Fitbit Question

Dannilee2013
Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi

I have just purchased the new Fitbit Charge HR. I know many people use Fitbit in conjunction with MFT or other online food diaries but my question is what is the benefit?

Those of you familar with the new Fitbit Charge HD will know it has a HRM, so it tracks your step, food and exercise, o why do people feel that alone is not good enough?

Just wondering if there is something I am missing?

Thanks

Replies

  • kellyb1285
    kellyb1285 Posts: 17 Member
    Hey, I use the Fitbit HR however I don't find the diary any good in that app you will probably see a difference in calorie allowance aswell between MFP and Fitbit.
    So I use in conjunction so I can track more accurately .... Also none of my friends have the Fitbit so it's only way we can challenge etc is through MFP

    Hope that Helps but you might find it adequate alone it's totally individual

    Good luck
    Kelly
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    Hi

    But how does it allow you to track more accurately? Surely two different sets of number is confusing, at least that is what I am finding. Do you eat what FB tells you or do you eat what MFP tells you!



  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I've used a fitbit for 10 months, it is my activity tracker (not exercise tracker) eg monitoring how much I move without purposeful exercise

    So I link to MFP, set activity to sedentary, enable negative adjustments and I allow fitbit to add calories to my calories allowance each day

    But I use a specific HRM for workouts because an hrm is only somewhat accurate for steady state cardio

    I don't trust the wristband HRMs as 24 hour tracking is nonsensical so if using a charge I would take the calorie burn with caution and eat back say 50-75% the judge weight loss over 8 weeks and adjust

    I log all food on MFP and rarely look at fitbit app

    Oh and you can also link to trendweight.com which is a great tool
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    edited June 2015
    rabbitjb wrote: »

    I don't trust the wristband HRMs as 24 hour tracking is nonsensical so if using a charge I would take the calorie burn with caution and eat back say 50-75% the judge weight loss over 8 weeks and adjust

    Thanks can you just clarify the above? At the moment I am just using the fitbit and have it set at -500 calorie deficit a day. I kick it into exercise mode when I do my daily walks and just stick to the target calories it gives me.

    Currently I have been losing eat 1750 calories a day. That is walking around 35-40 miles over 5 days. I have 2 days a week where I am able to do very little exercise. On these days (one of them being today) Fitbit says I am going to be 500 over.



  • Bonny619
    Bonny619 Posts: 311 Member
    I have used the Fitbit one for years and have recently switched to the Fitbit charge HR. Wearing it 24/7, we know what our TDEE is, mine fluctuates between 2000-2400 depending on how active I am. I try to stay 500 calories below my TDEE. This has always produced solid weight loss for me. I have my fit bit synced with MFP but I do not eat back any exercise calories because I use the TDEE method. Much easier and MUCH more accurate, imo.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    But how does it allow you to track more accurately? Surely two different sets of number is confusing, at least that is what I am finding. Do you eat what FB tells you or do you eat what MFP tells you?

    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

    Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Set your goal to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    Follow your MFP calorie goal, eating back your Fitbit adjustments.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    Thanks for the explanations.

    What I was really asking those is are there any negatives to using fitbit on it's own?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    Thanks for the explanations.

    What I was really asking those is are there any negatives to using fitbit on it's own?

    MFP has a better food database and a recipe builder (something Fitbit doesn't have). I'm sure there are plenty of people who just use Fitbit to log their food. If it wasn't for Pact and the recipe builder here, I'd probably just use Fitbit.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    Thanks for the explanations.

    What I was really asking those is are there any negatives to using fitbit on it's own?

    The Fitbit food database is smaller than MFP's. And you'd lose the support of your MFP friends—including the newsfeed.

    Using MFP + Fitbit doesn't take any more time or effort than using using Fitbit alone.
  • PopeyeCT
    PopeyeCT Posts: 249 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    Thanks for the explanations.

    What I was really asking those is are there any negatives to using fitbit on it's own?

    You could use Fitbit alone and get the exact same results. The numbers are actually the same data, just presented in a different way.

    There are two big advantages to using MFP:
    1. Food entry is far better. Not just the huge database, but the recipe builder.
    2. The community here is very helpful and useful.
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    Thanks. Ye I agree the food diary is nowhere near as good as MFP.

    I read somewhere (can't remember now) someone saying they don't trust fitbits accuracy 100% because when you move your arms it can sometimes count them as steps. Now I get that if your main focus is steps but if you are focusing on calories in v out, surely that makes no difference?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    Thanks. Ye I agree the food diary is nowhere near as good as MFP.

    I read somewhere (can't remember now) someone saying they don't trust fitbits accuracy 100% because when you move your arms it can sometimes count them as steps. Now I get that if your main focus is steps but if you are focusing on calories in v out, surely that makes no difference?

    You wouldn't be burning as much as it thinks you'd be in that case. I have a Flex and a very active job that requires me to use my hands a lot, so I have to be careful not to move my left one too fast so that it counts as steps. I just now set it to dominant, as if it were on my right hand (which I thought I already had set) to see if that will cut it down a little.
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    Okay Thanks :)

    I was shocked by yesterday I was unable to exercise and it says I burned 1218 calories, that is below my BMR, how is that even possible?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    Okay Thanks :)

    I was shocked by yesterday I was unable to exercise and it says I burned 1218 calories, that is below my BMR, how is that even possible?

    Is that your adjustment or the actual calorie burn showing on your fitbit app or dashboard for yesterday?

  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    edited June 2015
    Correction it was 1154 not 1218. That is on the Fitbit dashboard.
    (The tile with the knife and fork) it says 1852/1154 - 698 Over
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited June 2015
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    That is on my calorie burn on my Fitbit dashboard

    I would double check your settings. That seems way to low.

    If everything is correct there, email customer support and see what they have to say. That just really seems wrong.
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    edited June 2015
    I was reading it wrong, so what it is showing me is yesterday I burned 1654 calories and then it is taking 500 off, which left me only 1154 to eat :(
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    Looks like I am going to have to aim to be under my target on exercise days so I can save some calories back for the 2 days a week I am unable to fit in any exercise.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    I was reading it wrong, so what it is showing me is yesterday I burned 1654 calories and then it is taking 500 off, which left me only 1154 to eat :(

    Ah well, that's entirely possible. Fitbit doesn't have a minimum when it comes to calorie goals like MFP does.
  • Dannilee2013
    Dannilee2013 Posts: 37 Member
    Well I have set my own goal to 1750 per day, that combined with the exercise seems to be working well for me, so will try that for another week and tweak if I need to.
  • saires_au
    saires_au Posts: 175 Member
    I find linking with MFP works best for me. I use the weekly nutrition goal/graph in the app to keep me on track as my activity level isn't equal each day and I eat/drink more calories on the weekend.

    I do allow negative adjustments. Having less to eat is a good motivation for being more active

    I have tracked my intake and weightloss and compared it to my fitbit calorie burn reports over a month and it was accurate for me. If I want to eat the extra calories burned I will if I'm not hungry they help increase my deficit.

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Dannilee2013 wrote: »
    I was reading it wrong, so what it is showing me is yesterday I burned 1654 calories and then it is taking 500 off, which left me only 1154 to eat :(

    Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. Enable negative calorie adjustments in your diary settings, and set your goal for .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight.

    The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. Eating at too aggressive a deficit for your size will not get you to goal any more quickly.

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