tell me about fitbit.
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tishball
Posts: 155 Member
I am a gadgets person, but somehow have managed to avoid a fitbit, ( because they seem to be the thing of the moment) I used to have a step tracking device which of course gave me a wrong count if I went riding a horse, ( the up down movement of rising trot gave it the idea I was running) So how does the fit bit manage to work out your workouts etc? does it work with your phone computer etc. Honestly I haven't got a clue about them. Do you reckon they are worthwile or just another gimmick? I sort of like the idea of knowing what I am at, and if I am using more energy than I had thought. I am outdoorsy so have no idea what I am actually burning unless I go on a measured walk , run, cycle, then I have an idea from the app I am using to track my route.
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My Fitbit was something I loved....at first. Then I realized that it wildly overestimated my calories and had me climbing sometimes 50 flights of stairs per day. I don't climb stairs at all on an average day. So I called Fitbit and they sent me a new one. It didn't show the flights of stairs but the calorie burn was ridiculously high. A few months in the flights of stairs showed back up and eventually i gave up. I did not call Fitbit this time.
My husband got me an Apple Watch when they went on sale and I was shocked on the calorie burn it shows. It was much lower than Fitbit on a daily basis with the same info! Where Fitbit would sometimes give me 700 or 800 more calories a day (sometimes with no exercise) Apple gives me maybe 175 extra depending on how hard my workout is and how much movement I have throughout the day. That's a big difference!!!
Now the two gave very similar reading on workouts only. I even tested them both against my polar hr chest strap and the calories burned were the same for all 3 on the workouts. I looked silly with 3 watches and a chest strap but I didn't care!!!
So on only a workout Fitbit did fine. It was the daily steps, stairs and calories burned that it really flopped on. I loved it until I realized it was really overshooting my numbers.
I am sorry this is so long.
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I have a Fitbit Flex and I love it!
I do agree that it overestimates steps and if you are a hand talker, it can count come steps for you but for me, it's not so big of a deal.
I like how slim mine is on my wrist (it is the size of those rubber Livestrong bracelets) and it tracks my sleep, which helps me figure out whether or not I am tossing and turning a lot throughout the night. I find that to be helpful because when I feel like I had a bad nights sleep, sure thing - my Fitbit has indicated I was restless/awake a lot. One downside is that if you are laying on the couch, watching TV, it may register you as asleep but you can just delete the sleep log.
I don't know much about the other fitness trackers so I cannot compare but I like how you can add friends on Fitbit and compete for the most steps. I am currently in a competition with some work ladies and if I see someone is winning by a small margin, it will compel me to go for a 30 min walk around the neighbour so it does incentivize me to be more active.0 -
I am seriously considering getting one with our REI shopping spree this year (we use our REI visa for everything, pay it in full every month, and then enjoy a shopping spree every spring with the rewards). I get stressed out trying to figure out which fitness tracker to get though.
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I have the old fashion fitbit one and I've had it for about 4 years now. I really like it, the steps are accurate (I have counted while walking to double check), sleep data is really cool and stairs seems to be accurate as well. I believe when the calories burned are loaded into MFP there's a problem as it's way too high. So I just mentally cut it in half to make sure I'm not cheating myself. It really is only a gloried step counter, but a fun one 0
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I haven't used the Fitbit, but I've used the Withings and the Jawbone.
Things to think about:
If you're a hand talker, you might want to consider one of the clip-ons that you can pop into your pocket instead of a wrist one. Apparently I can talk at about 5-10 mph, so I wear mine on my wrist when I go to bed and in my pocket when I'm up.
I also very much prefer to have one that tells me how many steps I've done as opposed to either having to sync it to find out or just showing me dots.
The app makes the tracker. I just started using the Withings one again after not using it for a long time, and was quickly reminded of the one failing that ticked me off enough that I quit using it before: I can't go back and tell it when I was asleep. It tracks it wonderfully, but I have to remember to tell the thing I'm going to sleep.0 -
I loved my step counter ,lol, but when I discovered it was way over estimating I lost my love for it. Still the idea of sleep monitoring is fun. Some mornings I wake up like I have run a marathon. ( not that I have any idea to what running a marathon really feels like). Jury is still out, but I am considering it.0
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I love my fitbit. I don't use the calorie estimator (though it mirrors the myfitnesspal one pretty consistently).
I like challenges. I like the sleep monitor, though it greatly over estimates my sleep.
