Does anyone else feel this way about fitbits?

Sp1tfire

So I've been an avid fitbit user for about a year. I mainly used it to track steps and calories burned. Then when I started exercising and doing more intense stuff I've started to dislike wearing. I feel like it boils down my fitness success to how many calories I burned (and I don't think it's always accurate because it doesn't seem to take resistance into account). It takes the fitness out of fitness for me. I'm in better shape than I have been my whole life, but my fitbit makes me feel like all that matters is my steps and my calories. I might stop wearing after I get back from college and focus on being in shape rather than focusing on how many calories the activity burned.

Your thoughts?

haleyj089

I really liked my fitbit in the very beginning but I agree with you - it seems steps and calories is all that matters in regards to daily progress. I like wearing it to track my steps but that's all I personally use it for. :]

usmcmp

I only wear a step tracking device during my regular day to remind myself to be more active. I don't wear it at the gym, but I would probably wear it on a hike just to help gauge how tired I might be the next day.

gamerbabe14

I dislike fitbits...their steps aren't even that accurate.

Alatariel75

I gotta say, I pretty much use mine as a watch these days. And I could get a better looking watch.

cheriej2042

I never liked it I thought tracking steps versus actual calorie output was stupid. Then it fell off somewhere in an airport when I was traveling and that was that.

lorrpb

I love my fitbit. It gives me another form of accountability. Is it perfect? No, few too k s are. But it has been indispensable in my journey.

middlehaitch

Never been interested in using one.
How many steps I take in a day rarely reflects the amount of activity I have had.

Cheers, h.

Therealobi1

i like my fitbit, enjoyed loads of challenges last year. still participate in daily challenges when invited
i dont pay any attention to the calories burnt

CoachJen71

Sometimes I can get hung up on calorie chasing, but that would happen with or without the Fitbit because I already had a food obsession. So plus side is the Fitbit helps me manage my weight, the down side is that I can look to it for permission to eat more. Right now, I feel more secure in having it. Whether or not I ditch it down the road depends on if I can rebuild a healthier relationship with food.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

katadx wrote: »

So I've been an avid fitbit user for about a year. I mainly used it to track steps and calories burned. Then when I started exercising and doing more intense stuff I've started to dislike wearing. I feel like it boils down my fitness success to how many calories I burned (and I don't think it's always accurate because it doesn't seem to take resistance into account). It takes the fitness out of fitness for me. I'm in better shape than I have been my whole life, but my fitbit makes me feel like all that matters is my steps and my calories. I might stop wearing after I get back from college and focus on being in shape rather than focusing on how many calories the activity burned.

Your thoughts?

I think your giving fit bit too much thought.

After my work out I think how does that compare to the last time I did this route, time wise etc. I don't think what did fit bit say.

jbeth30

I have been going back and forth on buying one for myself. I think I have decided not to get one especially for the reasons you mentioned. I don't want to get caught up on a Watch telling me how many steps I should be taking a day. I want to focus on how good my body feels when I exercise without focusing on a number. It would almost be like me stepping on the scale and the scale telling me how good I have been. I would start looking at the fit bit in the same way. I don't want that. I want my body to tell me what I need… Not a fit bit

Zombella

I like mine. I like seeing how many steps I've done (compared it to other steppers and a phone counting steps as well). I don't really pay much attention to the active minutes, but I like getting awards and seeing how far I've walked compared to countries or whatever. I also use apps to track my water intake. It is just fun. With one, when I drink, I water a plant. If I don't drink enough, it'll eventually die.

Seajolly

I just use mine to watch my steps and also check the time. But the step counter comes in handy to me.

loha2328

Mine has been an integral part of my weight loss just like MFP has. MFP tracks calories in and the Fitbit tracks calories burned. As long as I watched those numbers and kept an average 500 calorie deficit, then I lost a pound a week which has added up to a 60 lb. loss. I think that I am the kind of person that will always need to keep an eye on these numbers so as not to put weight back on. I guess it just depends on the individual and what they are using it for. For me, it was to aid in a weight loss journey, not to gauge fitness levels.

rainbow198

I have never been interested in these fitness gadgets. I only track my fitness walking/running miles (not steps) using a phone app and this works great for me.

Then again I've been maintaining for years, but I doubt I would still be interested even when I was losing.

