One week with Fitbit.

Handsett
Handsett Posts: 37 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been using my Fitbit Ultra for one week today. The first thing I want to say is, WOW! I love this thing. Second, OMG! I have been grossly underestimating my calorie burn. Before using my Fitbit, I was going with the MFP default values of 2800 calories burned, 1800 calories in. Staying near 1400-1600 calories net. According to Fitbit, I am burning on an average of 3800 calories. This 1000 calorie increase has been leaving me with a net way less than 1200 calorie intake. To prevent a metabolic stall, I am going to try and increase my calorie intake. So far, its been kinda hard! Over the past 6 months, I have gotten used to eating small amounts several times a day. My biggest fear is getting in the mindset that, "I have the calories, go a head and eat it". That frame of mind seems very dangerous to me. Obviously I have been losing weight. However, I want to do it the healthy way.

Please give me feedback. Am I doing the right thing? Is one week of data enough? Have you experienced anything like this? Suggestions? Comments? Please drop this in the box! :P

Replies

  • rachealmiles
    rachealmiles Posts: 15
    Hi

    Sorry I can't help you but I'm interested to hear any advice because I've been looking at the fitbit and would like to hear others opinions and experiences with it.

    Do you have the one that tracks sleep?
  • LPJackson76
    LPJackson76 Posts: 67 Member
    Sounds to me that your activity levels on MFP may be set wrong. Do you have them set at Sedentary? If so, kick them up a notch or two. It sounds like you're a lot more active than you give yourself credit for.

    Also, do you have FitBit and MFP syncing automatically? If not, I would do that...that way it will figure itself out.

    Love my FitBit!
  • dsimmons107
    dsimmons107 Posts: 387 Member
    I use the Fitbit one and I love it. I had the ultra but upgraded. I know this has been re posted may times but if you have not seen it it is worth a read.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
    The fitbit is not golden for calorie prediction so I would be cautious about increasing calories too much. Only bodybug types of devices are moderately accurate in determining calories burnt. If you aren't in plateau I would not increase by much more than 300-350.
  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    bump. i want to know about the fitbit, i'm considering the fitbit flex, which isn't available yet.
  • hifromjamers1984
    hifromjamers1984 Posts: 300 Member
    I've been using mine for almost 2 months and I've had to up my calorie intake. I noticed that once I linked up my fitbit to MFP my net was all jacked up. I worried about the "extra calories too" but so far I've only gotten the "I have all these extra calories I must eat them" mentality this week but it's more of a "I must have chocolate for the safety of the people around me" kind of thing. I work a pretty active job so my calorie goal here on MFP is 1760. But as long as you are eating at or slightly above your BMR and below your TDEE you will still lose weight from what everyone I've talked to has told me. So up those calories (maybe look into changing your MFP settings if you are burning all those 3800 in a day) and keep on getting fit :happy:

    I LOVE my fitbit Ultra too. I wear mine all the time the only time I don't is when I'm sleeping. Which is kind of funny considering it will track your sleep for you. I thought about getting a Zip but it doesn't track sleep which is a feature I wanted.

    If your looking for Fitbit pals here is the link to my profile (http://www.fitbit.com/user/2396DM) also the Fitbit Users group here on MFP is pretty helpful too.
  • Snoozypaws3000
    Snoozypaws3000 Posts: 133 Member
    i was gong to get myself a Fitbit but after researching the best way to assess calorie expenditure opted for the the Ki-Fit which is the UK equivalent of the Body Media or Body Bug system that they use on the Biggest Loser.

    See here

    http://www.kiperformance.co.uk/default.aspx

    As far as I know these sort of devices are the only ones that are generally accepted to give you an accurate picture of what you are burning

    I am not sure how accurate the FitBit is but the best way to tell would be to maybe try wearing it while wearing a HRM at the same time and you will then know if you can trust the data it is giving you and then increase your calorie intake if appropriate?

    Sky x
  • Sheila_Ann
    Sheila_Ann Posts: 365 Member
    Sounds to me that your activity levels on MFP may be set wrong. Do you have them set at Sedentary? If so, kick them up a notch or two. It sounds like you're a lot more active than you give yourself credit for.

    Also, do you have FitBit and MFP syncing automatically? If not, I would do that...that way it will figure itself out.

    Love my FitBit!

