FitBit---is it worth the money?

secretlobster

It depends on what your type of activity is -- if you are looking for something to track daily routine, like sleeping, general activity level, stairs and walking/running, then it would be a good fit -- I love mine for this purpose.

If you are doing a lot of cycling, swimming, weight lifting, etc, it may not be the best option as it doesn't really track those things very well.

This is exactly the truth - It's a great tool for people who are mostly sedentary and are looking to maximize their low-intensity, normal-day activity levels. I've got to hand it to the FitBit here; it's really good at motivating you to go out and walk another 500 steps From the marketing FitBit has done on their product, this is really its purpose.

If you're an intense activity person who is doing a lot of exercise that isn't walking, you probably won't find this very useful a) because it doesn't accurately measure your lifestyle and b) you're already very active...

MENichols5

Thank you all for the responses! I am definitely considering buying a FitBit soon.

As for a HRM, does anyone have suggestions for an afforable, easy-to-use HRM that tracks calories burned?

goldfinger88

Those who use Fitbit with Leslie Sansone, I have a question. My current pedometer doesn't register a mile on the mile walk. Only 0.37 mile. And about 39 calories. Does the Fitbit actually register one mile?

goldfinger88

bump

Bob314159

Those who use Fitbit with Leslie Sansone, I have a question. My current pedometer doesn't register a mile on the mile walk. Only 0.37 mile. And about 39 calories. Does the Fitbit actually register one mile?

FitBit - you adjust the stride length to match your body and walk. A regular pedometer - same thing - unless its a very cheap pedometer.

tvl0308

wow a lot of great responses on the FitBit, I need to invest in one. Sounds like it would be something for me to use.

draculaspointer

Depends on your form of movement. If you alternate walking / running I wouldn't bother because it can be inaccurate when your stride changes.

It's great for walking.. stair climbing.. sleep monitoring.

I walk and run during the day and didnt bother to set up the running stride length (online) so the mileage is always off when I run. However, it does still keep track of steps during runs. I know how far I run and dont mind the the fitbit is off. Of course, i could stop being lazy and figure out my running stride length and enter it online and use that...but it doesnt seem worth the effort. I love the fit bit, I love to see how active I am throughout the day and the sleep monitoring.

It was eye opening how much time I spend "sedentary" during the day. I guess having a desk job will do that to ya. But the fitbit is good at tracking that so hopefully can be used to make improvements.

Bob314159

It was eye opening how much time I spend "sedentary" during the day. I guess having a desk job will do that to ya. But the fitbit is good at tracking that so hopefully can be used to make improvements.

I was freaked out the first few days I used FitBit - I have a sedentary computer job - but I thought I did a reasonable amount of walking - I had guessed 5K - but I was so so wrong. Now I do 10K per day 90% of the time

mcarter99

Those who use Fitbit with Leslie Sansone, I have a question. My current pedometer doesn't register a mile on the mile walk. Only 0.37 mile. And about 39 calories. Does the Fitbit actually register one mile?

I've 'measured' Leslie walks before and she exaggerates things. (Of course, you don't move any actual distance in them so it's sort of just semantics.)

Masq

My personal experience with riding in the car…..
Over Memorial Day weekend, I wore my fitbit the whole time:
Friday – 10 hours in the car with one stop for gas / bathroom
Saturday – On my feet for 5+ hours, setting up and decorating for a graduation party
Sunday – 10 hours in the car with two stops – gas/bathroom and lunch

When I got home and my fitbit uploaded the data from the weekend to the computer, I was shocked and irritated when I had more steps, floors and calories burned on the two days that I was in the car than I did for the Saturday when I was on my feet.
This was the reason I thought the fitbit was flawed and bought a bodybugg….which I later returned.
I wrote my complaint about the fitbit on the community boards on the fitbit site and received a reply from fitbit…. I needed to record driving and riding in the car as an activity and the information would adjust. SO… for me it was a ‘user’ error. I didn’t know it was necessary to record that. When I entered my the activity on the fitbit site, it adjusted the calories, steps and floors accordingly.

I noticed it again when I was in the car for an hour and did not go up or down any stairs…. I came home and the fitbit showed I did 8 floors. I put in an activity for riding in the car and the floors went down to 1.

I don’t bother recording an activity for my daily commute or most times I’m in the car. The only reason I did it for the 1 hour trip was to see if it would change the floors and it did.

I also do not wear the fitbit when I go on a bike ride. I did one time and it recorded my bike ride as steps…. Even after I entered it on the site as a bike ride…. The steps didn’t change.