Is Fitbit worth buying!

Amandalynn380

Hello ,

I'm considering buying a Fitbit , but I'm wondering if it's really worth buying. Please let me know your opinion. Thanks !

airangel59

Depends what you are looking for in a tracker. I love mine (also have a Vivofit as well).
Check out this Fitbit group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

JourneyMan1976

There are a few different models out there, cheapest is Fitbit flex, followed by Fitbit charge and charge HR, then u have the Fitbit Surge (250$+) and two new models, Fitbit Alta and Fitbit Blaze.

U should probably look for a tracker that fits your needs, wristband of activity tracker, some have heart rate sensors, others have GPS tracking, and some are waterproof like the garmin viviosmart HR.

U have a few other garmin products, as well as jawbone with a few different models.

bendyourkneekatie

I was so close to getting one. As in, I told my mum to get me one for Xmas, and she did, but then I changed my mind before opening it and got her to return it (poor mum, ended up going halves with me in some new runners instead)
The reasons I decided against:
I was already on the right track without it. Why mess with what works?
A few reports of it "causing" weight gain, due to overestimating calories burnt. If it's not going to be more accurate than mfp, what's the point?
I count steps with my phone - when I walk, it's in my pocket or tucked into my pocketless pants. I read a few reviews saying that Fitbit wouldn't count my steps when my arms weren't moving... well, 90% of my walking is pushing a pram, so that wouldn't work (apparently I could work around that by moving the Fitbit to my ankle but really, that's just too much hassle for me).

I think if I'd gotten one back at the start of my weight loss journey I would have loved it. But now it just feels like a superfluous gadget I'd only he getting because it's the done thing.

Bluepegasus

It depends on what you want out of it. I looked at getting one but decided I don't need one. I run three times a week and I do kettlebells three times a week, walk the kids to school and ride the horse, and by eating less I am losing weight. I don't need to measure anything with a fitbit (and apparently it won't measure me doing kettlebells anyway). My husband on the other hand is getting one because he works in a office and does very little exercise, so by measuring his steps it will help his motivation to move more.

Chieflrg

Probably not needed in most cases. Another gadget people tend give too much credit and get addicted to. Weight loss/gain is pretty simple if you keep it that way, but it is a tool that can help get some people off the couch that might not otherwise...so it's up to individual how much it would truly help.

inglysh731

I bought one because it was important for me to quantify how little I actually do. I work from home and aside from taking the kid to school, I'm sleeping or sitting for 20+ of 24 hours. It was interesting to learn that many days I take less than 2K steps.

As far as 'fitness tracking'... I've got different tools I prefer and the fitthingy doesn't play into that.

From a 'losing weight' perspective, to me, its more to do with calorie mgmt than activity. I don't see how the band helps there.

If you dig metrics and want it to help reach goals/milestones, etc. I can see how it could be a good tool for motivation.

Mostly I use it to tell time... which is actually not so bad as I hate wrist watches/prefer the band form factor.

MonkeyMel21

I have the Garmin Vivosmart HR. Pretty much the exact same thing as the Fitbit Charge HR (same price too) except mine is water proof. It's not in any way a necessity for me. Hubs decided that he wanted to lose a bit of weight and start working out (for the first time since high school) and he's in to new electronics/apps/etc so I thought it would be fun for both of us to get one. I really like it! I use it to record my work outs every morning. It has definitely helped me to see how lazy I can be (ie how little steps I take when I'm not thinking about how long I've sat on my butt doing nothing). It has several other tracking abilities like sleep, heart rate (I've read it's not super accurate but that's not a huge factor to me, just for fun), notifications from my phone, silent alarm, etc. If we didn't have extra money I definitely would not have gotten them, but it's a fun new electronic and I'm actually really enjoying having a "watch" again for the first time since college so I don't have to constantly check my phone for the time.

punkyb07

I like it, I have the Charge HR. I found that MFP was grossly overestimating how many calories I burned for an activity when I logged it. It was affecting my ability to estimate how many of my workout calories I could eat (if I chose to do so).

I also love knowing that if I hit a certain calorie burn by a certain time, I don't have to exercise in the afternoon. Too much exercise often wears me out, and I like knowing when I can quit lol.

I said all that to come to the conclusion it really depends on your mindset and what works for you.

awsb06

I love mine but I'm learning that, at least once a week, compability with MFP app stops. I have to delete and reinstall MFP app on my phone several times to get it to work again.

