Is the Fitbit worth it?

krael65

Completely worth it for me. I have the Blaze and I love it. It's a great motivator and has helped me up my TDEE just by moving more. Before I got it, my weight loss stalled for about 2 months. After I started wearing it, I realized how low my TDEE really was, despite working out regularly (hence the 'stall' in weight loss). The data it provides has helped me to drop below my original weight goal. I find the data to be pretty accurate for me. I agree with others who say they can't imagine being without now.

sapphirecat94

I have the Alta, and my husband has the HR Charge. We got them this summer, and it's the first time we've been successful in our efforts to finally lose weight. We are using them in tandem with MFP, and have both lost over 30 lbs. since June. I have farther to go than he does - I'd like to lose 70 more pounds - but it's definitely been worth it. I love having the text and call alerts on my Alta, and the activity reminders are key for me, as I spend way too much time sitting in front of a computer. We walk almost every night to aim for our 10,000 (or at least 30 min. of walking). Well worth the expense in my opinion.

PAV8888

While for me it is a worthwhile investment it won't be one for everyone.

Try to buy one from a store that offers a return policy.

I note that Fitbit.com states that for products purchased directly through them in November and December (and we're currently in November ) you have till January 31 to return the product based on their satisfaction guaranteed return policy.

https://www.fitbit.com/ca/returns

As I am sure many here will verify, to date Fitbit, as a company, has been exceptionally good when it comes to honouring warranties. <not necessarily as good at building an indestructible product>

Of course a $15 pedometer can also, more or less, do what fitbit does. And a pen and paper can do what MFP does too!

daniip_la

It motivated me to move more, and as a result I've lost a good bit of weight since getting mine. I've got the One, it clips to your bra. I love it, it's incredibly accurate, and I'd hate to go anywhere without it.

kksmom1789

I have the Fitbit charge HR and I only take it off to shower and do the dishes! Since having it since January 2016 I've lost 20ish pounds it really does help show you how little your moving I have an office job and I realized how little I was actually moving I have fallen off the wagon here lately with my calorie counting but recently got re motivated and I'm hopin to lose another 20-30lbs in the next year

SusanMFindlay

I love my FitBit Charge 2 - but I'm an admitted stats junkie and love all the graphs and such.

It also made my weight loss make sense and, for that reason alone, was worth every penny. It turns out I get a lot of steps in a day and my TDEE is therefore way higher than any of the online calculators estimate. And they never have an option for "on my feet all day but hardly ever "work out". Which is ironic because what you do all day matters more than what you do for an hour at the gym (though, clearly, that matters too).

My husband got one too, and it motivates him to get his 250 steps/hour and his 10K steps per day. So, he's losing weight too even though he doesn't count calories.

cbusnightowl

I got mine earlier this week (charge 2) and woah Becky the adjustment is giant! I've looked around online, here & on fitbit forums and am trying to be patient for the appx two weeks get to know me whatever but I am freaking out a little on my net calorie stats on mfp. Maybe sedentary isn't the proper setting for me anymore...although I work 12 hour shifts at a computer, I also have been pretty consistent with my cardio in the past two months and have increased my step count almost double what it used to be thanks to my Charge 2! Anyway, sorry for knocking the thread off course for a little but I feel that this will be a good tool for my weight loss and will be more than helpful for my maintenance, once I hit it. No more yoyo-ing is my goal!

a45cal

I don't own a FitBit, but given that almost all of your responses so far are from people who do and who love it, I thought I'd put in my two cents to say that you're not alone in feeling like a hundred dollars is a lot to spend on what's basically a pedometer.

If someone gave me one as a gift or something, I'd probably use it, but that sort of investment feels like far too much to me for something that isn't strictly necessary. So I'd say if you feel like your weightloss is ticking along well without it, don't let the fear of missing out push you into spending money you don't need to.

And if you're just interested in tracking walks taken outdoors and such, I once had pretty good success using the free app from Runkeeper on my phone to see distance/time for my walks and estimate calorie burns.

Just thought I'd offer an alternative.

SusanMFindlay

a45cal wrote: »

I don't own a FitBit, but given that almost all of your responses so far are from people who do and who love it, I thought I'd put in my two cents to say that you're not alone in feeling like a hundred dollars is a lot to spend on what's basically a pedometer.