I just like the motivation.0 -
I have the Apple watch and before it the Polar HRM. I got the AW for my birthday last December and it was a debate for me between the fitbit (much cheaper) or the AW. I think the AW is fine for workouts, although if I'm not careful with my type of work out selection the calorie burn is off. This morning instead of running on the treadmill I walked at 3mph on an '8' incline - I put "indoor walk" as my choice and it said I burned like 90 calories. My treadmill estimated a 250 calorie burn - so I'm guessing it was really somewhere in the middle of the two. I don't care because I don't eat my calories back - so accuracy isn't totally necessary for me. I like the feature because when I see a big burn it makes me smile (and know that I may be inching closer to my goals). The Polar was excellent, too for the most part. Both of them occasionally won't tell me my heart rate if they aren't perfectly lined up. I'm guessing the fitbit fails there sometimes, too (none of them are going to be perfect). So that was rambly - short answer - I know nothing about the fitbit LOL. Glad to be of service.
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I'm on my 3rd FitBit Charge. Yes...3RD!!! The first one I received as a gift last Valentine's Day from my boyfriend...no, I wasn't offended because I had been looking at getting one and he surprised me with it so yay him!!! LOL! That one worked fine but this fall I noticed the band was coming apart from the plastic part where the brains are so I contacted FitBit and they sent me a replacement. Awesome customer service. Around Thanksgiving, I noticed that the battery wasn't lasting more than a day...according to what I've read it should last 5-7 days before needing to be charged. Contacted them again and this time it was a little more difficult because they wanted me to try some things before they would replace it. But they eventually sent me a replacement, although this time I'm guessing it was a refurbished one because it didn't come in the original box...it was just the FitBit in an envelope. I was a little disappointed with this but thought as long as it works, fine. Neither time did they request to send the old ones back. Now...just the last two weeks, I'm noticing that the battery seems to be losing it's charge within a couple of days again. I'm still debating if I'm going to contact them yet again for a replacement. Part of the reason is I have the large, but have lost enough weight that it's actually on the smallest notch so I don't know if they'd send me the small or if they would only replace it with another large. Or...I've also been checking out the Apple Watch. There is an upgraded FitBit for the same amount of money as the Apple Watch, but I'd get so much more use out of the Apple Watch due to syncing with my iPhone. Hope all this rambling helps! 0
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Had a zip, the most basic model (because I don't want to have to charge something, and I don't need a device to tell me I sleep like poop). Actually I had four of them, each and every one malfunctioned. They were great about replacing them until the last one, then they said that my original purchase was out of warranty and so they would not replace it again. even though it was defective. The best they would do was offer me 25% off a new one.
I switched to a Jawbone Up Move and have been quite satisfied with it, and won't go back to Fitbit. I don't want a wrist-worn device, so I'm pretty limited in my options!0 -
I also have the Zip and love it for the simplicity. Mine has worked fine for 2 years now and it suits my needs.0
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I have the fitbit charge hr. I absolutely love it. I like being able to track my sleep and workouts. I also like that I can sync to my phone and MFP0
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I have a Fitbit Charge HR. I haven't noticed fake steps so it could be this model compared to older ones is more accurate. I have tried tricking it just to see. I think you can go longer between charges, but I take mine off and charge it daily while I shower.
I don't eat back calories so pay little mind to what it adds. I figure that's all part of being alive anyway. With that said, I do like when I hit my "goal" of burning 2100/day (yes, that includes being alive).
I like to check my heart rate when I HIIT (well, technically I peek after I transition into a low intensity period because I am not talented enough to check when I am moving at that level) and it generally works well. I've had it just not show up but maybe my heart rate was too high it thought it wasn't tracking right? In any case, it's been great lately.
Any other Fitbit users can add me: www.fitbit.com/user/24LXDS if that works or using my email brutalbunny@gmail.com (this is my junk email, btw)0 -
I love my Fitbit Charge HR too! Also found it very accurate in terms of steps and stairs, I've tested it multiple time, multiple ways. I bought this one so I can also monitor my heart rate and sleep. I'm still slowly working in more steps into my life and am definitely finding this motivating. I don't eat back my calories either, I have that disabled on mfp, so if it's accurate or not, it's not all that important. In a year or two I may upgrade and get the one that tracks multiple activities, or whatever the latest and greatest one is at the time, but for now this one is perfect for me.0
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I have a FitBit Charge HR now, I used to have a Flex. I
love it. I don't use it for calories burned. I don't use it for flights climbed. I use it for HR, sleep tracking, and steps. I also have an Aria scale with syncs with FitBit and MFP (it's made by FitBit). It also reads body fat %.
I love the challenges; they really motivate me.
@DorkothyParker I sent a request! 0
