Linking / Unlinking Fitbit
What Syncs To and From Fitbit
Fitbit and MyFitnessPal are not Syncing
Getting Steps But No Fitbit Adjustment
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Linking / Unlinking Fitbit
How to Link Fitbit
How to Unlink Fitbit
Another account is already linked to this Fitbit
How to Link Fitbit
You can link your Fitbit account from our website, as well as from our Android and iOS apps.
Once you have registered your Fitbit tracker and created an account at fitbit.com:
On the Web, simply Log into www.myfitnesspal.com, then go to the "Apps" tab (or visit this link) and click "Connect Accounts", which should be directly above the "Buy" Option on the right hand side.
Or in our Android and iOS apps, launch the MyFitnessPal app and click on the Menu in the upper-left corner for Android, or click on More••• on iOS, then Scroll to "Apps & Devices", scroll down to Fitbit Tracker, then hit the blue "Connect" button. Once you select this, you will be taken to a page to re-sign into MyFitnessPal. Please use the same email/password you're using in the app.
If you are having an issue connecting within an app, simply connect via our website and the connection will transfer to the apps. To double check that the connection has been made, you can go to the website at www.MyFitnessPal.com, then go to the "Apps" tab. On that page you should see a list of your current connected apps, and Fitbit should now be one of them.
Please also note once the accounts have been connected, only future information will transfer over.
After you have linked your accounts go to the main menu on the app, then settings, then Steps, and put a check next to Fitbit. If you are on the website, you can select your step tracker here. This will then allow for your Fitbit steps to be shown along with your adjustment.
How to Unlink Fitbit
- Go to our main website at www.MyFitnessPal.com, then to the Apps tab, then find Fitbit on the right, click on it and then disconnect.
- Once disconnected, please wait 15 minutes
- Go back to www.MyFitnessPal.com website (not the Fitbit or MFP app) and relink your Fitbit device via the main Apps tab, or https://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30
- Once you have reconnected, go back to the Apps tab online and make sure Fitbit is now showing on the right hand side of the page under Your Apps
Another account is already linked to this Fitbit
If you receive the error message, Another account is already linked to this Fitbit, could you please send us your Fitbit ID? This will allow us to help you in the best way possible.
You can find your ID in the Fitbit app:
- Tap on the You option in the lower right of the app
- Tap on your name
- User ID can be found at the bottom of the screen
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What Syncs To and From Fitbit
We sync a wide variety of data between your Fitbit and MyFitnessPal accounts.
CALORIES EATEN
Whenever a users logs food on MFP, it will automatically be posted to Fitbit, where it will appear as a meal summary (not individual foods). Meal summaries will sync starting on the day the two accounts are linked. Historical meal data is not synced to Fitbit.
CARDIO EXERCISE
When a user logs their cardio exercise on MyFitnessPal, this information is synced to their Fitbit account. It's important to enter the start time of the cardio exercise, so that the data collected by Fitbit during the workout can be correctly reconciled with the exercise calories the user is logging.
WATER CONSUMPTION
Water consumption logged in MyFitnessPal will sync to the user’s Fitbit account. This sync only works in one direction, so the user must log water consumption in MyFitnessPal only for this to work.
FITBIT STEPS AND FITBIT SLEEP MINUTES
These items are synced to the user’s MyFitnessPal account and can be viewed at http://www.myfitnesspal.com by clicking "My Home" then "Check-In" on the website, or by reviewing the "Progress" area in the iOS or Android apps.
WEIGHT
Weight entries logged in Fitbit or in MyFitnessPal will sync to the other account.
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Fitbit and MyFitnessPal are not Syncing
Verify your Fitbit and MyFitnessPal Accounts are Linked
Verify that your Fitbit watch/app is syncing with the Fitbit app
Still Not Syncing?
Verify Your Fitbit and MyFitnessPal Accounts Are Linked
First, make sure MyFitnessPal and Fitbit have successfully connected. You can verify the connection on our full website at https://www.myfitnesspal.com . Once you are logged in to the site, click the main "Apps" tab. On the right-hand edge of that page you should see "Your Apps" and underneath, Fitbit should be listed. If Fitbit is not showing in Your Apps, click on Fitbit in the list of partner apps, and click the "Connect" option.
Verify that your Fitbit watch/app is syncing with the Fitbit app
The next thing we'll need to determine is whether the sync issue is occurring between your FitBit or MyFitnessPal.
The key thing to note is that once your FitBit data reaches Fitbit.com (not your Fitbit app), it should update the MyFitnessPal site within fifteen minutes.
The first question is, does your FitBit successfully upload its data to the FitBit app? If not, you would need to try contacting them first.
If your data is getting to the Fitbit app but then not syncing from there to MyFitnessPal, we'll be able to look into that from our end of things.
Here's how we can test for where the process is interrupted.
On the Fitbit app, you should be able to pull down from the top on the home page, which should prompt a sync. You can verify this by selecting the icon in the upper right hand corner of the iPhone and Android app.
If you are unable to sync your Fitbit device to the Fitbit dashboard, please contact Fitbit support directly at https://help.fitbit.com/
If the sync on the Fitbit is recent, you can verify the sync has occurred by comparing your last Fitbit dashboard information to that shown in the adjustment explanation. Under the Fitbit Calories Burned, you should see in parenthesis "based on x amount of calories at x time". It is that information that should match your last Fitbit dashboard sync.
Still Not Syncing?
If you do not see any line for Fitbit, or any number including a zero in the adjustment area, then there may still be a problem. If you've already waited a few hours, you can then try following relinking steps to see if they help.
