Thinking of buying a fitbit- advice please?

lazygingerbread

I am thinking of investing in a Fitbit but I'm on a tight budget.

I use a Polar FT4 HRM for my workouts but its been cutting out at random intervals recently (with a recently changed battery) so it isn't as reliable as it used to be. I also tend to take a pedometer out and about with me, but obviously that only counts steps.

I'd heard in the past that fitbits are just 'glorified pedometers' but I've heard recently that they track your activity/calorie burn all day including workouts and walking etc., so it sounded like something I would be interested in.

The exercise I tend to do is youtube stuff (so I guess HIIT/bodyweight exercises, aerobic cardio kind of stuff?), occasional weightlifting and (very) occasional running. My walking varies but on some days I walk a fair bit.

The new Charge 2 looks interesting (obviously, because its the newest model) but its £120 and as a student I can't really spend that money. I can only justify buying one if I know its going to be used all the time for years to come, if that makes sense.

So I just wondered if anyone had any suggestions? Maybe slightly older models that are just as good (but a bit cheaper)? Or a similar brand that is just as good? Or are the newest models of Fitbit really worth the money (and if so, what would you recommend?)

Thanks

Rufftimes

What phone do you have? That makes a difference

cwolfman13

lazygingerbread wrote: »

I am thinking of investing in a Fitbit but I'm on a tight budget.

I use a HRM for my workouts but its been cutting out at random intervals recently (with a recently changed battery) so it isn't as reliable as it used to be. I also tend to take a pedometer out and about with me, but obviously that only counts steps.

I'd heard in the past that fitbits are just 'glorified pedometers' but I've heard recently that they track your activity/calorie burn all day including workouts and walking etc., so it sounded like something I would be interested in.

The new Charge 2 looks interesting (obviously, because its the newest model) but its £120 and as a student I can't really spend that money. I can only justify buying one if I know its going to be used all the time for years to come, if that makes sense.

So I just wondered if anyone had any suggestions? Maybe slightly older models that are just as good (but a bit cheaper)? Or a similar brand that is just as good? Or are the newest models of Fitbit really worth the money (and if so, what would you recommend?)

Thanks

The bolded is correct. Outside of step based exercise, it's pretty useless. Yes, it will give you an estimate of your daily calorie burn and an indication of your activity level...but it's really just tracking steps. If you walk a lot or run, it's fine...if you lift, it's worthless...if you cycle, it's worthless...if you swim...well, you get the point. It's a step based activity tracker.

egwilmore

I had the first fitbit Charge and it was great for what I was using it for. I wore it all day to keep track of steps and during workouts to measure calorie burn and heart rate. However, that thing didn't even last a whole year and I often had issues syncing my fitbit data to my app. I recommend it for someone who's interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle but it's not great at giving an accurate heart rate during high intensity workouts.

I just bought a Garmin vivosmart HR and I really like it so far--haven't done any workouts with it but the app is alot more tailored towards workouts/calories in vs. calories out/heart rate and is very customizable. Also pairs with MFP.

lazygingerbread

Rufftimes wrote: »

What phone do you have? That makes a difference

Android

Rufftimes

I have the Gear fit 2 and love it, but it doesn't play well with apple. It does a lot more than fitness tracking though, which is what makes it nice.

mkeonem

I have a Garmin Vivofit 3 with a chestband HRM that I wear when i work out. I do a variety of exercises including my bowflex max trainer (like a stepper), weights, walking/jogging, cycling, etc. The 2 main reasons I chose the Vivofit 3 was (1) the watch battery, if I had to take it off and charge it every so often i would never wear it all the time and end up putting my watch back on when it was charging and simply forgetting to change back. (2) The fact that it can differentiate between cycling and walkign and running and exercise machines. Now, I haven't used the MoveIQ much but its a great feature I will be using more now that I can actually ride my bike again.

Garmin also has an app that works on my windows phone so that was a plus!

juliamc183

I've used the Fitbit Charge HR for a year or so now and can't recommend it enough. It's not perfect but it's been fantastic for motivating me to move more. It can encourage you to drink more water, get enough sleep, etc. Even the little features, such as phone call notifications and silent alarms, are things that I've found really useful.

As you mentioned, it does track your activity. People's experience with the accuracy of this feature does vary, though. Personally, I've found that with certain workouts (eg. on the exercise bike) it overestimates my calorie burn by 100cals or so. But as the heart rate monitor is very accurate, I just plug my figures into an online HR-based calorie burn calculator and work with their number instead instead. Similarly it can slightly overestimate calories burned from walking, so I work on the rough assumption that 10,000 steps = ~500 calories and go from there.

They're not super cheap (I paid £120, too) but given how much I've used mine - every day, without fail - since buying it, it's undoubtedly been value for money for me. I can't see a huge difference between the Charge HR and Charge HR 2, so if money is a big factor I'd recommend going for the former. If you're not overly fussed about colour you can probably pick one up on Amazon for around £65 or so.

