How to set or change your goals on Fitbit

Temper your tracker's expectations with this quick guide
35594-original
Wareable is reader-powered. If you click through using links on the site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

If you're using your Fitbit to make a healthy change in your life, then having good, achievable goals is crucial.

Out-of-the-box Fitbit will suggest some generic goals, with 10,000 steps per day being the most well-known. But if your Fitbit goals are too hard (or too easy) it can be demotivating, and could lead to your new fitness tracker ending up in a drawer in a few months time.

Whether you have a Fitbit Charge fitness tracker, or Versa smartwatch, changing the default goals to something more personal can be a huge factor in helping you make a difference.

Don't take our word for it: in our how to use your fitness tracker to actually get fit guide, our experts say to "first achieve the small goals, build their confidence to aim higher and then encourage them to set more ambitious targets."

So start small, find your level, and it only takes a few minutes to set them to something challenging. Here's how:

Which Fitbit goals can you change?

You can tweak pretty much every goal on the Fitbit platform including targets for:

  • Steps
  • Distance
  • Calories
  • Active Zone Minutes
  • Sleep duration and target wake/sleep times
  • Floors climbed
  • Weekly Active Zone Minutes
  • Exercise days
  • Water intake
  • Weight
  • Body fat %

How to change your goals on Fitbit app

How to set or change your goals on Fitbit

As with most things within the Fitbit world, the mobile or computer app are the only places where you can edit things. That means you can't change your goals directly from the smartwatch or tracker, and you'll also need to force a sync for the changes to come into effect.

To change your goals on the Fitbit app, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Fitbit app.

2. Tap the Account tab in the top right corner.

3. Scroll down to Activity and Wellness

4. Choose from Daily Activity, Exercise, Heart Settings, Nutrition & Weight and Sleep.

5. From here, you're able to edit all your Fitbit goals. Changing your step goal, for example, is done through the Activity tab.

How to change your goals on Fitbit Dashboard

To change your Fitbit goals on a computer, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Fitbit Dashboard on your browser.

2. Click the Settings icon in the top right corner of the page.

3. Click Devices.

4. Under Daily Goal Progress, choose the goal you want to edit.

5. Sync your device to transfer the new goal to your tracker.

To change your Main Goal - the one that will be celebrated with a haptic vibration and a colorful on-watch animation if you reach it - follow these steps:

1. Go to the Fitbit app.

2. Tap the device icon in the top left corner.

3. Scroll down to Main Goal.

4. Choose from Steps, Distance, Calories Burned, Active Minutes or Floors Climbed.

5. Sync your device.

TAGGED Fitbit

How we test



Conor Allison

By

Conor moved to Wareable Media Group in 2017, initially covering all the latest developments in smartwatches, fitness trackers, and VR. He made a name for himself writing about trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.

Following a stint as Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large. Conor has become a wearables expert, and helps people get more from their wearable tech, via Wareable's considerable how-to-based guides. 

He has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent, and The Mirror. 


Related stories