Got my fitbit today...now what???

So I got it all set u...account made and linked with MFP and I am wearing it. Now what? I know I still log my food on MFP...do I log exercise? I normally would log house cleaning and aerobics..do I still do that? Also how is my fitbit transferred to MFP? where do I go to get that info after it is transferred? What else do I need to know about this little thing? Also it says it have taken 494 steps and have already burned 1048 cals and I have only been wearing it for 2 hours...WTH?? that cant be right!!??

Please help

Replies

  • teresadutton
    teresadutton Posts: 217 Member
    anyone?
  • cybercpa
    cybercpa Posts: 60
    I just got mine today, too and I am going to have to figure it out. I'll send you a friend request so we can stay in touch and share fitbit tips with each other.:smile:
  • jandueporti
    jandueporti Posts: 24 Member
    check out this group - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users

    also, (I'd assume) it's calculating your total calorie expenditure for the day (not just the time you've been wearing it).

    The steps sound about right though - they add up quickly! I've had mine for months & love it :)
  • twinkletoes66
    twinkletoes66 Posts: 89 Member
    Hi guys iv had my fit bit for 161 days ! I log my exercise on Mfp which will link up to fit bit automatically if you have synced it on here! The stapes sound right ! Also it's not just cals burned through exercise on your it bit it's to do with living breathing moving etc ! X
  • teresadutton
    teresadutton Posts: 217 Member
    ok so the cals burned is total....daily life and living...ok got it

    Now for logging.....if I do 30 mins of aerobics and burn 200 cals I wouldnt think I would log that because fitbit will have already recorded 200 cals burned right? Oh who knew this little thing could be so confusing!!
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    return it and get a fuelband :flowerforyou:
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
    ok so the cals burned is total....daily life and living...ok got it

    Now for logging.....if I do 30 mins of aerobics and burn 200 cals I wouldnt think I would log that because fitbit will have already recorded 200 cals burned right? Oh who knew this little thing could be so confusing!!

    Log your 30mins Aerobics (and any other cardio exercise you do) on MFP - the FitBit won't give you an accurate calorie burn for any aerobic exercise other than walking and running.

    @bluefox9er - LOL :laugh:
  • Nownourish
    Nownourish Posts: 89 Member
    The Fitbit is great once you get used to it :smile:

    With the Fitbit, I don't need to log exercise at all anymore. It appears on myfitnesspal automatically which is great (it doesn't measure activities such as swimming so if you want you can log that exercise on either site (pick one) although I tend not to as I don't really eat many exercise calories back).

    I think it says you have burned calories already as it uses estimation based on your average activity but you can turn this feature off. I am no expert but I find it very accurate.

    Good luck with it. There is a Fitbit group here which you might find useful :)
  • cybercpa
    cybercpa Posts: 60
    What is a fuel band?
  • cybercpa
    cybercpa Posts: 60
    Hi Everyone,

    I see my stats on fitbit - yeah got that end working. I had to resync my fitbit to MFP, so I will see if the activity transfers.

    Thanks for the forum link.:flowerforyou:
  • gmichaelguy
    gmichaelguy Posts: 123 Member
    What is a fuel band?

    Junk bound to be a fad.
  • 2rue
    2rue Posts: 2
    what is a fitbit?
  • cybercpa
    cybercpa Posts: 60
    The short answer is a headache. No seriously, it counts activity/exercise calories and transfers them to your MFP account. Just got mine yesterday, so that is as specific as I can be.:yawn:
  • cybercpa
    cybercpa Posts: 60
    Ok everyone, the help has been awesome and I think most of my fitbit glitches have been ironed out.

    One of the last ones is this:

    I log everything through my iPhone to MFP, and I love the bar code scan feature. So, finally my fitbit exercise calories are transferring to MFP on the WEB. But NOT transferring that fitbit info to my iPhone. Is there a setting for this that I haven't learned about yet? No integration between fitbit and my iPhone.

    PLEASE don't tell me I have to be on a computer whenever I want to see my fitbit activity calories burned...

    Help!
  • So I got it all set u...account made and linked with MFP and I am wearing it. Now what? I know I still log my food on MFP...do I log exercise? I normally would log house cleaning and aerobics..do I still do that? Also how is my fitbit transferred to MFP? where do I go to get that info after it is transferred? What else do I need to know about this little thing? Also it says it have taken 494 steps and have already burned 1048 cals and I have only been wearing it for 2 hours...WTH?? that cant be right!!??

    Please help

    Hi! It can totally be confusing.

    Ok, with the calorie thing - you are CONSTANTLY using calories, even just when sitting on your bum! So it's right. It goes by your BMR

    Keep logging exercise on MFP - it will sync over. And the more steps you take (say you go for a 20 minute walk) the fitbit will sync with MFP the calories you burned on your walk. Since I got my fitbit I stopped logging things like house cleaning.

    You can see the info on the fitbit site (which I use about as much as I use mfp!)