    ^^this! You may want to set your activity level up and def link up the two. I had the old fitbit and lost it :( I'm waiting for the flex to come out so I can order it. Good luck!
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    Why are people recommending to increase the MFP activity level? If the 2 sites are linked you get a calorie adjustment making that unnecessary.
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,395 Member
    I must really be inactive, not getting much for burns on my Fitbit, even when I average about 8000 steps. Also can do similar things during the day & yet my calories burned according to Fitbit are all over the place. Wonder if it is working right?
  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    from the comments, can i anticipate a discrepancy in the amount of calories burned, according to the fitbit and the mfp database? i have already noticed a discrepancy between the database and the elliptical training machine. the machine said 300 cal burned, but the mpf database said 468 - and that is a huge difference.

    i don't know what my activity level is set on. how can i check/change that?
  • MysticDragoness
    MysticDragoness Posts: 12
    If it were me I would probably try linking it up with MFP and stay with your current calorie intake for a couple weeks and see how they mesh. If that is what they do. LOL I am talking like I know what i am talking about. I do not have a FitBit but want one badly. I do know that how I have my settings in MFP really makes a difference! Keep up the great work. You rock!
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    from the comments, can i anticipate a discrepancy in the amount of calories burned, according to the fitbit and the mfp database? i have already noticed a discrepancy between the database and the elliptical training machine. the machine said 300 cal burned, but the mpf database said 468 - and that is a huge difference.

    i don't know what my activity level is set on. how can i check/change that?

    A lot of people find MFP rates a bit high for exercise. I calculate mine using FitBit's site which gives a lower rate but then enter that here. I'd stick with what your machine says if it allows you to enter age and weight for a personalised burn.

    To change your activity level: Home, Goal, Change Goal, and go through the process until you get to the section on activity where you can change it.
  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    thanks, water bunnie! mission accomplished!
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
    Interesting, I've had mine for about 2 weeks now and am somewhat disappointed. The calorie burn on the fitbit is totally not accurate for me at all. I use a HRM for my workouts, and where FitBit shows 300 calories for 1 hours of activity, the HRM and calorie calculator are about 600, which is more accurate based upon the types of exercises Im doing.

    I also find that it counts steps while I"m sleeping, I'll wake up and have 30 steps before I even get out of bed. I also find it's adding them when I"m sitting and driving.

    The calorie burn is just not consistent with me at all, it's very confusing. I look at it often, and it's just not right for me. I'm not sure if it's the type of exercises I do or what the problem is, but I"m not impressed so far.
  • LoveMy3Boys
    LoveMy3Boys Posts: 562 Member
    I am using my fit bit for the very first time today and I love it :) I am trying to see how I do eating more inline with the calorie burn it says. I love how MFP and their website talk to eachother. So neat... my iPhone is only a 4 so it doesn't sync with the fit bit so that's a bummer, but I still have the application on there.

    I can't wait to see how I do with my new gadget.
  • eyeshuh
    eyeshuh Posts: 333
    Interesting, I've had mine for about 2 weeks now and am somewhat disappointed. The calorie burn on the fitbit is totally not accurate for me at all. I use a HRM for my workouts, and where FitBit shows 300 calories for 1 hours of activity, the HRM and calorie calculator are about 600, which is more accurate based upon the types of exercises Im doing.

    I also find that it counts steps while I"m sleeping, I'll wake up and have 30 steps before I even get out of bed. I also find it's adding them when I"m sitting and driving.

    The calorie burn is just not consistent with me at all, it's very confusing. I look at it often, and it's just not right for me. I'm not sure if it's the type of exercises I do or what the problem is, but I"m not impressed so far.

    The Fitbit will only be able to guess your calories for walking and running. If you do other exercises, then yes, you need to use a HRM and replace the Fitbit data with it. Which is why when you link accounts with MFP you suddenly have time stamps next to all your exercises. Fitbit is more of a measure of your daily calories just moving around than it is of exercising. It also adds calories when you are just sitting because you are burning calories when you are just sitting or sleeping. I think you might be confused about what the Fitbit does / should be used for. It is an estimate of your base TDEE. If you exercise on top of that doing something that isn't walking or running, you should track those calories different and over write the Fitbit data.

    As for it adding more calories than you thought you burned OP - I think 95% of the people on this site underestimate their real TDEE and it's hard for them to wrap their mind around how much they actually burn during the day. I would trust the guesstimate the Fitbit is making over making the guesstimate yourself off less data.
  • juicemoogan
    juicemoogan Posts: 994 Member
    Interesting, I've had mine for about 2 weeks now and am somewhat disappointed. The calorie burn on the fitbit is totally not accurate for me at all. I use a HRM for my workouts, and where FitBit shows 300 calories for 1 hours of activity, the HRM and calorie calculator are about 600, which is more accurate based upon the types of exercises Im doing.

    HRM and FItbit measure different things, so they will inherently always have different readings for activities based on if they are stepping based or cardio/weights with minimal stepping. They are not meant to be equal.

    I use my HRM for home workouts, and anything where my heart rate is up but I'm not doing a lot of stepping.

    I love my fitbit.. I feel more knowledgeable about my #'s for total calorie burn and feel like before I was just totally guessing.
    Its a great tool if you are a person who likes to understand numbers and data.

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