Your opinion on FITBIT

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Replies

  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    The FitBit is great. However, I've found a limitation. I've started biking to work and I don't want it to record anything during the ride because it would obviously be inaccurate. So, I put it in my backpack. I figured that the relative steady, smooth motion wouldn't trip the accelerometers of the FitBit. I was wrong. It still records steps. I'm not sure how to get around this as I want to wear it at work. Any ideas would be appreciated.

    By the way, the best thing about the FitBit in my estimation is that it can give you extra calorie credit in MFP when you do extraordinary walking, such as going shopping at the mall etc. It seems to be able to tell when you are going above and beyond your normal activity and adds an adjustment to MFP so that your actual calorie burn is as accurate as possible.
  • maybek8e
    maybek8e Posts: 12 Member
    I am addicted/obsessed with my Fitbit (healthy addiction, right?)!! I do wear it pretty much 24 hours a day, except when I shower. Right now thought it is not syncing to My Fitness Pal for some reason so I have no clue what my adjustment is which is my only complaint so far, and that is just for today and I have had my Fitbit since January.

    One of the things I like best with the Fitbit is that you can see where your friends are with their daily logs so you can try to "beat" them. I did that last night. My one friend is always right around 20,000 steps for the day. My desk job does not cooperate with that most days.

    The other thing I really like is that it gives you a calorie adjustment in My Fitness Pal. Helps with if you want that extra half piece of pizza ;-p
  • square_peg
    square_peg Posts: 2
    My Fitbit arrived yesterday and I love it already! It was really easy to set up just using the online instructions. I set it for sleep overnight and it's really interesting - I thought my alarm hadn't gone off at 6 this morning but, no, the fitbit shows that I did wake at 6am and went back to sleep at 6.03. Ooops! Today, I have climbed up 28 floors worth of stairs which it tells me is equivalent to climbing La Danta Pyramid. I KNOW I wouldn't usually do this much. I also went out for a long walk with the baby in the buggy....in the rain! The only question for me is whether it is ok to eat the extra calories I have been credited on mfp - I am used to sticking to 1400 and to go over this seems wrong? Any advice on this gratefully received :) Off to do some more stairs now .................. ;)
  • hpynh2o
    hpynh2o Posts: 194 Member
    I bought one. I'm in the first week. So far, so good. The driving thing is a little annoying since I spend two hours a day on the road. Otherwise, it seems a pretty cool tool.
  • JonesJennings
    JonesJennings Posts: 59 Member
    The FitBit is great. However, I've found a limitation. I've started biking to work and I don't want it to record anything during the ride because it would obviously be inaccurate. So, I put it in my backpack. I figured that the relative steady, smooth motion wouldn't trip the accelerometers of the FitBit. I was wrong. It still records steps. I'm not sure how to get around this as I want to wear it at work. Any ideas would be appreciated.

    By the way, the best thing about the FitBit in my estimation is that it can give you extra calorie credit in MFP when you do extraordinary walking, such as going shopping at the mall etc. It seems to be able to tell when you are going above and beyond your normal activity and adds an adjustment to MFP so that your actual calorie burn is as accurate as possible.

    It's a bit of a hacky workaround, but you could fashion a cradle for when you don't want it to register movement. Look at old BBC photos of radio stages, where the microphones are suspended in springs. You could cut an old water bottle in half, and put the bit inside, suspended by a couple of rubber bands.

    Bit hacky, as I say. I havn't got one myself, so I don't know if there's a software solution.
  • mellabyte
    mellabyte Posts: 193 Member
    I love my fitbit as well. :) I get slightly obsessed with seeing how many steps I've walked or the distance I've traveled. It really appeals to the geek in me. It also wakes you up when you see how sedentary you actually are. Definitely got me wanting to get my butt moving more.

    While I keep it on while I work out, I use it in conjunction with my HRM and log my HRM readings into MFP instead of logging an activity with my fitbit. Because of this, I tend to ignore my fitbit adjustment unless it was an active day that did not include working out. Just my personal preference and it seems to work for me thus far.
  • yustick
    yustick Posts: 238 Member
    can someone tells me what happens with the fitbit when you're driving - both pedometers I have keep registering steps when I drive, and as I drive around a lot (sadly...) I'm wondering whether it's going to miscount for me if I get one.