    Enjoy it! it's a cool little gadget. I love mine!
  • flslp87
    flslp87 Posts: 175 Member
    Actually I don't always log exercise into MFP because the fitbit already calculates the extra calories burned and then transfers it to MFP, which increases your calories that you can have for the day.. What took me a while to figure out was that the MFP calories would say I had more calories to eat for the day but the FITBIT would say I had gone over.....I started going by just MFP and it is working out fine....

    Only time I 'might' add extra exercise calories is if I have worn my HRM to exercise and the number on it is higher then the number on my FITBIT.....doesn't usually happen though...

    I recently joined the 'trainer' for my fitbit and boy is it making me work more....for example today I have over 14K steps and assumed I have met my goal but when I look at the fitbit goal I've only gotten 91% of my goal...
  • mom2dms
    mom2dms Posts: 152 Member
    What is a fuel band?

    Junk bound to be a fad.

    Fuel band is by Nike...it's a pretty cool tool
    go to nike.com and take a peek
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    i had been thinking about getting this little gadget but i am confused as how it works...
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    Ok everyone, the help has been awesome and I think most of my fitbit glitches have been ironed out.

    One of the last ones is this:

    I log everything through my iPhone to MFP, and I love the bar code scan feature. So, finally my fitbit exercise calories are transferring to MFP on the WEB. But NOT transferring that fitbit info to my iPhone. Is there a setting for this that I haven't learned about yet? No integration between fitbit and my iPhone.

    PLEASE don't tell me I have to be on a computer whenever I want to see my fitbit activity calories burned...

    Help!

    Yep - you need to be by your computer for the fitbit to sync to the base station - there is an iPhone app for fitty, but it only shows what has already been synced and is designed for those who don't have MFP to log their food on the go. I have my base station plugged in at work, and then unplug it and plug it into my laptop when I get home. It's a bit of a hassle, and I don't do it every day - I usually leave it at work during the week and bring it home for the weekend. That is the only downfall I have noticed in the 3+ months I have had it. Apart from that... I LOVE IT!!
  • RavenhairedWoman
    RavenhairedWoman Posts: 661 Member
    I've had my Fitbit for months and I love it! I wear it all the time. Don't forget to hold down the button until the "stopwatch" starts running before you sleep and then hold the button down again until it says stop when you wake up for the new day this is how you track your sleep. I missed that memo when I first got mine. Other than that I still track everything on MFP and nothing on the FItbit site because it will mess up your counts on MFP. Read some of the Fitbit related FAQs that you can find here on MFP, they really helped me figure out what to do.

    Enjoy your Fitbit! I hope you love it as much as I love mine!
  • tmbowen12
    tmbowen12 Posts: 175 Member
    I love my Fitbit!! for those confused it's like a little pedometer. Really cool device. As far as exercising, I still log it on MFP and it will sync over to Fitbit.com. I always wear my HRM cause I want exact calories burned while exercising. I do Curves and walking so I always go by what my HRM says. :o)
  • RavenhairedWoman
    RavenhairedWoman Posts: 661 Member
    Ok everyone, the help has been awesome and I think most of my fitbit glitches have been ironed out.

    One of the last ones is this:

    I log everything through my iPhone to MFP, and I love the bar code scan feature. So, finally my fitbit exercise calories are transferring to MFP on the WEB. But NOT transferring that fitbit info to my iPhone. Is there a setting for this that I haven't learned about yet? No integration between fitbit and my iPhone.

    PLEASE don't tell me I have to be on a computer whenever I want to see my fitbit activity calories burned...

    Help!

    Yep - you need to be by your computer for the fitbit to sync to the base station - there is an iPhone app for fitty, but it only shows what has already been synced and is designed for those who don't have MFP to log their food on the go. I have my base station plugged in at work, and then unplug it and plug it into my laptop when I get home. It's a bit of a hassle, and I don't do it every day - I usually leave it at work during the week and bring it home for the weekend. That is the only downfall I have noticed in the 3+ months I have had it. Apart from that... I LOVE IT!!

    Once your Fitbit is synced on the computer and your new stats are loaded it should show up on your iPhone MFP app as soon as your app syncs with the site though. So not too terrible. Just can't sync the Fitbit through the phone yet, that would be cool though :).
  • jdmey
    jdmey Posts: 30 Member
    Love my FitBit! I've had it for about 6 weeks, and it motivates me to keep moving. Midday I take it off to look and see how I'm doing....steps/stairs taken/calories burned. I aim to do a little more each day, and where I could barely take the stairs twice in a day, I now do them 12 or more times.
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    I love my Fitbit!! for those confused it's like a little pedometer. Really cool device. As far as exercising, I still log it on MFP and it will sync over to Fitbit.com. I always wear my HRM cause I want exact calories burned while exercising. I do Curves and walking so I always go by what my HRM says. :o)

    okay, so it tacks all your "daily stuff" for you but it can't count your exercise cals, correct... so i would still put my hrm on for exercise and then put that onto mfp just like we do now? then the fitbit will re adjust itself with those cals/ am i understanding this correct?
  • noahsmommie
    noahsmommie Posts: 71 Member
    return it and get a fuelband :flowerforyou:

    Tell me about the FuelBand. My wonderful husband ordered me one. I should have it on Monday.