Fitbit: Worth it?

shainapaddick
shainapaddick Posts: 31
in Fitness and Exercise
For people who have bought the Fitbit and used it with MFP. Is it worth the money? Would you recommend to other users?

Replies

  • FireBrand80
    FireBrand80 Posts: 378 Member
    Unless your activity level varies widely from day to day, or week to week, I'd say no.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Jacwhite22
  • rowdylibrarian
    rowdylibrarian Posts: 251 Member
    Absolutely YES!!! It's very motivating, and gave me a much clearer idea of my actual TDEE and my actual activity throughout the day. It pushes me to do "just a little bit more" when I notice that I'm still under my goals.
  • sionnain
    sionnain Posts: 96
    yes yes yes yes i loveeeee it. especially if i walk around a lot one day then i know how much exercise i actually got done. if this one breaks i would buy a new one as soon as i had the money.
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
    For keeping track of everyday walking around, I'd say yes. I've stopped logging walking as an activity on MFP simply because I do a lot of it. The calorie assigned on Fitbit are close to MFP and what my HRM records.

    But for other activities - cardio and/or strength workouts, I'd say it's not worth it.

    You can see the debate and existing users in the FitBit Users group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/1290-fitbit-users
  • flanary888
    flanary888 Posts: 158 Member
    YES!!! I love mine and it pushes me to do more everyday!
  • kdruga
    kdruga Posts: 35
    I've been using mine for about 3 months now and love it. I use it mainly to keep track of my activity level. I still have days at work where I don't get away from my desk much and I don't work out in the evening. When I see less than 4k steps, I feel terrible. I've noticed myself taking steps more and even walking circles around my house just to reach certain goals. I don't know how accurate it is for calorie burn, but I have seen an increase in my weight loss since using it.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    I love mine because it helped me get a real idea of what my TDEE is. I was overestimating before and had been eating at maintenance, which explained why I hadn't lost any weight in 3 months.

    If you're a bit of a numbers geek like me, you'll love it.

    I don't use the calorie adjustment it gives MFP because I already have my net set to 15% below my TDEE. The only exercise calories I eat back are those earned from actual exercise that gets my HR above 120 for an extended period of time.

    Edit to add- I take off my fitbit and wear a heart rate monitor for exercise, then manually log that info on MFP to overwrite the sedentary data on the fitbit.
  • snowgrrl83
    snowgrrl83 Posts: 242 Member
    Sooooo worth it! My caloric allowance varies from 1600 cals / day to 2300 cals / day!!
    I would never be able to know whats going on without my FitBit...and its a HUGE MOTIVATOR too!
  • stang_girl88
    stang_girl88 Posts: 234 Member
    I have one and would recommend it. It gives you a certain amount of steps to achieve every day and I like to exceed that number. I had a BodyMedia and compared the two before my BodyMedia's subscription ran out. They were pretty comparable in calories counted and steps taken.

    I have no buyers remorse on my Fitbit, my BodyMedia yes :)

    Edited to add: Very motivating and has been a big help with my weight loss!! I cant go without it now lol
  • Pmcfeeters
    Pmcfeeters Posts: 7
    I was thinking of getting one and I went to Amazon and read both some 5 star and 1 star reviews. Most of the one star reviews had the same problem. It logged steps while driving and it fell apart quickly. There were a lot of reviews with these same complaints so it leads me to believe they are not just a few random users. They may have fixed both of those problems, but it convinced me to not purchase one for now.
  • lcphipps
    lcphipps Posts: 29
    Yes, I love mine, and wear it every day all day long. Even when I think I have had a 'good day' my fit bit may tell me otherwise and I need to get out for a walk to get my steps in. I love the fact that it works with MFP. a major decision on why I gave up my body media membership. I no longer have to log all of my activities in, the extra calories burned are transferred to MFP.
  • cally69
    cally69 Posts: 182 Member
    I've had one for two weeks now and it hasn't left my side! It's been an eye opener to see how many steps I walk at work (I'm a nurse) and very useful for knowing your TDEE. I don't log food with it as I do that here, but it's a motivator on a less active day to get up and move!!
    X
  • rnunl
    rnunl Posts: 15
    I was thinking of getting one and I went to Amazon and read both some 5 star and 1 star reviews. Most of the one star reviews had the same problem. It logged steps while driving and it fell apart quickly. There were a lot of reviews with these same complaints so it leads me to believe they are not just a few random users. They may have fixed both of those problems, but it convinced me to not purchase one for now.
    Don't let the "loggIng steps by driving" turn you off to Fitbit. You can easily log those steps as driving or riding in a car and they are reset. That being said, I don't go anywhere without mine.

