How can I program my walking sessions?

[HataMadrid]

I wonder how and if I can program my Challenge HR for a specific start time for walking exercise. I just get the total of the day. I have the software and obviously the site too. I am very new to this and I don't have a smart phone so everything is done through the computer.

I also wonder why it tells me that I almost burn 1 calorie per step! I don't put in what I have eaten since I don't know how many calories each meal has.

In short, how do I get the most out of my FitBit?

Thank you

[WendyB]

II would take the time to read the Manual. It can answer many question's

http://help.fitbit.com/resource/manual_charge_hr_en_US

[HataMadrid]

Thanks. I'll try with that.

[bobbiPorpoise]

Really, you are gonna need a Smart Phone eventually. the platforms for the App are different frm the computer. the computer is driven to give you Data and the App is driven to help you create and or input the data.  As for the Calorie burn, it is determined by the amount of time you are Physically active. Calories are fuel for the body as Gas is fuel for a vehicle. When you move the car,it burns fuel. when you move your body, it burns calories. when your tank is 1/2 empty to empty, its time to Re Fuel. and be sure to drink plenti of H2O. that keeps your body from over heating as well. 

fyi- you can set an alarm from the app. to create a time you want to walk. when it buzzes,commence walking.

[HataMadrid]

The graphs are really strange. I don't understand how it can say that I've been in the fat brning zone for 8+ hours! I've hardly been awake for that long! The graphs are very confusing.
Yesterday I was in the fat burn zone for over 13 hours according to the graph. I wasn't even moving for that amount of time! f I'd beem in fat burn zones for that long every day, I would have reached my goal by now.

[A_Lurker]

I suspect your high resting heart rate has a lot to do with it.  For me (I'm 50) anything over 85 bpm registers as fat burning zone, anything over 119 bpm registers as cardio, and over 144 is peak.  My resting rate is in the mid to high 50s, so I do need to move quite a bit to bring up a sweat.  I wouldn't worry about the zones for the moment.  Exercise is important, however, controlling your food intake is the best way to your goal.

I thought there was a way to set your own zones, but I couldn't find it.  Perhaps someone else reading this knows how to do so.  You could simply set it higher (ie. walk steadily for 10-15 mins at a medium pace and see where your heart rate hits).

[A_Lurker]

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@bobbiPorpoise wrote:

Really, you are gonna need a Smart Phone eventually. the platforms for the App are different frm the computer.

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I'm not sure I really agree with this.  I have a smart phone but I almost never even bother to sync it.  I have a connector on my home computer, and one on my work computer.  I can check on where I am during the day, and look at what my projected calories are.  However, I could pretty much do most of that in my head. I burn roughly 80 calories an hour sleeping.  If I look at the watch and I've burned 1500 calories at 2pm I understand that if I do nothing else for the day I'll burn another 800 calories.  That's a really low number for me, so I would cut back on an afternoon snack.  However if I'm at say 2000 calories I'm having a decent day and I'll have a snack.  I aim for 3500 calories burned by midnight and I know unless I have a truly inactive day I can make it up after work.

[USAF-Larry]

@HataMadrid, Your high resting heart rate of 77 indicates that your level of fitness is pretty low and it does not take much movement to elevate your heart rate. That is why it is showing so much time in the Fat Burn Zone.  As you increase your exercise levels, your resting heart rate will become lower an it will take more exertion to raise your heart rate.

Since I got my Fitbit, and began a regular exercise program, my resting heart rate has decreased by 15 points, and it hasn't bottomed out yet. But, because of my increased fitness level, it is getting harder and harder to increase my heart rate during exercise into the Cardio level.

You can change settings of the heart rate zones, but you have to use the Fitbit Phone App to do so. In the Adroid app (I don't know about the iOS app), click on the rectangle to the left of "Dashboard", select Account, then click on the Settings Gear icon on the top right corner. Scroll down to Heart Rate Zones, where you can select to change "Custom Max Heart Rate" and/or "Custom Zone". At the bottom of that page, it describes what those zones mean.

[A_Lurker]

You can do the same on the computer, but like @USAF-Larry said it's only one zone that you can manually set.  It's under personal information.  I'd either ignore the numbers for the moment, or as I said, set your min heart rate based on activity.  I looked back and my resting heart rate when I first put on the charge hr was 77 and went as high as 89 before it started to come down.  It took more than 3 months before it was in the 60s (although I didn't start even looking at my weight loss in the first 2 months, and not seriously for 3 months).

[HataMadrid]

Thanks. Now it really makes sense. But do I burn fat when in that zone?

[USAF-Larry]

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@HataMadrid wrote:

Thanks. Now it really makes sense. But do I burn fat when in that zone?

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The simple answer is "yes", but the longer answer is "maybe".  You burn energy even when you are sleeping, and that energy may be fat or it may be stored carbs.The displayed calories burned is based on your BMR (which is calculated by the personal information you entered for age, sex, height, and weight) and your heart rate.

The key is that you want to burn more energy than you consume on a given day. So, if your Fitbit says you burned 1800 calories, and you consumed 2100 calories, you gained 300 calories that day, which did not "burn fat", but stored some. So, maybe you burned some fat, and maybe you didn't...The displayed heart rate is only part of the equation.