Has anyone used the Fitbit?

kellyplane

I would love to hear some feedback on the Fitbit. We have the body bug, but would love to have something that doens't require a monthly committment. I'm interested in the sleep piece of it too? Deal or no deal?

ao1088

I want feedback too! I'm very tempted to get one I think it will be very motivating and a great tool to help me stay on track. I too like that there was no monthly commitment. So far I have seen basically unanimous positive reviews for it online.

crudd123

I bought one and I love it! It helps me to try to get 10,000 steps or more in each day! I have the Fitbit Ultra!

LordBezoar

DW and I have been using our Fitbits for a couple of weeks now--She has had hers about a week longer than I have had mine. In any case, we love them. It has made me A LOT more conscious of how active I am and how/where I can improve. If you already have a body bug, you are probably well aware of that part of the equation. For sleep tracking, you have a wrist strap that you place on your non-dominant hand and put it into "sleep-mode". It then uses the accelerometer to see how much you move while sleeping.

From what I understand of the Body Bug, it has a few sensors that the Fitbit does not. However, as you stated, the monthly cost of the Body Bug is a bit of a pain. So it really comes down to a question of whether those other sensors are worth the monthly cost.

A few more specifics on my situation: I was very skeptical when DW said she wanted to get a Fitbit. I thought that the cost was pretty high for what it seemed like it was. When she got it in the mail, I didn't really pay too much attention to the service, but what I did pay attention to is how much it immediately motivated her to get up and walk more.

Oddly enough, I had just decided to get one when one arrived for me in the mail--apparently my Mother-in-Law had bought me one after having used it for about a week as well. It has been a huge help for me because I am able to see the badges as achievements--similar to many of the video games I play on the Xbox and on Steam. I can't even tell you how much better I have felt about my activity level and I know that it has already started to help me with my weight loss. I highly recommend them for anyone that has issues with getting up and doing stuff--especially gamers like me.

lizard053

I LOVE my fitbit! It helps me stay motivated, and more importantly, helps me understand my sleep patterns. I felt really tired upon getting up today, log on to fitbit (after syncing) and found out that I woke up 6 times over the course of the night. I sure feel every one of them today too...

blondejillie

DW and I have been using our Fitbits for a couple of weeks now--She has had hers about a week longer than I have had mine. In any case, we love them. It has made me A LOT more conscious of how active I am and how/where I can improve. If you already have a body bug, you are probably well aware of that part of the equation. For sleep tracking, you have a wrist strap that you place on your non-dominant hand and put it into "sleep-mode". It then uses the accelerometer to see how much you move while sleeping.

From what I understand of the Body Bug, it has a few sensors that the Fitbit does not. However, as you stated, the monthly cost of the Body Bug is a bit of a pain. So it really comes down to a question of whether those other sensors are worth the monthly cost.

A few more specifics on my situation: I was very skeptical when DW said she wanted to get a Fitbit. I thought that the cost was pretty high for what it seemed like it was. When she got it in the mail, I didn't really pay too much attention to the service, but what I did pay attention to is how much it immediately motivated her to get up and walk more.

Oddly enough, I had just decided to get one when one arrived for me in the mail--apparently my Mother-in-Law had bought me one after having used it for about a week as well. It has been a huge help for me because I am able to see the badges as achievements--similar to many of the video games I play on the Xbox and on Steam. I can't even tell you how much better I have felt about my activity level and I know that it has already started to help me with my weight loss. I highly recommend them for anyone that has issues with getting up and doing stuff--especially gamers like me.

DITTO ALL THAT. Love my fitbit so much I want to marry it.

jonski1968

Yepp lovin mine too....Activity have at least doubled since i got it last month...Didn`t realise what a slob i`d become

lucyford22

I'm curious if the calorie counter is accurate?

Monkeylost

I got my Fitbit for my Birthday yesterday and have used it for the first time today and LOVE IT!!! I have walked to the post box instead of driving, paced up and down whilst on the phone and taken the dog for a walk. It's certainly a kick start to upping exercise.

Xxxx

fugaj01

LOVE my fitbit!

twkelly

It is an awesome motivator. My wife and I have one and looking at the pie chart throughout the day is a real kick in the *kitten* to get me out of my chair for a walk. I think its step counter goes wacky sometimes since it seems to double my mileage and calories once a week but I can live with that glitch to keep me motivated to get the next badge.

I would definitely recommend it to everyone I know.

bwallner1971

My Cons
1 - glue let go and it fell apart (working with customer service to get a new one)
2 - it gave me what I call "*kitten* Time Steps". I have an hour and half commute to work parts of which are on a back road. The unit would count those as moderate exercise and steps.

