Fitbit and activity
nooshi713
Posts: 4,877 Member
Hi everyone,
For years I have used a fitbit zip to monitor my daily steps. A few months ago I switched to an Inspire model worn on the wrist. Nothing has changed with my routine or activity but my new fitbit shows only 2000-3000 steps daily despite my daily activities and a 30 min walk. My other device used to show 5000-7000 with the same activity. I can’t understand why the devices would register such a different amount. Has this happened to anyone else?
I would think a newer model would be more accurate. The zip was worn on the hip and the newer model is like a watch. I’m constantly moving and doing chores and caring for my 1 year old on top of a daily walk, so I would think I would earn more than 2000 steps a day…..
Hoping someone can weigh in on this please.
For years I have used a fitbit zip to monitor my daily steps. A few months ago I switched to an Inspire model worn on the wrist. Nothing has changed with my routine or activity but my new fitbit shows only 2000-3000 steps daily despite my daily activities and a 30 min walk. My other device used to show 5000-7000 with the same activity. I can’t understand why the devices would register such a different amount. Has this happened to anyone else?
I would think a newer model would be more accurate. The zip was worn on the hip and the newer model is like a watch. I’m constantly moving and doing chores and caring for my 1 year old on top of a daily walk, so I would think I would earn more than 2000 steps a day…..
Hoping someone can weigh in on this please.
4
Replies
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Where you wore the zip vs how often you swung your Inspire wearing arm, maybe?
Or maybe it just needs to learn you.
The only truly accurate fitbit for me was the classic. Wth each upgrade it totally overestimated my purposeful exercise calories.0 -
I noticed with wearing Fitbit on the wrist that if i used a bike that it didn’t register everything where the bike registers for my mother who wears one on her hip0
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If you wear it on your wrist it is counting the number of times you swing your arm. If you are doing something with your arm, like pushing a stroller or grocery cart or holding a baby or carrying a box it won't count those steps. Also, if you are a person who just doesn't swing their arms much when they walk it'll count fewer steps.
My husband swings his arms a lot more than I do, so if we go on a hike or walk together he always ends up with way more steps than me despite us taking the same number of actual steps. If the zip was worn on the hip that placement was likely far more accurate, picking up steps taken when you are doing something with your arms, whereas the one worn on the wrist misses steps taken when you are doing something with your arms.0 -
Those numbers sound low. Assuming your 30-min walk is at 20mmi, you are walking 1.5 miles, is at least 3000 steps. (If you walk it more slowly it could be less.)
In general, Fitbit sets the standard for step accuracy. I can't remember if you can look at the display and watch the step count change, but that would be the way to convince yourself it's working. You can manually count your steps for some period while walking and verify the difference on the device. It should be accurate.
It is possible to get a faulty Fitbit, but the company is very nice about replacing it, if that happens in the first year.
Best of luck!1 -
Thanks for your input. I did buy a device that allows me to wear the new fitbit on the hip as well. I’m going to try it and see if anything changes.4
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Soft carpeted steps may go uncounted
Setting as worn on dominant hand in settings makes it less sensitive
Short bursts of activity say one to six or seven steps and then pause may go uncounted. This guards against bus shaking, pot hole driving or hand waving steps
@nooshi713 have you not been mentioning for years that your Fitbit has been overestimating your calories? Maybe it is currently more accurate for you and your needs on an overall basis even if the steps are not 100% correct?0 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Those numbers sound low. Assuming your 30-min walk is at 20mmi, you are walking 1.5 miles, is at least 3000 steps. (If you walk it more slowly it could be less.)
In general, Fitbit sets the standard for step accuracy. I can't remember if you can look at the display and watch the step count change, but that would be the way to convince yourself it's working. You can manually count your steps for some period while walking and verify the difference on the device. It should be accurate.
It is possible to get a faulty Fitbit, but the company is very nice about replacing it, if that happens in the first year.
Best of luck!