This is a very valid point. This is why my husband insisted we go with HR monitoring ones. He wasn't willing to spend $100 on a pedometer. And, in fairness, we bought ours with a gift card from his work so they were effectively long service awards and didn't come out of our regular budget.

Bearbo27

My husband got me the Alta and I absolutely love it. Let me explain why...
Before the Fitbit, I honestly assumed that my activity level was lightly active. I had my calories here sent to a lightly active level which gave me around 1400 to 1500 to eat. When I got my fit bit, I set my activity level too sedentary, which dropped my calories to 1200, and synced my fitbit here on my fitness pal. Whenever I go over the lightly active level in steps, it brings my calories up to where they need to be for my activity level. To my surprise, my activity level was actually more active than I thought. I hit 10,000+ steps pretty much every day Most days I have 1700 to 1900 calories to eat. My weight loss has been going great and I am able to eat more because I am accurately tracking my activity level now. On days where I am not as active, seeing the lower calorie number makes me want to get up and move more so that I can eat more :-) I literally wear it all the time, only taking it off to shower, wash dishes, and charge it like an hour every four days

EllaLynn24

I have the fitbit blaze, I really love it. Although, I hate how uncomfortable the wristband is, so I'm thinking about getting a zip to wear on days that I don't feel like dealing with the wristband bothering me, at least until I can find a better wristband for it. I've noticed the fitbit counts steps if I'm laying in bed or sitting in the chair moving my arm around, so I have to remember that when figuring out how many steps I did. I love the features that it has though, like the heart rate, sleep tracking, alerts and reminders, and whatnot. It's a pretty cool device and I don't regret having one.

gailsy619

Love my fitbit Blaze...

erockem

HaleCry wrote: »

I've got the Alta, and I absolutely love it. I love seeing how my sleep pattern is, I love text and call buzzes (I have my phone constantly on silent so it's helpful), I love being in challenges and being motivated to get more steps in to beat people. I love the feeling I get when I reach my step goal. I love my fitbit. It cost me about £100 but to me, it was 110% worth it.

This, except I have the flex, going on 3 years.

kelleykelcox

I have the Charge HR, and LOVE it for the reasons that others have said, and I love the challenges between FitBit friends-this always pushes me to be more active. I have to have the heart rate feature-it's what I love most about FitBit.

Ming1951

Just so people know, if your looking basic the zip, which is the one that clips to you is $59. full price. That is what I paid. As for customer service there is no better than fitbit in my opinion. While I ,mostly like Apple products..once their warranty is over they really have no interest in you. Fitbit helps you.

Richie2shoes

I felt the same way as you. However this past summer I had cardiac bypass surgery and it's important that I monitor my HR when exercising so I bought a Garmin Vivosmart HR. The HR monitor is great, but the step/activity tracking has really motivated me to push myself harder. Like others have said, I was surprised at how little I was walking. There are other brands other than Fitbit and other price points. The Garmin Vivofit is $49 on Amazon, the fitbit clip on model is $59. I tried using regular pedometers in the past, but would always lose them or they would end up going through the washing machine.

ibboykin

If it weren't for being enrolled in the Humana Vitality program thru my work, I probably never would have purchased one. However, hindsight being 20/20, I would say it is great because it helps keep me from being sedentary. I am competitive by nature so the challenges and daily step goals keep me rolling.

norah1414

I love my fitbit and the company is great. I have damaged mine twice and company replaced them with no problem. (Different types, one was a flex and the other a charge) One time they accidentally sent me they wrong one. It was an upgrade to what I had. They honored their mistake and sent all of the needed charging cables too. I also damaged the charge hr and decided that I might give up using a fitbit. I went about a month and could stand it. So now I have a charge 2 and am back on track. I love to know my steps for a day and the competitive side of me want to keep up or beat my friends. For me it is great motivation. It is an investment up front though.

oalharbi

I had a FitBit Flex, and it overcounts your daily steps, not to mention the cheap quality. Try swinging your arm while sitting and you'll see the proof. Now I own a Polar M400 with a HRM belt and I love it.