Fitbit vs Bodymedia fit?

Glasseschickadee

Am,looking into getting a calorie counter device thingy. Sorry not sure what to call them, but have narrowed down to the Fitbit or the Bodymedia fit. I have,an Android phone and pretty good wifi access. Any suggestions?

elsiesnow

I have a Fitbit One, just got it right before New Year's, and I really like it. I honestly thought I was walking a lot more steps throughout the day than it turned out I was. It's good to have a counter. It seems accurate to me, since the count definitely goes up when I have a more active day.

I really like how it tracks my sleep too. There are nights when I wake up quite a bit, and I can now see a report that shows how effectively my sleep time is, and how long I'm really sleeping. I've read artcles that talked about how a lack of sleep can affect your hunger pangs and activity level, and I'm looking forward to tracking how that works for me. Do I really get the munchies more often when I don't sleep as well? I can't say yet since it's only been a few days, but I'll check back in a month or two and post about whether I think this is effective.

It's a very good motivational tool. It's great to check it during the day and see how many steps I've taken, or how active I've been. I feel like it makes me more accountable and definitely makes me feel like I should get up off the sofa and exercise!

Glasseschickadee

Thanks for feedback. am really starting to lean, that,way. Big issue for me is fitbit I can clip to bra and go versus an armband

lose3stone

I also have fitbit one and love it. It really motivates me to add in a small walk to hit my goal steps

zatannagu

I have the Fitbit Ultra, and I love mine. I'm really glad that I got it. That one also tracks your sleep if you want.

xMissy6x

fit bit!! Plus theres no annual fee either. So small and i find it really accurate

Ready2Rock206

Love my FitBit Ultra! Gets me moving moving!

Mamafred

I can't speak to the BodyMedia but I got a Fitbit for Christmas and I love it. It has really opened my eyes as to just how active I really am and also how poorly I sleep. It makes me want to move.

Bettyeditor

I got a Fitbit for Christmas and I love it. Its not good as a calorie counter, that's why I'm here -- myfitnesspal does a much better job of recording my food. But the awesome part is that you can link Fitbit and myfitnesspal so that they exchange data!!!! This is very slick and seemless and really motivating. If I do some extra walking and stairs, my fitbit tells myfitnesspal and then it lets me know that I can eat more calories today because of the exercise I've done.

They exchange data between them about exercise and food, and I can view reports in both. I also love that both have an iPhone app as well as an internet site.

And I also love how the fitbit tracks my sleep and shows me total hours and quality and how long it took me to fall asleep, etc.

sheilapie

i have both.. i bought the bodybugg from bodymedia a few years ago, when i was on a biggest loser tv show addiction... its nice, but bulky. i have to say, the fitbit ultra is the one i love.. i wear it daily on my bra, with a secure clip so it doesnt fall off... it looks a little odd under my shirt, but i dont care. im proud of it!! my little fittie!!! on days when i forget to wear it, i feel lost... and trust me, im not at all into exercise!! but i love the fact that it connects to both loseit! and mfp, and its easy to figure out... so, for what its worth, owning both, i would say the fitbit!!!!!

zyxst

I thought of getting a BFM, but I couldn't afford to subscription to use the website, so I went with a Fitbit, which has a free use site.

kdub67

I have a Fitbit Ultra and I love it, too! I don't clip it to my bra; I clip it to my undies, just inside my hipbone. It doesn't show and I've even worn it under a fitted dress with no problem. Biggest surprise is it's never come off when I pull my pants down to go to the bathroom (I was scared of this the first few weeks, haha!). I know Bodymedia is supposed to be wonderful, but with a monthly fee and a seemingly annoying (though what do I know) armband, I'm sticking with the Fitbit.

BrandyRelaxing

I own both, so I can tell you what I think about both.

Bodymedia Fit I believe is much more accurate. I never felt it was misleading in how many steps or calories I burned. My big issue was wearing it on my arm. I work in an office, so everyone kept asking me if I was okay when they saw it (they thought it was a medical device).

Fitbit Ultra, I find can be misleading, particularly with respect to stairs climbed... you'd be amazed the number of flights of stairs I climb when I'm at work, and never leave the floor I work on! Other than that, I do wonder how much motion it detects. When I work out, and I move my arms I know I burn more calories than when I don't, but I am not sure that the fitbit can tell the difference.

Both track sleep well, and I do find the Bodymedia better for that, because it tracks sleep on its own, as opposed to me having to remember to press the start and stop button.

The other thing I liked about the Bodymedia is that you can see how many calories you burned in a specific period, without having to start and stop a timer. So if I went to the gym and forgot to hit the button to start the clock, I won't know how many calories I burned for that workout with the Fitbit Ultra, but for the Bodymedia, I would.

The other factor to consider is software. Fitbit gives you online software free (and they have an upgraded version for $50/year). Bodymedia requires you to pay $7/month to use the software and if you don't pay that, you can't see what you're burning etc, unless you buy a monitor (and even then it doesn't show you sleep etc).

I haven't used the Bodymedia software in a while, but one thing I like about the FItbit software is that you can make notes so that you know what you did for exercise to great a great burn, but with the Bodymedia, you can't.

So even though I like the Bodymedia Fit better, because the Fitbit is more easily consealed (yep, on my bra, and really easy to fit on, don't even need the extra clip, just the main one fits over my bra securely, and no, you can't see it under my shirt), I use the Fitbit. Oddly enough, my hubby now uses the Bodymedia Fit, and keeps joking we should check how accurate each one is by having me wear both, but I haven't had the desire to do that just yet!

Brandy

RevNS

I have the BodyMedia Fit Link and I love it. I got it about a month ago. I don't even notice the armband because it is very comfortable and no one seems to notice it under my sweaters. I understand you could move it to a calf if you wanted to for any reason.

The biggest difference that I can see is that it actually tracks the intensity of what I am doing and how that affects the calorie burn. It gives you a lot of data and it's available via my android, iPad, and computer so I always know what I need to do to make my day turn out well. It is also very accurate and I am not getting any funny readings.

For me the $7 is no a big deal. I spend a lot on protein powders, etc. and this to me is just part of all of my arsenal! lol

I also like that I can print off my logs and trends to take to my doctor so she can see exactly what is going on and how to help me going forward.

I guess it's just a personal decision, but isn't it great that we have a choice of wonderful options?

Thanks,
Nancy

Glasseschickadee

Wow! You guys have given me a lot of info! Thanks so much. Have decided to go fitbit one, I don't plan on doing any other logging beside mfp so the fact that they link I love! I have to wear a lab coat at work and IM thinking an armband under would get in,the way. Look forward to seeing you all on the fitbit site!