I just want the bottom line (how many miles I've walked or ran) not so much the bells and whistles.

becky10rp

My Husband got me a Fitbit about 2+ years ago. I used it for a week - then took it off. I'm OCD about exercise as it is - I workout 6 days a week, 90 minutes/workout. The Fitbit is not very accurate - doesn't 'count' my time on the bike, on the elliptical, lifting weights - but it would get on my last nerve if I didn't get those darn 10,000 steps in. If you workout consistently (and do something OTHER than walk or run) - I don't think it's very helpful. But I know a lot of people who swear by theirs. My Fitbit fed into my OCD tendencies - and seriously took the fun out of working out.

brb_2013

I liked it at first but I don't use it anymore. I felt like I failed if I didn't hit every mark and over time that was more discouraging then encouraging and I was always having to take it off to dry it because I run warm and always ended up sweating a ton and got lots of rashes even with regular washing and trading wrists. It became more cumbersome than helpful after about a year. It taught me a lot about myself and how much I move but wasn't a sustainable tool for me and I probably won't ever buy another.

gmstevens37

I liked mine for about a week. Good thing I got it free from air miles. Mine is the garmin one. It has the move meter that vibrates if you haven't moved for a certain amount of time. The thing is, I work in a kitchen, so I am never not moving, I am not always moving my arms that whole time, because I usually carrying something. For some reason, it counts my steps AND tells me I'm being a lazy *kitten*. Haha. Plus, it doesn't seem like the calories burned are accurate. Starts everyday with 400+ already burnt, while I wasn't even wearing it. Also it started sticking to my wrist. Which feels gross.
But at least I know how many steps I take in a day now. Which is all I really wanted it for anyway.

PowerliftingMom

I take my Fitbit results with a grain of salt. If you lift weights and don't do much cardio, it's not an accurate way to track weight loss. For example, on my bench days I do a solid hour of heavy lifting, but it won't show many steps but I know I have burned more calories than the Fitbit is showing. I think the calories burned is really based on STEPS alone.

zyxst

Nope.

malibu927

gmstevens37 wrote: »

I liked mine for about a week. Good thing I got it free from air miles. Mine is the garmin one. It has the move meter that vibrates if you haven't moved for a certain amount of time. The thing is, I work in a kitchen, so I am never not moving, I am not always moving my arms that whole time, because I usually carrying something. For some reason, it counts my steps AND tells me I'm being a lazy *kitten*. Haha. Plus, it doesn't seem like the calories burned are accurate. Starts everyday with 400+ already burnt, while I wasn't even wearing it. Also it started sticking to my wrist. Which feels gross.
But at least I know how many steps I take in a day now. Which is all I really wanted it for anyway.

That would be what you burned from BMR

I love mine. I'm lazy on my days off work (when I usually get 12-15,000 steps) so it helps me make sure I'm active enough for the amount of calories I'm consuming. As for non-step based exercises (elliptical or lifting), I just log them in Fitbit. That part has never been an issue for me.

haydiz70

I have a Fitbit Blaze and the Samsung GearFit2. I like both but I prefer the GearFit. I like to hike quite a bit and it's helpful seeing how many miles I've gone, elevation, etc and then seeing it all on a map afterwards. I also like keeping an eye on my heart rate when jogging or biking since I need to stay below a certain number due to health issues. Luckily, I've found the GearFit2's HR monitor to be accurate, not 100% but still very reliable. The Blaze is less accurate for me. Anyway, I've never been obsessive about reaching 10000 steps. I can see how activity trackers could be annoying if you feel like you have to take that many steps a day or feel like a fitness failure. Haha. Anyway, I love gadgets, so they're fun for me.

WorshipHK

Calories are still important to keep track of for maintaining or losing weight, but I ditched mine a while ago because I also thought it was super annoying.

jujubeans1974

I have Fitbit One & Blaze ..My Blaze isn't accurate, so I just use it as a watch .. but my Fitbit one is very accurate, it underestimates about 6% .. so I feel comfortable eating back my activity calories .. but my only activity is walking, beside that , I'm very sedentary.. at the moment

getupforchange

I used to have the jawbone tracker (same sort of thing) and loved it for tracking my sleep as that has always been a bit of an issue for me and it was a fun way for me to challenge myself every day to get more steps in (take the stairs and not the lift etc.) BUT I would never use it in the gym to track exercise/workouts. I use a HRM for that. After my jawbone broke I didn't feel the need to get a new one.

fitin50s2

Fitbit Blaze=worthless to me. Won mine in a contest. Gave it a try for a while. Inaccurate at best. Gave it to my daughter. I know many swear by these gadgets and if it works for them, so be it. Who am I to say differently. For me, an utter waste of time. At the end of the day, I'm going to do what exercise I have in mind and in my plan to do. I don't give a damn about what a tracker does or does not show me or wants me to do.

brdnw

I got one for free and tried to wear it and just couldn't get into it. I don't care how many steps I take. I don't think that's a way to tell if you're being active or not.

I lift every day, i'm in 2 sand volleyball leagues and I do HIIT cardio every day for 15-20 minutes. It probably would say i'm not getting enough steps... i don't think doing a bunch of loops around my neighborhood will accomplish anything.