To Fitbit or not to Fitbit

randomtai

I use a BodyMedia FIT... and I love it!

simplydelish2

I HATE my Fitbit!!! The only thing it is good for is a constant reminder on my wrist to move - that is good.

The Fitbit really only measures steps (including stairs), it bases your calorie burn on that. I have a flex and unless I move my arm - it doesn't count the steps. So pushing a shopping cart, carrying children or groceries, etc. - doesn't add steps. In addition, I think the sleep tracker is worthless - especially if you or your partner move a lot during the night.

And, if there is a problem - their customer service is horrible.

I'd highly recommend something other than the Fitbit.

patriciapowerswilliamson

I agree with you, I didn't realize how sedentary I really, really was until I bought my FITBIT 1. On a typical day for me, (outside of my daily 1 hour power walks) I was only logging 1.25 miles (4,000 steps.) No wonder the 20 lbs I kept off for 10 years *snuck* up on me (along with portion distortion.) I same for an hour and 15 minutes yesterday so obviously a Fitbit can't be used for those types of exercises but it still helps.

bluehenjen

I recently got a Fitbit One (which counts stairs climbed in addition to steps taken). I wear a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor during workouts and the Fitbit way underestimates my calorie burn, but I don't use it for that purpose. I use it to motivate me to get up from my desk and walk around during the day (I was also interested to know how many flights of stairs I climb per day, since the women's restroom is 2 floors down from my office). I have found it very useful for daytime motivation; I now walk around the perimeter of my building or stroll up and down the campus mall every time I go to the restroom. So if you're looking for motivation to move around more during the day, I highly recommend the Fitbit One. If you're looking for a better estimate of calories burned, a heart rate monitor will be much better.

PS - I accidentally put my Fitbit One through the washing machine and it was fine.

evsplava

I love my fitbit one. Ive found it helps to wear it on a leash to keep from losing it. And people are correct the flex will only count steps if you move your arms

ianthy

Hi
I got my Fitbit for a similar reason - reached goal weight and wanted to keep track more accurately of my exercise/cals. Now I would not be without it - and it syncs with MFP too. There are a lot of products on the market, so you need to decide what works for you. I like Fitbit - simple to use and the data is easy to understand and gives me the confidence to eat more based on cals in V out.

horseplaypen

I had a fitbit one for a year - it was a crazy year at school, and I knew I would be walking a lot (in clinics for rotations) but not going to the gym as much. It was a lot of fun to see how much I walked in a day - 7-10 km just walking around at school!!

HOWEVER I found that the calories the fitbit gave me were way, way too much - to the point that I gained weight eating what it said was enough to make me lose weight. To try and put it more succinctly:

2012: lifting weights/running 5x/week, 1300 net calories a day, eating back exercise calories, weighing all food, etc. Lost 10 lbs.
2013: no weights/running. Exercise from fitbit steps only. 1300 net cals a day, eating back fitbit calories, weighing all food, etc. Gained 10 lbs.

If I'd had to stick to the same routine I was in in 2013, I would probably have stopped eating back 1/2 to all of my fitbit calories, or making some other adjustments. Fortunately I'm back to a normal lifting/running/eating routine, and the weight is coming off again. I lost my Fitbit in the spring, and don't see the point in getting a new one.

All that to say - fitbit isn't magically more accurate than any other device. Obviously it works for a lot people, who seem to lose weight with its estimate, but for me it was way off. So just keep an eye on things and be prepared to make adjustments, as always.

sharonnj398

My wearable helps motivate me to move more. It's only little on-line badges, but I like obtaining new/harder ones as I progress.

I have a Nike Fuel band because that's the brand my youngest brother has. He showed it to me and how he was able to add friends to compare scores for the day. It lists movement as Fuel points, steps and calories burned. I also 'win' hours by moving five continuous minutes in an hour.

He uses the phone app, but I don't - I'm strictly PC. I just plug the band daily into my PC while I'm showering and that keeps it charged.

The Nike Fuel band does not monitor sleeping. It's on my wrist all night so I can start the day accruing points.

DamieAnne

I bought a Garmin Vivofit a couple of weeks ago and I love it. I bought it with the HRM monitor so it's helpful tracking more accurately when i'm exercising as well as for general movement.

I do find that the step counter on the Vivofit is overestimating distance - not sure if its counting extra steps or if its expecting my gait to be longer (I'm 5 foot 3, there is only so far my legs will stretch!).

