Confused about FitBit (Charge HR) - MFP integration

[playethic]

Hi 

I have a new Charge HR.  I have been searching on the main FitBit site, in the 'navigating Charge HR' area,  and in forums as I know these are basic starter questions but I haven't been able to find answers in search. I have been using MyFitnessPal for a week or two.

On the FitBit site it says 'Start and stop exercise tracking on your Charge HR by holding down the button until it vibrates.If you track outdoor exercise with the Fitbit app, you can also get summaries of your pace, heart rate zones, and routes. To do this, open your app, go to Exercise, and then tap on the stopwatch icon.'
Are you supposed to tellFitBit every time you start a walk? But, I thought it tracked all steps during the day? I'm confused...

Second question is about the MFP integration...  I don't understand this?
'Record start times for all cardio exercises: In order for your Fitbit tracker to accurately calculate your calorie burn, you'll need to record a start time for all cardio exercises you log on MyFitnessPal. If you use a MyFitnessPal mobile app, make sure you update to the latest version so that you can record start times from the app as well.'
I don't get it. Are they saying I have to enter a start time on MFP every time I head out for a walk?

Thanks 

Lisa

[SuperStephSteph]

As long as you are entering your exercise in the Fitbit app myfitnesspal should give you a calorie adjustment for it. I normally only enter foods into MFP and only enter exercise into Fitbit. It's up to you how you want to log exercise though, personally I like to take the steps if I'm doing something like Zumba, or the eleptical, but if you are using a stationary bike or doing some other exercise that won't count your steps you'll need ot enter them manually. I know may people choose to log things like Zumba though. 

Right now MFP is having some back end issues to the steps aren't counting and adjusting for a lot of people at this moment. Personally I'm at around 6k steps today but MFP is saying that I took 19. On the boards for MFP it looks like a lot of people are having trouble, and yesterday MFP said it should take about 24-48 hours to fix, so I imagine in a couple days they shouldn't ben having troubles anymore. 

[Odyssey13]

@playethic  I moved your post to this area where you might get more responses about MFP.

Welcome to the forums.