Fitbit zip

laurajhen
laurajhen Posts: 22
in Getting Started
Hi,

I'm looking for some help!

I've just bought a fit bit zip, taken it out of the box and added the app to my phone. However the calories burnt are coming up as 1270 which is impossible as I've only just started using it.

Does anyone know if there is a way to reset the actual calories and steps

Laura x

Replies

  • TheNewPriceIsLoading
    TheNewPriceIsLoading Posts: 2,135 Member
    Hope this helps.

    Open the battery door using the battery door tool and remove the battery.
    Wait 10 seconds.
    Place the battery back into the tracker with the "+" side facing up, and close the door.
    Your Zip will now be reset. You will see your tracker's version number, followed by a series of Fitbit Smilies. When you tap your tracker, you should be able to navigate through the screens as you normally would
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    Glorified pedometer.
  • kt_731
    kt_731 Posts: 74 Member
    Based on what you put in as your weight and height will help determine how many calories you burn without any movement or exercise. It estimates how many daily calories you are burning including the calories burned during sleep.
  • kaplaj90
    kaplaj90 Posts: 1
    If you want a step counter, the fitbit zip is great. But for calorie counting it is useless. Anything that does not take heart rate into account is just guessing. As kt_731 mentioned, it calculates what you would lose just being a human and moving throughout the day. Everyone is constantly burning calories and that is how it comes up with that number. When I had the zip, it said I burned more calories on a shopping day than a total body work out day which is impossible. But because I walked more steps, it calculated more calories burned.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    The Fitbits are all pretty useful to give you a general idea of your activity level, and to help motivate you to move more. However, if you want a tracker that is more accurate, Bodymedia Fit band measures more than just your steps. It's the most accurate one on the market thus far, and even it has a few drawbacks ($7 monthly subscription, for example)
  • saschka7
    saschka7 Posts: 577 Member
    Glorified pedometer.
    Not seeing how that is an answer to very specific question.

    ETA: With the Zip, it won't start at zero the minute you start using it, it actually starts at midnight. You may have to reset it like instructed but starting tomorrow, it should be more accurate.
  • redwoodkestrel
    redwoodkestrel Posts: 339 Member
    Hi,

    I'm looking for some help!

    I've just bought a fit bit zip, taken it out of the box and added the app to my phone. However the calories burnt are coming up as 1270 which is impossible as I've only just started using it.

    Does anyone know if there is a way to reset the actual calories and steps

    Laura x

    To actually answer your question (and not just weigh in on the usefulness of the Fitbit), the Fitbit calculates your calories burned just by being alive - the calories you burn through breathing, keeping your heart beating, your brain functioning, etc. This is calculated based on your age, sex, and weight, and they are usually added every 5 minutes. For example, my Fitbit Zip tells me I burn 6.4 calories every 5 minutes. That number was higher when I weighed more. So when I wake up in the morning and put on my Fitbit around 6 am, it already shows that I've burned ~460 calories, even though I was sleeping. Based on the time of day you fired up your Fitbit, those calories are probably what it calculates you've burned *just by being alive* today.

    And to talk about the usefulness of the Fitbit - I think it's great. I find the calories it tells me I've burned in day, both through just being alive AND through my step-based activities to be relatively accurate - since it knows when I've sped up or slowed down and is not just averaging like the MFP calories burned estimates do, AND it's calculating those calories based on my personal information. Yes, it's probably not as accurate as a HRM, but it's far more accurate than MFP and I also find the it to be incredibly motivating - I make sure every day I get my 10,000 steps in, and I love the dashboard display with all the charts and graphs so I can track my progress through the day. Since I got my Fitbit in January I've upped my activity level and have lost 50 pounds - so something is working! :happy:
  • mmerry5
    mmerry5 Posts: 69 Member
    I have the Fitbit Flex and I LOVE it. I have my activity level set to Sedentary and let my Flex add activity calories as I earn them. I usually end up with an extra 500-700 calories above a sedentary level based on the activities I do throughout the day. This way I know what to eat every day rather than a guess. I don't eat back 100% of my Fitbit calories in case it is an over estimate.

    The Fitbit Dashboard works different than MFP. The Fitbit adds calories throughout the day including calories you earn just by being alive. (BMR) So even while you sleep you will "earn" calories. So when you wake up you may see a number of calories on the Fitbit dashboard. You will earn even more calories as you move more.

    When you sinc the Fitbit to MFP it will add any calories you earn over and above what MFP already has for you, and if you have negative calorie adjustments turned on, it may even take calories away from you. For example, if your MFP is set at Lightly Active and it gives you 1500 calories for the day, then once your Fitbit shows a calorie allowance for the day over 1500 it will add that to your MFP allowance. If Fitbit says you burned 1600 calories it will add 100 cals to MFP. If you had a lazier day and Fitbit says your burned 1450, then it would take away 50 cals from MFP (if you have negative calories turned on). Hope that made sense?

