Fit Bit Steps, to eat or not to eat...
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Eating more = gain weight...TrishSeren wrote: »hellobaconplease wrote: »Sorry, I'm no help with the fitbit, the day I got mine I seemed to start eating more and more and more! I lost 40kg before I got one and stalled from then on.
Are you from NZ? I saw the anchor milk in your diary. I am too :-).
Yes I am
Interesting to see someone else also put on weight!
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trigden1991 wrote: »Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.
If you eat back 80-100% of your FitBit calories, I assume you are trying to maintain? FitBit displays your TDEE I believe.
You can set a deficit through Fitbit. I currently have MFP and Fitbit set to a 500/day deficit and eat all of the exercise calories it gives me. Doing this and weighing all of my food I have consistently lost/maintained weight as expected for almost 2 years.5 -
I too have stalled weight loss with the Fitbit use. Was losing .5-1/lb a week, using MFP activities at 50%. The fact that Fitbit adds all the steps and activities gives me too many calories the way I choose to log (loose). Would be great for maintenance, but I'm not in maintenance at this point. I think I will need to unsynch until then. If not, I have settings at sedentary and losing 1 lb/week via MFP, maybe I should use 1.5 lbs/week.2
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I'm wearing both a fitbit zip and my new charge2, both are logging identical steps so I feel they are pretty accurate. I wear the charge on my left wrist since I am right handed.0
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StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Eating more = gain weight...TrishSeren wrote: »hellobaconplease wrote: »Sorry, I'm no help with the fitbit, the day I got mine I seemed to start eating more and more and more! I lost 40kg before I got one and stalled from then on.
Are you from NZ? I saw the anchor milk in your diary. I am too :-).
Yes I am Interesting to see someone else also put on weight!
I'm eating more because I thought I had more calories to eat based on my FitBit steps, which, it seems are not correct.1 -
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starfruit132 wrote: »I too have stalled weight loss with the Fitbit use. Was losing .5-1/lb a week, using MFP activities at 50%. The fact that Fitbit adds all the steps and activities gives me too many calories the way I choose to log (loose). Would be great for maintenance, but I'm not in maintenance at this point. I think I will need to unsynch until then. If not, I have settings at sedentary and losing 1 lb/week via MFP, maybe I should use 1.5 lbs/week.
Yeah, I feel like I've been lulled into a false sense of security, with all the extra calories! I can't help but eat them, and now it seems it's set me back
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I never eat any calories back...no way! Those calories are how I can lose/maintain my weight! I mean...I screw up and overeat and binge many times but not on purpose! I LOVE if I can burn more calories then I eat
And you understand that your many binges are because you're undereating? That they happen *because* you don't eat exercise calories back?1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.
If you eat back 80-100% of your FitBit calories, I assume you are trying to maintain? FitBit displays your TDEE I believe.
You can set fitbit to maintain or lose just like MFP. I have fitbit set to lose and it is working perfectly for me.1 -
TrishSeren wrote: »
My charge is on my non dominant wrist and my zip is on my bra strap, but I don't eat back calories, don't feel the need too.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.
If you eat back 80-100% of your FitBit calories, I assume you are trying to maintain? FitBit displays your TDEE I believe.
You can set fitbit to maintain or lose just like MFP. I have fitbit set to lose and it is working perfectly for me.
Thanks for the info. I should probably have read the manual for mine.1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.
If you eat back 80-100% of your FitBit calories, I assume you are trying to maintain? FitBit displays your TDEE I believe.
You can set fitbit to maintain or lose just like MFP. I have fitbit set to lose and it is working perfectly for me.
Thanks for the info. I should probably have read the manual for mine.
