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Large difference! Help!

echelonokie
echelonokie Posts: 92
in Social Groups
Please forgive me if this isn't the way these boards work. Not only is this my first post to the community, this is the first group I've joined. But, as in the immortal words of Bugs Bunny in Space Jam... "I NEED YOUR HEEEELP!" lol

I just set up my new FitBit Flex and linked it with MFP. I'm already noticing a huge glitch between the two and I have no clue how to fix it. The Flex says my "goal" calories for the day is nearly 200 calories LESS than MFP says it is. Which one should I use and how on earth do I get the two to agree on what's right?

Replies

  • MrsKTillman
    MrsKTillman Posts: 35
    call me
  • echelonokie
    echelonokie Posts: 92
    Just saw this. Probably too late to call tho.
  • MsMarlaJean
    MsMarlaJean Posts: 1,741 Member
    wow...hope you got this figured out??? IF so , could you post how? I have not synced MFP to Fitbit yet because of this exactly, I've just been going between the two myself and making a few minor adjustments...seems there is so much to take into consideration between the two...I'm curious how it worked out for you.
  • echelonokie
    echelonokie Posts: 92
    sadly, no. I have sorta come to the conclusion that getting answers in this forum is like getting the secret to the universe.

    I have discovered that the "Over/under" area on the Fitbit dashboard is utterly and completely useless. Regardless what I do, it's NEVER in the "zone", regardless of what time of the day I look. I will say this... I was ready to set the stupid fitbit flex on fire. I have since decided that if you're basically using it to track your cals out and your steps, it's great! Otherwise, it's sorta pointless since the food on their site and this one is never the same.
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    Sorry I saw this originally but didn't answer because I saw the "call me" post above and hoped it was resolved.

    Mine don't match up either. MFP gives me more calories than Fitbit does because I have Fitbit set pretty aggressively. Usually I end up somewhere in between the two - Fitbit it telling me I'm over and MFP is telling me I'm under.

    I hate the new dashboard on Fitbit because it's always telling me I'm over - there are days where I've got 4500 steps in but haven't tracked my food yet and it's already telling me I'm over. Seriously? I went back to the old dashboard. I don't need smiley faces, I need data.
  • echelonokie
    echelonokie Posts: 92
    First... I HATE THE FACT THIS SITE DOES NOT TELL ME WHEN SOMEONE REPLIES! UHG!

    Anyway! lol I found that on the fitbit site you can manually edit the goal calories for the day, so you could make it match MFP. I'm just not sure that it's a good idea to do that.

    It's all so confusing! lol Most sites tell me that to lose, I need 2000/day. MFP tells me I need 1600 and fitbit tells me I need 1731.

    I didn't know there was a way to see a different type dashboard. Please tell how.
  • Huffheinz
    Huffheinz Posts: 8 Member
    I've had the opposite experience, granted this is my third day using both FB and MFP. When I put in my current stats and set the goal on FB and MFP to "lose 1 pound per week", they come out to within 2 calories of each other.

    I have the FB site set to adjust my allotted calories based on activity and MFP does the same thing based on logged exercises and synced data from FB. Even with all these automatic exercise adjustments, over the past 3 full days the allotted calories between both sites remained within 20 calories of each other.

    I would recommend the following:
    - Set your nutrition plan on both sites for the same loss rate (i.e. 1 lb per week) called "deficit goal"
    - Log your workouts only on MFP and be sure to have an accurate start time and duration
    - Check "Enable Negative Adjustments" on MFP settings page
    - Always update both sites with matching weigh in info

    I'm pretty sure both sites use the same equations to derive calorie goals, so it is extremely important that they both have the same starting info (your weight) so they can calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). You then need to set both plans to the same amount of caloric deficit so it can subtract a number of calories from your BMR and kick out your baseline goal.

    Once the baseline calories match up, it's up to the magic of the Flex and logged exercise on MFP to calculate the "fitbit adjustment" for MFP. After only three days and a couple of walks and elliptical workouts, mine are matching up very well.

    Good luck and let me know if you need help figuring anything out.

    - Huffheinz
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    The problem with only logging my activities on MFP is the syncing issue they're currently having with Fitbit. I log it here (only non-step activities like strength training), then have to go into Fitbit and adjust the time because it's off by 5 hours. Apparently that's a problem they're aware of and they're working on, but in the meantime it's annoying.

    You only have access to the old dashboard if you set up your account before they changed it. If you're pretty new to fitbit you're stuck with the new one. I've had a fibit for over a year so I still have access to the old dashboard, which apparently they are eventually going to take away.
  • echelonokie
    echelonokie Posts: 92
    @Huffheinz LOL it's gonna take me a bit to actually figure out the instructions you gave. They sound great tho! Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. it shows my starting cals/day different on both sites.

    MFP tells me my "goal" for the day is like 1600 but under the "calorie box" on the dashboard, fitbit tells me my cals for the day are like 2017! Should I match MFP to fitbit or the other way around?

    Also, maybe you can help me with this one. When I'm doing something like HipHop Abs or some sort of "dance" aerobic activity, MFP shows my "daily minutes" as 1. lol Is that a glitch or is that the way it's supposed to read?

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