Syncing MFP with Fitbit

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JessFMurray
JessFMurray Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone know if it is possible to sync MFP with Fitbit so food and exercise data cross-syncs on both platforms?

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  • bekahlou75
    bekahlou75 Posts: 304 Member
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    apps > app gallery find the fitbit and click the 'read more" page on that info page there is indeed a "buy" button the familiar green "take action button from elsewhere on MFP... but JUST below that... the very next line is "connect accounts"
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30 Log food in MFP. Log exercise in either one -- never both.

    Here's a little Fitbit 101 I posted in another thread:

    When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex & height, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (your TDEE). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

    Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)

    I wasn't losing much weight when I got my first activity tracker. At first, the adjustments didn't seem very accurate. But they got better, almost as if the system was "learning" my routine. It took a lot of trial & error to find the settings that worked best for me. But then everything clicked. I changed my MFP settings from sedentary to lightly active (even though I have a desk job), and now my adjustments are pretty minimal. And I'm losing!

    I find my daily step goals really motivating. If I get home at night and see I'm thisclose to making goal, I'll walk around the block. A little bit more every day really adds up.
  • Kathy_Noring
    Kathy_Noring Posts: 143 Member
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    I just started using the Fitbit yesterday and I am really confused about the adjustments, too. First I enabled negative adjustments, but now I disabled it again until I get a grip on how it works.

    One question I have: If I plan to separately log exercise such as time spent on the elliptical or rowing machine, should I remove my Fitbit Zip so that I am not taking double credit (whatever the device might capture as "steps" and the logged exercise in MFP)?

    Thank you!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    If you log your exercise in MFP, you'll be asked for start & end times. MFP will then override your step data during that time.

    No need to remove your activity tracker.
  • AlexD3
    AlexD3 Posts: 23 Member
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    Thank you. I had the same question.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    MFP recommends logging all activity in MFP. I log all activity in Fitbit. It will take trial & error to find which settings work best for you.
  • Kathy_Noring
    Kathy_Noring Posts: 143 Member
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    Okay, I see that now. Cool! Okay, I will turn negative adjustments back on. Thanks for the info!
  • NWfluffy
    NWfluffy Posts: 48 Member
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    I got a Fitbit for Christmas & have linked it to MFP. Two days ago it transferred my exercise across to MFP, but not yesterday. Both days my calories crossed from FMP to Fitbit. HELP!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    If your Fitbit TDEE was less than the MFP estimate and a.) you don't have negative adjustments enabled http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings or b.) your calorie goal is 1,200, then you won't receive a calorie adjustment. (You can see your MFP estimate by clicking any previous adjustment.)
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I recommend logging additional exercise (stuff that's not counted by the Fitbit automatically) on the Fitbit website. The calories will sync over into MFP.

    Anything you log on the Fitbit website overwrites whatever the device itself logged for that time period.
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    I recommend logging additional exercise (stuff that's not counted by the Fitbit automatically) on the Fitbit website. The calories will sync over into MFP.

    Anything you log on the Fitbit website overwrites whatever the device itself logged for that time period.

    This.

    I like to run and fitbit cant seem to get the distance correct when im running, so I log that as an activity and it all works out.
  • rew1469
    rew1469 Posts: 25 Member
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    bump

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