Just ordered a FitBit....best advice?

Kvm11628
Kvm11628 Posts: 7,386 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just ordered my FitBit and it arrives tomorrow. Best advice on how to use without obsessing? Tips on how to get the most out of it? I got the Charge with HR.

Replies

  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    Set your steps goals so they're attainable.
    Once you meet your daily step goal, your Fitbit will buzz. So you will know when it happens.

    Other than that, I guess don't take the HR part extremely seriously. Use it as an estimation.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
    Fitbits are fun!! I have mine synced with MFP. I log food here, while the fitbit tracks my activity. Fitbit will add or subtract calories based on my activity for the day. It makes this whole thing simple!
  • PlantBasedRnr
    PlantBasedRnr Posts: 129 Member
    You will love your Fitbit - I have one and it keeps me accountable... it will start off as that neat new gadget that you can't stop messing with but after a while the novelty wears off and it starts to serve its purpose as that item that keeps you in check on a daily basis ( at least for me ). Spend some time learning the website/app and tailor it to you and your goals.
  • Regina727
    Regina727 Posts: 11 Member
    The best advice I can give you is to sync it with your iPhone if you have one, put it on and start moving. Best of luck to you Kim!
  • sherbear702
    sherbear702 Posts: 650 Member
    Best advice? Make sure you wear it Every. Day.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    I got one on black Friday to replace my Jawbone. I don't think it's very accurate, but if it's consistently inaccurate I can still measure progress.

    For instance, running or even walking at a certain pace, it misses steps. Seems the faster I go the more steps it misses. I've validated this by running on a treadmill with the app open and connected while counting my actual steps.

    Of course, it will pick up steps I'm not really taking when I'm just moving my arms so maybe it all evens out in the end.

    I do wish it were more accurate.
  • unrelentingminx
    unrelentingminx Posts: 231 Member
    I have a Fitbit One which I have clipped to my bra so it's really unobtrusive and doesn't rely on arm movement to count steps. I love it! The step counting seems to be really accurate and I have found myself making that extra effort to get the steps in to meet my targets. Once you have Fitbit friends, the challenges are good fun too. Mine does sleep tracking and silent alarm as well, both of which I use.
    I have the Fitbit connected to MFP but all of my food I still log through MFP and it syncs it to Fitbit automatically.
  • Kvm11628
    Kvm11628 Posts: 7,386 Member
    You all are really helpful. I appreciate it! I plan on just keeping it on all the time so it just becomes a routine part of wardrobe. Is it waterproof? Can I take it in the shower?

    I think it will be most useful in reminding me to track activity and to challenge myself to meet or beat the step goals. I have a desk job, and I can see this motivating me to get out of my office a bit more during the day. I workout first thing in the AM, so that gets a chunk of activity out of the way by 6:30 AM.

    After I hit 40 it ally hit me that food racking and a focus on activity has to be consistent or things slide back QUICKLY. Hoping this will help me to keep the consistency going after the novelty of the new-ish routine wears off after a couple of months.
  • mrsloganlife
    mrsloganlife Posts: 158 Member
    NO--no shower! The Fitbit is not made to withstand water (although I did swim 1 lap with it on once, and it is still kicking; however I won't push that again). I found my Fitbit to be one of my biggest motivations since I am goal motivated and slightly competitive--now I'm finding fun in discovering new ways to move. Today: took a completely different lightrail line that dropped me off 10 blocks from my office (instead of the other that was 3) and walked the whole way. I had the step count at 8:45 am that I would have normally had by noon!
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
    They are not waterproof!! I ruined a Fitbit by putting it in the washing machine. However I now have a new Charge HR and love it. I find the steps very accurate and the HR somewhat accurate.
  • samiadg
    samiadg Posts: 18 Member
    whats a charge HR?
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    Wear it every day.
    Sync to MFP and enable negative calorie adjustments.
    Log all food on MFP
    Log exercise that isn't step based on your fitbit app. I log all of my body weight training on the fitbit. For running you can hold down the button and it will calculate your distance steps, and burn for your workout just hold the button down when you are done and it will send all the info as a sort of snapshot to the app on your phone.

    I log all food through MFP, it has the best data base, but I use the TDEE fitbit calculates at the end of the day to make sure I'm eating enough.

    Mine will occasionally freeze up and miss some steps when I'm just walking around the house barefoot, but it is rare, otherwise I have found it to be really accurate. The faster I go the more accurate it is, however keep in mind that your stride length is different when walking, jogging, and running so for running outside it maybe beneficial to use an auxiliary app such as runkeeper or mapmyrun if you really need to make sure your times/distances are extremely accurate.
  • Kvm11628
    Kvm11628 Posts: 7,386 Member
    Awesome. This is great, everyone. I figured it was not waterproof, but a girl can dream. Looking forward to playing around with it tomorrow!
  • Lees75
    Lees75 Posts: 21 Member
    I hope you don't mind if I ask a question kimvmajor, rather than start a new thread.

    I am about to go and buy a Charge HR (have had a flex, but not synced to MFP). Have I understood correctly?.... If I have my activity level set to Light, my Fitbit will tell MFP if I have done enough steps and will minus cals if I haven't? And if I go for a big walk or run, it will log it in my diary as exercise? I don't have to log my exercise anymore?
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    Lees75 wrote: »
    I hope you don't mind if I ask a question kimvmajor, rather than start a new thread.

