Fitbit: fun gimmick or worthwhile accessoire

IliaShade

So. Im a techy girl, love gadgets, spend too much money on them. Additionally, I've been trying to lose my last 5-7kg forever now, and either lack the motivation or the proper diet / exercise mix so somehow I'm stuck. In my search for a way to lose weight again I consider the fitbit. I love statistics and any "challenge" or way of motivation, but because I love gadgets so much I am easily suckered into buying something expensive and in the end pointless.

So, who has experience with the fitbit? ( one, or ultra or so) is the information actually useful, did it actually help you lose weight? Or does the product work fine ( I already read loads of normal reviews) but is it only for fun and not useful?

Baseline... Should I buy it? ( budget is not the issue)

jaz050465

Look at thebBodymedia Fit. Far more accurate.

IliaShade

I considered that one as well, but as I live in Europe it's impossible to use, as you cannot pay for their monthly subscription as a non america. Not to mention I 'd have to import as i doesn't get sold here..

Any other opinions?

viajera99

I love my fitbit...It's made a world of difference and been invaluable in helping me lose weight. It opened my eyes about how sedentary I really was and allowed me the feedback I needed to change. I use it to track my calorie allowance on a daily basis. I try to keep a 500 calorie deficit. If my fitbit shows I've been more active, I plan to eat a little more. If it shows that the day is a "slow" one, I eat less. Totally worth the $99, imho.

jaz050465

I considered that one as well, but as I live in Europe it's impossible to use, as you cannot pay for their monthly subscription as a non america. Not to mention I 'd have to import as i doesn't get sold here..

Any other opinions?

Have you looked at Kifit. It's the UK licensed version. Are you in the UK. If not email them to see if you can use it elsewhere in Europe.

IliaShade

I considered that one as well, but as I live in Europe it's impossible to use, as you cannot pay for their monthly subscription as a non america. Not to mention I 'd have to import as i doesn't get sold here..

Any other opinions?

Have you looked at Kifit. It's the UK licensed version. Are you in the UK. If not email them to see if you can use it elsewhere in Europe.

Thanks! I'm in the Netherlands but frequently order on Amazon.co.uk and other English websites. I will check it out

twoss9112

if you do get one, i would go with the regular FitBit instead of the FitBit One.

I wanted FitBit one for the "floors climbed" feature as well as the sleep tracker.
I got out of the habit of the sleep tracker lately due to a lot of craziness going on but I hope to go back to it when things settle a bit.

I really wanted the floors climbed feature but it is not at ALL accurate. It registers an elevation change (up only, not down) of 10 feet and counts it as a floor climbed. You might drive up a hill or go on an elevator and it will add floors.
The upside of that is that I no long take escalotors. I figure if it's goign to add that elevation I might as well have it be a "real" floor climbed!!

I would have been fine to save a few bucks and get the regular one, given the inaccuracy of floors.

It's not spot-on accurate for steps, because sometimes other movements will cause it to read steps (like driving). but I notice when I do cardio, the number of calories isnormally relatively close to what the MFP log says, so I do like to use it for all workouts.

Also, I'm a walker, my other half and I love to go walking, and it's a great tool for that because it will log your steps, distance traveled on your walks AND calories burned. And he likes that I have it too, he always asked me to look at the distance and see how far we've walked.

BUT, it also figues in your daily BMR too, so it's a great way to estimate daily calories. it son't be down to THE calorie accuratre but it will get you in the neighborhood. Mine taught me that I am not as active as I assumed I was and let me tell you, wearing this thing GETS ME MOVING!! I've had it for a few months and i only forgot to wear it one day so far.

aleshamaleew

I love it and was in a similar situation. I have about 10 pounds left to complete my weight loss (I began at 195 and now am at 158-159). Nothing seemed to work! I'm seeing the scale going down again using fit bit.

What I beleive I was missing out on was balancing my exercise throughout the day instead of considering it an all or nothing sweat fest at the gym. No more going to the gym and wearing myself out to try and burn those calories, I now manage to do it through the day and fit other moderate exercise in. I get in 10,000 steps every day using my fit bit. This makes me get up from my desk in the office and do more little things and helps me have a means to measure by if "it's enough." Whatever is left over after work my dog and I put in, in a walk.

So why fit bit and not just a pedometer? For one, I a regular pedometer at walmart and it was incredibly annoying. I'm sure there are others NOT like this but it made this super annoying rattleing noise. I looked like the wierdo in my quiet office. I also found it not to be very accurate even after adjusting it. My fitbit is exremely accurate. I've tried it time and time again and the steps it counts is correct. No problems with it counting things such as movement as steps.

I love that it connects to my Iphone. I like to see how I've done for the week and get it recorded automatically. Sure, you could record how you did with a regular pedometer on your own.... but techies don't like that. It gives me a chart and little badges along the way for meeting goals.

