Linking it all together
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sarahyork83
Posts: 6
I have having trouble figuring it all out. I have tried a few times, give up, and not log in to any of it for awhile. Well now I want to figure it all out. I use Fitbit charge. I also have viafit with my elliptical, and I ride my bike when its nice using mapmyride. I see that I can link most together but not sure what to enter where so that its not double. I count my elliptical twice or should I take off fitbit? Or will it all sync together and work itself out? I hope im just reading more into it all and making it harder than it really is lol. Anyone have it all figured out that can help?
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The basics are:
1) Log all your food on MFP.
Be sure to weigh everything using a good digital food scale. And log everything you eat (my biggest failing).
2) Log all your exercise on FitBit.
If it is step based (which I think includes the elliptical) then just let FitBit do it. If it isn't (bike riding, swimming, weight lifting) then it needs to be logged some other way - but do it on the FitBit site/app, not MFP.
3) Trust that if FitBit gives a calorie adjustment to MFP then you really did burn those calories.
You can afford to eat the calories that you burned with activity (not just "exercise") and still lose weight (assuming you're very accurately entering your food). Use the MFP number for "calories remaining." It won't necessarily agree with the number that FitBit does until the end of the day (i.e. midnight).
I'm not certain about how MapMyRide interfaces with MFP and FitBit. I do know that MapMyWalk worked well with MFP while I temporarily didn't have my FitBit and that data fed back to FitBit through MFP. I think, though, that you might be able to link MMR to FitBit and not to MFP and then maybe it would override the FitBit data for the time of your ride. Otherwise, you can manually enter it into FitBit, using the data MMR gives you.0 -
Don't take your Fitbit off. Link MapMyRide to Fitbit, then Fitbit to MFP. So Map > Fitbit > MFP.
I've never heard of Viafit.
Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time, so I never log exercise in MFP.0 -
Where are the permissions located on my fitness pal for syncing? I found them on fitbit but still haven't been able to link the two together.0
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Gemini61454 wrote: »Where are the permissions located on my fitness pal for syncing? I found them on fitbit but still haven't been able to link the two together.
Connect Fitbit + MFP at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit
The MFP app gallery is http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps0 -
Where do I link MapMy to Fitbit? I can only link it to MFP.0
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Where do I link MapMy to Fitbit? I can only link it to MFP.
You have to do that via Fitbit https://www.fitbit.com/apps/mapmyrun or Map.0 -
Thanks so much Nancy! That really helped. I was just reading more into it. thanks lol0
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So by reading this .. I should not log my exercise on MFP, i should Only log it on Fitbit... but wont that interfere with my burned calories? meaning when it syncs wont it give me double if i log my exercise ? Kinda confused im sorry guys.
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http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10094386/charge-hr-monitored-workouts-vs-input-on-mfp#Item_6
Heybales addresses this in that post.0 -
amatolauren wrote: »So by reading this .. I should not log my exercise on MFP, i should Only log it on Fitbit... but wont that interfere with my burned calories? meaning when it syncs wont it give me double if i log my exercise ? Kinda confused im sorry guys.
No need to log step-based activity, as your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) can be logged either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both.
Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time, so you never "double dip" your calories.0 -
Any experience with Casio G'z bluetooth issues with fitbit app? Also still can't get the two linked even after revoke(fitbit) and reconnect(myfitnesspal). Only success has been on the website, but still not connected there either. One the Casio phone can't get fitbit steps to show. That is a fitbit problem I think. Just wanted to see if it might be related to bluetooth setting on the phone, or maybe just will never do it0
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editorgrrl wrote: »Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time, so I never log exercise in MFP.
FWIW, I don't know if I have my settings different, but MFP doesn't overwrite my Fitbit calories.
Ex: When I get done running, I log onto MFP - Exercise page and it might say
- Fitbit calorie adjustment = 400 calories
If I then input 30 minutes of running from 1:36pm-2:06pm, MFP might calculate it as 300 calories burned. Then my MFP - Exercise page says
- Running = 300 calories
- Fitbit calorie adjustment = 100 calories
So it's the same calories, but just listed differently. Again, I don't know if this is a setting somewhere, but I don't get double-dipping numbers.0 -
Yes - MFP does send the workout over to Fitbit, and it overwrites the calories it estimated for the workout.
