Anyone have the FitBit?

MandyinVB
MandyinVB Posts: 21 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm thinking about getting the FitBit and want to hear some reviews from you guys...bad and good :)

thanks,
Mandy

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    It's a fancy pedometer that synchs with MFP. It works for what it does, it's a fun toy, haven't had any issues except a few days when it wouldn't synch properly. It's a good motivator if you want to move more and the calorie burn it shows seems about right compared to what I already know for walking type exercise.
  • guiacascio
    guiacascio Posts: 1 Member
    I have the zip fit and I absolutely love it! It tracks calories burned, miles walked and steps walked. You don't realize how much you have moved around until you wear one of these. In the future, I would like to upgrade to the fit bit flex which also tracks your hours of sleep and you wear it as a wrist band. I totally recommend these products! I love them and want to get one for my husband as well. It motviates you to take that last walk in the evening so you can actually reach your goal.
  • soehlerking
    soehlerking Posts: 589 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users

    That group might show you some more.

    I love my FitBit Zip; I've had it for almost a year now, but here are a few notes:

    Pros:
    -great customer service--for 365 days they'll replace anything that breaks on it
    -can't stress the customer service enough--i wrote in w/ an issue and got a response on a Sunday. love them.
    -tiny--I generally wear it in my bra b/c many girl-pants don't come with pockets.
    -easy--no wondering what to track and what not to track; it just records everything you do.

    Cons:
    -it is really JUST for walking/running. if you do Zumba or Jillian Michaels or swimming, you'll have to log that separately.
    -my boob itches. TMI? it gets sweaty, and then it makes you itch if it's right against your skin.
    -It really is exactly like entering your numbers into a calculator. There's no magic; it takes your steps and puts them through a calculation according to your height and weight, then tells you how many calories you burned. Call me silly, but this realization was like finding out Santa wasn't real.
    -It gets you really obsessed with cardio. Personally I've been focusing more on heavy lifting, and I feel like I'm "failing" b/c my steps on my Fitbit are lower than they were during my Half-Marathon training.

    Also:
    -if you don't have an iPhone4s or higher, you have to use the dongle. It's itty-bitty so if you're disorganized there's the fear of losing it...and then what do you do?
    -it does take a little bit to get used to how the calculations work. i.e. you'll wake up the first morning and see that they've already given you 400 calories (or whatever), and that's b/c the Fitbit is counting according to your BMR (what you're burning while sleeping).
    -if you go for a run, don't log it--the Fitbit knows. it took me awhile to figure out I was double-logging.
    -the steps will be accurate, but the distance won't necessarily be. don't sweat it. it's not a distance-logging device like Nike+, it's a pedometer.

    That's all I've got. I don't regret getting mine; it makes my life easier. Sorry for the huge reply!
  • kalegria24
    kalegria24 Posts: 34 Member
    I love my Fitbit!!!! It's what has really helped me to lose weight. Just being aware.... I keep the dashboard up at my office PC and it reminds me to get up and move. There are 4 of us in the office with these, now.
    Now, another co-worker just got the Jawbone. It does all the same things (but without a display on the unit) but she likes that she can set an alarm for it to vibrate every hour to remind her to get up.
    Yes, they are all just fancy pedometers, but I love having charts and graphs all about me, me, me :)
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
    It is great if you are a data nerd like me!! I have the flex and it helps keep me motivated by knowing when I need to get moving. I would recommend getting the force though since it doubles as a watch and is not to much more $$$! Never had an issue with it except on my work computer I cannot see the graphs on the website, works on my windows laptop and mac at home though.
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    All I can say is the blasted thing makes me climb stairs. Flights and flights and flights of stairs, because I like to see the floor numbers go up, and I'm a badge junkie...and go figure...all those stairs since September? Made my endurance better. :bigsmile:
  • daveymac1
    daveymac1 Posts: 784 Member
    I have one. Don't waste $100. Its a pedometer. It doesn't track sleep. It tracks movements. If you are driving, it counts them as steps. Its just a "weight loss" gadget. If you want calories burned, get a HRM. I have a polar f7, cost me $89. Way more accurate. My fitbit will say higher caloric loss on cardio days, and lower on power lifting. Where as HRM knows what I am burning on powerlifting days. Hope this helps
  • JuicyGyrl
    JuicyGyrl Posts: 15 Member
    I have the FitBit and I love it. It is a god step counter. It counts calories but I am not sure how accurate it is. I am looking into getting a Polar HRM soon. I love the FitBit for when I go running. It helps me make sure I get my 10,000 steps a day in.
  • MandyinVB
    MandyinVB Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you everyone for the replies. I have decided to get the Fit Bit flex (hot pink). It's a start and that's what I need right now :)

    Mandy
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    It's a fancy pedometer that synchs with MFP. It works for what it does, it's a fun toy, haven't had any issues except a few days when it wouldn't synch properly. It's a good motivator if you want to move more and the calorie burn it shows seems about right compared to what I already know for walking type exercise.