The BEST part is it syncs with myfitnesspal. I read some places where people had problems.... I never had. For a while I had to guess what extra calories to eat.... this adjusts it for you. It accounts for everyday activities including sleeping to give you a more accurate calorie goal. No figuring now for me! I start out with 1200 calories and usually by the end of my 10,000 steps my recommended calorie range is around 1400-1600 which is very accurate for my height, weight, gender and age.

Get it! I love it! I like the "one" because you can hide it better than the new arm band one. Just personal preference!

x_JT_x

Look at thebBodymedia Fit. Far more accurate.

This. I bought the FitBit One. Returned it within the week and bought the Bodymedia. Very satisfied customer.

Tercob

I love mine, havn't had it a month but I am constanly moving so my flower grows. Waaaaay more than I had before. I found that you have to climb 13 steps to be a stairs incline. At home I have 13 steps and it always calculate. At work the are 9 steps the a turn and 9 more steps, it isn't until I get to the 13th step that it registers another stair incline

twoss9112

I love that it connects to my Iphone. I like to see how I've done for the week and get it recorded automatically. Sure, you could record how you did with a regular pedometer on your own.... but techies don't like that. It gives me a chart and little badges along the way for meeting goals.

The BEST part is it syncs with myfitnesspal. I read some places where people had problems.... I never had. For a while I had to guess what extra calories to eat.... this adjusts it for you. It accounts for everyday activities including sleeping to give you a more accurate calorie goal. No figuring now for me! I start out with 1200 calories and usually by the end of my 10,000 steps my recommended calorie range is around 1400-1600 which is very accurate for my height, weight, gender and age.

Yes, the iPhone part - I forgot to mention how much I love that - and I do love the weekly progress report that comes to my email.

There are a couple things to figure out once you sync it with MFP - like you HAVE to log your exercise start time! (MFP will add the option once you sync in a fitbit, even though you don't see that option now)... If you log the exercise but don't add the start time, you will suddenly have a butt load of extra calories available that are not really available. Logging the start time will over write the fitbit reading for that time period so it doesn;t count double.

aleshamaleew

Oh yes... almost forgot about the start time thing but it makes it readily available. Another note on the iphones why I like it.... don't know about everyone else but I wear on my bra strap. That way it stays hidden and goes with me no matter what clothes I change in to. So I'm not constantly having to dig in my shirt and bra to get it out.... it convienantly displays on iphone. Just a personal deal

IliaShade

Thanks for all the helpful replies. (Although more are still welcome) I'm strongly considered getting one of these! I was wondering about the new Flex armband, too.. but though the 'one' might actually be more discreet and useful as I always wear a tanktop beneath my clothes..

I have no clue if this "flex" actually is better than the 'one' or just differently shaped..

sunshinestater

I had the original Fitbit, and my husband has now inherited because I got an Ultra. I just love that little gadget, especially when I'm out somewhere where I'm going to be doing a lot of walking. It's inspiring to see how many steps you've taken, and I often work in a few more to get to a certain number. I'm on Neufit, which syncs with Fitbit and lets you use your miles to complete your quests over there. That's a lot of fun, too.

stepknee

I've pre-ordered the flex. I am gadget-y too. I just bought the fitbit scale, which is how I ended up at myfitnesspal. I am hoping it will keep me more focuses on tracking and logging on to the site.

Katey911

I my FitBit, though I really only use it as a pedometer. I've read from other people that they have issues with theirs tracking steps while driving, etc but I've never had that happen.

BrockZombie

I have the "one" and the "aria" scale. Super awesome. Lost 7 pounds so far. The sleep efficiency tracker is a cool feature too.

throttle2009

In for fitbit! Love mine,..helps keep track of everything and keeps me motivated to achieve my daily steps, floors climbed and calories met. Works awesome with mfp too.

KatyE213

I bought a FitBit Ultra in January 2012 and I've just bought the One a couple of weeks ago having managed to damage my Ultra (it was still working but the plastic casing was damaged!) Obviously I love it or I wouldn't have replaced it. I love that it synchronises with MFP and with my iPhone. It definitely motivates you to move more and for me its well worth the money I paid for both of them. I've never had any problems with it recording car movement etc as steps and I wear it clipped to my bra strap so its really discreet. Definitely recommend it

mlb929

Fun Gimmick. The only real benefit I have found to mine is tracking my sleep quality and quantity. I have the one, but find that it is easily lost, it falls out of the rubber case you slip it into. I have managed to find mine each time, but one of these days I won't I'm sure. Its HORRIBLY inaccurate. A day I walk 17K steps, I only burn about 200 more calories than a day I walk 7000 steps. The elevation thing makes no sense for the "floors" climbed. And driving makes you go steps, as well as does sleeping, I sometimes wake with 400 steps already on my counter while sleeping. It doesn't interface well with MFP, you pretty much have to log everything on their site and sync it. I would wait until the wrist band one comes out if I had to do it again. But I'm not finding that any of the information is any more useful than what MFP was giving me.

pet1127

If it is tracing when you drive just go to activity and log the time you started driving and for how long and it removes the steps and stairs for that time frame

viajera99

I've not had any of the problems that other people describe. It's never recorded steps while driving, for example. And it's a pain to get in and out of the holder for me...it would never fall out!

