do you sync your fitbit with my fitness pal

slimandsmiling · December 2014

hello, I am trying to figure out the best way of using my fitbit one.. should I stayed synced with myfitness pal or do you find it easier to use your fitbit on its own. I apparently walked 13000 steps today which seems like a lot more than I would have thought.. maybe it is right.. I'm not sure. so I am now wondering, is it best to use the fitbit on its own or with myfitness pal? also where do you tend to put yours? I tried to put my one on the middle bit of my bra but there isn't enough material there to hold in properly.. any advice would be great.. thank you!

laineybz · December 2014

Personally i don't sync mine, i keep them separate. Works well for me. I hook mine onto the top of my bra.

shadow2soul · December 2014

I did use it with myfitnesspal. I had a zip first (clipped to bra) and then a flex (wrist worn). Worked great (well the syncing with MFP part anyway...I had bad luck once I switched to the Flex). I have my activity level set to sedentary here on MFP, so it motivated me to get up and move so I could eat more. Now I tend to do it without thinking about it. It would also subtract calories when I was lazy.

Recently I switched to Garmin. I synced it to MFP in place of my fitbit.

Abby2205 · December 2014

I've experimented with a few variables, and this is what I settled on. I average 14,000 steps a day and according to my fitbit, I average 2000 calories burned per day. I adjusted my MFP activity level until it estimated the same 2000 calorie burn, for me that's Active. I enabled negative calorie adjustments, so throughout the day fitbit pushes an updated prediction of that day's calorie burn to MFP, and MFP then adds or takes away calories from my daily calorie goal. The only problem I have with it is that if I do a lot of walking early in the day, I get an immediate large bonus of calories, but if I am then less active for the rest of the day, that bonus gradually goes down as fitbit re-predicts total calorie burn. So generally I wait until supper time or evening to decide whether to eat back any of my extra calories. If I have a lower than average activity day, the Fitbit prediction lowers my allowable calories and I just eat less that day.
I'm not sure if the absolute calorie burn is accurate, but I can say that my calculated deficit over the last two months has been very close to my actual weight loss.
Try clipping it to the fabric of the bra cup rather than right in the centre of the bra.

TopazCutie · December 2014

I use my FitBit zip and it's sync'ed to MFP. Love it because it automatically increases my exercise calories. I wear mine on the waist of my pants (in line with the knee)

malibu927 · December 2014

When I used the One/Zip I clipped them to the inside of the pocket on my pants or inside my sports bra. The one time I tried with a regular bra it was too thick and I almost lost it.

I do have them linked now, but as I'm switching to TDEE method next month I'm going to disconnect them. It would completely mess with my goals if I kept them that way.

sjrja · December 2014

I wear my FitBit One clipped to the center of my bra and I synced it to MFP. MFP's food database is way more robust than FItbits.
I lose weight most effectively if I don't eat back all of the calories that FItBit says I burn - I find that it gives me steps when I drive along bumpy roads - However, even if slightly inaccurate, I think FitBit is a good tool to keep you aware of how much you move. And over time, the weight loss pretty well matches the calorie deficit that I log on FitBit/MFP.

LindaMc6262 · December 2014

I have a FitBit One. I clip it to my pocket. If I look at it as I walk, it does track steps accurately. It can track steps with some cars, especially if they have stiff suspension. If you plug it into the charger while driving this won't happen.

I set my MFP account to sedentary, and sync the FitBit to it. This way it adds my exercise calories automatically. If for some reason I don't get my steps in (so far that hasn't happened), my daily calories will be lower. If I want to eat more, I exercise more.

FitBit seems to overestimate calories based on my weight loss records, but eating back up to 75% of them seems to OK.

hannydeee · December 2014

I have a Fitbit One and sync it with MFP. I eat back all the extra calories it gives me and still lose at the 'advertised' rate - I guess it depends on the person though. I think I'm lucky in that I am able to eat A LOT and still lose weight. From experimenting in the past, I still lose when I eat what my Fitbit deems as my maintenance calories....

hazleyes81 · December 2014

I have my one synced. I used to wear it on my bra between the cups but it was giving me a rash there so now i clip it to the band of my underwear. I tried clipping to my pants but lost one that way. I think my tummy fat knocked it off.

hazleyes81 · December 2014

Oh yeah and i think the xalorie burn is relatively accurate. I strive for a 1000 calorie difference between my food and fitbits estimated burn, which should translate to 7000 a week (2 pounds) and so far that is what i have been using.

I get my exercise burn from a heart rate monitor and enter that in to fitbit (running, biking, and weights). I dont log everyday ac tivities like showering, driving, cleaning, or anything.

Francl27 · December 2014

Nope because some days the Fitbit numbers make no sense. I just used the fitbit number as a guideline and ate 20% under that. Plus it would count twice your exercise calories and it just gets messy.

WaterBunnie · December 2014

I can't see the point of not having them connected when it's doing such a good job of correcting my activity levels. Most days I'm more active than sedentary so I get a small adjustment but I'm relying on it more and more for fitness classes and gym sessions and it just takes all the bind out of trying to estimate burns to log separately.

do you sync your fitbit with my fitness pal

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