Try that. Take note of the number of steps at start, walk and count exactly 100 steps, make sure it has added 100.
The device does seem to take about a week to "learn" you, but I'm basing that on the Charge models which also measure HR.
I find mine have been quite accurate and even count steps when my arm is quite still i.e. carrying a water bottle or umbrella, holding my jacket closed.0 -
Soft carpeted steps may go uncounted
Setting as worn on dominant hand in settings makes it less sensitive
Short bursts of activity say one to six or seven steps and then pause may go uncounted. This guards against bus shaking, pot hole driving or hand waving steps
@nooshi713 have you not been mentioning for years that your Fitbit has been overestimating your calories? Maybe it is currently more accurate for you and your needs on an overall basis even if the steps are not 100% correct?
No, with my zip the calories seemed pretty accurate but MyFitnessPal seems to overestimate my needs slightly. I found that I burn a bit less than expected for activity, size, weight, etc. I have a feeling that is because my muscle mass is not the greatest. Not sure though. I only noticed this sudden change when changing fitbit models.
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Hmmm I might try that just to see. Thanks.Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Those numbers sound low. Assuming your 30-min walk is at 20mmi, you are walking 1.5 miles, is at least 3000 steps. (If you walk it more slowly it could be less.)
In general, Fitbit sets the standard for step accuracy. I can't remember if you can look at the display and watch the step count change, but that would be the way to convince yourself it's working. You can manually count your steps for some period while walking and verify the difference on the device. It should be accurate.
It is possible to get a faulty Fitbit, but the company is very nice about replacing it, if that happens in the first year.
Best of luck!
Try that. Take note of the number of steps at start, walk and count exactly 100 steps, make sure it has added 100.
The device does seem to take about a week to "learn" you, but I'm basing that on the Charge models which also measure HR.
I find mine have been quite accurate and even count steps when my arm is quite still i.e. carrying a water bottle or umbrella, holding my jacket closed.
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Does your Inspire track active minutes? You might consider using that feature as a goal to monitor your activity rather than steps. You didn't have that option with the zip but that might be an option for you with the Inspire. It might only give active minutes after 10 minutes but your 30 minute walk should certainly get recorded.0
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I finally switched to the little hip device that came with my Fitbit and obtained some data with it. With the same daily routine, my hip counter clocks me at 10,000+ steps every day. When I wear it as a watch I’m getting 5,000-6000 a day. Maybe my arm isn’t swinging and counting the steps properly? Not sure. It is a dramatic difference just based on how I wear the device. Double. I just found this interesting and thought I would post an update.2
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I highly prefer the clip-on Fitbit style and was so sad when they discontinued the One. The wrist counts don’t seems as accurate to me. I have an Apple Watch now, and while many features are great it doesn’t have great functionality with MFP. Sad!1
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Wild guess here as we don't know what distance you walked and how tall you are . In order to get say... 5000 steps on a walk you probably have to do walk close to 3-3.5km, or 1.8-2.2miles. I'm not imperial, thus sticking to meters here. 3-3.5km in 30 minutes comes down to a speed of 6-7km/h (3.7-4.3m/h), which is fairly brisk. Does that sound realistic for what you're doing?
How much are you moving during the course of the day, and how? I could imagine that some devices might not count taking little steps in the kitchen while doing something with your hands on the worktop. At the same time i could image that a clip on device might swing around more when walking and overcount steps. Another idea: Your fitbit should create maps of your walk, right? How long is it this walk? Or can you create a route in google maps and find out the distance this way?0 -
Wild guess here as we don't know what distance you walked and how tall you are . In order to get say... 5000 steps on a walk you probably have to do walk close to 3-3.5km, or 1.8-2.2miles. I'm not imperial, thus sticking to meters here. 3-3.5km in 30 minutes comes down to a speed of 6-7km/h (3.7-4.3m/h), which is fairly brisk. Does that sound realistic for what you're doing?
