Anyone have a fitbit? Any good?

rattiemomma

For people who have used customer support:

Have you had any luck with replacements or support with out-of-warranty devices? I have had two Flexes go bad after the warranties ran out. I have questions submitted to customer service, but responses, yet. I hear they have awesome support, but suspect that is only for covered devices.

arnottr3

Thanks kuroshii. Thats what I've been having trouble with. I'm normally a quick fix dieter so doing it properly with exercise and eating healthy without a diet plan or quick fix has thrown me off a bit. Hard to figure out calories I should be at and how to adjust it properly to lose. I want to just eat healthy and not a crash diet that never sticks. Recently told I'm not eating enough and losing muscle not fat because my exercise and really low intake. I think like you said it will be the best thing to get one. At least till I learn how to adjust things. I'm gunna go for it. Get one on tuesday

ichbineinetomate

I just got my Fitbit Charge HR on Friday. This is, probably, one of my most useful purchases to date. I checked the accuracy of the heart rate monitor against another heart rate monitor I have. They were spot on. It also lets me know about my notorious problem child sleep patterns and gives me a good record of when and how I'm sleeping, which is useful to my doctor. I also find the exercise and calorie burning related features to be highly useful, also as will my doctor. If you're looking into Fitbit, I'd recommend the Charge HR.

arnottr3

I've been comparing for the last hr or so online. I keep coming back to the charge HR. The heart rate was the deciding factor. It's reassuring that you said it was spot on. Thanks plus knowing my quality of sleep will be kind of neat too. Hope all is well and everything goes good with your doctor.

SydneyGuyy

Yeah, I've had the Fitbit Surge for about 6 months now. Personally I love the awareness that it brings to my exercise, movement and health focus overall.

While the heart rate function (being wrist based and not chest based like my previous Polar monitor) can be a little 'iffy' at times, the Surge and the eco-system as a whole are pretty sound.

I looked at the Charge HR previously and probably would have bought that over the Surge (slim factor) had I not wanted some additional features (GPS). Unlike friends of mine, I don't like to take my mobile on my runs, but seeing where I've been post run is quite motivating.

kuroshii

arnottr3 wrote: »

Thanks kuroshii. Thats what I've been having trouble with. I'm normally a quick fix dieter so doing it properly with exercise and eating healthy without a diet plan or quick fix has thrown me off a bit. Hard to figure out calories I should be at and how to adjust it properly to lose. I want to just eat healthy and not a crash diet that never sticks. Recently told I'm not eating enough and losing muscle not fat because my exercise and really low intake. I think like you said it will be the best thing to get one. At least till I learn how to adjust things. I'm gunna go for it. Get one on tuesday

Definitely some kind of activity tracker tied to MFP will help. With a fitbit brand one, you'll want to log all excercise over in fitbit and only in fitbit and log all food in MFP and only in MFP, and the two will share the summary data. There's a good fitbit group here on the MFP forums with details on how they work together and a slew of discussion topics.

After a few weeks of having them tied together, you should adjust your MFP activity setting to have a closer-to-real total at the start of the day instead of at the end.

autumnblade75

kuroshii wrote: »

arnottr3 wrote: »

Thanks kuroshii. Thats what I've been having trouble with. I'm normally a quick fix dieter so doing it properly with exercise and eating healthy without a diet plan or quick fix has thrown me off a bit. Hard to figure out calories I should be at and how to adjust it properly to lose. I want to just eat healthy and not a crash diet that never sticks. Recently told I'm not eating enough and losing muscle not fat because my exercise and really low intake. I think like you said it will be the best thing to get one. At least till I learn how to adjust things. I'm gunna go for it. Get one on tuesday

Definitely some kind of activity tracker tied to MFP will help. With a fitbit brand one, you'll want to log all excercise over in fitbit and only in fitbit and log all food in MFP and only in MFP, and the two will share the summary data. There's a good fitbit group here on the MFP forums with details on how they work together and a slew of discussion topics.

