About Dominique

@betpchem wrote: My best was about 50,000 in a day, and that took a while. I'm guessing that people doing 88,000 in a day are training for a marathon or they have jobs that keep them on their feet all day, such as a mailman or waiter.  No way people who are training for a marathon are running twice the distance of a marathon (which 88,000 steps basically are) in a day. And no mailman or waiter is ever going to get that kind of step count in the course of a working day, no matter how long and busy that day is. People who consistently get 80k+ steps a day, day after day, week after week, month after month, are just plain cheating. It is best to ignore them (I've unfriended such "friends").   I wish Fitbit changed the way steps manually logged (as opposed to steps derived from the tracker) are treated: at the moment, they are not taken into consideration for badges, but they do get into the cumulative 7-day count which is the basis for leaderboards and "competition" with friends. I'm sure some people would still find creative ways to have their tracker report crazily high step counts without actually walking, but this would probably reduce somehow the insane step counts some people claim to have.   Anyway, we should primarily be using our Fitbits for ourselves, to get fitter and healthier. Friendly "competition" against people who actually take steps is OK, blatant cheaters should be ignored. ... View more

@AussieRuns wrote: I've used my FitBit for about ten days and I can not believe the calories burned. They just seem outrageously high. Anyone else? Your profile as per Aug. 8 only shows step counts for four days (6436 steps on Jul 26, 3618 on Jul 29, 4285 on Aug. 1 and 8406 on Aug. 4). This is not much to draw conclusions. Have you used an online TDEE calculator like this one? The Mifflin-St Jeor formula (which I've been led to believe is what Fitbit uses) should give a TDEE pretty close to what you had on Jul 29 (day with least activity, as detected by your Fitbit), if you choose exercise level = couch potato. ... View more

Building muscle and losing weight are contradictory goals, as you need a calorie surplus for the former and a calorie deficit for the latter.   More important than the number of times a day you should eat are what to eat and how much. ... View more

@jav81has done it. You can read his story (complete with pictures) here. ... View more

This is an excellent idea! My Fitbit friend @Marcy recently visited me in Finland (all the way from Texas!) and we did a 20 km (12.4 miles) sight-seeing tour (walking) of central Helsinki last Sunday. I recorded it as a Runtastic activity so as to remember all the places we went to :   ... View more

Yes, there are several Bluetooth-based HRM's out there (you'd want a Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, device, provided you have a compatible smartphone, eg. a recent iPhone or Android). No, there isn't any easy way to have the HR data fed to your Fitbit account. The problem is that your Fitbit account isn't really designed to accommodate HR data in a useful way. You would therefore be better off using a third-party app like Runtastic, Digifit etc. to pair with your HRM and store your HR data on a per activity basis. ... View more

Your body needs fat, like all other macro-nutrients. You would want to favour "good" fats like those found in avocados, olive oil, nuts, fish etc. The less these products have been processed, the better. The exact quantity depends on many factors (your age, goals in terms of weight and body composition, exercise level etc.). ... View more

@Miyth wrote: I feel that I have the "what to eat" down, but I need to know more about the "when to eat what" part of it all. My understanding is that "when to eat what" doesn't matter that much, as long as you have the "what and how much to eat" right at the daily level. ... View more

I've used both the Polar H7 (chest-strap) and the Mio Alpha (watch) at the same time, and they gave identical results. It should normally be easy for women to get used to a chest-strap model, since it's not that different from wearing a bra. Note that the Mio Alpha (and assumably the newer Mio Link too, since it works the same way) needs to be worn pretty tight. Here is what my wrist looks like after I take it off:   ... View more

@carmensimpson wrote: I've been looking at heart rate monitors and don't know what I might need.  Can anyone suggest a good brand.  I want to be able to monitor my heart rate while I am using my One.  Do you want to monitor your HR in real time during your activities (in which case you would need a device with a display, eg. the combination of a chest-strap sensor and a watch), or do you want to record activities with an app on a smartphone (in which case a chest-strap sensor would be sufficient) and view HR data afterwards?   Polar makes good HRM's. The H7 is a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) compatible chest-strap that can transmit either to a Polar watch or to a compatible smartphone. You can get it for a bit more than 50 bucks on Amazon.   I like the Runtastic Pro app that runs on my Nexus 4 Android smartphone. I usually record activites at the same time on my Fitbit One and in Runtastic. Fitbit gives me steps, calories etc., while Runtastic gives me info on HR (average, max, split between zones), distances, routes etc. ... View more

