Just got my fitbit but want to know how to use it with other activity
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JAT74
Posts: 1,078 Member
I received my Fitbit One today and I'd ordered 2 of them so that my boyfriend and I could compete a little and so that it encourages us both to move a bit more. I have already got it working with my phone and PC, and I have got it syncing with MFP too.
I currently log all my food in the MFP diary, which I have set so that I can lose just over 1lb per week. This is based on me being lightly active, and I don't want to eat back my exercise calories on top of the 1250 I've got every day, so I normally log my exercise as 1 calorie whatever I do. I work out daily, usually doing either Workout DVDs like Jillian Michaels with weights, cardio on machines like the Eliptical or Treadmill or Walking outside. I like to see my exercise minutes in MFP so that I can keep track of how much time I'm spending workout out, though I'd be happy to log this into the Fitbit instead if this would be better/easier.
I've set up MFP and Fitbit with MapMyFitness so that I can get the Fitbit to count the steps on walks, but my main reason for having the Fitbit is to increase my overall daily activity and I number of steps and stair climbing etc. as well as sleep.
I also have a separate HRM which I am going to start using for calorie burns from workouts as I think that will be a lot more accurate due to having the chest strap so my main question is should I just take off my Fitbit when I do my workouts other than walking outside so it doesn't log this as part of my overall daily activity (as I will be monitoring/recording the calorie burns separately as per the HRM)?
Another thing I'm unsure about is the number of calories the Fitbit says I've burned so far. It's now 7.30pm but I only got the Fitbit at lunchtime and I had it on charge for ages so this doesn't seem possible that I've burned 1062 calories today. In addition, it says I've only made 186 steps today while wearing the Fitbit. Where does this high calorie burn come from or is this related to my BMR figure that the Fitbit has pre-calculated for me based on my height and weight and then any calories I burn as an extra from steps made are added on?
Just a bit unsure at the moment about the best way to use it and how and where to accurately log all my activity. Any help from other users who also do different types of workouts using a HRM would be much appreciated.
I currently log all my food in the MFP diary, which I have set so that I can lose just over 1lb per week. This is based on me being lightly active, and I don't want to eat back my exercise calories on top of the 1250 I've got every day, so I normally log my exercise as 1 calorie whatever I do. I work out daily, usually doing either Workout DVDs like Jillian Michaels with weights, cardio on machines like the Eliptical or Treadmill or Walking outside. I like to see my exercise minutes in MFP so that I can keep track of how much time I'm spending workout out, though I'd be happy to log this into the Fitbit instead if this would be better/easier.
I've set up MFP and Fitbit with MapMyFitness so that I can get the Fitbit to count the steps on walks, but my main reason for having the Fitbit is to increase my overall daily activity and I number of steps and stair climbing etc. as well as sleep.
I also have a separate HRM which I am going to start using for calorie burns from workouts as I think that will be a lot more accurate due to having the chest strap so my main question is should I just take off my Fitbit when I do my workouts other than walking outside so it doesn't log this as part of my overall daily activity (as I will be monitoring/recording the calorie burns separately as per the HRM)?
Another thing I'm unsure about is the number of calories the Fitbit says I've burned so far. It's now 7.30pm but I only got the Fitbit at lunchtime and I had it on charge for ages so this doesn't seem possible that I've burned 1062 calories today. In addition, it says I've only made 186 steps today while wearing the Fitbit. Where does this high calorie burn come from or is this related to my BMR figure that the Fitbit has pre-calculated for me based on my height and weight and then any calories I burn as an extra from steps made are added on?
Just a bit unsure at the moment about the best way to use it and how and where to accurately log all my activity. Any help from other users who also do different types of workouts using a HRM would be much appreciated.
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Of course, my exact question but no answer yet. Can't find a direct answer anywhere. Not even youtube. Bugged.0
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any specific exercise I do (ie gym, walk) I use mapmyfitness which is linked to mfp. That registers the time automatically so my "calories used" entry from fitbit is adjusted accordingly. Seems to be working for me.
As for your 1062 calories burnt according to fitbit - that sounds right. Remember you burn about 2000 calories just lying in bed so 1000 odd by midday is spot on. Its weird I know, but fitbit counts your calorie burn 24/7 so by the time I get up in the morning I've burnt 600 calories in the 6 hours since midnight.0 -
@jat74 - so why do you care about all this syncing and such when you are not going to use the tools as designed, and just eat at a low level no matter how much you do?
A tool used incorrectly at the least doesn't do what it's supposed to do, at the worst it'll hurt you.
Perhaps spend some more time seeing how high your calorie burns are, and if a set 1250 is really wise or not.
Multiple threads daily ask the same questions you've asked, might search for the great answers already given.0
