Ditching my Fitbit?

Carrma77
Carrma77 Posts: 7 Member
in Motivation and Support
Before I started wearing my fitbit, I was totally focused and in control of the calories in versus calories burned. I go back and forth between whether I should be marked as sedentary in MFP when I have the fitbit or fairly active (which is the truth). I have been stuck for months and cannot get an accurate read on anything because my fitbit is giving me calories where I don't feel I have earned them. Has anyone else decided to ditch it, or at least thought of ditching it?
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Replies

  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    bump for an education about the fitbit
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    I've had my fibit 3 years. I find MFP overestimates more than anything. I eat what my fitbit tells me to, which according to my spreadsheets is more accurate than MFP based on my losses.
  • Carrma77
    Carrma77 Posts: 7 Member
    I don't believe my Fitbit is accurate; today it told me I did 18 minutes of "highly active" and that is not at all true. I sat behind my desk in my classroom all day grading papers. I just think it's too much going on at one time. Perhaps if I had my Fitbit before I started MFP it would have been better. I have had my Fitbit since April and it's just not working for me.
  • Maximumresults
    Maximumresults Posts: 175
    none of it is needed really...select a baseline of calories and/or macros..if you aren't losing inches/pounds, reduce your calories by 150-200 a day for 7-10 days and then take a look at things again...you should have some resistance training in your program as well as your cardio

    take home message: workout, eat right, and HAVE FUN!
  • Carrma77
    Carrma77 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks Maximumresult. I do lift weights & do cardio (I like the insanity series). I am very athletic and believe it's come to over thinking and over planning. I appreciate your response a lot! The fun is missing and that is what I needed to hear. You rock something fierce for reminding me of that.
  • traccie2
    traccie2 Posts: 28 Member
    What is a "fitbit"????
  • Rhonnie
    Rhonnie Posts: 506 Member
    Seems like there are 2 separate issues - if your fitbit isn't working properly it doesn't matter how it integrates with MFP. If you feel it is generally working but gives you to much credit for exercise but in general like the idea of tracking your calories just consider entering 75% (or some percentage) of the calories it says you have burned. That way you are still tracking but have a little wiggle room.
  • clemsontiger78
    clemsontiger78 Posts: 19 Member
    Depends on what you are using it for, I suppose. I use my fitbit as a motivator to get up and move each day. It is like I am in competition with myself to see if I can get in more steps than the day before. I use a HRM for my workouts and only log those calories burned into MFP. I typically ignore the fitbit adjustments, unless I didn't workout one day but took 18000 steps. Those days definitely count :)
  • Carrma77
    Carrma77 Posts: 7 Member
    It started as a glorified pedometer, but I am a little OCD about it and it becomes more obsession than just a motivator. I am plenty motivated without it--probably a little too motivated at times. I think I am going to at least take a break from it and see what happens. Thanks everyone for your feedback!
  • lorcart
    lorcart Posts: 406 Member
    I love mine and if anything, when I record exercise on MFP I think it way overestimates my calories burned. My Fitbit seems to be pretty accurate if I'm walking or just seeing my daily movement. It's not great for weight lifting, then again neither is MFP! There is a group of Fitbit users on MFP if you'd like to ask specific questions there as well.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users
  • dexfatpants
    dexfatpants Posts: 55 Member
    My fitbit was way off all the time! It would tell me I climbed 12 flights when I had climbed none, it would give me no steps for walking for an hour & 180 while I slept. I took it back & just use my HMR for exercise.
  • boxem180
    boxem180 Posts: 63 Member
    I've been struggling with the same thing, Carrma. I tend to start focusing so much on the numbers that it becomes all I can think about and then I exhaust myself on it. I lost mine for two weeks and just found it this morning. During the two weeks, I was more active and happy with none of the obsessive focus on numbers. I started wearing it again so I can see if I can find a balance.
  • witeowl
    witeowl Posts: 89
    What is a "fitbit"????

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=fitbit&l=1

    :wink:
  • Carrma77
    Carrma77 Posts: 7 Member
    A Fitbit is a device you wear that "tracks" the amount of calories you burn, steps you climb, etc. It also tracks sleep (although I am not sure it does a great job at that...it is cool to see though). The device comes with an app similar to MFP, but you can sync the two so that they communicate. It's also a pedometer.
  • jmpilg23
    jmpilg23 Posts: 7
    I love my fitbit. I have been using MFP for almost a year now. But recently purchased a fit bit in order to really track my burn. It has been a great help and huge support. MFP and fitbit don't always agree, but it still gives me the knowledge I need to make sure I am burning more than I eat.
  • jrbb03092
    jrbb03092 Posts: 198 Member
    That's too bad. I've only had my fitbit for a month but I love it. I am way more active with it than I would be without. It encourages me to move more and take the stairs more and I love the sleep function as well. But if you're not having fun with it, and it's not working for you, then for sure stop using it.
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    I love my fitbit and don't think I would have had the success I have had without it
  • StefPayne
    StefPayne Posts: 126 Member
    I love my fitbit and don't think I would have had the success I have had without it

    This with me too!! It does have it's times where it doesn't post correctly, like this morning for me, but it always works it's self out. So not ditching it here:smile:
  • BrawlerBella
    BrawlerBella Posts: 400 Member
    I love my fitbit and don't think I would have had the success I have had without it

    True story! I've had mine since November and I'm totally addicted. I'm a desk jockey so it motivates me to move more!
  • stumegsmum
    stumegsmum Posts: 34
    That's too bad. I've only had my fitbit for a month but I love it. I am way more active with it than I would be without. It encourages me to move more and take the stairs more and I love the sleep function as well. But if you're not having fun with it, and it's not working for you, then for sure stop using it.

