Tracking devices, MFP, and accuracy

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rosebette
rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just switched from my $4.98 pedometer to a newer, more reliable device, a Sportline MoveTrac, that tracks steps, distance, calories, and time. It was around $15.00, not exactly a FitBit, but I'm waiting for birthday or Christmas for that one. Anyway, this new device is pretty accurate regarding steps/distance (I wore it on a 1 mile walk yesterday). However, I do wonder about accuracy for calories, which I never used a device for before. From the device, I would say MFP is probably underestimating the calories I burn during my daily activities (a 20 minute walk gets me only around 60 calories while my device gave me 93), but overestimates calories in cardio type workouts. For instance, I did a kickboxing class today, and my device said I burned about 160 calories in an hour (hard to believe, since I was sweating like a pig by the finish). MFP was giving me way more than that, around 485. So I wonder if I've been overeating on days when I do the heavier workouts because I do "eat back" exercise, and undereating on days when I am doing my daily walk and more routine activities, when I'm basically staying between 1100 and 1200 calories. I'd suppose it all balances out in the end, but relying on this new measure might get me into changing my eating patterns and getting different results.

My other question is how do you enter calories that you get from a tracker, rather than rely on MFP estimates. Is there some way to switch to manual entry?

Finally, I'd like to know whether Fitbits are accurate and worth the money and if you don't have a smartphone, how does it sync with MFP? I have a birthday in November and Christmas is coming, and I was going to ask for one. Do Fitbits calculate calories burned in other activities, such as strength training or yoga? The tracker I have is still step-based, so I would still have to use MFP estimates for those activities. Also, what is the lifespan of a FitBit? I've get a year out of a cheap pedometer and was hoping for two out of this one (it has a guarantee).

Replies

  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    Any info from anyone? I know there are quite a few fitness tracking fanatics and fibit friends and foes on this site.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    The issue with pedometers is the majority of the cals from walking would already be accounted for in your activity level, even if set as sedentary. I would just increase your activity level to light active on days you get >10,000 steps.
  • TriNoob
    TriNoob Posts: 96 Member
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    The issue with pedometers is the majority of the cals from walking would already be accounted for in your activity level, even if set as sedentary. I would just increase your activity level to light active on days you get >10,000 steps.

    Hmm...

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14715035
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    What kind of kickboxing was that? That seems very low for an 1hr workout. Does your device provide average heart rate as well? I usually put my numbers into an online calculator to validate - http://www.easycalculation.com/health/heart-rate-calorie-burn.php

    I do kickboxing all the time and that just seems too low especially if you had moments within the workout that you had to change the way you breathe.

    For your 2nd question you can type over the number that is calculated within MFP
  • njf87
    njf87 Posts: 5 Member
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    I would also avoid counting steps that are part of your daily routine (like walking to a bus stop, around the office, to lunch).

    Unless you switched your calories based to be based on your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR), then you could count every calorie from every movement you do and add that instead of having MFP assume some level of daily activity.
  • andielyn
    andielyn Posts: 233 Member
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    I've had my Fitbit for about a month and I'm finding it fairly accurate measure my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). It syncs with MFP via a wireless dongle on a computer if you don't have a smartphone with Bluetooth Low Energy capability.

    I've had regular pedometers in the past and I can't really even compare them to a Fitbit. The Fitbit Flex is something you can wear 24/7 and I do.

    It doesn't do well calculating calorie burn from activities that are not step-based. I also have a HRM that I wear if I want a more accurate calorie count for those activities.

    The calorie count on a regular pedometer are going to be wildly off in my opinion. When I wore my HRM and a regular pedometer the pedometer was way off. The estimates here are also off.

    I agree that without more sophisticated activity trackers you should probably increase your activity level. I don't know if any of this helps or not. :)
  • JennDoesKeto
    JennDoesKeto Posts: 244 Member
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    if you are worried about the calories a step tracker gives you back, dont eat them. The fitbit takes in account for your weight, height, etc so tends to be more accurate. women should never go below 1200 calories a day its not healthy. i can do my workout and log it and sometimes mfp will tell me im negative until i update my fitbit for the day. ( this is on top of what others have said about it being part of your "base" with MFP)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    The issue with pedometers is the majority of the cals from walking would already be accounted for in your activity level, even if set as sedentary. I would just increase your activity level to light active on days you get >10,000 steps.

    Hmm...

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14715035

    ^This - 10,000 is more than lightly active
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    My tracker does not measure heart rate. Also, I hadn't been tracking calories for walks that are part of my daily routine, just my mile and a half or more fitness walk every day. However, I work at a large university and can put in between 2 and 3 miles walking every day (and I do use the pedometer to count my steps and count towards the 10,000, so I might not take my extra walk on those days). I think between 2 and 3 miles a day is higher than what the average person does during the day.

    For kickboxing, I suppose the tracker is just counting steps, so the upper body stuff that's also raising my heartrate is not getting tracked. Would a Fitbit track that better?

    Thanks for the link to the PubMed article.
  • brown6267
    brown6267 Posts: 476 Member
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    I use my Fitbit One to track my steps, e.g., walking around the campus, daily activities, etc., and link to MFP to provide the calorie counts.

    If you are doing other activity with little step movement, e.g., weight lifting, biking, etc., I use a Polar HRM and manually enter the time and calorie count in MFP. Over the years, this has worked great for me.

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