Fitbit opinions

Charlotte_0410
Charlotte_0410 Posts: 12 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
Who uses one and has it helped you loose weight?

I have one.. debating using it with mfp.

If my fitbit gives me more calories at the end of the day as I'm more active then what I put into mfp shall I eat these calories back?

Ie, I've put in I'm sedentary and gives me 1360 calories a day.. but my fitbit says I've done x number of extra steps and has given me an extra 250 calories.. for an example

Does anyone do this now and it works?

Thanks xxx

Replies

  • kristinhowell
    kristinhowell Posts: 139 Member
    edited March 2017
    I use Fitbit. And I connect it here. And I eat back most or all of my calories. You have to fuel your body as you're expending energy. If you're not being sedentary, don't eat like you are. It'll be more sustainable and will help you in the long run.

    I let it track my activity and I'll plan my day on what my normal calorie goal is, then have a snack at the end of the night for what calories I've earned. I'm set to active, but I can earn 400-600 more calories from activity. the bigger the deficit you're eating at, whether for half a pound loss or two pound loss a week, the more you need to eat back of those calories.

    ETA: I love my Fitbit. I have the Charge 2, and I find the HR is pretty accurate, giving me accurate burns. If you don't use a HR Fitbit, maybe eat back a little less than all the calories it gives you. Find what works for you and keeps you from being super hungry, because you need those calories.
  • hmhall85
    hmhall85 Posts: 22 Member
    I use a Fitbit Charge 2. I have it linked with my MFP account. Some days I consume my "extra" calories, other days I do not. It really depends upon how hungry I get. When I work hard, I'm a bit more hungry than on my days off. My goal is to stay at the 1500 recommended by MFP.

    When I began my lifestyle change, I used MFP only. Logging calories helped, but tracking my exercise was frustrating. The Fitbit helped reduce that frustration.

    Where my Fitbit has really helped me is with my workouts. I track the cardio portion of my weight training. I also use it to confirm my calorie burn and track heart rate during my treadmill times. By monitoring my heart rate as measured by my Fitbit, I am getting a more efficient workout (I think). My check-in numbers seem to confirm this.

    Another really encouraging benefit of my Fitbit is tracking my activity on the weekends. Weekends are reserved for those chores I can't get done during the week. Seeing the fat burn numbers, the number of steps I take, and the exercise credit I get for just doing my normal things is a real morale booster!

    I've found the combination of MFP and my Fitbit an effective combination. I really began to notice changes when I began using the two together.
  • Ming1951
    Ming1951 Posts: 514 Member
    I too have a fitbit charge 2, but as I am sedentary on many days in between I do not eat back my calories. I also have it linked to mfp so I know if I am having a particular bad day and want to snack I can allow myself to eat back 1/2 the calories burnt.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited March 2017
    I have always had a fitbit and I adore it. You don't realize how lazy you've been until you look at that thing sometimes. Days I feel "aren't that much different" than days I walk for 15 minutes on breaks and park far etc. I can have a diff in TDEE of 300 cals. Kind of a big deal on a cut.
  • pupntot
    pupntot Posts: 25 Member
    I also have a charge 2. One strange thing I've notice over the last 2/3 weeks is that my MFP remaining calls were always less than my remaining Fitbit cals, they got closer together as the day went on but MFP was noticeably less over a week.

    Now though, they've swapped over. I've changed nothing on my settings, not even my weight. I'm always over my cals on my Fitbit but still within my limit on MFP.

    Is it just me?
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Fitbit. I credit it for opening my eyes to just how sluggish I was, and how much that played a part in my weight gain and inability to lose weight consistently. For me, it was important to address the CO part of the CI CO equation, and not JUST focus on the CI.