My Pros
1 - kept me mindful to walk more
2 - kept me on my feet

Pros win!!!

angraham2

I love my Fitbit. I have been using it for about a month. It has shown me that my activity level which was set at sedentary, was set way too low. I do more moving than I thought I did, I set my activity level to lightly active, and my fitbit adjustment after a typical office day with no exercise is about 30 calories. I don't log my exercise here now unless I swim. I think for me it is pretty accurate in your calorie burn, it uses just about the same equations that MFP does, and they seem to be working for me. I am down 11.8 lbs in about 13 weeks. Slow and steady. It does motivate me to get off my seat and walk, I take the long way to the restroom, drinking fountain etc. It is descreet, and comfortable to wear. I don't use the sleep part, but have tried it. I am a really good sleeper. I didn't want the monthly cost of the body bug either, so this seems to be the next best thing. But remember it is not a heart rate monitor, and while being fairly accurate, it is not as accurate as one. If you have any other questions feel free to message me!

NiciS72

Check out this from one of my very good MFP pal's!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/groomchick

Jan0707

I love the fitbit. Has motivated me to move more.

Tulipgirl1223

I just got my on Friday, and I love it!!! I love that it syncs to MFP, I love the sleep thing (the other night I slept horribly FB had me up 24 times in the middle of the night, that's what happens when you have 3 dogs a cat and a hubby in bed with you right?!?!).

kaetmarie

i freaking love mine! it's already made such a difference ... and helped me realize how i need to MOVE MORE on the weekends! i don't think you'd regret it.

jonski1968

But be careful...They are very addictive.. ;o)

jonski1968

Anybody want to add me on the fitbit site.

http://www.fitbit.com/user/22FJ8V

More people to compare stats to the better..

SueGeer

http://www.fitbit.com/user/22Q3Y6 if you want to add me.

Had Fitbit for a couple of months & love it!!!!

@Jonski - just added you x

donnabullen

Wow looking at all of these posts I can't wait for mine to arrive, are they accurate in the Gym to?

Joannie30

I'm a bit behind the times i think. What's a Fitbit?

jonski1968

http://www.fitbit.com

Rosy67

Mine's due to arrive tomorrow :drinker:

Ridiculously excited about a tiny piece of plastic ....

jonski1968

Wow looking at all of these posts I can't wait for mine to arrive, are they accurate in the Gym to?

All depends on what your doing...Mines accurate with steps/running machine and inclines.

Rosy67

2 - it gave me what I call "*kitten* Time Steps". I have an hour and half commute to work parts of which are on a back road. The unit would count those as moderate exercise and steps.

I get so much extra credit for sitting in a car and driving around Sheffield and the Peak District... All those potholes on country lanes plus the altimeter thinks I am a professional mountaineer!

calliope_music

i'm reaallllly considering buying one since i've heard so many positive reviews. however, how do they do with measuring exercise calories accurately...OR should i do something like take it off if i'm working out and wear my HRM? i'm a bit confused.

ormsby25

It is an awesome motivator. My wife and I have one and looking at the pie chart throughout the day is a real kick in the *kitten* to get me out of my chair for a walk. I think its step counter goes wacky sometimes since it seems to double my mileage and calories once a week but I can live with that glitch to keep me motivated to get the next badge.

I would definitely recommend it to everyone I know.

I have had mine since July, and I bought one for my secretary too. We love them! A few months ago, mine broke I could snap it back together in order to use it, but it got worse and worse and finally just broke (plastic cracked). I was very disappointed as it was $100..Also,I have a mac and I had to reload the syncing software every other week to get it to sync...With all of that said, I loved the fitbit and when it worked I was wed to it. My secretary and I would have step contests and I thought the calorie counter is very accurate. I decided not to purchase another one, because I am so close to my goal, but I highly recommend it to anyone. I think the newer versions (ultra) has a lot of the bugs worked out. I work in an office and I was most surprised to see how many calories I didn't burn during the day. It really motivated me to exercise every day. I am not sure about MFP but on loseit.com, you can sync your fitbit to the food diary and it gives you a food adjustment at the end of the day. I liked this because what I found is that I was eating back calories when I hadn't even burned the base amount of calories (1200)...I needed to exercise just to hit this...anyways, compared to more expensive alternatives, the fitbit is great and I owe much of my 30 lb weight loss to this tool. Good luck with customer service!

ormsby25

calliope_muse...when you are ready to exercise, you hold down the button on the front until you see the word start, then you exercise and when you are done you hold down the button again until you see the word stop. When you go in and sync it, it will give you your total for the day, and then it gives you activity reports for the time when you were exercising (the time between start and stop). The website is actually pretty cool, there are a ton of cool features, you can actually see by the minute how many calories you were burning during you exercise. Let me know if you have anymore questions, but feel free to check out the website too.

Rachiepie6

I bought one and I love it! It helps me to try to get 10,000 steps or more in each day! I have the Fitbit Ultra!

Same! Except for the steps, at the moment, I am going to start setting step goals in a couple of weeks.

xHelloQuincyx

*bumpp*