new fitbit flex user and lost!

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jac_84
jac_84 Posts: 128 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!

quick info about me Im 30yr old, 5'7"

SW 208lbs
CW 187lbs
GW undecided

I purchased a fitbit flex yesterday and synced it up with MFP and I have been researching online with no clear answers so I thought I would ask on here.

I am trying to understand on the fitbit dashboard when it comes to the calories. im so beyond confused!
Where should I be logging my workout ? I logged it on fitbit and MFP shows more then I acutally burned in that workout and if I dont log it on fitbit it shows on fitbit which I think I understand is my daily overall calories burned.
Ive been tracking my food on MFP and that seems to be okay, is that what everyone else finds works as well??
Im getting so fed up trying to figure this out I am tempted to return it! LOL

I hope I am making sense and if anyone could be so kind to explain this to me as I see to be a dumb*ss trying to figure this out I would really appreciate it :)

Replies

  • alevenso
    alevenso Posts: 1 Member
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    I have the same questions - if I log my food in Fitbit dash app I dont see the food in MFP.... should all logging be in MFP?
  • ajmaupin
    ajmaupin Posts: 44
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    all logging is done on MFP.
  • kdsp2911
    kdsp2911 Posts: 170 Member
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    All food logging should be done on MFP. If you are doing exercises not "read" by your FitBit (strength training for example) then you can log it on your FitBit and it should sync to MFP.
  • jaclync324
    jaclync324 Posts: 37 Member
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    Hope this helps. Do you log sleep on the flex? If so, do you do it by holding down something to start the stopwatch? If so, this info will help. I have a one so it might be different.

    https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity-
  • Rerun201
    Rerun201 Posts: 125 Member
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    Food and exercise I log on MFP. Much easier than on the FitBit site. FitBit will make a calorie adjustment for your daily activity if need be. I take all calorie burned info during exercise from my HR monitor.
  • iRun_Butterfly
    iRun_Butterfly Posts: 483 Member
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    Log all food on MFP and all non-step type exercise on MFP. I largely ignore the calorie reading on Fitbit and pay attention to what MFP tells me as far as that goes. The Fitbit dash board used to annoy me at first because early it the day it will show I'm way over calories even if I've only had breakfast so I just don't pay attention to it.
  • cc141
    cc141 Posts: 55 Member
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    I have a fit bit zip so it doesn't track sleep. I log food and exercise on mfp. I don't pay that much attention to the fitbit dashboard I just look at it when I sync data.
    I wear a heart rate monitor when I exercise and then mfp asks what time I started and it syncs with fitbit to have a more accurate exercise calorie count.

    ETA: I felt the same about it being confusing and not knowing where to log everything but I love it now and wear it everyday. I've had it for 6 months and it's just really nice to know how much I burn every day
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,151 Member
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    I log everything on here and it syncs to Fitbit. The numbers vary a little but I stick with what's on MFP and barely look at the numbers on Fitbit. I use the Fitbit site to see my steps, calories burned, sleep activity and where on my leaderboard I fall, and how many more steps do I have to do to bump the person ahead of me on the list. Together, both give me what I need and I love my Flex and the info it provides.
  • jac_84
    jac_84 Posts: 128 Member
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    thanks everyone. Im going to test it out over the weekend and see if this is really worth the money.
  • jmounce1
    jmounce1 Posts: 9 Member
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    i have only had my fitbit flex for a couple days. So far so good. it seems to keep me more motivated. I log everything on mfp app on my phone. i really like how it syncs up when i get near my pc. I wish it would sync up to my windows phone:( But overall I am glad I made the purchase. I wish you great success with yours:)
  • johnthomasmoore
    johnthomasmoore Posts: 59 Member
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    I love my Fitbit One. I log all food on MFP and rely on Fitbit for general activity (steps). I have the accounts synced. I log non-step activity on Fitbit website and it carries over to MFP. I've enabled calorie adjustment. I log my fluid intake on Fitbit android app because it's easier interface than MFP. It just works.

    I've also got the Fitbit Aria scale and have it set to sync with MFP and TendWeight.

    I pull all my data together in Google Spreadseets: http://johntmoore.blogspot.com/
  • easjer
    easjer Posts: 219 Member
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    Ditto the others - log food and exercise above normal to MFP (if you log exercise, be CERTAIN to include the start time so you don't double count for step-based activity). I keep to the dashboard side of Fitbit and interface mostly with MFP.

    That said, I freaking LOVE my flex. Love love love love. It really motivates me to move more and be cognizant of what I'm burning and eating. It's great. I love having an actual daily TDEE to help me set my calories (well, up until days like today where I don't get to move so much and now I have to go work out to get a good deficit when I just want to sleep!).
  • jac_84
    jac_84 Posts: 128 Member
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    im a very motivated person to begin with so Im trying to figure out what benefits it has for me. I wish it had a HRM but I plan to try it out for 2 more days and make up my mind. Its become easier to use now that I track my workouts on the fitbit dashboard and my food on MFP
  • mrsfyredude
    mrsfyredude Posts: 177 Member
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    Hope this helps. Do you log sleep on the flex? If so, do you do it by holding down something to start the stopwatch? If so, this info will help. I have a one so it might be different.

    https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity-

    the flex logs sleep automatically when you put it into sleep mode by tapping it and getting two flashing lights, then you wake it up when you wake up by tapping it again until all lights flash
  • jac_84
    jac_84 Posts: 128 Member
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    ive been logging my sleep but i find it not too helpful as it takes me up to 2 hrs some night to acutally fall asleep and it doesnt know when I do lol
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    Seeing that you have lost 30 lbs already I have a word of caution for you.

    I am going to suggest that you do NOT sync the fitbit and MFP right away. Wear it for awhile to get an idea how many steps you are (and have been) taking daily. Then decide if you want to sync them or not.

    The fitbit is going to give you exercise credit for all your steps. I found that I was taking about 5000 steps a day already. This surprised me. In a 10000 step day the fitbit was giving me about 400 calories. The problem was that without the fitbit I would have only logged 200 calories. Say my normal 5000, then 5000 on the treadmill. I would have only logged the 200 on the treadmill.

    I had a serious slow down in my loss and it wasn't until I figured this out and stopped syncing them that I picked back up. Now I only log (manually) my steps OVER 5000. Right back on track now.

    Maybe there is a way to control how they sync and make adjustments but I never figured out how to.
  • jac_84
    jac_84 Posts: 128 Member
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    my next question for all you fitbit users.....

    why do you like it the most? why do you think it was worth the money?

    thanks :)
  • CeddysMum
    CeddysMum Posts: 101 Member
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    I've had my FitBit One since last July and I have no idea how I could live without it anymore! LOL. I just LOVE it!!

    I log my food/drinks/water in MFP and manually log non-step based exercises in FitBit (I feel that MFP overestimates the calories burned while FitBit is more accurate) and have them sync, of course.

    I use the FitBit Dashboard (web or android) to keep an eye on my activities (cals burned, steps, distance etc.) and find that it motivates me to reach my goals there. I ignore the FitBit food calorie counter.

    Works great that way for me! :smile:

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