Fit bit

blankcanvas

I left it docked and went to the store the other day, seriously considered driving 30 minutes back to get it so i wouldn't Lose my steps. my wife and I both love ours, keeps us moving, only issue is drive time or mowing, anything that jars you constantly, poor little fitbit thinks your running a marathon. This is easily rectified by logging your activity on the fitbit website and your steps are adjusted. It will keep you moving

That's too funny! I too left it home once and I swear I felt naked and like every step I took without it was wasted! i LOVE mine...I too should be eating more than I was! It is a definite motivator, so far today, I've climbed the Hollywood sign:) It's a real eye opener to how much (or little!) I'm actually moving! Also found out, that I'm up it seems every hour for like 10 min or so during the night, no wonder I'm so tired during the day.....One hint, make sure you clip it to your undies or bra, or men, tight jean pocket, some people have lost them using the clip they provide...I also found i get a better sleep reading clipping it to the top of my nightie rather than using the wristband...otherwise...I Love it! Love it! Would recommend it in a heartbeat:)

JimmyFromNC

ageru

Babyglass13

There is a way to actually log that you're "Driving Car" so it will adjust accordingly for that time period. Just be sure to pay attention to when you get into the car and how long you were driving.

I accidentally got into the pool with mine 2 days ago and have spent 2 days devastated because I wasn't able to save it. ( But, I plan to get another as soon as I save up enough money. Such a great motivation to move. I'm sort of obsessed with it!

Railr0aderTony

Someone mentioned that it can misread when you are in the car...during the school year I drive an hour each way to work. Is there any way to shut it down during that time? What can I do?

If you travel at the same time everyday then just go on the fitbit website and log that time as driving and it will adjust your steps, if you are going on a long trip or mowing or somthing like that, start the timer on your fitbit when you buckle your seatbelt and stop it when you take off your seatbelt that will create a log, then you just label that log as driving or mowing or whatever.

red1123

I drive and hour to work each day and the fitbit has never logged my driving time as activity. I think it depends on how bumpy your ride is and how much elevation you gain (I live in the flat, flat Midwest, so not a problem here).

Deltafliers

There is a way to actually log that you're "Driving Car" so it will adjust accordingly for that time period. Just be sure to pay attention to when you get into the car and how long you were driving.

I accidentally got into the pool with mine 2 days ago and have spent 2 days devastated because I wasn't able to save it. ( But, I plan to get another as soon as I save up enough money. Such a great motivation to move. I'm sort of obsessed with it!

What I do when driving for long periods of time is I turn the timer on at the start and off at the stop. Then later during the day, I use the activity log and plug in that i was driving and the program will readjust the calories. This is also useful for water activitites, and stationary workout equipment.

As for the poster above, did you ever try placing the fitbit in a jar of rice. I have heard my friends tell me it has worked when they dropped their phone in water, and the fitbit website recommends trying thr jar of rice if the fitbit gets dunked.

I have heard people with both a fitbit and hrm say the calorie burn is usually very close to one another.

If this helps, the fitbit calculates your activity by using MET calculations.

I love mine and wanted something small, in which I would not get odd tan lines during the summer. I looked into supplements too, and love that fitbit syncs with mfp; I don't have time to constantly update the sites. For that reason, even tho fitbit has a food log, I use mfp because with the phone app, I can barcode scan food. If you take care of the fitbit (should somehing happen within a year it is still under warranty) the cost come to a little more than $8/month for a weight loss device.

I did lose the clip, and by all accounts it was my error, not the product; when I contacted the company (their only customer service is email currently) they responded very quickly and and sent me a new one free of charge. Needless to say, I was impressed.

kinghavok

I use mine to log my daily walking and stair climbs. Its not that accurate when doing excercise. I use my HRM for calories and such then. but It does keep me honest during the day. I feel bad when i dont make goal!

Deltafliers

I drive and hour to work each day and the fitbit has never logged my driving time as activity. I think it depends on how bumpy your ride is and how much elevation you gain (I live in the flat, flat Midwest, so not a problem here).

I live in a hilly foothills area, and I haven't had issues with the fitbit logging my ride either. I used to log diligently the time I spent in a car, but after seeing maybe, occasionally, 20 steps in an hour's worth of time, I decided it was a waste of time. )

sgthaggard

I get mad at myself when I forget to put it on immediately after getting dressed.