    I am about to go and buy a Charge HR (have had a flex, but not synced to MFP). Have I understood correctly?.... If I have my activity level set to Light, my Fitbit will tell MFP if I have done enough steps and will minus cals if I haven't? And if I go for a big walk or run, it will log it in my diary as exercise? I don't have to log my exercise anymore?

    It will show a "fitbit calorie adjustment" at the bottom of your dairy and also the adjustment is visible at the top of your diary where it shows your intake and calories left.
  • beertrollruss
    beertrollruss Posts: 276 Member
    I just stepped up to the Charge HR after a year with the flex. I like the Fitbit a lot. I recommend buying an extra charging cable. I just lost mine, so now I have to wear the flex until my new charging cables come in the mail.
  • ridge4mfp
    ridge4mfp Posts: 301 Member
    sherbear702 wrote: »
    Best advice? Make sure you wear it Every. Day.
    I second this. For the first time since I received it, I forgot it today. Put it on to charge while I was showering, and forgot to put it back on. I felt lost all day!

  • catmandel
    catmandel Posts: 1 Member
    I have had a Fitbit Charge HR since December 2 and already lost 5 pounds- I was already working out 5 times a week in a variety of exercise classes- TRX, aerial yoga, booty barre, etc but I have an office job that is so sedentary that I never realized I only walked about 1100 steps a day. The Fitbit ( and the app) have inspired me to walk 10,000 steps a day and climb 10 flights of stairs every day but I don't think I am obsessing - just much more aware. I added an hour/day on the elliptical some days to get to my 10,000 steps in and I walk the 10 flight of stairs by going up and down the 1 flight of stairs at work several times a day. Besides the weight loss, I longer want to take a nap mid-afternoon, I sleep better, I look more fit and I have so much more energy. I especially love when the app says at the end of the day that I am an overachiever. If I don't want to go to an exercise class or use the elliptical, I'll just go for an hour walk to get those steps in. It's the best thing I ever did for myself. I was not overweight to begin with but I wasn't nearly as fit as I am now.
  • Kvm11628
    Kvm11628 Posts: 7,386 Member
    That's what I am hoping, catmandel. I think having the device on my wrist is going to serve as a reminder to just GET UP. I already am pretty good about taking stairs vs. elevator, parking farther away, etc. But, I think this will help me to just get up every hour and not let time fly by.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Look for small opportunities to get steps, especially in bad weather--an extra lap around the store, walk around the parking walk before & after going to store, or doctor, etc. It all adds up by the end of day or week. Have fun!
  • tasaiar1
    tasaiar1 Posts: 79 Member
    I sold mine, sheet being overly obsessed for a week, my husband pointed out it's just a fancy pedometer that I want actually using :/

    I log my food on MFP and my excersize on MapMyFitness, but i must admit I loved the sleep tracking
  • Lees75
    Lees75 Posts: 21 Member
    edited January 2016
    Where do I go on MFP to enable negative calorie adjustments?

    ETA - Never mind, I found it.
  • sc0rpi0gal
    sc0rpi0gal Posts: 32 Member
    Use the stop watch/timer feature when you go on walks. It calculates these as workouts!
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Don't lose it!!
  • Kvm11628
    Kvm11628 Posts: 7,386 Member
    Can't wait for it to arrive today!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    sc0rpi0gal wrote: »
    Use the stop watch/timer feature when you go on walks. It calculates these as workouts!

    Why? It's a step tracker
  • mrsloganlife
    mrsloganlife Posts: 158 Member
    sc0rpi0gal wrote: »
    Use the stop watch/timer feature when you go on walks. It calculates these as workouts!

    Fitbit now has the option to automatically log common exercises (walking, running, elliptical, etc.). If you do an activity consistently for longer than 15 minutes it will pick it up as a workout and continue to track and monitor. I am horrendous at logging my workouts on Fitbit, and this has been a lifesaver!
  • mrsloganlife
    mrsloganlife Posts: 158 Member
    edited January 2016
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    sc0rpi0gal wrote: »
    Use the stop watch/timer feature when you go on walks. It calculates these as workouts!

    Why? It's a step tracker

    Fitbit also tracks activity minutes and in a recent update, set workout goals (workout x days a week). A lot of people use the timer to log their workouts so they can get a glimpse of the calories burned, steps, and how long they did said activity when they look back on it.

    Edit: Other activities that register are yoga, sports, etc.
  • AmyOutOfControl
    AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
    If you are a competitive person (like me) than the Fitbit challenges are extremely motivating. I once walked my entire neighborhood several times just to reach 25,000 steps in one day. I did not want to loose a stupid weekend challenge I was in with my relatives. Lol
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    edited January 2016
    amymoreorless wrote: »
    If you are a competitive person (like me) than the Fitbit challenges are extremely motivating. I once walked my entire neighborhood several times just to reach 25,000 steps in one day. I did not want to loose a stupid weekend challenge I was in with my relatives. Lol

    No challenge could get me outside in the snow today. I'm actually thinking about buying a vivofit because i almost just bought a polar hrm and a fitbit zip but, figured why not get a combo for cheaper. It's like $80 on amazon for both. Edit just bought a zip just to try and make sure i earn the lightly active setting I set up for at work.

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