Hope that helps!

hesfeld

My advice are really think about what your goals are for it and what you want to get out of it and go from there. If you don't care to monitor heart rate, then save some money and get a reasonable pedometer, etc. I had the Charge HR and it kept falling apart. I got the Charge 2 and love it except I don't use half the feature. I just got a really good deal on it as a replacement from Fitbit.

raquele3394

I have the blaze and I love it!!

NorthCascades

If walking and running are the exercise you do, Fitbit will work pretty well. For anything else, keep your money.

NewMeSM75

My best friend had the charge 2 and charge 2 hr. With both, the bands kept breaking. I have the blaze. I really like mine.

MirandaB24

I've had the Charge HR for 2 years and it is still going strong. I love it , and it is pretty accurate (within 100 cals) on pretty much all my exercise.

carolineb81

I have charge hr and while I do love it I'm now on my third as strap keeps on coming apart and from researching aftér the event seems that's a very common fault

runningkel

I have a Fitbit One...the one that goes on your waist or in your pocket and I love it (it's also one of the cheapest)!! I've had it about 4 years now. I also wear a Garmin for running but I just like seeing the variations in my daily life from my fitbit. For instance, if it's 3PM on a Saturday and I'm only at 3000 steps, I know I need to move a little bit. But I'm not that person who walks around their bedroom to get to 10000 steps...it just doesn't matter that much. Unless I do absurd walking (like +20k steps not counting exercise) I don't typically count the calories for purposes of eating, so I don't know how accurate it is with calories. I like the One because I like a variety of cute bracelets during the day so none of the Fitbits really appealed to me that way.

Iwilldo198

Buy it buy it. I love mine. If you are on a budget get one off qvc. Or hsn they allow you to make payments compare prices on both sites. I got the blaze off qvc. They had a flex payment for like 35.00

LostSun8

Fitbit is a step backward from Polar. I would recommend the Polar A360 over the fitbit.

Rufftimes

I'd like everyone's opinion on the UA Health box. Tracker/scale setup. I love my gear fit 2, and absolutely love my withings scale but getting everything to sync together is a huge pain. MFP still doesn't pick up my step count

ColoradoChlo

I have the Alta HR and it's perfect for me.

Rusty740

I love my Garmin Vivosmart HR, you could pick up a used one within your price range and it will suit you well.

ladypew

I have a firbit charge 2 and I love it - cost just over a £100 on amazon. I wear it daily (first time in my life I've worn a watch) and it can even track your sleep. It gives you an estimate of calories burned and I like its style. Its also got a good community on it so u might be able to have friends you can challenge everyday on it.

slinke2014

I love my fitbit alta. It doesn't have a heart rate monitor but I didn't care about tracking that as it doesn't really affect calorie burn. My tracks mileage really accurately and I have noticed that the calorie burn is pretty darn close too as I eat pretty much all of my activity calories back and still consistently loose weight. It keeps me moving more throughout the day when before I would just sit at my desk all day long. Which is really why I got it in the first place.

try2again

As a person whose activity varies a lot from day to day, I found a fitbit helpful in giving me a better idea of my actual calorie burn for different days. Like you, I was unsure about the investment, so I just kept an eye out on ebay for a "barely used" one and ended up scoring a Flex with multiple bands that has worked perfectly for about $25.

adamgoleafs87

Love mine. Big motivation tool, love trying to beat previous highs for calories burned, steps, etc.

starfruit132

Fitbit 2 is great for heart rate accuracy. The band does break with vigorous use, but they will send a replacement. Works well with mfp.

tiggerlove

Never had a Fitbit but most of my friends that did moved on to Polar A360 or Apple. They kept complains about band breaking etc..the only thing they did like was the community

kmaf2018

I have a fitbit charge HR and I love it! And its suprisingly very accurate, a few times a day I'll measure my own HR using the pulse on wrist method and I set my stop watch for 60secs and honestly its either spot on with what my fitbit reads or its a beat up or down out which i can live with as i know not everything can be 100% accurate! I got mine from amazon for £70, best thing i ever bought

ColoradoChlo

I have the Alta HR and it's perfect for me. I love being able to track my heart rate and I love challenging my peers to see who can take more steps. As a weightlifter, I struggle with getting my steps in but they are very necessary. The Alta is a bit thinner than the charge and I absolutely love how it looks (I have the coral color!). I track my water intake as well as my exercise (weightlifting sessions). It's simple and its perfect.

marvin1969

Added a Fitbit Charge 2 HR and really like it. Because I do cardio and then immediately go to my strength training, it seems to tracks my caloric burns pretty well for the activity and HR. Since I don't really "count" on my strength training for the calorie burn, it's been good.

It is NOT water resistant, which really is a bit annoying for me, since I want to wear it swimming, snorkeling, etc. But I love the band. Add a few more dollars and get something like "UMTELE Milanese Loop Stainless Steel Metal Bracelet Strap with Unique Magnet Lock" from Amazon with it. It's MUCH better than the rubber one that came with the tracker.