Fitbit users?!

kaitlinrowe

Hey all!
I was just told I should get a fitbit. I'm 5'8, 140lbs, trying to lose 10 more. Is it worth it? Do y'all like the product? Thanks!

CHC94

Hi thereI I have a Fitbit Zip and I love it. I've made a challenge for myself to walk at least 30 mins each day (sometimes it doesn't happen, however) and I am accountable to myself for my steps.

I also have friends who have Fitbits and I challenge myself to keep pace with them.

Definitely get one! There are plenty of boards on Fitbit.com, Facebook and here that you can join and they are incredibly supportive.

ladybuglucy

I love mine. I just have the step counter. But still let's me see exactly what I did in a day. Personal choice I guess.

MammaMouse

In my humble opinion, I wouldn't. I found mine to be a waste of money - the counts were inaccurate both step wise and in judging how many calories burned. I had a flex, by the way.

fittocycle

I have a fitbit zip and love it. It "reminds" me to get up and move around more!

However, I also have a Polar heart rate monitor for workouts. I wouldn't exercise without it!

janelleb15

I really like mine and love seeing the number at the end of the day. I would not buy the zip...mine falls out of the holder and lost the first one.

TwistedSpinster

I had a flex it lasted a month. It wasn't really water proof (i live in FL and work at a hospital, I'm surrounded by liquids). for 20-60$ more there are a lot of options out there. check out you tube for fitness trackers and make a list of the features you need and want. there is a tracker by Polar called The loop, Garmin (gps) Vivofit, Samsung fit (cheaper then the flex), Jawbone Up, Nike Fitband, and countless others. If you do buy a fit bit, buy from the site they offer a 45 day return police and seem to be customer oriented. best of luck!

mainy1129

I love mine, and its syncs on here and adjusts if you have done more exercise logged by the fitbit than those logged by you, all integrates really well with MFP

abs0830

So there are pros and cons. I have the flex and I find that it's pretty accurate as far as steps go. Where it fails is when I do exercise videos or something besides walking. I actually take it off then and track differently then so that I get a more accurate view.

I think it's a great reminder and I also really like the sleep tracking feature. It helped me realize how much better I sleep when I exercise during the day vs. when I don't. Added incentive to exercise :-)

gomisskellygo

I have the Flex and I have had the Ultra. I absolutely love mine. I find the step count and activity tracker to be very accurate.

MandiS80

I'm on my second one, I had the fitbit ultra and now the fitbit one. IMO I wouldn't get the flex, it's not as encouraging when you don't see numbers but only some lit up dots that represent a percentage. If the settings are adjusted right, it's pretty damn good.

nyiballs

I have flex.

I find that people who question the accuracy are (in general) making two mistakes.

Mistake 1 is that they aren't initializing their settings properly, so their base TDEE is out of whack.
Mistake 2 is that when they are looking at their calorie budget, they are not treating all calories the same. Having 300 calories left and eating a Snickers just isn't the same as eating an avocado, as much as we'd all like it to be.

The single greatest benefit I have gleaned is insight into how large a variance I can experience in day to day activity, and it certainly has motivated me to up my activity on my more sedentary days.

When I run, it doesn't track my distance all that well. But the calorie burn lines up almost exactly with what mapmyrun says. Strength workouts don't capture well, but you can manually log them,

Short of wearing a heart monitor 24-7, this is probably the best product available to track steps, activity, and caloric output.

itsbasschick

i have a fitbit one. i got it rather than the flex because the flex is known to count arm gestures as steps.

that being said, having spent some time with the fitbit, i'd have rather gotten a polar H7 heart sensor or FT60 heart rate monitor. my fitbit counts car travel as steps, which means i either have got to remember over and over and over on errand days to use drivebit so it won't count driving as steps or else have extra steps, sometimes thousands.

it is a fun toy, and i wear it 'cause it was a gift. in fact, i wear it 24/7 except for when i charge it. like i said, it's fun.

Slevin85

I have a Fitbit Flex. I find it to be pretty accurate and it synchs with my phone which is awesome. I can see all my stats within the Fitbit app. I actually prefer having a very innocuous band without a display, less distracting throughout the day. All in all I would say it was a good purchase.

deansdad101

Hey all!
I was just told I should get a fitbit. I'm 5'8, 140lbs, trying to lose 10 more. Is it worth it? Do y'all like the product? Thanks!

Kaitlin;
If I were to tell you that I'm firmly in the "Ms Mouse" (poster below) camp, you'd probably have a pretty good idea of what's about to come.

I have a $3 mickeytellstimey (or some other unpronounceable name) watch from WW and it tells me every day when I've walked/run for 30 mins.

My bride and I have a couple of $14 "hi-tech" peds that count steps and do the same "steps x ave lenght" cals I can do with my mickeytellstimey (henceforth aka MTT) "Calq" (must be a translation issue) function, and if I really cared enough to convert either "distance" or "steps" into "cals", MFP or a hundred other online calculators can do that "lickety split".

It's not that I'm "cheap" (I am, but it's not "that"), but kidding aside, other than those who profess that any of these "toys" provide them with needed "motivation", I just don't see the point.

To a large degree, it's based on my belief that "counting" Cals Out (exercise cals) is an "exercise" in futility for the vast majority of "average" folks looking to lose weight (let alone one who's already firmly planted in the "healthy" zone and looking only to lose that "last 10).

As I'm sure you've figured out by now, EVERY single number (with the possible exception of weight if you have a "really, really" accurate scale - is a GUESS, an "estimate", an "average".

After you've multiplied and divided a bunch of numbers by each other, applied algorithms based on some strangers "best average guess", and forgot about those 85 "treat" calories you "snuck" yesterday - do you really think it "matters" if your time on the treadmill yielded 226 or 197 calories?

Even if you did think it matters, it the $2000 TM says it was 226 and your $99 Amazo Personal Everything Counter says 197, who you gonna believe?

Anyway, consider everyone's advice and do spend some time on the forum or user site for whichever Amazo you think you might want. Pay particular attention to those reporting "problems", especially if you start seeing the same type "problem" popping up again and again.
Recognize that those having "issues" are more likely to post about them, but at the same time, it's human nature that after spending however much money on any "gizmo" many are wont to validate their decision by proclaiming it the "best thing since sliced bread".

Finally, call up the "tech support" or "help" line and "pretend" you have an "issue".
Are you placed on hold (with or without elevator music)?
Do you have to spend 2 days navigating their "phone tree" - press 2 if or 6 if?
When you finally do get to (IF you do) an actual live, breathing, "human" - is it one you can understand more than half their words?

When the day comes that you need their assistance ("when" not "if") that's what it's going to look like - do you want to go there?

zip_girl

I just started using a Fitbit Zip and I love it ! It really motivates me to reach my daily step goal and get in extra activity, plus I love that it syncs to mfp. You don't charge the zip it has a battery, it said online that the battery can last up to 6 months. I like that better than charging like the arm bands. I got mine from walmart.com for like $59.99 but if you got the green one you got a bonus $20 walmart card, here is the link:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fitbit-Zip-Wireless-Act-Tracker-Green-with-Bonus-20-Walmart-Gift-Card/29217988