New to FitBit - can anyone help with these basic questions please?

[Gravity17]

Hi,

Sorry for the long post in advance!

As per subject, new user to FitBit. Until now I have been a semi-happy user of Mio Fuse via RunKeeper & MyFitnessPal but wanted more functionality from the device itself (hence the Blaze).

What I had NOT counted on was that the FitBit would not integrate with Runkeeper as a HRM (my bad for not researching this, but RK/FB could have been clearer; RK say they integrated with BT HRM's; and FitBit could do more to integrate with other apps too - it is not an issue of technology it is one of Openness).

I used to track my exercise in RK and this would update MFP with calories and all was good.

With the FitBit, I have tried linking the various apps, but I cannot seem to replicate the SIMPLE behaviour I had above with the Mio Fuse.

MFP (when connecting to FB) seems to want me to track exercises via MFP - which negates the point of the FitBit app does it not?

Ideally I want to maintain, using both RK & MFP to some degree as they have several years of history.

I started an exercise today on the watch itself and via RK at the same time to compare results, and to try and simulate the simple behavior above. First off the results were wildly off  FB = 1.74 miles @ 250 cal / RK = 2.04 miles @ 218 cal). The calories could be because one app had access to the HRM data and the other didn't, but the distance is less obvious as they both used the GPS and track looks very similar....

Secondly, I charged the FitBit overnight, and when I woke up the app seems to think I have burnt off 750 calories - am I supposed to turn off the FitBit when charging to prevent it from tracking this info? I'm really only interested in tracking calories burnt during exercise.

Also the Blaze seems to continuously monitor my HR - does this not use the battery quicker? Is there a way to only turn on HR when an exercise is in progress? Seems you can turn it on and off in the settings but this is a bit more manual that I would have hoped.

Is there a way of logging/tracking an exercise and this data gets copied across to MFP (inc GPS data & Calories) and have this sync with MFP as an exercise with calories? 

Are there ANY apps similar to RK that can use the FitBit HRM in realtime?

I guess FitBit is trying to do more than I want it to do, in essence all I want to use it for is as a HRM, I am less interested in steps, distance, calories expended outside of exercise. I am willing to live with the extra info IF I can achieve what I am trying to do.

I REALLY want to love the Blaze, but so far I am not convinced - though open to being convinced.

Any help or advice gratefully received - again sorry for the long post.

Cheers!

[SebringDon]

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@Gravity17 wrote:

...

I charged the FitBit overnight, and when I woke up the app seems to think I have burnt off 750 calories - am I supposed to turn off the FitBit when charging to prevent it from tracking this info? I'm really only interested in tracking calories burnt during exercise.

Also the Blaze seems to continuously monitor my HR - does this not use the battery quicker? Is there a way to only turn on HR when an exercise is in progress? Seems you can turn it on and off in the settings but this is a bit more manual that I would have hoped.

 ... 

I guess FitBit is trying to do more than I want it to do, in essence all I want to use it for is as a HRM, I am less interested in steps, distance, calories expended outside of exercise. I am willing to live with the extra info IF I can achieve what I am trying to do.

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I can address this part of your post. Fitbit is indeed doing much more than you want it to do. The Fitbit ecosystem is built around all-day tracking, and it's built that way for a critical reason.

Your daily calorie burn includes both your activity calorie burn and your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, which is the calories your body burns each day for maintenance; keeping your heart pumping, breathing, digesting food and the like. Your BMR is based on your height, weight, age and gender.

If you don't include your BMR in your daily calorie burn, there's no way to accurately calculate the amount of food you should eat each day to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

As you are active throughout the day, you'll burn additional calories from that activity. Fitbit's food plan calculates your Daily Calorie Estimate by combining both those calorie burns and adjusting that number based on how fast you want to lose weight. If you're not trying to lose weight, all that information still does a much better job of informing you about your health and fitness than just tracking "exercise" periods.

If all you want is HRM during specific exercises, a chest strap is the best way to do that. However, you're shortchanging your overall health picture if you're not taking "non-exercise" activity into account. Here's an example.

See that rack of green bars all together around 8AM? That was my "exercise" period for the day. But look at all my other calorie burn activity during the day. If I ignore all that burn, I don't have a very good picture of my "exercise," do I? By taking a 24/7 approach to fitness and health, you can do a lot more for yourself than just tracking specific exercise periods.

That said, Fitbit also has great tools for tracking specific exercise periods. I recommend this article for a good overview of the options.

Hope this helps!

[Gravity17]

Thank you so much for your comprehensive reply - that does help me to understand why FitBit is logging that info.

I see what you mean about having the whole picture, and I can see how that would help.

I've been exercising for a good while now using a combination of RunKeeper and MyFitness' with an HRM and achieving excellent results in improving my overall fitness and losing weight (my ultimate aim) so to date have not missed the additional information that FitBit provides (I guess you cannot miss what you never had).

I think had I been as invested to the FitBit ecosystem from the start it would not be a problem for me. The issue is I have a fair few years of history invested in both MFP and RK and I am loathe to lose this.

I do think there is a scenario where FitBit could co-exist with the apps above and indeed add a great deal to my exercise regime, however the integration coming FROM FitBit does not seem to be as 'Open' as other providers so I think I may need to rethink the Blaze at this time.

That said I wanted to say thanks for taking the time to reply, and clearing up some of my questions!

[SebringDon]

@Gravity17

Have you seen this help article about integrating your Fitbit with MyFitnessPal? And there's also this help article about doing the same with RunKeeper. Finally, you may want to explore the Third Party Integrations forum, where you can find more in-depth help from people actually using those applications and integrations.

Oh, and FWIW, I've had great success integrating Endomondo and Fitbit. I end up with maps of routes and personal bests in Endomondo, and activity time, heartrate and calorie burn passed back to Fitbit and seamlessly integrated into my activity reports and calorie burn/allowance.

Hope this helps!

[Gravity17]

I had not seen those articles and will take a look now - thanks so much! I so want to love the Blaze!

I'll check out Endmondo too!

Thanks again, really helpful and friendly community here - it is very much appreciated! 🙂