Is a Fitbit worth it?

Stargazer2014

I have a Fitbit Flex (bought before the force was out) and I love it. I love not have to worry about losing it because its on my wrist.

Most people think its a watch. I have gotten very few questions about what I am wearing.

mumblemagic

My suggestion would be to buy just one to start and give it to him. See if it "takes" or not, whether or not he gets any use out of it, and if it so buy a second one otherwise take it from him for you to use and then get him something else for his birthday. Just a thought

This

ForMyGuys

I have a Force but I am confused with the interaction with MFP. MFP says to have 1800 cals a day to loose 2 pounds a week. Fitbit adds the deficit and MFP tells me the adjusted count. Should I be trying to hit the 1800 cals of the adjusted?

Right now it says 1810 - goal 848 food - 897 exercise = -49 net with 1859 Calories remaining. Should I be eating the total 2697 calories or just the original 1800 to loose the 2 pound per week? I am so confused.

If you're earning 897 calories from exercise the math is set up that you should be able to eat those calories, plus your original 1810 calories and still lose the 2lbs per week. Don't feel like you HAVE to eat them though. Only eat enough to keep you satisfied and your energy up.

I had the Ultra for a year and a half before it started breaking. I contacted customer service and they were awesome. Since it was out of warranty I couldn't get a free replacement, but they gave me a 50% discount on the Ultra. I've had that for 6+ months and I'm still loving it. Seeing my negative calories (if I sit on my duff that day) or skip workouts is great at keeping me honest and encouraging me to stay active!

fyrefly1981

I got a Fitbit Flex for Christmas - best gift ever! It helps keep you motivated to move, links up ith my fitness pal, and a few other apps. mine also links with my smartphone. The wristband style is awesome, you can wear it anywhere. I like the Flex because it's more water resistant than the Force, but the Force has an awesome display and a longer battery life.

mashanda

I would not sync with MFP. i just manually record my active minutes.

Followingsea

Great explanation thanks.

So I assume people using a Fitbit along with the MFP calories calculations have to set their activity level as Sedentary as the Fitbit will then factor in every movement you make (within reason, i'd be impressed if it counted the amount of time I spent picking my nose!)

Yup, that's what I do. Then MFP becomes the TDEE-minus-whatever method, which I actually prefer, since I've had days in recent memory where my TDEE was nearly double my BMR, and also days where it was basically identical. And it's nice to see your allotted daily calories go up sharply after a run

ScottH_200

I would not sync with MFP. i just manually record my active minutes.

That's exactly what I do.

kkzmom11

It's a fun gadget that is especially good for people who don't regularly follow a vigorous exercise plan. I've had two that were gifts. The problem for me is that the Fitbits that clip on are easily lost. I currently can't find mine (currently, the Fitbit One). If I were to buy one I'd get the version that's worn on the wrist that syncs wirelessly.

i lost mine and i wasn't pleased with the website. i have a sparkpeople activity tracker (need to have a sparkpeople account to get full use of tracker) that i haven't lost yet, and i can swim with.

lisanume

I bought a fitbit last year around March I think. Used it EVERYDAY until like August, when I forgot it on my pant loop, and it took a bath. Sadly it suffered a drowning death. I CRIED!!!
I plan to purchase another one.

LOVED IT! it was very motivating...


Lisa

allbarrett

I'm a huge fan of my Fitbit Flex (had it 6 months now). I would love to get a Force but I can't justify replacing a unit that works fine.

It is more for motivation (as people have suggested) than a true weight loss tool, in my opinion, but I'm OK with that. And, to be fair, it has helped me calculate my actual TDEE, which I found was somewhat inaccurate from the MFP website.

I sync the unit to my phone (better have Apple gear, however, most Android devices won't sync with the One, Zip or Flex and I don't know if any of them will sync to Blackberry). I have MFP and Fitbit linked and always enter exercise into Fitbit and food into MFP. Fitbit's website does allow meal entry (like MFP) but frankly the database isn't very well populated, you can't set up meals or recipes, and the data entry is somewhat kludgy (again, my opinion).

I typically get about 5 days to a charge, which takes about 2-3 hours. The charging is the worst part right now, as my Flex has started having trouble charging (I have to jam it into the charger in just the right way, sometimes sticking in a little piece of paper to hold it in the right spot, then arrange the charger so that it is either flat or pointed upward...something about the contacts slipping away from the charge port). When it stops charging, I'm going to exchange it (it came with a 1 year retail warranty), I just don't want to do without it for the 3+ weeks it will take to mail it back and get a new one!

swissmiss8

I purchased the combo pack - the Fitbit Flex and the Aria scale. I have worn the gadget for 1.5 days and I love it. It's fun and motivating. I turned 50 last April and never hit my goal of losing 10 pounds before the big day. Hopefully this will give me the focus I need. According to the scale I am 38.8% body fat. yuck!!!!

timberowl

I know this isn't what you asked, but I love my BodyMedia arm band. It was about $150 for the equipment and it's about $60/yr for the subscription, but I love it. It syncs with MFP and tells you exactly how many calories you burn every day.

JenSBrown2015

I got the zip for Christmas and I love it! definitely motivates me to reach my goals every day!! and I clip it to my bra and it hasn't fallen off yet!

alwaysfitter

SueLegal,
Lumo started taking pre-orders for their new sensor at a discounted price ($69). There are a few hundred units left at the moment. I just ordered mine.

gman1232

I have a HRM I use when I exercise, so I am wondering if a fitbit would really be worth it for me....

AHASRADA

I have a HRM I use when I exercise, so I am wondering if a fitbit would really be worth it for me....

I have an HRM too, and I wear it during workouts. The Fitbit measures your activity over the course of the rest of the day. Before I got mine, I would work out for an hour in the AM and then go on with my day. Until I got my Fitbit, I never realized how sedentary I was during the rest of the day. I was only logging 5k steps or less, including my workout! So, I added a walk after both lunch and dinner, and I now log 12-13k steps a day! It has also made me more conscious of not sitting for too long a period without getting up and moving around, standing when it's possible to do so rather than sitting, making extra trips to other floors to get things, etc.

It is a huge motivator to be as active as possible all day, not just during workout time.

vintagelaisance

Does the fitbit log what type of exercise you are doing or just steps?

suzieq1146

Personally, I got myself a Fitbit but have given it to my daughter. Difficulty I had was stressing over 10,000 steps a day. Today I ran 7 miles, so tomorrow will be a take it easy day but when I wore my Fitbit I got hooked up on constantly checking to make sure I'd walked the requisite number of steps. I would say that it is a great tool for helping you become more active unless you are already active, in which case, it may not be all that useful. For me, its MFP and my Garmin Forerunner - certainly I'd be lost without MFP, its helped me lose 2 stone and kept it off for over a year now.

jade2112

NO. I'm mad at myself for wasting my money.

ugenaric1

someone gave me one and I have not instructions on how to use it. help

Sharon_C

I love my Fitbit One. I clip it to my bra and go. My daughter has the Flex and I don't like it as much. If you move your arm, it's counted as a step. That wouldn't work for me. Although she loves her Flex.

And to answer someone else's question. I take the calories burned straight from my Fitbit and ignore what MFP tells me my calories burned is. I only use MFP to log my food and get my calorie count. I only use Fitbit to get my calories burned.

raindancer

ugenaric1 wrote: »

someone gave me one and I have not instructions on how to use it. help

You can go to the Fitbit website to get it set up. I have now had 3. One got lost, one drowned. But I love them. I plan to buy the new Charge HR when it is released this winter.