    Edited to add, as far as durability, only time will tell for sure. I took mine kayaking not long after getting it and it is still working great. I've owned and used it everyday for a month and a half. YMMV
  • Eupho
    Eupho Posts: 201 Member
    I love my FitBit!! .. as others have said, I take it off and use my HRM (Polar FT7) for 'workouts' .. weights/cycling etc. ..,

    But I wear my FitBit the rest of the time.. I love seeing how much or how little (??) distance I have covered in a day. I have two different jobs, and each and any of my days vary quite a lot.

    It has really helped me walk more, aim to hit targets in distance.. and my BF and I love to do big walks so its brilliant for that.

    If I lost my FitBit this afternoon, I would order a new one A.S.A.P!!! :heart:
  • rowdylibrarian
    rowdylibrarian Posts: 251 Member
    I was thinking of getting one and I went to Amazon and read both some 5 star and 1 star reviews. Most of the one star reviews had the same problem. It logged steps while driving and it fell apart quickly. There were a lot of reviews with these same complaints so it leads me to believe they are not just a few random users. They may have fixed both of those problems, but it convinced me to not purchase one for now.

    Neither of the two Fitbits in our family have had those problems, and I haven't heard of anyone recently having those issues, either, so I suspect that they have found a workaround. The important thing is to use the holder they give you, instead of using it "bareback". :)
  • happythermia
    happythermia Posts: 374
    Totally.

    I purchased 2 for my husband and me as an anniversary present in March. Unfortunately, mine stopped holding a charge, so I've been without it for a week.

    I can tell you without a doubt that I've been a lazy bum all week because I don't have my fitbit up and running!!

    And incidentally, if you do have problems with your fitbit - email the customer service. They are amazing and super helpful. I emailed them, explained what my problem was and they are sending me another one at no cost to me.

    also, I can give a totally glowing review for the aria scale lol
  • LindaPezz
    LindaPezz Posts: 3 Member
    Not to me it is not worth the $100. I am actually trying to get a refund. why it does not sync over bluetooth unless you have an apple device. All use andriod users ignore when it says it has andriod app. You cannot sync to it. You must go to your computer and manually sync it to your computer. It will not self sync when within 20 feet. You have to wake up the fitbit to get it sync and you must manually push a sync button on the software that you must install on your computer. This is just to get it record the steps you took during the day. It resets at midnight so if you work weird hours you do not get a good respresentation of what you really walk because of the resting at midnight splitting your activitiy. I personally had more fun with just a standard $29 pedometer that records steps, distance, calories where I could just type the data into my cellphone. Now I have a$100 version of the same thing. I was stupid for purchasing the device.

    I would not recommend this prodct to a friend unless they had an iphone. For the rest of us it is not worth it. Save $70 and go buy a standard pedometer.
  • jarringtoncrew
    jarringtoncrew Posts: 1 Member
    I purchased a Fitbit Flex just last night, and I have already repackaged it and have it ready to return to store. I wanted something that would track my activity at the moment, such as a Fitness Watch. I don't really care to now how many calories or steps I have burned or taken during the whole day. I wanted something that would track my runs and tell me how many calories I burned and the distance I ran during that run. The Fitbit does a lot of the things that MyFitnessPal does already, such as a food log, telling me how many calories I can eat and deducts them as I log in the food, and MyFitnessPal is free, not the $99.99 I paid for the Fitbit Flex. I would recommend using the Fitbit for someone who cares about how many steps they take during the day, but it isn't for me. I can purchase a cheap pedometer for that and continue to use MyFitnessPal to keep up with my progress.

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