    Ditto this.

    And the data nerd comment above. Sometimes SEEING your numbers and graphs makes a huge difference, and knowing you're wearing something that's tracking your activity level just makes you want to move more to move your numbers. Sure, moving more eventually moves the scale numbers but this is immediate gratification.

    A lot of people also find the competitive aspect motivating but I never did.
  • WhiteRabbit1313
    WhiteRabbit1313 Posts: 1,091 Member
    I have one. Don't waste $100. Its a pedometer. It doesn't track sleep. It tracks movements. If you are driving, it counts them as steps. Its just a "weight loss" gadget. If you want calories burned, get a HRM. I have a polar f7, cost me $89. Way more accurate. My fitbit will say higher caloric loss on cardio days, and lower on power lifting. Where as HRM knows what I am burning on powerlifting days. Hope this helps

    Arrrgghhh! I wish I would have seen this the other day when I ordered my FitBit Zip. It says that I've burned 600 calories since midnight and it's only 9 a.m. Sounds seriously inflated to me, considering that my BMR is 1600! I'm returning it and getting a HRM.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I have one. Don't waste $100. Its a pedometer. It doesn't track sleep. It tracks movements. If you are driving, it counts them as steps. Its just a "weight loss" gadget. If you want calories burned, get a HRM. I have a polar f7, cost me $89. Way more accurate. My fitbit will say higher caloric loss on cardio days, and lower on power lifting. Where as HRM knows what I am burning on powerlifting days. Hope this helps

    Arrrgghhh! I wish I would have seen this the other day when I ordered my FitBit Zip. It says that I've burned 600 calories since midnight and it's only 9 a.m. Sounds seriously inflated to me, considering that my BMR is 1600! I'm returning it and getting a HRM.

    The HRM is for exercise only. You can't wear it like the Zip all day to get your calorie burn. Your BMR may be 1600 but your TDEE is probably higher and from midnight to 9 am is 9 hours of time so that isn't an unreasonably number depending on your size and age. MIne is over 400 by 7 am and I'm old and small.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I have one. Don't waste $100. Its a pedometer. It doesn't track sleep. It tracks movements. If you are driving, it counts them as steps. Its just a "weight loss" gadget. If you want calories burned, get a HRM. I have a polar f7, cost me $89. Way more accurate. My fitbit will say higher caloric loss on cardio days, and lower on power lifting. Where as HRM knows what I am burning on powerlifting days. Hope this helps

    Arrrgghhh! I wish I would have seen this the other day when I ordered my FitBit Zip. It says that I've burned 600 calories since midnight and it's only 9 a.m. Sounds seriously inflated to me, considering that my BMR is 1600! I'm returning it and getting a HRM.

    BMR * (9/24) = 600
    BMR = 1600

    Your Fitbit's reading of 600 calories burned in 9 hours of inactivity in a 24 hour day implies exactly that your BMR for 24 hours is 1600.

    Which, by the way, means nothing about the device's accuracy for you. It matches the free online BMR estimators because it uses the same averages. Its value added is in estimating the added calorie burn from activity.
  • karen2628
    karen2628 Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks for starting this post. I have been trying to figure out if it's worth it. I would like to know how many steps I take and the ease of use sounds wonderful. I do other activities and I don't mind logging those into MFP the walking I can't ever seem to accurately pin how much I do. I've used pedometers but they all seem to fall/pop off and they don't sync with MFP so not as convenient.

    Great to hear others opinions :)
  • Katkamm77
    Katkamm77 Posts: 108 Member
    I have the Fitbit One. I'd say it's just ok. It's great keeping track of how many steps you take and stairs you've climbed. That's about it. An expensive pedometer. I wouldn't buy it again. If you do aerobics it counts your steps only. So it doesn't take into account all your other movements when it's calculating calories burned (I guess it wasn't meant for aerobics and I never got that).
    The other thing I don't like is that it updates calories burned all day long so you don't know until the end of the day exactly how many calories you burned. I like to plan my meals for the day in the morning so, if you eat back your burned calories, you don't know how many "extras" you get until you go to bed. I guess you could estimate but...
    I loved the idea of a sleep monitor but, quit using that after several weeks. Not accurate. I'm a restless sleeper and it would tell me I was awake 15-20 times a night. Nope. I think every time I turned or moved my arm it registered me awake. I do not wake up tired which I think I would if I woke up 20 times a night.
    I think my HRM (Polar RS100) is a much more helpful and accurate device. When I'm working out I trust the amount of cals. burned that it reports. It's very comfortable. Sometimes I forget I'm wearing it. I would buy it again, in a heart beat.
    I think the two devices together are great (since I don't wear my HRM all day). The One keeps me accountable, and the Polar gives me accurate cals. burned. If I could only have one, I would choose the HRM.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    " I like to plan my meals for the day in the morning so, if you eat back your burned calories, you don't know how many "extras" you get until you go to bed."

    You could use the prior day's 'extras' to plan today's meals.

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