As far as the stairs, it's an altimeter. If you change 10 feet in elevation while moving, it considers that a flight. However, if you stop before 10 ft, it will not count it at all. If you can live with those "limitations" it's fine.

For most bi-pedal locomotion (i.e. walking and running), it is actually as accurate as you can get, assuming your sex, age, and weight are entered correctly.

Here's why 17000 steps may be only 200 calories more than 7000 steps over the course of a day, using my numbers as an example (F, 53, 131 lbs):

10,000 steps = ~ 4 miles. Assuming equal distribution across 8 hours, that's 1/2 mile in 1 hour. Now assume I walked that 1/2 mile at a 20 min/mile pace (reasonable for non-exercise walking) , so I spent 10 minutes walking that 1/2 mile.

My RMR is 50 cal per hr. Walking a 1/2 mile at my weight uses approximately 40 calories, so for 10 minutes (1/6 hr) I used 40 calories, and for the rest of that hour I used (5/6 * 50) 42 calories, for a total energy usage of 82 cal/hr.

So, sitting on my butt for 1 hr = 50 cal.
Walking a 1/2 mile extra every hour = 82 cal
Difference = 32 cal/hour x 8 hours = 256 cal/day

So yes, an extra 10000 steps can contribute only ~200 calories/day.

Your BMR/RMR is the biggest portion of your energy expenditure by far. It can dwarf the steps you take.

IliaShade

If it is tracing when you drive just go to activity and log the time you started driving and for how long and it removes the steps and stairs for that time frame

Great thing to know, I had this problem with other step meters and such.. I'm becoming more and more ocnvinced

rich1800

I love my fitbit. It's very motivational for keeping me moving as I am OCD about numbers. I have to get 15000 steps a day. I have lost 12 pounds since 01/01 doing little else but making sure I hit my step goals. It syncs perfectly with my fitness pal.

meaningful99

I love mine. I got a Fitbit Zip, which is the cheaper model that does not record sleep patterns. It also doesn't have the problem others have reported of recording steps when you're in a car.

Like someone else mentioned, for me the biggest value has been realizing how sedentary I was on my non-workout days. I now make an effort to take many more steps during the day.

Also, the Fitbit website has a few graphs that MFP does not have, like a week's or month's view of calories burned compared to calories eaten, that are inspiring. For me, it was worth the $60.

jaz050465

I considered that one as well, but as I live in Europe it's impossible to use, as you cannot pay for their monthly subscription as a non america. Not to mention I 'd have to import as i doesn't get sold here..

Any other opinions?

Have you looked at Kifit. It's the UK licensed version. Are you in the UK. If not email them to see if you can use it elsewhere in Europe.

Thanks! I'm in the Netherlands but frequently order on Amazon.co.uk and other English websites. I will check it out

The issue with it is due to what country it's licenced in. For BMF you have to have avUSA or canadianaddress. Kifit have bought the licensing in the UK for the same equipment. Contact them to see if you can buy a subscription in the Netherlands. Buying from another country isn't the problem- you can buy used from eBay, its when you register the bank account for the subscription. You can get around this if you have a friend I another country whose bank account you can use.

karakreature

I had the Fitbit One for several weeks. I liked the sleep monitoring but for the most part, felt like it was an expensive pedometer. It doesn't measure aerobics or other exercises other than walking/running very well. Not what I thought it was. It has some nice features, very easy to use, and if you are a walker/jogger/runner, it's perfect for that.

april_mesk

I broke down and bought a bodymedia. Should be arriving soon. I did tell them that if I decided it wasn't for me, I would return. Their customer service was excellent and I hadn't bought anything at the point I was talking with them. Looking forward to trying it. Concerned about people asking me what I am wearing but, not really anyone else's concern. If they ask I will simply tell them.

kristafb

I've had the Fitbit One since the beginning of March & I am very happy with it. I've lost 5lbs since then & increased my activity by 8% and am finially understanding what it takes to burn the calories I eat. I love the app & how easy it is to use & I really love the activity logs, its sooo cool to see how fast I'm running (just started C25K for the first time so its great to see my progress). Perhaps you need to be a gadget geek to really appreciate it but I really love mine!