    My Fitbit records stairs and steps while I drive... a lot, like 7 flights of stairs and 400 steps one way to work. I can override the activity, by setting the timer when I drive, then, logging it as driving on their website. It's feasible for me to do this because I primarily just drive to/from work...about 2 hrs/day round trip. My other option is to take it off and put inside a pair of gloves folded into a ball inside my cup holder. This seems to reduce the overstatement of activity, but I'm always afraid I'm going to forget to put it back on.

    I use a Body Bugg and a Fitbit. If I had to choose one, it would be the Body Bugg easy. So, if you can afford it and don't mind the visibility, I would get the new body media core (essentially a newer body bugg). The device isn't much more expensive than a Fitbit, the issue is primarily that you have to pay for the website after the first 3 or 6 months....I think about $7/month.
  • Metorks
    Metorks Posts: 37
    I've had a Fitbit for almost 3 years now, and I just started using it again. In fact, I ordered the new Fitbit Ultra on Amazon. I've been using it 24 hours a day now for about a week, and plan to continue to do so. The breakdown it gives you can be enlightening.

    The other thing I purchased is a Polar BlueTooth heartrate monitor that I can sync to my phone. With that, and the Endomondo app, I find that I get a much better (accurate) reading for calorie expenditure than the machines at the gym give me. It's been off by over 100 calories before, and that's a pretty big deal. Surprisingly, the Fitbit does a pretty good job of approximating calorie expenditure as well, and isn't nearly as uncomfortable to wear as the HRM.

    Check out the new Fitbit Aria scale, too. Just ordered one for myself.
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    While I keep it on while I work out, I use it in conjunction with my HRM and log my HRM readings into MFP instead of logging an activity with my fitbit. Because of this, I tend to ignore my fitbit adjustment unless it was an active day that did not include working out. Just my personal preference and it seems to work for me thus far.
    That's also what I do. I enter my exercise on MFP and when FitBit syncs with MFP, I believe it matches up the steps it sees with the MFP activity log and lets MFP override its calculations for periods where you have indicated activity.

    There is another limitation that I've also run into. Exercising at midnight. If you start an exercise at 11:30 on a Monday, say a treadmill run, and run for an hour some of your steps will be recorded on Monday and some on Tuesday. However, MFP only asks for a single date when you enter in an exercise. This throws the FitBit/MFP sync for a loop as FitBit thinks your entire MFP workout occurred on Monday and thus any steps that were recorded early Tuesday are added as a 'FitBit Adjustment'. I end up having to delete the adjustment, sometimes multiple times (FitBit is persistent) when this occurs.
  • MsMargie1116
    MsMargie1116 Posts: 323 Member
    can someone tells me what happens with the fitbit when you're driving - both pedometers I have keep registering steps when I drive, and as I drive around a lot (sadly...) I'm wondering whether it's going to miscount for me if I get one.

    I don't have a Fitbit yet (but REALLY want one), but have had pedometers (notice the"S" at the end of that word). They basically have a ball in it that "bounces" when you step. Well, each bump sometimes gets mistaken for a "step", so that is why your pedometers miscount at times... I believe the fitbit is a bit different (no "ball" to "bounce" :smile: , but would LOVE to hear what other more "Senior" users say. :smile:
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    This is a bit off topic, but I am a Bodypump instructor, and it's not the kind of program you do for a bit and then stop. I think you said you were going to add it in which is great! My members come 2-3 times a week every week for years. It's a super way to get in shape. :-)
  • believeandtry
    believeandtry Posts: 64 Member
    bummp :) reading later after work
  • jsmith0644
    jsmith0644 Posts: 66 Member
    I bought one. I use it religiously. I use it when I walk, in my spin class. I actually burn a lot of calories I didn't know about. Wit it and A heart monitor I'm set for information.
  • LadyBeryl
    LadyBeryl Posts: 344 Member
    I keep mine on 24X7 but syncing can be problematic. I wish they'd have one that syncs using your phone (e.g. BT).
  • bekkaL85
    bekkaL85 Posts: 133 Member
    I really like my fitbit because it's pretty easy to forget about it once it's on. and it charges really quickly. I was looking at BMRs and other stuff like it...but I don't like having to pay a monthly fee. You can use it as a stopwatch when you wanna track how long you've done something and it really reminds me to move around more.
  • TheMissingSock
    TheMissingSock Posts: 89
    Can you walk a few days before syncing to the account or does the days you didn't sync just add on the day you sync? For example, if I walk Monday & Tuesday but don't sync untilThursday- will my steps show up on Monday & Tuesday after I sync. Or will all the steps be added on Thursday, the day I sync. Reason I am asking is because a few days out of the week I am not arround wifi areas.