@Colinm39: the Mio Sport appears to be an older model, as it's no longer mentioned on the company's site. It still appears to be available on Amazon, though. It's not that much more expensive than a good Polar chest-strap HRM. However, reviews on Amazon suggest it's not reliable if you are sweating, which would limit its usefulness in intense sport activities.   Mio has other wrist-mounted HRM's. I've been using the Mio Alpha for the past nine months and it's very reliable, including when I'm heavily sweating. I wasn't aware of it, but they appear to have a new model (Mio Link), which is basically a Mio Alpha without a display. In other words, you must use it with a compatible smartphone, whereas the Mio Alpha can be used standalone. There's a comparison of Alpha vs. Link on their site. If I were in the market for a new HRM, I'd definitely buy the Link, as it's half the price and I always use my Alpha connected to my smartphone. The Alpha and the Link use two powerful LED's in order to illuminate your veins/skin and read your HR from your blood stream.     ... View more

I've never understood the need for a "detox" or a "cleanse". So you fed on donuts, pizzas, potato chips, sodas and other junk. Then you start realizing this can't be good for you. If you start eating healthy and nutritious food (veggies, fresh fruits, as much unprocessed food as possible etc.) and drinking plain water, surely your body will eventually get rid of the bad ("toxic") stuff left from the junk you previously ate and drank, all by itself and without a detox, right? It's not like the bad stuff stays stuck in your body forever, in the some kind of closed-circuit. I'd rather spend my money on real, healthy food than on detoxes. ... View more

Sorry to say, but the mere name sounds like a scam to me. This impression is confirmed by the site's "visual proof" page and its "Before & After" photos and claims. Let's take "Herb", who allegedly "lost 35.9 pounds of body fat and built 11.9 pounds of solid muscle", all "in just 12 weeks". Let's assume he was 210 lbs and had 30% of body fat before starting this miraculous method. I believe these are realistic figures based on the "before" photo. He would have had 63 pounds of body fat and 147 pounds of lean mass. Now after following Dr. Dardell's revolutionary plan, he's got 63 - 35,9 = 27,1 pounds of body fat and 147 + 11,9 = 158,9 pounds of lean mass, for a total weight of 27,1 + 158,9 = 186 pounds. His "after" body fat is therefore 27,1 / 186 = 14,6%. So Herb, you've halved your body fat % in just 12 weeks, wow, I'm impressed. Another 12 weeks and your six-pack will make it to the cover of the next issue of Men's Health.   Anything that is too good to be true most likely isn't. Best results in fat loss, body transformation etc. are usually achieved slowly, but surely. ... View more

This is found in your Dashboard, FWIW:   This link illustrates with photos what various percentages look like for men and women. ... View more

Yes, this is what I'm doing nowadays, as you can see from my last 30 days:     My daily steps in May varied from 3,000 to 52,000. This is not a religion where some holy book states you have to get your 10,000 steps every single day. Besides, there's more to exercising than just steps. ... View more

@maxim1 wrote: There is a simple test which should be followed when purchasing scales, take 3 measurements consecutively, if you get different measurements each time, move on don't purchase. You may want to read this post about accuracy vs. consistency. ... View more

@SunsetRunner wrote: Yes same problem ...when I look at my steps graph it shows lots of green as I have walked on the treadmill. Green means very active minutes....well afterwalking 30 mins it shows very active minutes as 6 ...something terribly wrong...in the past it would show 25 mins very active if I walked 30 mins....don't know why it is misbehaving now?????? You didn't mention what Fitbit model you are using. The algorithm for very active minutes varies widely from one tracker to the other. The Fitbit One is the stingiest with VAM's: merely walking won't necessarily earn you VAM's for the entire period, you need to walk faster than a certain threshold. ... View more

I'm 174 cm (which would be 5' 8.5") and my running stride length is about 95 cm (37.4"). I'm therefore a bit taller than you, but my running stride is slightly shorter. It's not impossible: my legs may be shorter than yours (in relation to our torso), we may have different running styles (and speeds) etc.   ... View more

3.5 km is a relatively short distance. Today I jogged 2 x 8.2 km and I "only" burned less than 1000 calories:     If I had jogged 3.5 km, I would have burned about 215 calories. It's very easy to eat that amount of calories. As @SteveH said, you need to have a calorie deficit in order to lose weight.     ... View more

Body fat is typically synced from a supported scale (eg. Fitbit Aria or Withings Smart Scale), but you can also log it manually via www.fitbit.com/weight:     Note this is not tracker-specific: this involves your Fitbit account and will work with all trackers. ... View more

@CRredhead wrote: Looking for some friends with 30,000+ steps per day My job gives me 30,000 steps/day so I'm looking for some friends to motivate me to add on an extra 10,000 outside of work as I'm generally a competitive person 🙂 As far as I can see from your profile, you "only" got three days with more than 30k steps during the past 30 days. What kind of job do you have, if I may ask?   Anyway, here are a couple of Fitbitters with very high daily step counts:   https://www.fitbit.com/user/2FV7R3 https://www.fitbit.com/user/27K4TT   Just ask them to be your friend. ... View more

