Fitbit. Nike fuel band etc

xael1234

Are they worth it? Anyone have preferences? Are there any brands possibly cheaper? Just started looking into them and don't want to spend that much money if they aren't really worth it

MayMaydoesntrun

bump

deansdad101

Are they worth it? Anyone have preferences? Are there any brands possibly cheaper? Just started looking into them and don't want to spend that much money if they aren't really worth it

XAEL;

In the order asked and IMO;
NO
Save the money
YES

For "some" all of these gizmos apparently provide "motivation" (that, or relief from post-purchase depression).
If that is the case for you - go for it, but....

If you are expecting a device that will provide accurate, reliable, and useful data that will magically enhance your weight loss (or exercise) efforts - it will end up on the scrape heap or your front lawn with a "free to a good home" sign on it.

An inexpensive "trial" item to buy might be a $14 step counter. Many of the newer versions are digital, purport to count "cals burned", and are pretty much representative of the entire lot when it comes to effectiveness.

But it's your money - use it any way you like.

xsmilexforxmex

I love my fit bit but if you don't set goal/challenege yourself it's not worth it. It's basically an advanced pedometer. Sync's with MFP to adjust your food goal, counts steps/stairs/calories, tracks sleep/activities. It made me realize how sedentery my lifestyle really was.

vgreeve

I was wondering the same thing. I am looking at the Fitbit and jawbone but don't know if I would get any value out of it.

xael1234

Right now I use a pedometer app on my phone but it doesn't seem all that accurate.

arrrrjt

For some people - yes. Getting a Fitbit really helped "kickstart" -my- personal weight loss. For others, I'm SURE it would be pointless.

WakkoW

I've had my fitbit for over one year and have worn it every day since I purchased it. I love it. I really thought there would be a good chance that I would quit using it after the first few months. It has really motivated me to move more when I'm not working out. I now take daily walks just to get the steps in. (I aim for 15-20K per day).

It really depends on your personality and what kind of data you like to see.

sjebert

I have the Jawbone UP and I love it, for me it has been enlightening to see how inactive I really was, I thought I was getting more steps in per day that I actually was. Now I have set a goal of 10000 steps per day and I have been able to do this for 21 straight days with the help of my UP

apm88

I've had both the sketchers GOwalk activity tracker (ended up in the washing machine and broken), as well as the fitbit one. I love having the fitbit one, as I just clip it to my bra or shirt, and carry on with my day; it's very discrete. As was mentioned, being able to connect to my phone throughout the day allows me to see if I need to pick it up in order to meet my goals (10,000 steps, 10 flights of stairs, etc). It keeps me motivated to keep moving, and last night I walked 1500 steps at the bus stop alone while waiting for my bus to arrive. I've come to notice how even if I don't meet my goal, I'm always conscious of the need to keep moving. While it was $100, I have personally found it to be absolutely worth the cost as I use it every single day - and having to charge it only once every 1-2 weeks is a definite plus.

andielyn

I got my Fitbit Flex as a gift a month ago and wasn't sure it was for me but after a month of continual use I absolutely love it. It has it's limitations for sure and like anything it's calculations are estimates.

The one feature I like the most is the daily calories burned. It will give exercise adjustments to MFP for exercise above MFP's calculations (my activity level here is set at sedentary since I have a desk job.) I'm finding it a lot easier and more accurate for general activity and not logging walks.

It seems like most find they are more sedentary than they realized; it was the opposite with me.

Motivation: yes, it does motivate me to get my steps in and my 30 "very active minutes" per day.

It is not good for all exercise activity, or even most. I still use a HRM when biking.

And I love the sleep tracking.

rcourtney14

I have the Nike Fuelband and I personally like it. Much like the other devices, you set a goal for how active you want to be the next day and it tracks your movement. You can start gym sessions or any kind of session. It sync with other nike products like the nike running app which i use as well. It tracks how many calories your burn, hours won (which is if you have walked 10 mins straight for an hour) as well as your steps. You can also connect with friends and see how active they are. I am always in competition with my mother in law and girlfriend.

Some of the other ones I have heard tracks your heart rate I wish nike did this but i guess they substitute it with fuel per minute but you can only see that during sessions.

cmbauer99

I have used every tracker on the market. I am currently using the Misfit Shine

Here is the newest one they offer an its only $50 and fully intergrates with MFP and your smartphone

http://www.misfitwearables.com/flash

They arent as popular as the others but they are much better.Just not as hyped

Check it out

EvelineUK

I have a Garmin Vivofit that I love. I got the bundle with a chest heart rate monitor and it synchs with MFP. I wear it 24/7 and it helps keep me accountable. I got this one because it runs on a watch battery - so no charging every day, it synchs and it gives you the info on the display so you don't have to synch it to see how far off your goal you are. Oh, and the goals are flexible and will change to how many steps you have taken the previous days so they will be achievable. Their Garmin Connect site where you track all your progress is cool, too. I'd recommend this one.

watchhillgirl

I have a fitbit flex and love it. I just makes me more accountable for movement. I find it accurate for walking and hiking but not for running since my stride is longer. I have had mine for about 4 months now and wear it daily. Even on the weekends when we hike my husband always asks "is fitbit working" and asks "how did we do today?" Lol
During the week I do 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day depending on my workout and on weekends 20,000 to 35,000 steps. Today when I got home from work I only had 6,000 steps (busy day in the office - sitting at my desk) so when I got home I went for a long walk before dinner to bring me up to 10,000 steps. Sadly to say before I had the fitbit I would have just sat on the couch and not gone for the walk. It is all what you want it to be. It will not help you lose weight - not a magic pill. But it will help you understand when you need to move it move it!

LeafyEdge

I had a FuelBand and now I have a FitBit.

FuelBand was great because it showed stats on the display. FitBit doesn't do that.
Nike FuelPoints also tie into a lot of things in the fitness world. I love the Nike running app, and it was great to combine them.
FitBit is great though for getting an accurate read on calories. I find that it gets within 100 calories of my TDEE+extra exercise, which is just awesome.
The FitBit app also syncs more seamlessly with MFP than the Nike FuelBand app did when I used it, but that could be more of a time and update issue.
Being able to change out the colored bands is great.

steveyinasia

I have been using FitBit for around 40 days now and I admit at the start I thought it would be a waste of money, friends had them. Having experienced the FitBit now I would say that it is the little "reminder" in my head now that my lifestyle needed change. Setting up the active minutes and steps per day is a way to check on myself, remembering that this is for me and no one else. I recently added a few friends and use the awards area jest for my own fun at seeing where I am compared to my friends. As to the accuracy of the steps, I have manually counted in my head and compared to the FitBit number and it is constantly within 5%, I think that is pretty good in terms of knowing what you have achieved in stapes each day.

It all comes down to personal preference, if you ask a question such as this on MFP, you will get the pros and cons of different opinions., none of which have to be yours.