Fitbit and logging exercise

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penny03681
penny03681 Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do i have to log my exercise into MFP even if I have a fitbit. Just don't want to double do anything??

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  • hereinmissouri
    hereinmissouri Posts: 11 Member
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    No! You log food in MyFitnessPal and exercise in Fitbit. Depending on your Fitbit and workout, it'll track it without you logging like a walk, run, cardio. If you have the 2 connected and you log in MyFitnessPal it'll double dip for it.
  • jcstesiak
    jcstesiak Posts: 1 Member
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    Here's my question, how does the step counter in the fitbit account for the type of exercise you are doing? Say climbing stairs or running a hill? That burns extra calories. If you log that in MFP you show more caloric burn, and if you look at Fitbit, it will show more caloric burn than what MFP gives you.

    I'm not understanding how a step counter can accurately guide your exercise when you exert more than just steps... Can someone from MFP help with this?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    jcstesiak wrote: »
    Here's my question, how does the step counter in the fitbit account for the type of exercise you are doing? Say climbing stairs or running a hill? That burns extra calories. If you log that in MFP you show more caloric burn, and if you look at Fitbit, it will show more caloric burn than what MFP gives you.

    I'm not understanding how a step counter can accurately guide your exercise when you exert more than just steps... Can someone from MFP help with this?

    Many Fitbits include a heart rate monitor, not just step tracking. The heart rate monitoring allows an estimate of how many calories are burned if you're doing things like climbing stairs or running uphill.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
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    jcstesiak wrote: »
    Here's my question, how does the step counter in the fitbit account for the type of exercise you are doing? Say climbing stairs or running a hill? That burns extra calories. If you log that in MFP you show more caloric burn, and if you look at Fitbit, it will show more caloric burn than what MFP gives you.

    I'm not understanding how a step counter can accurately guide your exercise when you exert more than just steps... Can someone from MFP help with this?

    Your Fitbit includes a number of sensors that measure the direction and speed of movement - and it may also include an altimeter to determine elevation changes. Also as noted, it may include a heart rate monitor.

    Your Fitbit is not just a pedometer that counts steps based on impact. It’s measuring movement in all directions and the speed of that movement then applying assorted algorithms to guess what kind of activity you’re doing and approximate your calories burn.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Duck_Puddle wrote: »
    jcstesiak wrote: »
    Here's my question, how does the step counter in the fitbit account for the type of exercise you are doing? Say climbing stairs or running a hill? That burns extra calories. If you log that in MFP you show more caloric burn, and if you look at Fitbit, it will show more caloric burn than what MFP gives you.

    I'm not understanding how a step counter can accurately guide your exercise when you exert more than just steps... Can someone from MFP help with this?

    Your Fitbit includes a number of sensors that measure the direction and speed of movement - and it may also include an altimeter to determine elevation changes. Also as noted, it may include a heart rate monitor.

    Your Fitbit is not just a pedometer that counts steps based on impact. It’s measuring movement in all directions and the speed of that movement then applying assorted algorithms to guess what kind of activity you’re doing and approximate your calories burn.

    Yes, my Fitbit can tell the difference between different types of exercises automatically (that is, it will log an elliptical workout differently than a run and it can tell the difference between a run and a walk). It's not 100% accurate, but overall I'm impressed with the accuracy.

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