    all of your numbers reset every night at midnight. it can hold up to 3 days of data without syncing. Are you at your home computer each day? That's where you will sync it. the charging station also acts as a sort of syncing antenna - you will only sync with computers that have one of these things attached.
  • sunnyflower1177
    sunnyflower1177 Posts: 212
    bump!!
  • bekkaL85
    bekkaL85 Posts: 133 Member
    can someone tells me what happens with the fitbit when you're driving - both pedometers I have keep registering steps when I drive, and as I drive around a lot (sadly...) I'm wondering whether it's going to miscount for me if I get one.

    Don't know if this has been answered...

    If you use the stopwatch function when you are driving, you can change those steps. I do that whenever I go on long drives, but for a quick errand I just say screw it because I walk around in the morning a bit (to do stretches and such) before I put it on.
  • Echo17121
    Echo17121 Posts: 111 Member
    I wore a bodybugg for about a year and got the fitbit about a month ago to give my arm a break! For a few days I wore them both to see the difference it was very minimal. I have switched to just the fitbit at this point. However, doing anything that isn't moving your legs registers a lot smaller burn. Actually one day when I was doing one of the burn circuits from Chalean Extreme (strength training), it recorded the activity as sleep! Any abs exercise is the same story pretty much. So sometimes I use the bugg still for that but I also sometimes just let the site give me an average burn as long as it is around what I know I would have burned. I really love the fitbit though! It was a great purchase and it really helps lay all the information out for you. I also like not having to worry about putting in my workouts on this site anymore. Plus it helps if I go over my daily burn estimation on this site because it just adds those calories here!
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    So do you have to pay on a subscription for the fitbit to work with mfp etc?
    It all sounds pretty complicated to me.
  • kimrob1615
    kimrob1615 Posts: 3
    a
  • kimrob1615
    kimrob1615 Posts: 3
    can someone tells me what happens with the fitbit when you're driving - both pedometers I have keep registering steps when I drive, and as I drive around a lot (sadly...) I'm wondering whether it's going to miscount for me if I get one.

    Don't know if this has been answered...

    If you use the stopwatch function when you are driving, you can change those steps. I do that whenever I go on long drives, but for a quick errand I just say screw it because I walk around in the morning a bit (to do stretches and such) before I put it on.

    thanks - that makes sense! This sounds like a great tool in the nonstop war on weight!

    And how do you delete a post? Am new to this site and haven't worked it out hence my dumb post above! :blushing:
  • yaffeb
    yaffeb Posts: 1 Member
    If you use myfitness pay with your fitbit....wouldnt you get a calorie adjustment by logging your excercise in MFP with the time you started? I wear my fitbit always and log excercise such as dance or cross country hikes with time started and length of time and the fitbit adjusts accordingly in MFP.
  • JCKKB374
    JCKKB374 Posts: 23 Member
    I LOVE MINE!!! I don't have any trouble syncing it (it does sometimes take a few minutes) and I keep the charger thing connected to my laptop. You don't have to physically put the Fitbit on the charger to have it sync....you just have to be in the area! I only connect it when it needs to be charged. I don't know if the machine is 110% accurate....but I dont need perfection. I just need a guide. It converts the calories for me on MFP and I LOVE that!!! I don't go anywhere without mine...and I DO track my sleep with it too!!!

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