- Go to our main website at www.MyFitnessPal.com, then to the Apps tab, then find Fitbit on the right, click on it and then disconnect.
- Next, log into your Fitbit account at www.fitbit.com, click the gear icon, then settings, next click Applications, then Click the blue 'Revoke Access' button and revoke access for MyFitnessPal
- It's important to make sure Fitbit has been disconnected on both MyFitnessPal and Fitbit
- Once disconnected, please wait 15 minutes
- Go back to www.MyFitnessPal.com website (not the Fitbit or MFP app) and relink your Fitbit device via the main Apps tab, or https://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30
- Once you have reconnected, go back to the Apps tab online and make sure Fitbit is now showing on the right hand side of the page under Your Apps
- Finally, select Fitbit as your Step Source under the Steps section of the app to enable the sync
At this point if you are not seeing information transfer automatically, please email our support team at https://myfitnesspal.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new for additional assistance.
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Getting Steps But No Fitbit Adjustment
Basic Adjustment Explanation
"Negative" Adjustments
A Deeper Dive
Basic Adjustment Explanation
If you are seeing a step count and a 0 for the adjustment, then you have not yet earned an adjustment.
The adjustment is actually not based on your step count, but instead based on your entire activity for the day. The step count is there as an incentive and though it does contribute to part of your activity level, it's not the sole contributor.
Therefore x amount of steps does not mean you will receive x amount of extra calories.
The way the adjustment is derived is by comparing your total calories burned from your tracker against the total calories already provided by MyFitnessPal.
When you have earned more calories than MyFitnessPal has already provided, you will then see the difference as your adjustment.
Fitbit does not send your activity to MyFitnessPal as a series of separate cardio exercises. Rather, Fitbit monitors your activity all day long, and calculates the calories your movements are burning.
At MyFitnessPal, we already have an estimate of the amount of calories you will need for the day, based on your profile information, and the general activity level you selected (lightly active, very active, etc). When Fitbit tells us how many calories you are on track to burn by the end of the day, MyFitnessPal updates your calorie goal to keep you on track for your targeted weight loss (or weight gain).
This update appears in your diary as a Calorie Adjustment. The details of the adjustment's calculation can be viewed online by clicking the "i" on the adjustment line, or within the app by tapping on the adjustment. It's important to understand that this adjustment will increase or decrease over the course of the day, if you are more or less active. A period of high activity will result in an increase to your adjustment. If this is followed by a restful period, your next sync will lower your adjustment. To get the most accurate total, it is important to wear and sync your Fitbit as much as possible through the course of the day. It is also important to sync later in the evening, as your evening calculation will be the most precise, because it contains the most recorded activity data. At first you may find that your adjustment drops unexpectedly overnight. This is because of inactivity and sleep in the last hours of the day. You'll soon become accustomed to these small variations. We recommend aiming to come in slightly below your food goal in your last meal, as your adjustment may decrease a bit by the time the day ends at midnight.
For a more in depth explanation of how a calorie adjustment works in MyFitnessPal, we'd recommend checking out our Calorie Adjustment FAQ page.
"Negative" Adjustments
By default MyFitnessPal will only add calories to your calorie goal, based on increased activity from Fitbit. However, for even more accuracy, you may opt to let Fitbit remove calories from your goal, if you are less active than usual. If you do not opt in to these "negative" calorie adjustments, you may see a "zero" adjustment in your diary for part of the day. The zero indicates that we are receiving calorie data from Fitbit, but tells you that you have not yet been active enough to earn more calories than your baseline MyFitnessPal food goal.
If you would like to allow for the negative adjustment option (which may take away calories from your MyFitnessPal goal until you increase your activity during the day) you can do so by visiting our full website at http://www.myfitnesspal.com in a web browser. Once you're logged in, click "Settings" then "Diary Settings" and check the "Enable Negative Adjustments" checkbox. Please make sure to update the change at the bottom of the page.
If you're not sure if you should turn on Negative Adjustments, this article contains some advice on the subject
A Deeper Dive
A more complex understanding of the adjustment is this. When you first join MyFitnessPal, we ask you for your weight, height, age, gender, and your daily activity level. We then use all this information to provide you with your daily goals based on the information you provided. However, since these goals are based on an "average" activity level, the goal is an estimate. The MyFitnessPal calorie goal is accurate enough to allow you to meet your weight management goals, but since we don't track your every movement, we can't update your goal unless you log manual exercise.
The Fitbit is designed to give you a more precise account for your personal daily activity level. When you originally choose your activity level on MyFitnessPal, you may think that you are an "active" person. MyFitnessPal will then automatically give you goals based on what an average active person may burn through the course of the day. However, if you are wearing a Fitbit, that average may change based on your actual activity level. You may not be as active as an average person, or you may be more active.
If you are not as active as the original activity level you chose, then you will see a zero adjustment, unless you have opted in to Negative Adjustments, in which case you'll see calories removed from your daily goal.
For example, MyFitnessPal may have given you a daily goal of 1700 calories based on your profile information, but activity recorded by your Fitbit may result in a projection that you will only burn 1600 by the end of the day. MyFitnessPal will now either give you no adjustment and keep your calories at 1700, or if you chose to allow negative adjustments, it will deduct 100 calories from your daily goal to bring your goal in line with data from Fitbit.
At this point if you still have any questions about your Fitbit adjustment, please email our support team at https://myfitnesspal.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new and we'd be happy to take a closer look.