I thought I was the only one. :blushing:

LAWoman79

Cons:

1. Having to doc it on it's station to send it's info to MFP

You don't have to dock it, you have to be within 15 feet of the doc. Mine docks all the time when I'm unaware, cleaning the house or whatever.

I've lost 23lb with the fitbit, it's a great investment!

I don't know why...I have to doc it.

Babyglass13

As for the poster above, did you ever try placing the fitbit in a jar of rice. I have heard my friends tell me it has worked when they dropped their phone in water, and the fitbit website recommends trying thr jar of rice if the fitbit gets dunked.

I did try rice. In fact, t's still in there in hopes... ( No dice. I'm having withdrawals without it even though I only had it for 3 weeks.

daisyhougan

My was a Christmas gift from my dad and I'm not sure I would've bought one on my own. But I can't imagine not having it. I hate leaving the house without it. Can't help but feel like I'm repeating some of what people have said before but it makes me super aware of how much exercise I'm getting. It makes me want to get more exercise to see if I can push myself to do a bit more. I also like to eat my exercise calories and I feel like it's a more accurate reading of the calories I'm burning than if I just entered the information......for example, I play soccer sometimes and there are times in the game that I'm running hard and other times that I'm not running as much. Rather than just enter a one-size-fits-all entry, my Fitbit syncs to MFP and I feel like I'm getting a more accurate reading. Highly recommend it although it is a bit pricey.

parallax693

What is an HRM?

Onespirit62

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob314159

Cons:

1. Having to doc it on it's station to send it's info to MFP

You don't have to do this- you just need to be within 15' of your computer and it syncs automatically- no need to take it off your belt, or push any buttons.

Maybe its a hardware defect - you should contact FitBIt for a fix

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I never realized how few steps I normally take in a day- since getting it I've gone from around 2000 to 10000

I wanted to increase my stair step count, but it was too hard to remember to write it down, now I do 20 a day

It gives me the extra push to meet my quotas each day- my main exercise is walking and its prefect for that - for other exercise it won't count correctly - depends on the exercise and you have to manually enter values.

It was a bit of a luxury buy that I hesitated on - but the best $99 I spent all year

Jude1064

I am interested in getting one also. I saw an earlier post about virus protection. Whats that about? Thanks!

ExplorinLauren

Well, to first reply to another post I saw, you do NOT have to doc it. There have been times when I've had to refresh to get it to sync, but that's it, and thats just sometimes... usually you don't even have to do that. lol

Pros-
1. I LOVE being able to see what I ACTUALLY BURN DAILY. (This has helped me a great deal with everything MFP related. Sometimes I get so confused/frustrated with all the TDEE, BMR, don't eat LESS than BMR because I need that just to survive,but eat less than your BMR to lose weight yada yada yada... its too much sometimes! lol) By getting fit bit, I can see that I, on average, burn 2500-2600 cals per day. SOOOO, I can eat around 1500 calories a day and create a 1000 cal deficit and lose 2 lbs a week. Plain and simple.
2. Its addicting. I read a quote on the box of the FitBit saying its Facebook for fitness... and I agree. I check it all the time to see how many steps I'm taking and how many cals I'm burning.... It's fun!
3. Its discreet. You can wear it and no one knows.
4. I love that it counts steps, floors, cals, activity level, and sleep. You can also set up a meal log... but if you sync with MFP, you will use the meal log on MFP ... NOT FitBits.
5. Nothingggggggggggg on the planet will make you FEEL like your exercising 24/7. Its amazing. I feel naked if I don't wear it... in fact, I hate even charging it because I might take 100 steps that aren't accounted for lol..


Cons-
1. I'm still trying to decide if I like it being synced to MFP. If you are someone who doesn't like to eat back your exercise cals, or only wants to eat back half... syncing them will always show you how many cals your allowed (it will have you at eating back cals) even if you don't want to. Therefor, according to FitBit or MFP, you are not in your "correct" cal goal.
2. The flights you walk aren't ALWAYS accurate. I've heard you can be in buildings without good Wifi or whatever the case may be and it may not always log your steps/floors. Which I have found true walking upstairs in my house.
3. The sleep feature. I couldn't wait for this feature! Unfortunately you have to start the timer for sleep RIGHT when your about to close your eyes..... Not laying in bed, or reading, or watching Tv ABOUT to go to bed... but when you are literally closing your eyes. That is a problem for me, because I am usually watching Tv..laying in bed, about to go to sleep... and I pass out at some point without starting the timer. lol So basically, out of the 2 weeks I've had it, I only logged 2 nights of sleep.
4. My biggest problem is, it counts activity level, and movement for steps and floors. But doesn't count "What" I'm actually doing. For example... I can go to the zoo, and it counts that I did 5000 steps. Burned 1800 cals... or whatever. Which is GREAT! But if I did 1 hour plyo from my P90X... its not going to show what I burned there. Just what I "stepped" ... so with that being said... Who knows what I am actually burning?