After a few weeks of having them tied together, you should adjust your MFP activity setting to have a closer-to-real total at the start of the day instead of at the end.

I disagree with the activity level suggestion. Personally, I am miffed when I am most active in the morning, and earn a bunch of calories, only to have them slowly whittled back down when I am more sedentary in the afternoon. I do not have negative calories adjustments enabled. I actually adjusted MFP to an activity level of sedentary specifically so that any calorie adjustments I "earn" STAY earned.

kuroshii

autumnblade75 wrote: »

I disagree with the activity level suggestion. Personally, I am miffed when I am most active in the morning, and earn a bunch of calories, only to have them slowly whittled back down when I am more sedentary in the afternoon. I do not have negative calories adjustments enabled. I actually adjusted MFP to an activity level of sedentary specifically so that any calorie adjustments I "earn" STAY earned.

Well yeah, YMMV and it's all to your personal preference. Isn't it great that MFP allows us that flexibility to find a configuration that works for each of us?

I keep myself at sedentary as well, but that's mostly because my activity level is so uneven between weekdays vs weekends. I have negative calories enabled and on days I'm on the computer all day I'll often lose calories even with it set so low!

emmaemz1985

I have Fitbit add me emma.page1@icloud.com

autumnblade75

kuroshii wrote: »

autumnblade75 wrote: »

I disagree with the activity level suggestion. Personally, I am miffed when I am most active in the morning, and earn a bunch of calories, only to have them slowly whittled back down when I am more sedentary in the afternoon. I do not have negative calories adjustments enabled. I actually adjusted MFP to an activity level of sedentary specifically so that any calorie adjustments I "earn" STAY earned.

Well yeah, YMMV and it's all to your personal preference. Isn't it great that MFP allows us that flexibility to find a configuration that works for each of us?

I keep myself at sedentary as well, but that's mostly because my activity level is so uneven between weekdays vs weekends. I have negative calories enabled and on days I'm on the computer all day I'll often lose calories even with it set so low!

It is absolutely a YMMV situation. Just wanted to bring to light something that I had noticed, and how I fixed it. It's always better to have more information.

arnottr3

Just bought the charge Hr. As soon as it's fully charged ill get to work figuring it out and setting up. Then I'll know a little more what you guys are talking about haha:)

kuroshii

autumnblade75 wrote: »

It is absolutely a YMMV situation. Just wanted to bring to light something that I had noticed, and how I fixed it. It's always better to have more information.

I completely agree!

arnottr3

So how come fitbit connects my steps but not the calories burned in my workout?

arnottr3

Nvm I figured it out. Just adds workout calories to the step calories

selig0730

I guess you already bought one but I love mine. Anyone can add me selig0730@gmail.com

Nekaboo312

I don't have a fit bit but I do have a polar watch/ heart rate monitor it works wonders I got it at Best Buy for $57. 5 stars online and adorable

arnottr3

Will do:)

kellyanneclover

I have the garmin vivosmart! Syncs with this app! It's very good, plus sends me notifications for texts, app notifications and tells you when it's time to move

tnm7760

I have the FitBit One. I clip it to my bra. I like that I don't have to worry about my dominate arm, holding onto the stroller or shopping cart and getting messed up data, etc. It's pretty darn accurate. I love mine. I've had it for 3 or 4 years.

fishgutzy

Personally, I see these things as a bit gimmicky. But given that none of them work for swimming, I'm kind of biased.
Even things like the Garmin Swim require a lot of editing and correction. If something can't record an activity accurately, I don't see the point. So I just use a finger mounted digital lap counter.
I only use an HRM for spinning class.

rinucz

I used to have Fitbit Flex. Its strap started having cracks around the measuring unit after 2 months even if I removed it from my wrist gently only before taking a shower. I returned it for warranty repair circa 10 months ago and haven't receive them back yet. Support is abysmal.
My colleague has Fitbit Surge and it started tearing after 5 months of usage. By the way, both devices measured steps differently (30% difference).
I like the manufacturer's web application a lot but I couldn't recommend it to anyone because it falls apart soon after the purchase.