    ^This - I find mine really accurate as to what I'm burning and how active I've been through the day - I've had mine for a month also and it has encouraged me to be much more active
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
    I don't use FitBit to determine my calories, I use FitBit to track my activity. I set my calories based on the NROLFW and the Road Map guidelines and set my calories to somewhere in between those two suggestions. I control my calories and macros. Not MFP nor FitBit.

    I like that I can see what FitBit "gauges" my activity to be at, but it's hard to measure weight lifting in terms of calories burned, so I don't. I use my FitBit to see how much of a slug I am in a day when I don't lift. I try to get 10k steps. I try to climb stairs. I try to get badges for activity.

    I love my FitBit like woah, but it's not really my calories tool. It's my activities tool.
  • TssCnn
    TssCnn Posts: 114 Member
    bump for an education about the fitbit

    Same. I am considering pre ordering the Flex.
  • Jess830409
    Jess830409 Posts: 285 Member
    I too am in love with my fitbit. I don't pay attention to the extra calories it gives me on MFP. For me, it was all about figurng out how many calories I actually burned in one day. Fitbit gabe me that insight which I in turn used to figure out my daily calorie goal. Everyday I log on to the fitbit website and see how many calories I burned the day before...take the number of calories I ate off of myfitnesspal and am able to tell how much of a defecit I created. Has helped me find the range that seems to work for me :) If it is working properly than it is a great thing to have. But dont become crazy over it....use it to your advantage!
  • Goosiesnougs
    Goosiesnougs Posts: 420
    Is everyone's fitbit syncing properly? I walk in the am. with an incline (HRM tells me I've burned 460) when I put the calories in to MFP it's not syncing to give me my calories. This is only a problem for the past week or so...yesterday I added it to the fitbit website and it seemed fine. Today........the same thing!!
  • kyricus
    kyricus Posts: 69 Member
    I use my fitbit to track my steps, and my sleep. I pay no attention whatever to the calorie adjustment MFP makes for it. I don't think it's accurate at all. Walking, unless done quickly, and for extended periods, really doesn't burn nearly as many calories as MFP and the fitbit web site say it does.

    I find that my weight goes up or down depending upon how much, and how consistently, over and under my baseline calorie goal of 1800, regardless of how many additional calories fitbit says I can adjust it bye.
  • fatfrost
    fatfrost Posts: 367 Member
    I've been using fitbit for a few months. I like it but don't think that it is necessarily super accurate. But my view is that these various tools are less about complete precision and more about just being mindful of the choices that we are making. Being more thoughtful about what one is putting in their mouth and how much physical activity one is getting is a helpful thing that helps drive better decision-making and ultimately a more healthy life-style.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    I don't use FitBit to determine my calories, I use FitBit to track my activity. I set my calories based on the NROLFW and the Road Map guidelines and set my calories to somewhere in between those two suggestions. I control my calories and macros. Not MFP nor FitBit.

    I like that I can see what FitBit "gauges" my activity to be at, but it's hard to measure weight lifting in terms of calories burned, so I don't. I use my FitBit to see how much of a slug I am in a day when I don't lift. I try to get 10k steps. I try to climb stairs. I try to get badges for activity.

    I love my FitBit like woah, but it's not really my calories tool. It's my activities tool.

    Hey!! me too :bigsmile: I love my zip. I really only want him to tell me how inactive I am so I know when to light a fire under my *kitten* :laugh:
  • grobekg
    grobekg Posts: 12 Member
    If you don't think the fitbit is accurate, you might need to calibrate your stride length on the FITBIT site. If I remember correctly it is somewhere within your profile. Also, the there is an option in the FITBIT MFP integration to allow FITBIT to decrement calories as well as add them in the event you are not as active. You may want to check to see if this is enabled/disabled and play with those settings.
  • skeeterrose1
    skeeterrose1 Posts: 11 Member
    I've had my fitbit about 6 months I got it right after joining MPF I wasn't happy with MFP general active levels, mostly because I have a very active job and wanted to get a better understanding of what I was actually burning. After using the fitbit for a while I realized that I was burning a lot of calorie per day about 3000 a day. I was losing weight too fast with MFP . Sometimes more then a pound a day. Not good. MFP had my calorie at 1780 on the highly active. So for me the fitbit was more accurate giving me an additional 600- 1000 calories a day (depending on the day), don't get me wrong it's not prefect, If you use an elevator fitbit thinks it's flights of stairs climbed, and short trips in the car not driving fast it can register as steps. Also I take kickboxing and it underestimates the calorie burn for it because, it just can't be that accurate, so any hefty duty workouts I find recording it through MFP works best. If you think it's not working the people at fitbit are really good about replacements.
  • jmpilg23
    jmpilg23 Posts: 7
    The fitbit and MFP sync throughout the day. I do most of my workout in the morning, and MFP and fitbit take what calories you have burned and average that out throughout the day. AS the day goes on, and you burn more, that average goes up. So when I get home from work and sync again, I usually have a big jump in calories burned. The same thing happens after my evening workout. I have a huge jump at my later syncs.

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