And overwriting is just the opposite of double-dipping, which is what people thinks happens.
You didn't wait long enough probably for the newly updated Fitbit daily burn to come back over, for more math to be done with.
Or Fitbit thought your workout was 400 calories too, so you didn't really change anything.
But I'm betting you didn't wait long enough.
You also can't really determine from MFP's stats what has totally happened on Fitbit side, especially the limited ones you looked at.
MFP did initial math on what it new, adjustment was 400 extra, you just logged workout of 300, therefore at the least until new Fitbit data received back, adjustment is only 100 as you saw.
And that is exactly the reason why so many of us suggest NOT logging workouts in MFP, but rather Fitbit, cuts down on 1 extra sync required to see new data.
And if indeed for running - not logging it at all.0 -
@heybales I don't know if your comment was in response to mine, but I'm not quite sure I follow what you are saying. My only point was that logging in MFP works great for me, no double dipping and the calories burned syncs perfectly between FB/MFP every time. Perhaps my settings are different somehow, but haven't had any issues or overwriting of calories.0
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Yes, it was to your comment.
There is no issue with overwriting calories, that's the whole way it is supposed to work.
And if you have your accounts synced (and it works), and you manually log a workout in MFP or Fitbit, you just overwrote whatever Fitbit originally came up with for calorie burn.
It sounds like you weren't aware that does indeed happen, and you thought people were describing an issue, when it's the way it is supposed to work, and yours likely does too, whether you notice that fact or not.0 -
Oh okay. I guess my confusion was with the word 'overwrite'.
Since it isn't erasing or adding calories, but just assigning some of the calories to a specific activity while leaving the rest as my everyday metabolism calories, nothing seems overwritten to me, just categorized. Ex: 400 general calories burned becomes 300 calories burned from run plus 100 general calories burned.
Thanks for the clarification.0 -
Ah, that's the confusion - you are looking at only 1 side of the sync.
That process actually does what you think it doesn't.
That 300 calorie burn workout you logged where you gave start time and duration went over to Fitbit - and Fitbit replaced whatever calorie burn it had with that figure.
Could have been exactly what it had already, could have been more or less.
That may make the daily Fitbit burn go up or down, just depends on what was replaced.
Then that newly adjusted daily burn is sent back to MFP to do it's math with.
Fitbit daily burn - MFP estimated daily burn - logged exercise = calorie adjustment.
So indeed, prior to Fitbit total syncing back, prior to logging of workout.
Fitbit daily burn X - MFP daily burn Y - 0 exercise = 400 adjustment
Eating goal + 400 = new eating goal.
After manually logging the workout.
Fitbit daily burn X - MFP daily burn Y - 300 exercise = 100 adjustment
Eating goal + 300 exercise + 100 adjustment = same new eating goal.
It rarely workouts out so evenly though. Usually the manually logged workout is different in calorie burn, so all the figures change once Fitbit does it's update and sends new figure back to MFP.0 -
Sounds like ya'll have this nailed. I sync everything to MFP and it all comes out in the wash. I use the Endomondo app to track exercise, and that syncs to MFP including the time and duration. MFP in turns syncs back to FitBit that I exercised, and FitBit replaces it's own data for that time & duration with the data received from MFP. I track calories in only with MFP, and I see that goes over to FitBit as well. So, making MFP the data hub as recommended seems to work exactly as designed.0
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I have found out new information through discussions on a different forum. The fact that I have a Fitbit HR model might be the reason why the exercise calorie syncing works for me and not for others.
Apparently, there is a different algorithm used to calculate the calories for HR and non-HR Fitbits (makes sense). What might be happening is that the HR model that I have is closer to the MFP calculated calorie burn (for better or worse). That would explain why your data gets overwritten by MFP while mine stays the same and just gets recategorized.
Hope this helps!0