AlisonH729

I got a Xiaomi Mi Band. I just wanted a fitness tracker out of curiosity, and didn't need a lot of bells & whistles. Plus I didn't want to spend a lot on a wearable, if ultimately, I wouldn't wear it.

CariTJR

I've got a Fitbit Charge and I absolutely love it. I'm actually thinking of upgrading to a Charge HR or the new Alta when it comes out. I work in an office and sit on my backside all day so i've found it great for motivation to get me up and moving around, I sync it with MFP and have no problems at all.

murp4069

I have a Fitbit flex and love it. It keeps me motivated to keep moving, particularly when I get home from work in the evenings. It is a necessity? No. But anything that keeps me moving is a plus in my book. And participating in Fitbit challenges with people I've met on MFP is fun and motivating as well. However, I don't take the calories burned from Fitbit as gospel and tend to eat only 25% or so back on any given day. I also do not have issues with syncing to MFP.

tmoser512

I had a Charge but recently upgraded to the Charge HR. I did find that MFP was over-estimating my calorie burn. I like seeing the steps that I take in a day and getting a better understanding of what I'm burning so I can be a little more precise with regard to my calorie intake. I could probably do without it so it's not a necessity, but I do like having it A LOT.

leeanne249

Yes!! I use mine alongside Strava, which is linked to myfitnesspal, which is linked to my Fitbit.....and they all work really well for me

beemerphile1

Not worth having for me, but what do I know, they are selling millions of them.

I betcha 50% of the fitness trackers purchased last December end up tossed in a drawer and forgotten by July.

They are a hot fad but certainly not necessary.

HonestBuddha

I was able to get one through a discount at work. However, I barely wear it. I'm not a watch or bracelet person, so constantly having this on my wrist gets annoying honestly. But when I DO wear it, it is nice to see how many steps I take and challenge myself to do better. But my excitement for it goes up and down. I also bought the Charge HR so I could see how I was sleeping since I've had chronic insomnia since childhood. Some nights it did log me as waking up 12 times, which definitely feels like it in the morning.

My advice is weigh the options the FitBit has and decide if you want to know that information. Would it help you at all or is it just a gadget? Also, you can buy a cheap pedometer and see if you stick with wearing that first?

pittdan77

Depends on your goals. Don't buy one to lose weight. They can fool you into thinking you can "eat more" since you were more active on a given day. That's not really a good approach. I actually bought one to track my sleep because of an injury that keeps me from getting a full night's sleep. I find that they can be a little misleading and require some tweaking to get them to be accurate for exercise but they are like any other tool. You need to use them correctly. I think if you're using it for training or to maintain, once you get them dialed in, they're very helpful.

mmteixeira

I have the Charge HR and got it mainly to track calories burned based on heart rate - I did not trust the numbers MyFitnessPal was giving me for calories burned. I only wear mine when I work out - I start a tracked session (stopping it when I am done) just to get the calories burned for that session. I find it very useful for me and worth the purchase...

drachfit

Charge HR was a major disappointment.

its HR measurements were constantly 10-30bpm low (compared to my much-more-accurate chest strap monitor), which did not fit my needs as an athlete. its resting heart rate measurements were ALSO off from what I measure because it has a weird algorithm for figuring that out too. its especially in-accurate for lifting, calisthenics, rock climbing, running, and rowing. anything where you move your wrist and/or get sweaty. if you're just walking around and generally sedentary its fairly accurate.

sleep monitoring is "OK" but it doesn't have a "wake outside of REM sleep" feature which an app on my phone does have. so nothing saved there.

their food logging app is decent but myfitnesspal is better and does it for free.

counting your steps is useless, just get 20+min of aerobic activity a day.

1. if you're actually interested in your heart rate, get a bluetooth chest strap moniitor for $30. it will actually be accurate.
2. other trackers do sleep monitoring better.
3. if counting steps is truly what motivates you... get one i guess? its a lot cheaper to just make sure you spend X time walking or running each day and will probably give better results.
4. since the heartrate is so inaccurate, I can't imagine it's giving you a more precise calorie burn number than just logging minutes in myfitnesspal diary.

shawnhodge

Yes! I love mine! I have the HR. The features that I love include the sleep tracking and phone call indicator. The readings are very accurate for me.