Debating to get fitbit

Moonbeamlissie

Does FitBit pretty much just track your activity? I am not worried about moving more. I have been told I move too much! I am worried about accurately figuring out how many calories I need a day. The TDEE calculators seem WAY high for me. I was just wondering if this would help me figure it out. Thanks for the input and sorry to post a question on your thread OP!

Yep--when your accounts are linked, MFP automatically reads your activity level from your Fitbit and recalculates your allowed calories throughout the day. It's pretty awesome!

Thanks for responding! I am guessing to set it up, you have to enter some info that gives you an idea of your bmr or whatever. Is there anyway to know how accurate that is. I am actually needing to eat more but I don't know how much, so I am having a hard time figuring that out. It is scary! lol

You input your height, weight and gait of your steps and this thing knows what your doing!! I will say this it does not take in to account if your carrying or pushing anything which will make you burn more calories but that is ok with me

Moonbeamlissie

What I want to know is whether the Fitbit tells you how many calories you have burned when you are doing cardio, circuit training, CrossFit, and anything else like that. Or is it just a glorified pedometer that is dependent on number of steps? I'm having trouble estimating my actual workout calories.

Added later: I did try to contact the company via email to ask them this question, and they didn't really answer the question. Nor does their website seem to have this information.

Yes there is. There is a timer function that when ingaged it keeps track of all your stats for that specific time. As well the timer function tracks your sleep. Please inbox me with any more questions!

rachseby

I had a zip that I took back b/c it seemed to really overestimate my calories burned. I tried to find out how accurate it was, but couldn't figure out their customer service..it did motivate me to walk more though!

ryansgirl101302

I love my Fitbit One! I use it to track my steps to keep me motivated to NOT sit on my butt all evening. I use a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch with the ant+ hrm it came with to accurately track calories. I also use map my run to sync my garmin. I don't use fitbit to calculate how many calories I should eat because it would have me eating 2,000+ calories a day!

pinkraynedropjacki

We all have a One here each. We love it. I do over 40,000 steps a day just because I can, that's my minimum. I have no need to do anything else with that amount.

Get it.

It's a great motivation tool.... just get the One or Zip.... don't get the Flex.... hand movements are NOT steps.

monchandler

Love the fitbit!!! I go it a couple of months ago. I really did not know how active/inacitve I was. I wearing it all day everyday. If I see that I am not close to 10K steps, it makes me go exercise!!! I helps to keep me motivated and it is accurate.

pinkraynedropjacki

Anyone know if the Fitbit Flex can act as a HRM with a smart phone app?

It does work with a smart phone app but not as a HRM

You should point out not ALL smartphones. There are a heap it does NOT sync to.

Lookmeintheeyes135

Haha this is so funny! I didn't even go searching for this and it popped up once I opened the community tab! I just got a fitbit flex yesterday. Obviously I don't have much experience with it yet, but so far I love it! It has a silent alarm feature that worked to wake me up for work this morning. Also, I like the fact that you can simply double tap it to see your fitness progress throughout the day. It's a fun little gadget to have in my opinion.

candytag

I returned mine after a week. It is a glorified pedometer that also calculates stairs and sleep. I walk and exercise as much as I can I wont go and walk because I only did ____ today I will go walk if I have the energy. I did purchase a Ipod nano instead music and fitness tracker. Oh and I purchased the fit bit scale. The scale I love. You can track your weight using the reports on here and it always tracks it precisely. For me the fit bit just another pedometer.

bdavis11758

I got one two weeks ago and love it. It helps me realize that I need to move more.

scrapjen

The Fitbit DOES do more than just counting steps, it takes into account steps per minutes, so it can tell the difference between a walk and a run. It actually seems to take impact into account somewhat. I love how it really shows your the chronology of your activity. I love the graphs, the total burn vs intake is a favorite (gotta keep those two lines apart, the intake is my food from MFP which transfers over to the Fitbit site). You can figure out your basic BMR, to know how much your activity adds to it. You can calculate individual stats for any workout. The One and Flex also track sleep, which I find interesting too. It's so much easier to use than a HRM (I have that too, and I use it sometimes, but snapping the pieces together, wetting the electrodes, putting it on uncomfortably around the chest, putting on the watch ... it's a bit of a pain). The Fitbit is always on me, but you wouldn't know it. I love how it tracks workouts, but I also really like to see how the rest of my day comes in ... is my shopping enough walking to register a spike in steps? Is cleaning the house going to show as "fairly active"?

