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FitBit - Yes or No

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Replies

  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    No from me, thank you.

    I know people absolutely love them, but it's just another "thing" to me.
  • rugbyphreak
    rugbyphreak Posts: 509 Member
    I have a Charge and it's alright. It doesn't have a HRM, which I don't think I need anyway.

    Two complaints though...

    One, some days, FtiBit and other tracking devices refuse to sync with MFP, which I think is a MFP issue, not a tracker issue.

    Two, my FitBit always has a different distance than my treadmill. I set my workout for five miles on the treadmill to get my FitBit goal done. Treadmill says 5 miles. FitBit says 4.25. I'm not sure which one to believe. I don't know how to better calibrate either one. I don't mind doing the extra .75 mile to get my FitBit goal in, but dammit, I want it count everything so I can be at the top of my friends' list in the ranking!
  • Groto1980
    Groto1980 Posts: 23 Member
    I am not an expert and am speaking from my personal experience. I am curious why others do not like the hrm option. I have the Fitbit charge hr. I know i have only had mine for 5 weeks, but i think knowing what your heart rate is while exercising is great to know. I have checked it against my smartphone, which has a S health app and the hr is consistent. From the basic research i have done i find that most programs use a similar formula to calculate a burn. I have found since i have been consistently exercising that i need to up my intensity to raise my heart rate and burn more calories. I hate the chest strap type hrm. I have tried both the fitbit charge hr and the surge. My husband has also been using a fitbit charge hr. We are both very happy with them and are both losing weight. I would say if you do not care about calorie burn and do not plan on eating back any exercise calories then no need for a HRM.
  • ChrisManch
    ChrisManch Posts: 46 Member
    I have the Fitbit HR.

    Last year I lost 17kg by dieting and walking (using the MapMyWalk app). I set my MFP "activity level" as sedentary and tried to keep within the recommended calories.

    This year I bought the FitBit and did the same. Fitbit HR gives me more motivation, I like to see the logs of my activity and heart rate and stair climbs etc. and I now have a steps target to try to reach/beat.

    However it seems my "normal" activity is higher than sedentary, so the fitbit/MFP link ups my recommended calories and if I eat them back I lose weight at a slower rate.

    So it seems my "calorie deficit" last year was bigger than I thought.

    Overall I think it's a good thing, and provides more motivation, but just watch out for the added calorie allowances and don't go overboard eating them back.
  • Altagracia220
    Altagracia220 Posts: 876 Member
    abetterluke wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Yes

    But basic like the zip

    Not the HRM

    Can you elaborate about why not to do the HRM? I'm considering buying one as well but was planning to go with the big one (Surge I think?)....

    The surge is amazing and well worth the money. It will tell you how many calories burned running, lifting, spinning, elliptical, etc etc . Not many watches are that specific.
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    I'm probably going to get demolished for this but I never eat my exercise calories back anyway....
  • belladesign
    belladesign Posts: 1 Member
    I had a Fit Bit Force that I returned once the Charge came out. I love it! It keeps me motivated to get those 10K steps everyday. I wear every day so I don't miss out on steps.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    abetterluke wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    abetterluke wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Yes

    But basic like the zip

    Not the HRM

    Can you elaborate about why not to do the HRM? I'm considering buying one as well but was planning to go with the big one (Surge I think?)....

    Sure but I've posted this quite a bit

    I think the HRM wearable are a marketeers dream tbh

    Unless you have a reason to want to trace your heart rate eg some type of heart condition

    If you want it for more accurate calorie estimation of TDEE then it's guff IMHO, and I haven't been convinced otherwise on any of the wearables

    The way a HRM works to estimate calorie burn is based on a formula pinned to steady state cardio

    The rest of the time the pedometer would take over as the prime activity tracker ..hr does not equate to calorie burn

    And that's what the standard models do

    Interesting. So from your explanation you'd say that the Polar HRM's aren't worth it either? I have one that I haven't used yet...

    Nope I've got a polar HRM and I wear it for specific workouts and log those on MFP ..they overwrite the fitbit activity for that time zone

    HRMs are for steady state cardio so I take 100% of that burn, for weights/ HIIT and calisthenics I take about 60-70% because that's what, over time, I've found works
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    This is an old blog post

    But still relevant re the HRM calculation to calorie burn

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
  • DaveAkeman
    DaveAkeman Posts: 296 Member
    ASKyle wrote: »
    IAmTheGlue wrote: »
    Yes! I definitely get off my butt more since having mine. I have the fitbit charge hr. I love, love, love it! I also have the fitbit Aria scale. The pair are seriously one of the best purchases that I ever made. I'm down 40 pounds since getting mine February 19th of this year.