@CandyElektra wrote: Ideally I would like a constant log like the step counter does that syncs online. Does this Mia one calculate the pulse while actively moving and without being "asked"? The Mio Alpha is doing constant monitoring of your heart rate. If paired with a compatible smartphone and a suitable app, you can log HR data over a given period. Here is an example of a 50 minute run logged with the Runtastic Pro app on a Nexus 4 smartphone:   You can also get a split of the time spent in each time zone, as well as the average HR and maximum HR during that workout:     Runtastic will automatically upload that data to your online account. There's no syncing of HR data to your Fitbit account, however. Fitbit hasn't really be designed to accommodate comprehensive HR data.   ... View more

@TandemWalker wrote: So for those who like me don't trust the gym equipment HRM virtues and don't like to be strapped in, the Mio Alpha is an option. On the downside, that's all it does - HRM function and nothing else.  Another downside of the Mio Alpha is it costs three times as much as a good Polar chest-strap. ... View more

@josephz2va wrote: It's best to use a polar heart rate monitor as it's right on the chest. Hand pulses aren't always accurate as the Galaxy Fit has issues too. I confirm what @TandemWalker said about the Mio Alpha: it's just as reliable as a Polar H7 chest-strap. I know because I've used both at the same time. ... View more

Thanks, does exactly what I need! Will also be able to use it to cook my eggs and pasta   This YouTube video gave me a good idea of the way the app works. The video was made two years ago. One small difference is the current version is only available as a free app with ads, while the older version covered in the video could be upgraded to a paid app with no ads. No big deal, as I only need to watch the app when hitting the START button, so the ads don't really bother me. ... View more

@Ali wrote: I am one of those people that regularly does over 30,000 steps per day Vee and I don't have a walking job. People walk for different reasons. Mine is for bone health. Understanding this will hopefully curb some of these negative comments. The "negative" comments were about 300,000 steps per day, not 30,000.   30,000 is a lot, but it's perfectly doable/plausible. 300,000 just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. ... View more

It's impossible to say on the basis of the (scarce) information you provided. Most people get a Fitbit because they realize they get far less exercise than they should. If it's your case, start using the default step target set for you by Fitbit: 10,000 daily steps / 70,000 weekly steps. ... View more

My favorite veggies are spinach. I've found an inexpensive source of frozen spinach that are excellent. I can eat as much as I want and I never seem to get enough of them. Dead easy to prepare, very tasty and (assumably) healthy too. ... View more

@SunsetRunner wrote: well today I did it! I purchased the "One" lol I'm pretty excited about it! One thing you'll notice is you'll get far less Very Active Minutes (VAMs) for the same activity level with the One as with the Ultra. They clearly use different algorithms to calculate VAMs. ... View more

@markfftang wrote: I have seen many posts in challenges where people post well in excess of 300,000. However, I do doubt the veracity of quite some of these. Anyone with rudimentary calculus skills would see the numbers just don't add up. There are only so many steps a human being can take during one hour, and there are only so many hours in one day.   The world record in marathon is about 2 hours. The distance of a marathon is about 42,000 meters. Let's say the average stride length of the marathon record is 1 meter. He would therefore get 42k steps in two hours. In reality, his stride length is probably longer than that (top marathon runners tend to have long legs and therefore long strides), so he would get less than 42k steps in two hours. Assuming he would be running 12 marathons in a row at world record speed, he would get 42k x 12 = 504k steps in 24 hours. No one in the world can do this, not even half that amount.   I really don't understand why these people are fooling themselves this way.   ... View more

Mine was 53k, on April 19th. I did it in 6 separate bouts, 2 walking (briskly) and 4 running. Almost all my steps where between 8 am and 7 pm. Here is what my day looked like:     This makes me wonder what kind of jobs people who clock in 60k steps or more, day in, day out, have. I have a desk job and I'd only able to achieve such step counts during weekends or days off. ... View more

It's just that Fitbit trackers are designed to track primarily step-based activities. If you have a waist-mounted Fitbit (eg. One, Zip) and you move your hands very energically during your T25, it will not fully track that. Likewise, if you have a wrist-mounted Fitbit (Force, Flex), but are moving mostly other body parts during your T25, it won't fully track that either. For cardio activity that is mostly stationary, a HRM would probably give a better indication of the calories you burned.   Also see: https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/1020095-what-are-%22very-active-minutes%22- ... View more

I had to google PiYo, since I had never heard of it before. Turns out it's a combination of Pilates and yoga, brought to you by the Beachbody company, with the endorsement of a "celebrity fitness trainer". I supposed it's heavily promoted on American TV (I live in a European country with no exposure whatsoever to the Beachbody hype). Pilates and yoga are well-established forms of exercise, I'm not sure whether Beachbody and Chalene add any value to it. Based on the way they're promoting their stuff, I have a rather negative image of Beachbody, but that's just me. ... View more