    I do sync with MFP, as I like logging food here. I look to my Fitbit for my TDEE and eat accordingly. When I first reached maintenance I found that if I ate under what the Fitbit said I burned, I continued to lose weight. Now I'm on the verge of being back in maintenance again (after re-losing ~10-12 pounds I put on in 2016) and intend to leave a buffer of 50-100 calories a day once I get there, as I am now using a HR style Fitbit. Will take some time/data to determine if I need that buffer.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited March 2017
    pupntot wrote: »
    I also have a charge 2. One strange thing I've notice over the last 2/3 weeks is that my MFP remaining calls were always less than my remaining Fitbit cals, they got closer together as the day went on but MFP was noticeably less over a week.

    Now though, they've swapped over. I've changed nothing on my settings, not even my weight. I'm always over my cals on my Fitbit but still within my limit on MFP.

    Is it just me?

    If you're talking about during the day, it is typical to sync and have MFP say you have more remaining than Fitbit says you have remaining. Fitbit awards calories as you earn them, and assumes BMR for the rest of the day that has not happened yet. MFP takes your activity level, and assumes you will burn a steady rate every hour. Like my #s: MFP assumes approximately I will burn 1800 per day or 75 per hour. But if I sync at 9pm, and I'm 'done' for the day: I am not going to burn 75/hour from 9pm-midnight. I'll burn about my BMR which is 52/hour. So when I wake up in the morning, I will have lost the difference, about 23 x 3 hours. But at 9pm if Fitbit says I have 50 calories left, it is not expecting me to be active for the rest of the night. So that value will not drop.
  • shawnt85
    shawnt85 Posts: 24 Member
    I use to have my fitbit synced with MFP but I felt like it was giving me too many "extra' calories. I have been trying to get in 10K steps a day and I workout 3 days a week. I've started manually adding my workout calories to MFP and eating half of those but I felt like the extra calories I got from my 10k were too much.

    Do you all eat the calories gained from just walking around through out the day?
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    My wife and I both have fitbit ones and my daughter has fitbit zip and it helps us because we have competitions and it keeps us all moving trying to beat the other person. Even if you dont win the competition you still win because you were more active.
  • pacingoamy
    pacingoamy Posts: 78 Member
    I have a Fitbit Surge because I like the GPS & heartrate options. I link it directly to MFP and, while I am not tied to it, I try to be cognizant of eating back about half of the calories I 'earn'. Sometimes I eat more, sometimes I less. This method has made ME feel in control in that if I am hungry, I eat my calories back. If I am not, then I usually don't unless I am WAY under (because I have learned that just makes me hungry the next day).

    The counting of calories by FitBit has been key to me losing weight more successfully than any other period. Managing, weighing and understanding what I am eating has already been a huge adjustment to my busy life so the calculating of active calories has been a real blessing.
  • kristinhowell
    kristinhowell Posts: 139 Member
    edited March 2017
    shawnt85 wrote: »
    I use to have my fitbit synced with MFP but I felt like it was giving me too many "extra' calories. I have been trying to get in 10K steps a day and I workout 3 days a week. I've started manually adding my workout calories to MFP and eating half of those but I felt like the extra calories I got from my 10k were too much.

    Do you all eat the calories gained from just walking around through out the day?

    Yep! You're burning calories from all that movement. If I don't eat my exercise calories, after a few days, I'm STARVING. Some days I'm not as hungry and I won't eat all of them, and other days I'm not quite as active and my calorie goal won't change much (I'm already set to active), but I've never had a problem losing weight while eating back all or most of my exercise calories. Of course, I didn't lose the weight in 3 months, but it was consistent and sustainable. (And now it's working again to lose the rest of this weight I've held on to for way too long :) )
  • Butts_Boys_and_Burgers_ohmy
    Butts_Boys_and_Burgers_ohmy Posts: 83 Member
    I have a Fitbit Charge 2. I have it linked to my MFP account, but I rarely eat back my exercise calories because I work a desk job and also have a long commute so I am pretty sedentary most of the day.

    For me, the Fitbit is just another tool in my toolbox and it only works if I do. I say experiment and find what works for you :smiley:
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
    I have a Charge 2 and love it. I do not have it linked to MFP as my fitbit overestimates calories just a bit (~20-30 calories/day). I just track my calories on MFP but keep an eye on my fitbit to see if I've earned extra calories.
  • Jalexander33
    Jalexander33 Posts: 52 Member
    I use a Fitbit Charge HR. It's ok I am really hard on mine though. It's falling apart from the physical abuse I put this thing through.
    What I like about the Fitbit is the fact it tracks my steps and takes the guess work out for me. Tracking steps climbed is a plus. It's a watch so that's helpful too.

