Fitbit zip and calories burned/activity level

My FB One's estimates seem pretty spot on, based on my results. I've been maintaining for about eight months, pretty much gaining the expected amount when I ate a surplus over time and losing the expected amount when I ate a deficit over time. My activity level varies greatly - some days well over 20,000 steps, other days only a couple thousand - so I set my level to Sedentary and let Fitbit adjustments handle the details. This works very well for me.

For some non-step-based activity, such as rowing and Pilates, I use an HRM for my estimate. For some other activity, such as weight training and Krav Maga, I use established estimates. Although I log carefully and weigh my foods at home, I also eat a lot of restaurant foods and play "dinner roulette" at my mom's house once a week. So there are a whole lot of fuzzy numbers in my calculus, but it all seems to work out very well - much more precisely than I would have thought.

YMMV, of course, but I do trust the Fitbit after a year of experience.

Everybody's different, and it will take trial & error to find what works for you.

What worked for me was increasing my activity level, enabling negative calorie adjustments, enabling Fitbit calorie estimation http://www.fitbit.com/user/profile/edit and eating back all of my calorie adjustment.

Do not log step based activity. Log non-step workouts either in Fitbit or in MFP. I find the Fitbit burns more accurate. If you log in MFP you're asked for start & end times and MFP overrides your step data during your workout.

I also posted this in the fitbit users group but I thought I would try my luck here too.

I started using a zip last week and it's been so eye-opening! I have a job where I am on my feet all day so I have my MFP set to active. I've been maintaining on 1750 calories + eating back exercise calories but lately I've been so hungry after work. I think that I've figured out why: according to my fitbit I burn about 2200-2300 calories a day (and I'm 4'11" and 110lbs) I've logged 20,000 steps every day this week.

Here are my questions: do you find the fitbit calorie estimation fairly accurate? It's been giving me 500+ extra calories per day. I've been eating back some and leaving about 200 calories or 10% of my daily total on the table.

Should I switch my setting to very active? I think this would give me 1970 calories and bring down the discrepancy between fitbit and MFP.

What exactly do you do to get to 20k steps? Are you sure that's accurate???

I trust the number of steps on my Fitbit One also. If I do a walk on the treadmill, I can get decent numbers, but without it, they are pretty low. I do have a problem that it doesn't record all my stairs correctly, and sometimes question my low calorie burn. (guess that goes with being older & not really as active, lol)

I have a zip and love it! I can easily clock 20k steps on a workday, by not sitting, just moving. Easy enough to do when you don't have a desk job. All time record was 35k steps - almost 16 miles! Only time will tell if your numbers are accurate, but since I've had mine, my weight has done exactly what I would expect based on my intake versus stated output.

I've had the Zip and now have a Flex. The Fitbit devices seem to be quite accurate. After you sync leave it connected to your phone and you can actually watch the counter as it counts your steps.

During runs, I've compared the number of steps with the cadence data from my Garmin. Once again, seems quite reliable.

The calorie burn estimate is not 100% exact, but close enough to work with. Quite reasonable in my opinion.

To answer your question, YES, if you are logging 20k steps a day I would switch from active to very active.

OR do what MFP says, set yourself to sedentary and synch fitbit with MFP. It adds in all the fitbit calories and you don't have to estimate.

I find the Fitbit's estimation of my calorie burn during a workout (walking or running) is far more accurate than MFP's - since when you log your activity on MFP, it assumes a constant rate during the entire time - while the Fitbit knows if you had faster or slower time periods during your workout.

So Fitbit always tells me fewer calories burned, but it seems right - I always felt like MFP was giving me too high an estimate.

I love my fitbit flex . I have had a zip and all of them had this product for 2 years now. I love it and its accurate. With the minor set back in December and having surgery. I have maintained my weight loss for almost a year now. My band just broke their replacing it for free. It is accurate and keeps me on track.

Monday-Friday I am on my feet from 6:00am-6:00pm. I sit down to eat lunch and that's typically it. I do have to be mindful of my steps to hit 20k. If I'm just standing I make a point to walk around, etc and I'm a pacer by nature. 20k steps for me is about 8 miles. One day this week I took an long afternoon walk with my family and hit 10 miles (24000 steps!). I'm loving the fitbit.

What is your job??

G'day Guys, I was just wondering can you link your MFP to Fitbit desktop? I live in Aus and I have noticed that a lot of our foods are not on the database because it is a US database... Help please!

MFP sends water & aggregate meal data to MFP. Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30 (Fitbit won't send food or water to MFP.)

AWESOME THANKS FOR THAT

Are you logging your food on MFP? I live in Australia and have a fitbit also linked to MFP. I log my foods on MFP and you can add the foods to it the meals then sync to fitbit but only show as meals not the foods you have eaten.

Just lower your MFP goal to maintenance. Fitbit pro-rates your calories by time of day (and goes way below 1,200 calories), so I ignore Fitbit's calorie panels & follow MFP's calorie goal.

Maintenance takes a whole lot of trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight stabilizes. Slowly increase your calories until you start gaining, then decrease them even more slowly until you maintain.

Your weight will fluctuate, so choose a range (for example, +/- 2.5 lb.). When your weight goes above your range, cut your calories by 100. When your weight goes below your range, add 100 calories.

Congratulations on your loss!