Fitbit-Health Connect: Nutrition and Calories

[chris_in_cal]

I use an unnamed app where I can add my daily meals. This app is sync'd with Health Connect.  In Health Connect, I see this "Nutrition" data.  It has calories and a whole bunch of other macros and food stuff. All the info makes it to Health Connect and it is in there daily.

I have an Android phone and a Pixel Watch 3. Health Connect is connected and syncs with my Fitbit(Google) account.

In the Fitbit app the "Nutrition" section is always zero...why doesn't it sync the nutrition data from Health Connect.

To maximize my chances of this working, I have all of the apps unlocked to share/read/write everything. Another piece is that my Fitbit Steps/Activities all go to Health Connect, and from Health Connect they sync over to the food app.  So as the middleman Health Connect is getting all the food from the one app, and all the activities and steps from Fitbit.   Health Connect to the food app works two ways...both read and write.

Health Connect to Fitbit doesn't show my food and nutrition data.   

Has Fitbit restricted reading nutrition data from Health Connect, or is my set up broken. (for you distractable ones I waited until here to say the app is MFP, and that is not the issue I'm writing about here.)

[chris_in_cal · Accepted solution]

In the Fitbit App:

APPS-HEALTH CONNECT-HEALTH CONNECT ON TODAY-SHOW DATA FROM HEALTH CONNECT section it says:

If you give Fitbit permission to read data, the Today tab can show the following data from Health Connect:

• Steps
• Distance
• Floors
• Exercise 
• Energy Burned

Therefore it looks like taking in Calories from Health Connect and displaying them in Fitbit isn't supported.

Fitbit is kind of broken this way, or at least it should support reading this data type from Health Connect.

[chris_in_cal]

As Fitbit does not take calories from Health Connect, I experimented with the Fitbit food tracking area.

As hundreds of other posters have noted the App "Food" area is cumbersome and limited. I guess there used to be a much smarter and more usable Fitbit Food tracking web interface that's deprecated.  The App is not currently a compelling replacement for other food tracking options.

Fitbit should either allow the importation of the food and nutrition data type from Health Connect, or make their App's food manual entry are significantly more functional. 

[jlaureano0615]

Just signed up for MFP assuming calories would integrate with the Fitbit Today tab.  That's frustrating but what's even more frustrating is that the Fitbit app is pulling in the data from Health Connect.  In the 'You' menu (bottom right) -> Health Connect data, scroll down to 'Nutrition' and there is the data from MFP.  If the Fitbit app is reading it, why can't it be displayed in the 'Today' tab?

[chris_in_cal]

Exactly! Fitbit/Health Connect don't sync calories?  What the heck.

[chris_in_cal]

My process is a little different but I get the same result.   "Nutrition" aka calorie data does show up in Health Connect. The Fitbit app Today tab does not properly read and display this data, it is not accounted for.  C'mon. If I'm logging my calories and sync'ing it, please display that data in my home page.

--This on the Android App--

1. Open Fitbit app
2. Tap "You" tab
3. Under Records, tap "Health Connect data"
4. Under the Nutrition label, tap "Nutrition - No data - Today"
5. Top the top right Hamburger button to edit
6. Under the Settings label, tap "Manage data & access"
7. Under the Permissions and data label, tap "Data and access"
8. Under the Browse data label, tap "Nutrition"
9. Tap "Nutrition"
10. Under the Manage data label, tap "See all entries"

Et viola! - it is a page with calories and dozens and dozens of other nutrition data: total fats, total carb, etc. that successfully sync'd over from my calories counting app.

When going back to the Fitbit app "Today" tab, down at the bottom is the Nutrition label, and it reads "Food  0 cal Today - 1795 below target"

Fitbit, this is broken.