    I am indifferent about trusting the "Calories Burned" data it provides.

    However, I would recommend someone getting a Fitbit or another device that can track Heart Rate, steps, etc.
  • cabstar69
    cabstar69 Posts: 4 Member
    I have a Fitbit blaze which looks like a normal watch which I really like. I have it linked to MFP but for me the main attraction is the competitiveness with fellow users. I have a desk job and Fitbit reminds me to get up and remind me I'm competing against others. This has helped me lose over thirty pounds since I started in December 2016 which may not sound a lot given the timescale but I'm now in a happy place and have nearly reversed my type 2 diabetes. Fitbit and MFP have possibly saved my life :-)
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
    I also have the Fitbit Charge 2 and sync it with MFP. I eat back 1/3 to 1/2 the calories depending on how I feel and how much weight training I did (more weights = more calories to rebuild). Seems to be working pretty well for me as I am down 15lbs+
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I found any activity tracker motivated me to move more...I didn't think they would and put off buying one for a year...

    I finally did get one...haven't looked back and just keep upgrading to better and better ones.
  • Tunesey
    Tunesey Posts: 2 Member
    I am not at all a techie person :/ how does one link their Fitbit with MFP? I have the charge HR.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    I started with the Charge HR in July 2015. I feel like it was such an asset in bringing me from 139 pounds to 108 pounds. Eventually I decided to put on a few pounds as I never intended for my weight to get that low. When I first started using it, I only ate up to 50% of my calories back and was okay since I had more bodyfat. As I grew leaner, I had to eat more back and eventually all of them. I've been maintaining between 111 and 115 pounds for over a year.

    I upgraded to the Charge 2 when it came out and I love that even more. Fitbit actually underestimated my TDEE a bit. I now have the Fitbit unlinked from MFP for my own health and sanity. I have to eat more food than it says but it's hard for me to get past the mentality of staying in the green no matter how much my data differs but it's my own personal issue that I need to get past and not due to my Fitbit.
  • Charlotte_0410
    Charlotte_0410 Posts: 12 Member
    Thank you all very interesting. I do about 8000 steps on average a day..

    And for my sedentary setting it was giving me about an extra 300cals a day bringing my total cals up to around 1600. Which I'm taking is 500cals less then my TDEE as my loss is set to 1lb week.

    My fitbit is a fitbit flex without a hr so worried it might of be over estiming my steps/cals burnt xx
  • Squish815
    Squish815 Posts: 150 Member
    I had a Zip and I now have and Alta. I've found they're great motivation for moving more - especially at the start when I realised how little I was moving and then again when I started challenges against friends.

    I've always used them along with MFP and sometimes I eat all the calories back, sometimes I don't but I mostly eat into around half of what it says I have burned.

    I should probably look in to it a bit more to see how accurate it is, but it's worked for me well over the last 2 years!
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I enjoy my fit bit for both tracking activity level and sleep tracking. I also enjoy challenges. Will it make you lose weight, No. Is it a fun toy, kind of.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Tunesey wrote: »
    I am not at all a techie person :/ how does one link their Fitbit with MFP? I have the charge HR.

    On your fitbit app go to your account area and scroll down to find compatible apps...find it there and sync them.

    On MFP App go to your menu and find "steps" and make sure fitbit is checked off....in the same area find "apps" and devices and make sure under connected you see the fitbit symbol.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
    MFP give me about 400-500 more calories than my fitbit does because of the sync. Some days I eat them back, some days I don't - for example, yesterday I had around 1580 calories, MFP says I had 200 more to eat based of the feedback from fitbit, Fitbit says I ate over by 122. I figure as long as I'm somewhere in between I'm good because I have my fitbit set to 2 lb loss anyway.

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