jensin2grapes
    jensin2grapes Posts: 8 Member
    I can tell you that I have been using it, and yes, it does adjust your daily calories that you have to burn...I am excited about it's syncing and it has worked out so far. I recommend a heart rate monitor for heavy exercise, i.e. eliptical, any kind of aerobics, but its not necessary because the fit bit will always come in with less calories burned making it easy to reduce the amount you eat. Feel free to add me as a friend and check out my diary if you wish.
  • azwen
    azwen Posts: 237 Member
    So, do you start with your MFP calorie allotment, and then it adds all the calories the Fitbit reports? Then don't you have too many calories? Or does MFP give you calories based on the Fitbit alone? I'm confused.

    Also, if you do something Fitbit won't pick up, like weight lifting or swimming or something, what do you do?
  • jensin2grapes
    jensin2grapes Posts: 8 Member
    I will reply in the AM...can you see my diary? Sleep well, and talk with you in the morning.
  • jensin2grapes
    jensin2grapes Posts: 8 Member
    Good Morning, hope you slept well! Here is what I understand about the Fitbit: You start with your MFP calorie allotment. Then MFP syncs with the Fitbit and adjusts your calorie allotment. It acts like a "merge" of the two. Your Fitbit syncs with your computer automatically every time you refresh your browser with your Fitbit Dashboard (your Fitbit account) as an open browser tab. Then Fitbit Dashboard and your MFP account sync regularly throughout the day and adjust as you refresh (I hope that’s not too confusing. Just let it be said that you don’t have to do anything, it is done automatically). I have multiple homepage tabs and keep MFP and Fitbit as two of them so I can track it periodically.
    As for the extra exercise, i.e. swimming, running, elliptical, etc. the Fitbit does not track this as well as a heart rate monitor (HRM) does. Although the gap between the two is not huge, the Fitbit usually tracks less calories than the amount actually burned. You cannot wear your Fitbit during swimming however, it is not waterproof. For that you would have to rely on a waterproof HRM or from an “educated guess” retrieved from the database already logged by someone else. If you get data from a HRM, it over rides data collected by the Fitbit at a specific time when you log it into MFP. MFP prompts you for that time when you log it.
    I hope this helps.

Categories