    I have been maintaining my weight by eating back about 1/2 to 3/4 of my Fitbit calories. It's much more accurate for me than just simply logging exercise because I am pretty active throughout the day.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Yep - love my Zip. And yes, the calories you're seeing are estimated from midnight - it shows estimated cals for a 2 hour period. And while it's true that it tracks step-based exercise, you can also manually enter non step-based workouts like strength training on the webpage as well.

    After more than two years of doing the TDEE method, then adding the Fitbit about six months ago, I've found that it's pretty close to the calculations I've used all along, and therefore pretty accurate with the burn estimation. It motivates me to move more, which is a good thing.

    Since I do the TDEE method, I do not have my Zip linked to my MFP account, but like I said, it motivates me to move more and I like the calorie comparison between that, my TDEE estimates, and my HRM.
  • ElvenToad
    ElvenToad Posts: 644 Member
    Heart rate monitors are not meant to be worn all day, they are only accurate for steady state cardio. I find my fitbit zip incredibly accurate actually. I wear my zip all day including my hour long workout. I also wear my hrm during my workout. The calorie burn I get from my hrm and my zip are almost identical. I minus the 72 calories from the zip that I would have burned during that hour if I had just sat on the couch the whole time and I get a very close end result. They are usually within 10 calories of each other.

    Also when out shopping for 5-6 hours on Saturdays with my mom, my zip tells me I only burn about 400-500 calories extra those days. I don't see that as wrong at all based on the fact that I usually burn that much in an hour of a normal workout. Point being, no over estimation there!

    I think you need to wear it for at least a full 24 hours before you will get an accurate reading, but when you wake up in the morning you will already have a burn on it and that is from sleeping and that's accurate.
  • laurajhen
    laurajhen Posts: 22
    Thank you I will try and take the battery out and in to see if it resets.
    Only bought it this afternoon but I've heard great reviews from the majority of people so thank you for your help!

    Everyone is entitled their opinion, can't say calling it a glorified pedometer helped me at all but that's your view!
  • laurajhen
    laurajhen Posts: 22
    Thank you I'm going to try that now :-)
  • CCSavage88
    CCSavage88 Posts: 191
    Waste of money!...Without a heart rate monitor you cannot truly know your calories burned...$20 fix with a cheap HRM wristband
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Glorified pedometer.

    Yes, but it syncs wireless with MFP and adds your earned calories directly into your MFP account. I find that really helpful. It isn't as accurate as a heart rate monitor, but it does tell me when I've walked more or less (so it's an accurate measure of relative exercise) and its algorithms work well for most people. I eat back the calories it gives me and have maintained for a year.

    They're under $40 and it's easy to use and more accurate than my old pedometer. I'll take it.

    It estimates how many calories it thinks you will earn today based on where you are at whatever time you turned it on for the first time. As it gets to know you better, those numbers will get better. You will have to watch the adjustment for it.

    If you're using it, Fitbit and MFP recommend you set to sedentary, link the two accounts, and then add any extra exercise into MFP. That over-rides the zipbits step calculations for those times. For example, zipbit isn't good at bicycling, so I'd log that by time into MFP and fitbit will count those calories for that time period and not any steps that registered.
  • getnfit87
    getnfit87 Posts: 34 Member
    as stated the calorie count is an estimate based on the information you gave it, it starts at midnight and shows the calories burned so far as an estimate based on your activity it can measure, so resetting it I would think won't change that number as it reflects what you are estimated to have burned doing nothing, I keep my mfp set on sedentary and my fitbit adjusts my calories spent and therefore my cals to eat based on step count, pace, and duration at pace, your first day with it comes up short as you didn't get to use it thru the day, but that will average out once you have had it awhile lol. I find it to be pretty accurate for me, as based on the info it sends mfp and my diary inputs (including non-step based activities) generally suggest via the in five weeks number you get at the end of the day that I will lose around .5 lbs per day and this is day 40 for me and I've lost 19.4 lbs, so I haven't noticed any over estimates, but your mileage may vary
  • laurajhen
    laurajhen Posts: 22
    Well I'm happy with it lol so not a waste of money for me!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Waste of money!...Without a heart rate monitor you cannot truly know your calories burned...$20 fix with a cheap HRM wristband

    A HRM is just another estimate. And a $20 wristband one is going to be a very bad estimate for use during a workout and useless the other 23 hours of the day. A $80 chest strap HRM will be better for that one hour (and then useless for the other 23).

    Without direct calorimetry in a lab 24/7, you will never "truly know your calories burned".

    Fitbits are great for what they do, which is very much what the Body Media items do, but Fitbit does it without pretending it can detect anything about your calorie burn from your skin and without a monthly fee.

    If the Body Media is the superior product, why does the same company also make the Jawbone Up, which is virtually a Fitbit clone in terms of function? The Jawbone even costs more, I think.

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