FitBit One Questions

Perhaps the intensity of workout one was higher than for workout two? Fitbit also measures how many minutes you were "active" each day. Are those different from day to day?

I struggle with that scenario with my Fitbit too - I don't understand how it can even calculate an accurate burn without a heart rate monitor attached. It does seem to figure out when you are moving faster than normal, it doesn't calculate steps on a bike ride (of course) but it does calculate a higher burn, even if I don't log what activity I was doing.

I don't use the "fitbit" adjustment in MFP because it seems like it gives me a really low number of extra calories, like last night I walked 4.5 miles, about 90 minutes and it only adjusted my calories by 200 and then once I got home and sat down it started taking those extra 200 away from me. It is hard to try to hit a net calorie goal if it is constantly changing.

op- Make sure your stats are listed properly, you can even measure your stride and put that in! Like others said also make sure you have everything on settings right for you! The timer is for sleep not for exercise! I wear mine 24/7 Love it! Find it motivating and challenging!

I log my exercise and let the fit bit make it's adjustment. Works great that way for me!

@fvtfan-- of course your burn will change if you are inactive for a period of time. Why should it not go down if you are sedentary then you are not currently burning as many calories! Motivation to keep moving!

I struggle with that scenario with my Fitbit too - I don't understand how it can even calculate an accurate burn without a heart rate monitor attached. It does seem to figure out when you are moving faster than normal, it doesn't calculate steps on a bike ride (of course) but it does calculate a higher burn, even if I don't log what activity I was doing.

I don't use the "fitbit" adjustment in MFP because it seems like it gives me a really low number of extra calories, like last night I walked 4.5 miles, about 90 minutes and it only adjusted my calories by 200 and then once I got home and sat down it started taking those extra 200 away from me. It is hard to try to hit a net calorie goal if it is constantly changing.

I *think* if you set your activity level on here to sedentary, it will stop adjusting your calories. That's what a friend recommended I do, and so far it hasn't adjusted my stuff. I'm not sure if that's a viable option for you.

Well that seems counterintuitive - if you are sedentary then you would think it would give you MORE calories. Perhaps my problem is that I am set at "lightly active" so my Fitbit expects me to move more - so I have to work harder to get more calories, but I still don't like that it changes constantly. I have decided to just ignore it for now and enter my exercise manually.

Well first that "burn" is just your daily burn for being alive. It does not consider any exercise at all cause it doesn't measure your heart rate. This "burn" also includes your sleep burn. Which usually accounts for the 600/700 or so.

I just always used it as a measuring stick of how active I am and never used the BURN to determine my daily calories burned from exercise.

Do you have the settings right on the ftibit? I know on the flex and the force you had to make sure your dominant hand was selected.

You can use it to track your exercise - which is how I got the numbers I did. Just start the timer and it will keep track of the calories you've burned - and record them on the website. I was told that it was inaccurate though and to stop using it.

I have the FitBit One, so there aren't any hand settings - it's just a clip on.

@SueinAZ - Day 1's workout was 26 minutes, with a 196 burn (according to the FB), day 2 was a 16 minute workout with a 285 burn - which is weird because day 1's workout was recorded as higher on that graph thing (It was green). And my "highly active minutes" were 26 (day 1) and 17 (day 2).

Maybe my steps were more, they just weren't very effective?

No he's right: it assumes your BMR as well, so the calories you burn through moving and exercise are on top of the BMR. It really only counts the calories you've burned through exercise that you should be eating back, basically.

Once you start tracking with a HRM check out the POLAR LOOP

I have used all sorts of gadgets and this thing ROCKS> It connects to the HT7 Bluetooth HRM and it displays my Heart Rate IMMEDIATLY on the display of the loop. It has all the features of the Fitbit and Fuelband, BUT has the heart rate. So it can track all workouts correctly. Including HIIT

The only downfall of the Loop is that it doesn't sync with MFP

Its from POLAR and they have been doing fitness for quite awhile.

True it does not have an accelerometer... but it doesn't need one. Since it is counting steps and yes it does log time, it can figure out how fast you are moving (that's basic math after all) and adjust it's calorie estimates accordingly.

It also (in the case of the FitBit One) is aware if you are going up or downhill and can make adjustments to its estimate for that.

Notice in both cases I said estimate. Because yes it is an estimate based on those factors and your weight. It is, however, a pretty accurate and consistent estimate.

Based on what it can measure those original numbers are entirely possible.

You are correct. Basic math was never my strong suit! hahaha

It absolutely does not know if you sped up or slow down. It does not have an accelerometer installed in.

It does have an accelerometer in it.

https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/1276472-how-does-my-tracker-count-steps-

How does my tracker count steps?
LAST UPDATED: JAN 07, 2014 12:21PM
Fitbit trackers use a 3-axis accelerometer to understand your motions. An accelerometer is a device that turns movement (acceleration) of a body into digital measurements (data) when attached to the body. By analyzing acceleration data, our trackers provide detailed information about frequency, duration, intensity, and patterns of movement to determine your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and sleep quality. The 3-axis implementation allows the accelerometer to measure your motion in any way that you move, making its activity measurements more precise than older, single-axis pedometers.


Fitbit trackers have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for motion patterns most indicative of people walking. One condition for a motion pattern to be recognized as a step is the motion must be large enough. The algorithm implements this by setting a threshold. If a motion and its subsequent acceleration measurement data meet the threshold, the motion will be counted as a step. If that threshold is not met, the algorithm won’t count the motion as a step. Other factors can create enough acceleration to meet our threshold and therefore cause some over counting of steps, such as riding on a bumpy road. Equally, it's possible for the algorithm to undercount (not meet the required acceleration threshold). Examples here include walking on a very soft surface such as a plush carpet.

If you want a true calorie burn. Buy a $49 HT7 Polar Bluetooth HRM, it attaches to your phone and way more accurate then any Fitbit.

FITBIT are good to keep you accountable and to really motivate people. It has no real way to know what is intense and what isn't. Its all step based. It doesn't know if you are running or walking or jogging in place.

This is actually incorrect. The Fitbit knows very well when you are running or moving more quickly than a simply walk. It has you input a walking pace distance and a running pace distance so it can more accurately calculate your total distance. It also knows when you're going up stairs and counts the "floors" (10 feet of constant upward movement) you've climbed. It knows the difference between jumping up and down vs. climbing stairs, too, because it never gives me credit for "floors" when I'm jumping up and down but it does when I'm climbing hills. It correctly gives more calories for climbing steps or running than it does for walking.

The probable reason why the OPs day one burn was higher is that she had a higher number of "highly active" minutes than day two.

You're right - I just went for my first jog (well, I was jogging, walking and dancing - what a sight that was I'm sure) and it noted the increase in intensity.

It also counted floors though - I'm not sure why. A good chunk of my jog was uphill, so perhaps that's why?

If you were walking uphill that can cause 'floors'. It has an altimeter that considers every 10' rise in elevation accompanied by steps to be one 'floor'. Weather patterns can confuse it, so if you see floors where you didn't climb any, that's normal. Floors don't count into calorie burn. It's just a fun metric for motivational purposes.