Personally I've found it really useful overall, and it keeps me motivated - if you have the money to spend on one of these gadgets, it's definitely worth it

sun_fish

I've had my Fitbit One for a couple of months now, and am near my goal weight. I think it really depends on what you want to do with a fitness gadget. For me, I just wanted to track steps to make sure I was staying active throughout the day, and for tracking sleep as I have always had some sleep issues. I didn't care about specific calorie burns so knew I didn't need an HRM.

My Fitbit One has turned out to be exactly what I wanted, and I love it. Seeing a lower steps count gives me incentive to be more active, and the sleep tracker is giving me some insight into my sleep cycles.

RhonndaJ

I have a fitbit one, and love being able to track my steps and stairs.

I had an ultra before, but it stopped charging after a year. Had a great experience with their customer support who made it possible for me to get my One at half price, even though I live outside the US/Canada and the Ultra was beyond warranty.

Haven't washed one yet, though I have showered with the One more than once, because I do sleep track and forgot to take it off.

If you're a gadgety person who likes to track numbers, itll probably help you

snowflake930

I have had a fitbit for 18 months now. First and One, now a Force.
I would not be without it. For me it is the single best motivator to get me moving more. Before MFP and my fitbit, I would take the most direct route, now I actually take the longer way just to get more steps in. It is just what I need to get me to move more. It is amazing. I have heard from others that their customer service is second to none. People have lost their fitbits and the company has replaced them for free. I will be 63 at the end of September and 2 years ago I would never have believed that I would be where I am today. I owe it all to MFP and my fitbit. The old cliche is so true, "if I can do it, most anyone can do it". If you have no health concerns.

amusedmonkey

I got my zip off of ebay for 15 dollars new, but I got lucky, most go for 30-40. Get a zip, it's cheap, covert, cute and does not count steps when you move your hands like other bracelet-type trackers. If you don't care for sleep tracking and don't climb too many stairs, zip is your best bet. Look around ebay for new ones.

A note though, their new dashboard update is not that great. If you are over 40 or have vision problems it may be difficult to look at without glasses. They are looking into the contrast issue though and may resolve it soon (it's uglier than it used to be, but I can live with ugly if certain elements did not blend into the background so much)

larrodarro

The only electronics I use is a $10 wrist watch and the bathroom scales. I've been in maintenance about three months, and I usually stay within a pound of 176, my goal weight. I did wash and dry my wrist watch after swimming in the river, and it still works. I do count calories eaten and burned still, but I think I will try to it without a net soon.

Larro

CrystalFlury

My fitbit definitely eased my mind about going into maintenance and increasing my calories.

I found out that I burn *less* calories than MFP predicts for me at sedentary.
Therefore, I need to get up and move just to have a sedentary calorie burn! Ugh.

However, I've been following my fitbit calorie burn daily, and have been maintaining since June.

I believe I can relate to that!!! I calibrated my husband's pedometer he bought a while back from Amazon (one with great reviews) for myself and I tried it a couple days and realized I am below the recommended 10,000 steps a day (this is not including exercise). I know I burn few calories in every day life because I'm very sedentary during the day which explains why overeating hits me so hard. I wouldn't be surprised if I should really be eating 1300 or less calories a day to maintain. Right now, my calories on MFP are set to 1400 because I feel guilty being below that because of what everyone says about, "oh, you're starving yourself sitting at a low intake...". I love food too much also so that makes a 1300 or 1200 goal a challenge.

I'd consider a Fitbit but I don't want to feel like I'm relying on ANOTHER electronic to maintain/lose a few pounds.

moijo75

Ive been looking at geting a fitbit, i already have a SYNC watch but it doesnt bloody sync with my samsung.. so i could buy an iphone or a fitbit.. but which one? :huh:

zenhiker2014

I love my fitbit one. Ive found it helps to wear it on a leash to keep from losing it. And people are correct the flex will only count steps if you move your arms

Actually it seems to pick up on steps quite well even if you're not swinging your arms. I fooled around when I first got my flex, walking around the block while deliberately moving my arms and then again with my hands in my pockets etc. It recorded a very similar number of steps both ways. I've been using it for 9 months or so now and no complaints about it "missing" steps.

Meorainthemaking

I LOVE my Misfit Shine: waterproof, runs on battery for 4-6 months, functions as a watch, tracks multiple activities, steps, calories burned as well as sleep in a small, simple, sleek aluminum disk that takes a beating flawlessly. I wear it 24/7.

Oishii

I found I needed way MORE food than the fitbit predicted, but as it has no 'gain' function there was no way to allow for this.

One easy illustration of what it missed: my wii fit would count my steps during wii step as far higher than the fitbit did.