Fitbit

bmannen1

Waste of money or useful tool? Why?

4legsRbetterthan2

depends, what are you going to be tracking with it?

bmannen1

I don't really know much about them. I am just trying to decide if I should buy one. I know I would the wrist band type...

AmyRhubarb

I've found my Zip to be a useful tool. It motivates me to move more, showing me my steps and distance for the day, as well as "active minutes" (brisk walking or running), and estimates a total calorie burn for the day. I like comparing the cals with my TDEE calculations.

The Zip is the lowest, most basic model, and only tracks steps, distance, active minutes and calories. The others also track sleep and floors/stairs climbed, two features I didn't need, and I'm on a tight budget, so the Zip was a better fit for me (plus I got it on eBay for less than retail!). I also like that it clips to a pocket, waistband or on my bra, so it's out of sight and not on my wrist all day. From the reviews, it also seemed the most secure as far as staying put and not getting lost.

So - great motivator to move more, and decent calorie estimator, but necessary for me to lose weight? Nah - I managed to lose it and meet my goals without it. But I like gadgets and it is useful, so for the right price I picked it up.

Hope that helps!

trink4

I have the Fitbit Force and I love it. I received it 30 days ago. I am a numbers person and I love how it shows me calories burned and steps taken/miles walked. I know I wouldn't move as much without it! I do not go to bed until I have completed my 5 miles! I have been a runner for several years, but struggled losing weight. With the fitbit, I log what I eat and it monitors my movement. I finally have the scales going in the right direction (6 pounds lost in 30 days)!!!!!! I have figured out that I wasn't eating enough!

_Calypso_

Love mine!!!

brianpperkins

If you want to track step based activity throughout the day and your sleep patterns (model dependent), the fitbit can be a useful tool. If you want to track weight lifting, cycling, Zumba, HIIT .... it will show heightened activity but not really track accurately.

It all goes back to what information about your activity do you want to track. Once you figure out the data requirement you can then select the right tool for the job.

htimpaired

I have the zip, I've had the original and the ultra in the past, loved them all and found them motivating. I am much more mindful of how much I move. that being said, it's not going to reflect your activity, calories burned etc from things like strength training, cycling, etc. But for what it's built for it's great. My battery died on my zip recently and I had to wait a week for the new batteries to come in the mail (a simple watch battery but the stores around here didn't sell the right size). the week without my fitbit was lonely :-(

tarag8100

I have the Fitbit Ultra (now discontinued & replaced by the One I think). I love it! It helps me be more active :-) It's motivating for me to watch the # of steps go up and I get excited hitting my 30 minutes of "Very Active" every day

Kevalicious99

I have a Force and a Flex. Love the Force ... the Flex sits in a drawer.

The Force has been recalled ... so probably will be hard to find one. Really I am not a big fan of the other models at all.

So .. if you have time, there will be a new model to replace the Force. So .. that would be my choice going forward. I am very certain that I will be the proud owner of one of those ... progress.

I do love the numbers .. so it works for me.

4legsRbetterthan2

Well if you want to track daily walking/running then it is great. If you are a swimmer they are not waterproof. If you do weight lifting or crossfit type stuff then it will not be able to track that accurately either. It is basically a pedomiter so it tracks steps and is also able to track elevation climbed (measured in stairs). Sometimes it struggles with weird movemements, I linedance and westcoast swing and it picks that stuff up really well some days and not so well others.

daw0518

I have the Flex & love it. When I first bought it I almost regretted it because I questioned whether I really needed it, since I had been successful without it. But now after having it a few weeks, I love it. It's easy to wear and to forget about. I'm a student & the wrist band doesn't get in the way of me typing notes or papers or anything, which was one of the reasons I chose the Flex over the Jawbone UP. I think it tracks everything pretty accurately, & if not accurately then at least consistently so I know when something changes. It syncs really well with MFP, and will take calories away from my total on a not very active day & give me extra calories on days I'm really active. It also motivates me to do some extra walking on a treadmill in the evenings or to walk places I would normally drive. Now I'm painfully aware of the days I literally sit on my butt all day [Sunday's I average like 1200 steps. Yikes!]. Overall I think it was a really good purchase. I love all the graphs & information that the site gives you. I think it has and will continue to help me lead a healthier life and be more conscious of the things I do [or don't do].

Edit to agree with others that it's basically just a really fancy pedometer. Since I'm a student who walks to campus for classes & only ever does walking as my extra exercise, it was perfect for me in terms of getting something that accurately tracks my daily activity. If you do anything other than walking or running, you're going to have to manually enter the activity & the times you started & stopped on MFP, and Fitbit will automatically adjust the information it has for that time period to reflect the activity you entered.

corbey50

I have the Fitbit One. It may be a fancy pedometer, but it does a good job of automating all your record keeping for you. After initial setup, it keeps track of steps taken, distance walked, stairs climbed, and calories exerted.

I really like the way it interacts with MFP and adds or subtracts calories based on my activity level. I work in an office building, and it's motivated me to climb the stairs more often, instead of taking the elevator.

Also, I've been using it to track my sleep patterns. It gives you a rough idea of how many hours you sleep, how often you wake up during the night, and how often you're "restless."

Not essential for losing weight, but it's a handy gadget and motivator.

vanessa5580

I have the Fitbit One and love it! I was in complete denial how much I was not moving. Now I make sure to get all my steps, stairs, balance my calories, and make sure I am active everyday! My family members and I compete who can get the most steps in weekly. Great motivator. Easy. Holds you accountable.