Fitbit is it worth it?

ashliedelgado

I turned the pedometer on my phone before buying an activity tracker. If your phone doesn't have a good pedometer, you can pick one up for about $5. Doesn't need to be fancy, no bells and whistles.

What I found is not only was it motivating for me to push further, I got frustrated with tucking my phone in my bra during workouts, mad when my phone was on the charger and I lost steps, etc.

But it's not the magic pill. I know many people who bought a fit bit thinking it would make them get fit. If you don't use the data to improve your life, its not worth it.

megsi886

Don't buy it for sleep tracking or because you're worried your phone is inaccurate when on your body. Not wanting to keep your phone on you all the time or having phone battery issues are good reasons.

I like the jawbone activity trackers a lot better than the fitbit ones. They have a cheaper entry level and the mid tier bands are on sale online now. The fitbit I've used, a flex, counted thousands of spurious steps during other activities, wouldn't sync with my computer, and interfered with other Bluetooth devices. There seems to be no solution for these issues, just a bunch of awkward workarounds that are not nearly as easy as just using a different device. I think its step tracking is just too sensitive or not smart enough, because the jawbone has never had big numbers of false steps.

The jawbone is not issue-free. They tend to work great for 4-10 months and then die, but then you get a warranty replacement, so it's less bad than it sounds. This is why I tried a Fit bit in the first place, and the fact that I quickly decided the fitbit was actually far worse should give you an idea how bad the fitbit's problems were. Today I'm using Google Fit with my wrist gloriously naked while waiting for my latest Up warranty replacement.

I would get a basic model. You really don't need the added features in the more expensive trackers, at least not when you're getting a first device to see if it helps you. There's a lot of bling that just adds to the company's profit margin.

Sleep tracking is not incredibly accurate or useful in any of the devices I've tried.

Has everyone read David Sedaris's hilarious piece on the motivation and addiction of step counting? http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/stepping-out-3

RandiNoelle

I LOVE my Charge HR! I do the challenges which brings the added motivation to move around. It's helped me with my running (being able to monitor my splits) and find what method brings the best time.

CincyNeid

I've got a Garmin and I really enjoy it. The 55K weekly challenge really helps me to keep in mind i need to keep moving throughout the day.