FITBIT HELP!

UnkemptCaptain

Hey everyone,

I just purchased my FitBit zip & I am a little afraid to open it. I have looked up reviews on it & whatnot & everyone is calling it a pedometer.....which is exactly what I didn't want. I wanted something to track how many calories I burned in a day, not how many steps I take. I know the FitBit does this, but I am just afraid of it calculating the calories based off of my steps.

What do you all think of it? If you have one of course.
(yes I know about a heart rate monitor. I just can't find one for cheap.)

scooter825

When you set up your fitbit, you'll enter your height and weight and such. Each day it tracks the number of steps you walk (or run) and will tell you how many calories you've spent as the day progresses. The dashboard runs in a web browser and it will tell you all your stats. The only way you won't get a good calorie reading is if you are doing something that is caloric-ally intensive but doesn't involve that stepping or rocking motion. Bike riding, for example, wouldn't register well where as kickboxing or dancing would. As far as not caring about your steps, I guess just don't pay attention? It is, in fact, a pedometer. Hope this helps.

flutterbye811

How much did you spend for a Fitbit Zip? From what I've seen they are typically around 60 and I spent around the same for a heart rate monitor....And, yes, fit bit is good for tracking how far you've walked/steps, a HRM is MUCH better for knowing how many calories you've burned since it works off of your heart rate.

daw0518

I have a Flex & really enjoy the way Fitbit give me a million different graphs to show my steps, calories burned, calories in & out, sleep, etc. The Zip may be more like a pedometer because it doesn't track sleep or anything fancier than just steps and calories burned, but I think the feedback on the Fitbit website & app is what makes it 100 times better than a pedometer. I think being able to see a fairly accurate number of calories you burn based on your activity during the day [rather than just an estimate from MFP or another website] is really nice because it helps validates what you're doing. I would just try it - you can always return it for something else if it isn't what you're looking for.

Also, I thought HRM's were just for tracking cardio-type workouts, not daily wear? Fitbit's & HRM's track very different things, so I think what device you settle on depends on what you want to get out of it.

katyah36

I've had a fitbit for 2 years, love it! I'm actually on my second one, not because my first one stopped working, but because I wanted to upgrade and gave my old one to a buddy. Not only does it track steps and calories burned but it has an altimeter that counts flights of stairs climbed. It also will track your sleep, noting how many times you wake up and calculate time in bed vs time asleep. The software included is equally impressive you can manually log activities in addition to the tracking. The food tracking portion is user friendly with a huge bank of food items, adding custom items is very easy. My response is; OPEN IT ALREADY, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Kevalicious99

Honestly .. a HRM and Fitbit are just math calculations gone wrong as neither can accurately measure calories burned. One uses your heart rate .. and does a math calculation (your HRM does this of course) .. and the Fitbit uses your BMR and calculates your calorie burn based on that .. and your steps/exercise.

So .. really when you look at it, it is just an estimate in both cases. For example .. my HRM said I did almost 2000 calorie burn on a recent walk .. a number of about 500-600 is more likely. The Fitbit is also very prone to over estimate things, so your mileage may vary.

I think the value in the Fitbit is being more active .. but if you are only in it for the calorie burn, be aware that it really cannot do anything but estimate that. Sometimes with poor results.

flutterbye811

Honestly .. a HRM and Fitbit are just math calculations gone wrong as neither can accurately measure calories burned. One uses your heart rate .. and does a math calculation (your HRM does this of course) .. and the Fitbit uses your BMR and calculates your calorie burn based on that .. and your steps/exercise.

So .. really when you look at it, it is just an estimate in both cases. For example .. my HRM said I did almost 2000 calorie burn on a recent walk .. a number of about 500-600 is more likely. The Fitbit is also very prone to over estimate things, so your mileage may vary.

I think the value in the Fitbit is being more active .. but if you are only in it for the calorie burn, be aware that it really cannot do anything but estimate that. Sometimes with poor results.

Wow, what kind of HRM are you using and how long did you walk?

lpetitmd

I got the Fitbit One about a month ago, and I do love it. It calculates my calories based on the number and speed of my steps (that's how it knows if I am doing "vigorous" activity. However, I used to have the Bodymedia Fit. That is an armband that measures heart rate, body temperature, sleep, etc and calculates your TRUE calorie burn. I loooove the data it provided, but because the armband is so conspicuous, people were constantly asking me what it was (as if it was a house-arrest tracker. lol). Also, the Bodymedia device requires a $7.00/month subscription. Not too shabby, but something to consider.

flutterbye811

I take back what I said about the fitbit- I just got mine this weekend and didn't realize that the calories burned throughout the day were logged

redwoodkestrel

I LOVE my Fitbit Zip - I've had it for about 2 months now. Yes, it's not as fancy as the One/Flex/Force in that it doesn't track sleep or stairs, but it is GREAT for what it does do. It's like a pedometer crossed with a Tomagotchi, and it will calculate calories burned based on your activity level and the info that you put in when you set it up (height, weight, age, etc.). For calories burned it might not be as accurate as a HRM, but it's more accurate than MFP, since it can track variability in your workouts - when you sped up, when you slowed down, etc., and MFP just assumes a constant pace.

Plus all the graphing of your stats that's available to you through the website is AMAZING. You can look back over your weeks to see your steps on each day, calories in vs. burned, miles walked, etc. And it sends you weekly progress reports, letting you know how this last week compared to the one before. You can also add friends on Fitbit and it creates a scoreboard so you can see how you're doing with average steps per day and your 7 day total steps compared to your friends, plus you can cheer people on.

And I just find it incredibly motivating! When I first got it, I was SHOCKED at how little I really moved during the day... like, 2000-3000 steps total. Now I average around 13,000 steps per day - I'm totally driven by getting over those 10,000 steps every day! :happy:

OPEN IT!

Edit to add: Because calories burned is still just an estimate, I just make sure not to eat ALL those calories back - usually just a percentage of them.

Kevalicious99

Wow, what kind of HRM are you using and how long did you walk?

The walk ... 2 hours 44 min of actual walking time. Just over 3 hours total time ... stopping for street lights mostly.

HRM: Polar FT4 .. and I have a Fitbit Flex (which I never use) and Fitbit Force. Yes .. the recalled one. But I love my Fitbit Force. I just wish the Force was waterproof. Stupid Fitbit .. you cannot even sweat with your Fitbit Force on .. without issues. What were they possibly thinking ... ?

chandra2802

a fitbit is a pedometer... but there is more.. for me its motivation. I see how many steps i have done and i think... i can do more. It shows you on a realtime base calories burned as according to your BMR. Shows when your very active and when your being lazy.. you can add MFP friends and to do more. You can log nonstep excerise still and fitbit tracks all steps based workouts. It also has calories in calories out.. which gives you a better idea on how to balence your day. I am really happy with my fitbit.

UnkemptCaptain

Thanks so much everyone you all have helped out tremendously!!! :drinker:

luvmybabeez

I have a Fitbit One and I love it. I started off with the Zip and up graded to this one. As a few of the others said it is somewhat of a glorified pedometer but I love the fact that I can see how many km's I have walked, calories burned and how long I sleep a night.