How much are you moving during the course of the day, and how? I could imagine that some devices might not count taking little steps in the kitchen while doing something with your hands on the worktop. At the same time i could image that a clip on device might swing around more when walking and overcount steps. Another idea: Your fitbit should create maps of your walk, right? How long is it this walk? Or can you create a route in google maps and find out the distance this way?
I have not tried to map my walk. Not sure how I would do this. I am 5’ tall and my steps are shorter than average. If I had to guess my walking speed it would be 3 mph. Usually when I’m walking I’m pushing the stroller so my arm isn’t swinging. I’m doing housework or working at the hospital otherwise. I’m up and down.
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Pushing the stroller is the likely issue with your steps counts using wrist versus hip devices.
I know for sure that pushing a supermarket trolley prevents the steps counting, unless I’m walking fast and with no pauses to pick stuff from the shelves.
I think it also depends on your gait. Whether you walk with a bounce in your step or more smoothly. My Fitbit can detect steps even when I’m carrying something so not swinging that arm as long as I’m walking ‘with purpose’ but not so well if I’m strolling at a slower pace.
For reference I’m the same height and obviously also have a shorter stride length than ‘average’ and I walk at a 3.8 mph pace.
You can map a walk via the Fitbit App. Click on the ‘Track Your Exercise’ section on the dashboard, then select the tiny clock icon then ‘start’. Swiping left on the tracking screen will show you a real time map. You’ll also see the full map once you finish the activity on your dashboard.1 -
BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »Pushing the stroller is the likely issue with your steps counts using wrist versus hip devices.
I know for sure that pushing a supermarket trolley prevents the steps counting, unless I’m walking fast and with no pauses to pick stuff from the shelves.
I think it also depends on your gait. Whether you walk with a bounce in your step or more smoothly. My Fitbit can detect steps even when I’m carrying something so not swinging that arm as long as I’m walking ‘with purpose’ but not so well if I’m strolling at a slower pace.
For reference I’m the same height and obviously also have a shorter stride length than ‘average’ and I walk at a 3.8 mph pace.
You can map a walk via the Fitbit App. Click on the ‘Track Your Exercise’ section on the dashboard, then select the tiny clock icon then ‘start’. Swiping left on the tracking screen will show you a real time map. You’ll also see the full map once you finish the activity on your dashboard.
Thanks. I went to try to do this. There is no “Track Your Exercise” or anything similar in my Fitbit dashboard. I’m using the app on my iPhone.
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Must be the difference between the Inspire and my Fitbit Luxe I guess. I think I assumed all Fitbit Dashboards would be more or less the same. 🤔
I guess if your Fitbit doesn’t have some form of GPS capability it won’t track in the way I thought.
I’ve only vaguely played with the MapMyWalk App, but I imagine you could figure out how to track a walk using that.0 -
@BarbaraHelen2013 I have an inspire and didn't know it had that feature. You click on the box that you show, and then on the next screen click on the little stopwatch. Thanks for the info!0
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Oh glad to have helped!
Makes a change for this old(ish) non tech savvy woman to be able to show how things work! 😂1 -
BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »Must be the difference between the Inspire and my Fitbit Luxe I guess. I think I assumed all Fitbit Dashboards would be more or less the same. 🤔
I guess if your Fitbit doesn’t have some form of GPS capability it won’t track in the way I thought.
I’ve only vaguely played with the MapMyWalk App, but I imagine you could figure out how to track a walk using that.
Oh, I do have that! Thank you. Found it. I was looking for the words “Track Your Exercise” and I’m not very tech savvy. I’m going to try this. Thanks again.1 -
Yes, I realised that it only says ‘Track Your Exercise’ at the start of the week, before it registers any activity. After that it just appears as shown in that screenshot!1
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BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »Yes, I realised that it only says ‘Track Your Exercise’ at the start of the week, before it registers any activity. After that it just appears as shown in that screenshot!
I can have a bit of tunnel vision and I’m not the best with technology. I’m just happy you pointed out the feature so I can try it out now. Thank you.0
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