Can someone explain the point of logging exercise into fitbit?

As above. Fit bit is only designed to estimate steps from daily activity and walking which it then estimates cals for. Any other activity it is not designed to do that for. I use my HRM for anything other than walking but if you find your numbers are accurate I guess just stick with what you are doing. I am looking forward to the fitbit charge +HR to see if that does away with the need for my HRM.

Just to clarify -- my Fitbit Flex is only measuring steps -- not HR caloric burn. I am member at a 9Rounds gym which incorporates kickboxing/crossfit into a 30 min class but even when I wear my Fitbit, I'm not getting many exercise calories for the class. I don't have the Fitbit HR model (and am trying not to spend the money) so should I be logging my exercise time separately on the days I attend class or do any other exercise activity that does not involve a lot of steps (example abs, core workout). I just want to make sure that I'm receiving the most accurate calorie burn possible. Thanks!

SingRunTing wrote: »

If you've linked your fitbit to MFP, just log your exercise into MFP. It'll sync to your fitbit anyway. You just have to put a start time and duration for the exercise and the fitbit will adjust to account for that so that it doesn't double count your calories burned.

THIS!!

Cc215 wrote: »

I do it the other way round. I log my non step based activity in fitbit. It doesn't log the activity back to here for me - but it does affect the fitbit adjustment that gets fed back.

I like doing it that way as it means I log my food here and all my activity is dealt with by fitbit. Plus I found that most of the calories for exercise given by fitbit aren't as generous as MFP - and a lot of folks round here think MFP is too generous. I don't have a HRM though - if I did I'd input the calories from that.

I always used a HRM for my calories in MFP. But I do have to say, that I've tried 4 or 5 times to have my fitbit linked to MFP and can't stand it. I always shut it off after 2-3 days. I just hate that it gives you some calories and then takes them away again (with or without negative calorie adjustments, because I've tried both). I would eat and leave 50 or so calories left and come back the next day and it would show me over my calorie goal by 20 to 30 calories because the fitbit would take some calories away after I went to bed. Not a huge deal, but annoying. I just ended up using my fitbit to make sure my basic activity level stays up and use the calories I earn there as extra insurance (not linked to MFP, so they don't get added into my goal).

But I do the TDEE method now, so I don't worry about specific calorie burns anymore. I find it much easier and more effective for me.

Cc215 wrote: »

I do it the other way round. I log my non step based activity in fitbit. It doesn't log the activity back to here for me - but it does affect the fitbit adjustment that gets fed back.

I like doing it that way as it means I log my food here and all my activity is dealt with by fitbit. Plus I found that most of the calories for exercise given by fitbit aren't as generous as MFP - and a lot of folks round here think MFP is too generous. I don't have a HRM though - if I did I'd input the calories from that.

I do it this way too, to keep my exercise data separate. I used to use an HRM and found that the Fitbit estimates more closely aligned with my HRM than the MFP estimates do.

i_rock68 wrote: »

So do you get duplicates from entering treadmill exercise since that is also "walking".

You put the time of logged exercise in and the recorded movement is then ignored for that time period.

Fitbits measure more than walking steps.

This is because of the way MFP calculates end of day calorie projections.

My example: MFP expects me to burn 1750 per day which is ~73 per hour. When I sync Fitbit, MFP says well as of 4pm you've burned 1200. You have 8 hours left, and you'll burn 8 x 73 so the end result is you will hit 1984 so its +234. But if I chill from then on, I'm not burning 73/hour. My BMR is more like 56/hr. So the difference (73-56) is lost for those last hours of the day.

What I do to avoid this, is look at my Fitbit app & have my calories set to sedentary. So it tells me over or under as of RIGHT NOW. And I know I'll change it by moving, so how much or little I move determines how much the over/under changes.

SingRunTing wrote: »

I always used a HRM for my calories in MFP. But I do have to say, that I've tried 4 or 5 times to have my fitbit linked to MFP and can't stand it. I always shut it off after 2-3 days. I just hate that it gives you some calories and then takes them away again (with or without negative calorie adjustments, because I've tried both). I would eat and leave 50 or so calories left and come back the next day and it would show me over my calorie goal by 20 to 30 calories because the fitbit would take some calories away after I went to bed. Not a huge deal, but annoying. I just ended up using my fitbit to make sure my basic activity level stays up and use the calories I earn there as extra insurance (not linked to MFP, so they don't get added into my goal).

But I do the TDEE method now, so I don't worry about specific calorie burns anymore. I find it much easier and more effective for me.

christinev297 wrote: »

Sorry to but into the thread. I'm thinking about getting a fitbit. When synced with mfp, and say you do 10,000 steps, does mfp count the calories you've burned doing those steps and adjust calories accordingly?

Yes it does.

I've noticed I usually start earning exercise calories at 3,000 steps but I'm sure that it's different for everyone.

Awesome. Thanks guys xx