New craving...for a FitBit

My boyfriend turned me on to the fitbit. I keep reading reviews for other similar devices and I haven't really found one that I can recommend. I would love to hear others' opinions as well. Great topic, thanks!

*edit* By the way, I haven't tried any of them personally.

I really loved my Fitbit - kept me motivated to make sure I got in at least 10,000 steps a day.

Unfortunately I dropped it in the toilet while it was flushing one day and now the fishies are using it to track their steps I guess

Just be careful it doesn't fall off your pants!

Returned mine. It tends to overestimate your steps and cals burned, it can easily fool you into cheating without realizing. Waste of money.

I am a fitbit user since October 2011. I find it a very useful tool. What it does best IMO is to motivate you to keep moving throughout the day. I wear it constantly and check it regularly. If I find my steps are low, I get up and move. I've gone from being completely sedentary to averaging 12000 steps per day. If you are looking for something to get you moving, this is it.

If most of your exercise involved walking or running, YES. It is 100 percent worth the money and great as a motivational tool. I try to make my 10,000 steps every day and feel quite annoyed if I don't hit my target.
Also, I love the integration with MFP, more accurately seeing what I'm burning daily has helped me bust a REALLY long plateau.
If you do a lot of other exercise instead of walking or running (on the street, not treadmill) it would be better for you to get a good heart rate monitor, in my opinion.

I have one of the early FitBits (only tracks steps, miles, calories, and activity level, not stairs climbed, etc.) and I absolutely love it when I can remember to wear it. (I attach it to my bra, and I'd never know its there.)

Since I do dance games (DDR, Just Dance) for my cardio, there isn't really an accurate measure on MFP for that type of exercise (and logging it as jazzercise overestimates the calories burned, according to my FitBit), it keeps me very honest about what I'm actually doing.

It's also nice that FitBit is integrated into MFP, so there's one more laziness excuse out the window--I don't actually have to do anything except walk by the wireless detector and it logs my activity automatically and adjusts my calorie count on MFP accordingly.

To echo what another poster above said: if you're doing walking/running as your primary mode of exercise, a FitBit is totally worth it. If you're doing other methods of exercise such as cycling or weight training, a heart rate monitor might be worth looking into.

I'd be lost without mine. I l accidentally washed my first Fitbt (Frank), it was a sad, sad day. I ordered a new Fitbit (Felix), the very next day, and he's been in my bra or on my wrist ever since. $100 is a lot to me, but in all honesty, the info Frank gave me was integral to my weight loss progress, it all works so seamlessly I barely need to think about it.

As another poster mentioned, if your main exercise is walking - then the Fitbit is invaluable. You don't need to post any of your exercise, it's all done automatically for you.

Hail to Felix!

that is one craving TOTALLY worth giving in to!!

I had heard about fitbit from a few different people, and kinda wanted one, but wasn't 100% sure that it was worth $100. Finally I decided that hubby and kids could get me one for Mother's day.

I clipped it to my bra, and the first few weeks I checked it a million times a day. As time went by I checked it less. What I loved was that when I went away for Memorial Day weekend I came back and it synced all 3 days I was gone! At any point in the day I can click through my fitbit and see my total calorie burn--including the appropriate portion of my BMR.

My husband and I got one for our wedding anniversary in March. We love them! The other night I realized I was .03 miles away from having 7 miles of steps that day so I got up and ran in place to get it. It does make us more aware of moving. We are also very competitive with it, like yesterday, he had more steps than me so I jumped on the treadmill for 30 minutes. :bigsmile:

There is just some thing about logging onto the dashboard and seeing that I have only traveled .76 miles for the day that motivates me to get off my behind.

So yeah, we recommend them to everyone.

PS: The calculations of the miles are calculated when you enter your stride into the software. Not everyone has the same stride so it is important that it be entered to calculate the miles correctly. The steps are on the money.

Typical, just as I post about how much I love mine... It breaks.

I've phoned Amazon and they're sending out a replacement today... I can't live without the damn thing!

Love my fit bit and was so sad when it went through the wash a couple of weeks ago...have tried to live without it, but I am going to bite the bullet and buy another one.

Don't PAY for a new one. Contact fitbit support and explain the situation to them. Chances are, you'll get it replaced free. My friend washed hers, and all they asked for was a copy of her receipt from Amazon to prove that she HAD bought one.

Well, hells bells... I thought it was broken, I left it on the windowsill in a cup of dry rice and it dried out in time for my run tonight!

Oh well, still sending it back when the new one arrives.

Save the money... Sportsline 308 available on Amazon for $13 tracks, steps, cals, miles, time etc. Pretty much the same thing. I do like having something so I call tell what I am doing. I also have a Polat FT4 which I like too. When I do my walking now I try extra hard to get my heart into the "zone" for maximum weight loss. But they are all just "toys" that you really don't have to have. I lost most of my weight without them. Just now I have to work harder to lose anything. Best of luck!

Love it and it was worth the investment!

I love mine! I've had it since February and the novelty has not worn off.

My base stopped working in June and I went through he11 to get it replaced. Customer service is all online so what should have taken a five minute phone call to get it replaced turned in to a 2-3 week ordeal. When I finally told them I'd PAY for a new base just so I didn't have to go through the hassles, they decided to replace it. (You can't buy it seperate, anyway.)

Saturday I caught my laptop bag on the holster slip and snapped it in half. It's another item you just can't buy. Now I carry it in my pocket. I fear mine may meet the fate of some of the others and end up in the washer.