I don't think they come with a manual... and while I get that they are trying to make it seem so simple just plug it in and it starts working, by having published FAQs it would probably stave off a lot of confusion.0 -
I set my base MFP input per sedentary, and I eat back some of the Fitbit adjustment (but never more than 50%, and rarely more than +500 cals), the amount depending on whether I'm maintaining, or trying to lose a bit.0
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I try to ignore the calories I've earned back from exercise for the most part. I just have a goal range of how many calories I want to eat in a day, and try to stay within there.1
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I agree that Fitbit seems to overestimate (Charge HR on non-dominant wrist, set to Dominant to reduce sensitivity). I get 12,000 "steps" a day, so I set MFP to lightly active. Then I eat in the ballpark of what MFP gives me before the exercise adjustment. So I try to eat around 1450 calories, but on any given day my exercise adjustment will say I can eat 1800 or so. I figure the lightly active setting means I'm eating back some of those calories (on sedentary I can only eat 1200).
But like everyone else has said, if it's not working try eating back a smaller percentage, or unsyncing for a while and see how you do. Good luck!1 -
I have used a fitbit with MFP for years, lost a lot of weight and most of the time eaten pretty much everything back.0
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I usually eat back almost all of my fitbit adjustment. I have a One and I think that it underestimates my calorie burn.1
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I only eat back MFP exercise calories if I am hungry. Otherwise I save them for the weekend when my logging is less accurate due to eating out and I tend to eat more. Based on my weekly calories, I have found my Fitbit calories to be pretty accurate.
But if you aren't losing weight and the only factor that you see that could be contributing to that is eating back Fitbit calories, stop eating them back. Or eat back less of them. If hunger is an issue, consider looking at your macros to see if you can adjust what you are eating so that you stay full.0 -
I like to think I have a lot of data points. I've been logging on MFP for nearly 900 days, with a fitbit (zip, then one, both on my waistband) through most of that. I've found it to be incredibly accurate for most activities, especially daily movements, walking, and running. As expected, it under-estimates certain machines like elliptical and biking. I've found it does pretty decent with dance, and I've lost as expected when I take classes like Zumba or Jazzercise. As another poster said, its critical to have your height and weight accurate. Even a difference of a half inch of height could give you more steps than you actually take, or even adjust your estimated BMR.
Lastly, if you're set to sedentary and your calorie burn seems high, remember that some of that is just MFP adjusting for the fact that you actually moved. For me, calories seem to start getting earned around 3500 steps, even if its all just walking around at the office or shopping, and not strenuous activities.1 -
I'd be starving if I didn't eat mine back... I've walked 15-20k steps a day lately.
But if you're not losing, eat less.1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.
If you eat back 80-100% of your FitBit calories, I assume you are trying to maintain? FitBit displays your TDEE I believe.
You can set fitbit to maintain or lose just like MFP. I have fitbit set to lose and it is working perfectly for me.
Thanks for the info. I should probably have read the manual for mine.
I don't think they come with a manual... and while I get that they are trying to make it seem so simple just plug it in and it starts working, by having published FAQs it would probably stave off a lot of confusion.
They do on the website. You have to login from a computer for some of the settings I believe. Just like this site doesn't have everything on the mobile app. It just takes some playing with. They are both great tools and can work together or separate.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »Of course I eat them back (about 80%-100% of my Fitbit calories). I walk about 12k steps a day, which is quite active, so I need to eat more than if I was sedentary. Makes sense, and I don't want to undereat, because funnily enough, that's what makes me overeat.
If you eat back 80-100% of your FitBit calories, I assume you are trying to maintain? FitBit displays your TDEE I believe.
You can set fitbit to maintain or lose just like MFP. I have fitbit set to lose and it is working perfectly for me.
Thanks for the info. I should probably have read the manual for mine.
I don't think they come with a manual... and while I get that they are trying to make it seem so simple just plug it in and it starts working, by having published FAQs it would probably stave off a lot of confusion.
They do on the website. You have to login from a computer for some of the settings I believe. Just like this site doesn't have everything on the mobile app. It just takes some playing with. They are both great tools and can work together or separate.
Oh I'm a huge fan. I figured mine out pretty quickly and things that bugged me I came to these boards and the FitBit user group and they set me straight. There seems to be an influx though of people who don't want to troubleshoot but would rather complain here, so I'm thinking maybe they are missing printed instructions in a box or something...2
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