What is so great about a fitbit?

Lo65

Ok, my last topic bombed. maybe I can get some info this way. I hear a lot about the fitbit. Why is it so great? I'm not trying to put it down, I really want to know.

McLifterPants

I use a fitbit zip and I like it because it gives me a better idea of my TDEE than the online calculators, which are pretty limited in terms of your options. I walk a lot, but I don't work out every day, so the fitbit gives me a better idea of my real daily burn so that I can gauge my nutritional needs better accordingly.

Susan_fessler

I love my fitbit because I like to use a pedometer to show how much I move and to get me to move more if I need to. I use fitbit because it syncs with MFP and I don't have to log anything to get exercise calories they just show up. I also like the size and that I can wear it on my bra and forget about it, I won't leave it in my pocket and wash it like so many others. I think it is more accurate than just logging what I do at they gym as far as exercise calories goes, it doesn't "let" me overestimate what I do at the gym so I eat the right amount. It also sends a weekly chart to me to visually see what I did and where I need to improve.

63hanson

I have a fitbit one and I do like it. It keeps track of steps, stairs, miles, and calories burned. It does help motivate me to move more, I really don't like the days I look at it and have only gotten in 3,000 steps. My goal is 10,000 steps a day, during the week when I work, it's hard to get that in. But it does make me get up more during my work (very sedentary job) and walk around. I take the stairs much more often now.

On the days I'm close to 10,000 steps, I'll take a walk or do something to hit my mark. So it definitley gets me moving more than I used to.

It also tracks my sleep. I've discovered I move around a lot in my sleep and wake up several times a night. I'm not sure how to fix that, but at least I know why I'm sometimes so tired in the morning.

Hope this helps:)

michellechawner

MFP REALLY overcalculates calories burned, so when I stopped losing weight about 5 weeks ago I got frustrated. Turns out I really wasn't burning calories...

FitBit also shows overall calorie expenditure, so even the calories I am burning just breathing, walking, eating, sleeping, so I have a more overall health picture. Since using the fitbit I have started dropping weight again.

FitBit is also more accurate in calories burned because it uses your weight and your height, not the average persons, like MFP does. For MFP I can type in jogging and it'll give me a calorie number, it'll also give a 350 pounds person the same amount of calories burned (there is a big difference between how many calories a 350 pound person will lose compared to my 129 pound person).

I also got the sleep activity tracker because I have medical issues and we were finding out I was being awoken by my pain and not even knowing it. Now I can track it better and show the doctors and they can adjust my meds as needed. I used to wake up 4-5 times a night - the past 2 nights I haven't woken up once.

My fitbit showed me I wasn't burning calories like MFP said I was, it shows me sleep patterns, overall calories expenditure so I know if i'm staying under or over compared to how much i've eaten, and I know it sounds stupid but the little flower on the display "grows" when I exercise, and it's a real motivator to keep moving.

I have a Fitbit One.

Lo65

Thanks for the answers, everybody!