All in all, I am VERY happy with my FitBit. I LOVE the little thing and I am so happy I got it.. and wouldn't trade it. But ultimately its just another way to be fit, and track fitness level, and is a VERY fancy, awesome pedometer. I only had the choice of buying either the FitBit or a HRM when I got mine bc of financial reasons...... and I think if you only have the choice of one or the other, get the HRM 1st... then DEF get the FitBit!.

Sorry so long! lol Good luck!

christinet8504

I'm a serious fitbit LOVER!

1) Its addicting
2) It helps me better keep track of my activity level
3) it keeps me honest. cuz IT KNOWS.
4) The sleep feature may not be 100% super accurate, but its pretty good in a general sense - at least in keeping you in a routine

One major CON: Dont get it wet. It clips to your clothes so its easy to send it through the wash. It will die immediately.

Fitness4Paul

I returned mine. FitBit does not submit their data to Microsoft, so the warning for "severe sucurity issue" kept comming up. That's a little fretful, if you've ever had to recover from a computer crash before

Well, Microsoft has many of it's own security issues, as pretty much 99.8% of viruses ever made exploit Microsoft program security holes. It's likely one of the most insecure operating systems out there.

I've had a fitbit over 2 years, up to date anti virus and anti malware, and I;ve never had a problem. I should also mention one of my jobs to to repair and recover computers with security issues, and I have never used internet explorer.

As for my fitibit? I love it! After 2 1/2 years it's cracked and well worn, but I will replace it when it finally breaks.

I'm a tech as well and I agree. The technology is sound and seemless to install. I have a fitbit usb dock on a window 7 and a vista PC neither have eber had an issue. It wirelessly syncs thoughout the day as I'm usualy close to one of those PCs. I love my fitbit. I wear it everyday. It gives me a more accurate account of my daily activity.

noogie98

I bought mine over a year ago at Best Buy & bought the added warranty protection. Best extra $20 ever!! My first 3 weeks, it accidentally got wet, between the extra sweat & getting caught in a downpour. Put it in rice (which was suggested on the fitbit website) and it dried out after 3 days, but seemed a little off so at the suggestion of a friend who works for BB, took it back to the store. They exchanged it, no problem! I use mine every day, and love it. About a month ago, it fell apart ~ I was devastated and lost without it. The same friend told me to take it back, that it was covered under the warranty. I went back to Best Buy, and was totally surprised when they not only exchanged it for a new one, but they extended my warranty as well. I have a new fitbit ultra, with another 2 year warranty!! One thing, tho ~ I wouldn't use it without the belt clip. I even use the belt clip now when attaching it to my bra. I didn't before and I think it put extra wear & tear on the unit, which caused it to fall apart last month. I will literally go back home in the morning & be a little late for work if I forget it. I have even had my husband bring it to me at work when I realized I had forgotten it after getting there and clocking in!
I ♥ it!!!

tbetts23

I have had mine for a week. Love it!!!!!! I just broke 10'000 steps today!

essjay76

PROS:
I LOVE my FitBit! It really opened my eyes and confirmed what I thought my activity level was. Now I eat according to my FitBit.

It's a GREAT sup'd up pedometer. It motivates you to push more, walk more, and be more active.

It's also a big wake-up call to those of you who don't think you really burn that much during the day... (you DO!)

It's nice that you can view the counts throughout the day. However, if you want to sync up, may not be that helpful.

It is discreet, small, and easy.


CONS:
If you have a Garmin/GPS to use for running, use it. Don't use the FitBit. The FitBit doesn't track distance accurately, just steps.
If you swim, forget about it. The FitBit is not waterproof.
If you do other crosstraining like circuit training, Insanity, strength training, etc., it's not great at all. Use a BodyMedia Fit or HRM.


All in all though, I love my FitBit!!! One of the best investments I've ever made for my health!