    I've seen that scale, what do you like about it? Is it different from other scales?

    I've had the scale for a couple weeks, and I think it's great, but I'm considering not using it.

    It is great that the scale measures both weight and BF%. However, lots of cheaper electronic scales do this - it's not worth the money just for this. (Yes, we could argue about the accuracy of the BF% measurement, but I have compared it to hydrostatic weighing, and it's not too bad for me. And if you don't know your BF%, then ANY measurement is better than none)

    The really great thing about it is that it automatically uploads. Now all you have to do is step on it each morning, and it's done. Don't have to worry about logging yourself.

    The thing I don't like about it is the repeatability. It's really not bad, compared to other electronic scales. I have used other electronic scales and hated them because you could step on it three times in a row and get numbers that were POUNDS apart. Not so with the Aria - they're usually within half a pound of each other. However, I had been weighing myself daily with a balance beam, and the repeatability of THAT was so great that I could see how I did each and every day. I could tell the difference between a -1/4 pound day and a no change day. With the Aria, you're not as sure. My daily chart bounces around a bit more with the Aria than it does with the mechanical beam.
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    This is an old blog post

    But still relevant re the HRM calculation to calorie burn

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

    Awesome thank you!
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    Except for the recharging issue, I love my Flex. It's definitely gotten me up and moving more.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Please note I may be totally wrong and they may have completely reinvented the wheel but I haven't seen anything / or been pointed in the direction of anything that convinces me they have

    And I would be easily convinced because I love my fitness toys
  • camtrader9
    camtrader9 Posts: 3 Member
    Haven't read all these posts carefully so sorry if I am repeating anyone. There were a lot of complaints about the inaccuracy of the HRM on the Charge, so FitBit either is in the process of or has updated it to be a lot more accurate. At least that is what the guy at Brookstone told me when I was asking about it. That was about 6 weeks ago.
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    camtrader9 wrote: »
    Haven't read all these posts carefully so sorry if I am repeating anyone. There were a lot of complaints about the inaccuracy of the HRM on the Charge, so FitBit either is in the process of or has updated it to be a lot more accurate. At least that is what the guy at Brookstone told me when I was asking about it. That was about 6 weeks ago.

    Pretty sure brookstone guys work on commission. Don't believe everything they tell you. lol
  • deaniac83
    deaniac83 Posts: 166 Member
    No. At least for me. A lot of people I know have fitbits, and most of them like it, but I see no use for it. I track my intake, my exercise - turns out mine are high intensity enough to match MFP estimates or better since I keep losing weight at a good rate. I went on vacation recently and wasn't even tempted to binge; which is not to say I didn't eat what I wanted. I kept the good habits and moved as much as possible. I lost a pound that week with no tracking and not even trying.

    Will it work better for you? Maybe. But remember that measuring is best if it helps you develop habits that allow you to live and keep a healthy weight without doing a lot of thinking about it. I feel that I don't need a thing constantly on my wrist to do that.
  • DaveAkeman
    DaveAkeman Posts: 296 Member
    camtrader9 wrote: »
    Haven't read all these posts carefully so sorry if I am repeating anyone. There were a lot of complaints about the inaccuracy of the HRM on the Charge, so FitBit either is in the process of or has updated it to be a lot more accurate. At least that is what the guy at Brookstone told me when I was asking about it. That was about 6 weeks ago.

    I wouldn't believe the guy at Brookstone. I've read all the reviews talking about inaccuracy, etc., and I (as an engineer) tend to think there is nothing wrong with the device . . . it is how it measures your pulse. It is looking for small changes in your wrist, and that is just not the best way to measure your pulse. Not everybody's wrist is the same. Some people have visible veins; some don't. There is a lot of information out there about how to wear the watch - sometimes loose, sometimes tight; sometimes close to the wrist, sometimes farther up the arm. I think a lot of it comes down to your individual physiology - these wrist-type LED heart rate monitors that are being embedded in more and more products are going to work on some people, and not others.

    For my part - I don't have one yet. I'm trying to decide between the Charge HR and the Surge. But I do plan on getting one. I have no expectation that it will provide accurate daily calorie burn, etc., but I would like to know where my HR is while I am running, so I know, in real time, whether I should be pushing myself more or less. I think it is likely a decent tool for that.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    no because ive seen way too many people eating back calories they shouldnt and then complain and whine about not losing weight.

  • Lexicpt
    Lexicpt Posts: 209 Member
    I love love LOVE my Charge HR. Very accurate and motivates me to move my *kitten* more. Haha.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    It all depends on what you want. I only need a simple step counter, but I love syncing everything through my iPhone. I love my FitBit Zip. It does all I want it to do.

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