I guess everyone's experience is a little different. It would depend on what they are looking for and expecting. Also price point, $100 is a ton of $$ for some people, and a drop in the bucket to others. Definitely worth it for me.

dmvarner

So I am going to jump into this thread with a question as well☺. I am new to working out, calories counting, etc. I see fitbit, and hrm thrown around a lot but really what is the difference? I swim almost daily and would love an accurate account of my calories..would either of them work? Thanks! Oh and if fitbit is just really calories and steps..is it different the a polar watch or a pedometer? Sorry just really confused on what to try and search/buy.

neskapolita1978

I got out of the habit of wearing it when I washed it and had to get a new one. I really need to get back into the habit.

It was really awesome when I went on vacation last year. I could see how much that I had walked. The day I walked around Barcelona all day long I logged 39,500 steps. Should have gone for 40k but I was exhausted by the end of it.

Come to think of it, the fitbit was an integral part of my ability to work out before and after my trip. Even when I got back, I did stairs in my office during breaks. It was nice to see numbers that corroborated my effort.

One question, Does it sync wirelessly with mobile app now? I hardly ever use a laptop/desktop computer except at work anymore and I'd rather keep my stats on the phone or tablet.

jjinteso

Is it true that the flex counts when you move your hands? I move my hands a lot when working, while sitting.

cuddlechimp12

My Fitbit Ultra would count calories that I did not burn. I wasn't even wearing it. I would add on like 1,200 calories to it. Its based upon your age, weight, and height. I am not sure about all the other FitBit products. And yes it does it depending on steps for the Ultra.

ecw3780

I am obsessed with mine. It has made all the difference. However, it works best for activities like running & walking, so if you are into weight lifting, biking or swimming, it wont do that much for you.

ChristineinMA

I returned mine after a week. It is a glorified pedometer that also calculates stairs and sleep. I walk and exercise as much as I can I wont go and walk because I only did ____ today I will go walk if I have the energy. I did purchase a Ipod nano instead music and fitness tracker. Oh and I purchased the fit bit scale. The scale I love. You can track your weight using the reports on here and it always tracks it precisely. For me the fit bit just another pedometer.

My main exercise is walking and there are great hills in my neighborhood so a glorified pedometer is exactly what I wanted.

I love my Fitbit One! I recommend checking out the reviews on amazon.com for any "wearable technology" that you are interested in. I spent about three months researching what I wanted there.

This page is also helpful: http://www.fitbit.com/comparison/trackers

skrakalaka

I got out of the habit of wearing it when I washed it and had to get a new one. I really need to get back into the habit.

It was really awesome when I went on vacation last year. I could see how much that I had walked. The day I walked around Barcelona all day long I logged 39,500 steps. Should have gone for 40k but I was exhausted by the end of it.

Come to think of it, the fitbit was an integral part of my ability to work out before and after my trip. Even when I got back, I did stairs in my office during breaks. It was nice to see numbers that corroborated my effort.

One question, Does it sync wirelessly with mobile app now? I hardly ever use a laptop/desktop computer except at work anymore and I'd rather keep my stats on the phone or tablet.

My fitbit one syncs with my Galaxy S3 and my tablet when I have bluetooth turned on.

Moonbeamlissie

Anyone know if the Fitbit Flex can act as a HRM with a smart phone app?

It does work with a smart phone app but not as a HRM

You should point out not ALL smartphones. There are a heap it does NOT sync to.

This is true as far as I know it works with Iphone 4S and up and Galaxy 3 and up. I wasn't thinking about this when i answered the question just about it being an HRM.

Moonbeamlissie

My Fitbit Ultra would count calories that I did not burn. I wasn't even wearing it. I would add on like 1,200 calories to it. Its based upon your age, weight, and height. I am not sure about all the other FitBit products. And yes it does it depending on steps for the Ultra.

It wasnt really adding calories you didn't burn since it doesn't turn off it calculates it as if you were laying in bed not moving. This is good for like say when your charging it or bathing.