I use Polar A360 right now and while I miss MyFitnessPal support via Android app, I am happy with it. It is waterproof and can track swimming, the battery lasts long (5+ days), it notifies me that I haven't moved for a hour (very handy as I have a sedentary job), has regular updates, steps are more close to what my colleague sees via Fitbit Surge and to the distance Google Maps calculate.
As for the strap, it gets a bit loose on the sides of measuring unit however it keeps together and I haven't seen any cracks yet after 2+ months.

So I would say that both companies are not able to produce solid straps but I have better experience with Polar so far.

jessica22222

I have a fitbit charge and I find it really helps me when I also log my food. I recommend.

303lissy

I currently have a Jawbone UP Move... it's cute, it does its job, but I'm looking for an upgrade. Looking to getting the FitBit Blaze when it comes out! I wanted something with a screen and considered the apple watch, but that's just so expensive and (I heard) not worth it. Looking forward to the Blaze!

kate2004rock

I have had my fitbit Flex for about a year. I like to be have "Challenges" with friends and coworkers and I love that it syncs with MFP and Weight Watchers (I use MFP for the macros). I have noticed that the couple of times I have "taken a break" for a week or two - I really slip up. It's a good physical reminder!!

staciecheck

I wear a fitbit Zip and Charge, love them both!

drachfit

Useless. MFP does the food logging for free and has better macro customization.

The heart rate is not accurate enough for actual sports training. My unit was consistently off by 30bpm for many sports (running, rowing, hiking, rock climbing, lifting) compared to an accurate chest strap monitor. I repositioned the fitbit in many places on my wrist and have average skin.

Furthermore, calculating calories from heart rate is not much more accurate than an educated guess on the MFP database. HR calculated calories are not at ALL accurate for activities like strength or interval training. since those activities are anaerobic, heart rate doesn't strongly correlate to energy burn.

autumnblade75

drachfit wrote: »

Useless. MFP does the food logging for free and has better macro customization.

The heart rate is not accurate enough for actual sports training. My unit was consistently off by 30bpm for many sports (running, rowing, hiking, rock climbing, lifting) compared to an accurate chest strap monitor. I repositioned the fitbit in many places on my wrist and have average skin.

Furthermore, calculating calories from heart rate is not much more accurate than an educated guess on the MFP database. HR calculated calories are not at ALL accurate for activities like strength or interval training. since those activities are anaerobic, heart rate doesn't strongly correlate to energy burn.

Even if you find the device to be unfit for your purposes, many do not find it to be completely useless.

Fitbit's app will also allow you to log food and exercise for free - the device you buy will take some of the guesswork out of the exercise logging. You will no longer need to check the clock before and after an activity so that you can log how many minutes you were at it.

From all reports, even the heart rate models of the fitbit do not use the heart rate to calculate calorie burns. It's still based on steps.

It's a shame yours wasn't accurate at tracking your heart rate. I don't even have a guess as to why that happens. Mine seems to be working pretty consistently for me. But even aside from that, it's a great motivational tool. The challenges are fun and I can't see any drawback to the nudge it provides so that I get a few more minutes of walking into my day. Not everyone will consider these reasons "worth" the cost of the device. But for those who do, it's not useless at all.

kuroshii

tnm7760 wrote: »

I have the FitBit One. I clip it to my bra. I like that I don't have to worry about my dominate arm, holding onto the stroller or shopping cart and getting messed up data, etc. It's pretty darn accurate. I love mine. I've had it for 3 or 4 years.

I have the Zip (tiny thing, only measures steps no stairs or anything else), and I wear it the same way. I like how it feeds a reasonably accurate activity level over to MFP, which then adjusts my calories for the day.