Fitbit

powermom52
powermom52 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
The activity tracker, Fitbit, is an item endorsed by and linked to this site. Through ads on this site I thought maybe the Fitbit would help me in my weight loss journey. I've had it for two weeks and have numerous reservations about it, but also some positive experience too. So if I'm allowed to make comments, I think it might benefit others. Any concerns I have haven't had much attention on the Fitbit site. I guess I'll wait to see who says what, or like on the Fitbit site, if anyone says anything at all, lol.

Replies

  • tiffanyvc
    tiffanyvc Posts: 99
    I'm interested in getting one. What are your pros and cons so far, in the two weeks that you've had it?
  • vplover
    vplover Posts: 4
    I was thinking of getting one as well. Please give us your thoughts
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    I got mine yesterday. I just got the new Zip. It's a glorified pedometer...which is what I wanted! So far, I really like it. It is very accurate as a pedometer. I fit it in my pocket, or tucked inside my bra. It's quite small. I've only had it for a day, and that was not an active day, so I don't have an opinion yet about linking with MFP and any adjustments it might make. I likely will not use the adjustments and stick with my HRM for that. But, I'm going to DisneyWorld next week and using the GPS on my phone all day isn't an option, so this will be a great item to have!
  • chelovik
    chelovik Posts: 200 Member
    I have the fitbit and the scale. I am not impressed that the company does not have a live helpline and that it takes a while for them to respond back to you. I do like that everything does link together , The only thing that doesn't is the scale doesn't link to this site. d
  • coloradocami
    coloradocami Posts: 368 Member
    I LOVE mine...I find it very encouraging and it helps me push myself a little more...including nightly stair case runs if I didn't hit my goals.

    Put it on your "wish list", it a great little tool and the two sites work together very well

    Peace,
    Cami
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Can I weigh in on this? I've had one for a while and I just don't use it anymore. Its primary purpose is to motivate you to move around more in general. To get up and walk up a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator. To park further away from the store. If that's the kind of motivation and validation you need, you'll probably be very successful with it (until you inevitably put it through the wash). If you're already a very active person who does a lot of non-walking exercise, you will find that it doesn't accurately reflect your lifestyle and it won't be as useful to you.
  • Shrinking_Moody
    Shrinking_Moody Posts: 270 Member
    I've had mine since about June. I wear it daily mainly to track steps. I do all logging on here but like the weekly activitiy emails from fitbit. I like that the steps I take are calculated and sent to MFP which provides a calorie adjustment ( it shows up under exercise as fitbit calorie adjustment - 1 minute - and a # of cals burned depending on steps for that day). With that being said - when you log exercise into MFP make sure to always include you start time and the # of minutes you worked out. That information stops the fitbit from doubling up. For example if I walk 30 minutes at 4pm - fitbit is tracking those steps - so when I log it into MFP I need to put the start time of 4pm so that the steps taken from 4p to 430p and tracked by fitbit will not be counted into any calorie adjustment I receive for that day. That's why sometimes you may have the fitbit adjustment under excerise and once you log your other exercises it disappears.

    The fitbit site has some nifty features as well but I find MFP more user friendly and I do not have time to log under both sites.

    I also like that it can estimate the calories you burn over the course of a day. However - I still use a HRM for workouts to get the most accurate #s possible.

    I mainly got the fitbit because I have a desk job and wanted to know exactly how much I move in a day and where I could get more steps. In purchasing the fitbit I found this site so it's really been a win win for me.
  • LiveLaffLoseLove
    LiveLaffLoseLove Posts: 104
    I have had my fitbit for over a month now. I really like it... I only use the fitbit site to track my sleep, since in sync's with MFP. I just wish it would sync without being near the little base, but I guess the new one will do that. Other than that, no problems,,,, I do the Curves Circuit workout though and it does not count like running or walking in place as steps, I am thinking, since I usually jog on the recovery boards and I don't seem to gain distance, but I think that is because it reads distance. I am not 100% sure on that. But I wear it clipped to the middle of my bra and think it is amazing.... I really like the staircase tracking. Seems very accurate!
  • LiveLaffLoseLove
    LiveLaffLoseLove Posts: 104
    I've had mine since about June. I wear it daily mainly to track steps. I do all logging on here but like the weekly activitiy emails from fitbit. I like that the steps I take are calculated and sent to MFP which provides a calorie adjustment ( it shows up under exercise as fitbit calorie adjustment - 1 minute - and a # of cals burned depending on steps for that day). With that being said - when you log exercise into MFP make sure to always include you start time and the # of minutes you worked out. That information stops the fitbit from doubling up. For example if I walk 30 minutes at 4pm - fitbit is tracking those steps - so when I log it into MFP I need to put the start time of 4pm so that the steps taken from 4p to 430p and tracked by fitbit will not be counted into any calorie adjustment I receive for that day. That's why sometimes you may have the fitbit adjustment under excerise and once you log your other exercises it disappears.

    The fitbit site has some nifty features as well but I find MFP more user friendly and I do not have time to log under both sites.

    I also like that it can estimate the calories you burn over the course of a day. However - I still use a HRM for workouts to get the most accurate #s possible.

    I mainly got the fitbit because I have a desk job and wanted to know exactly how much I move in a day and where I could get more steps. In purchasing the fitbit I found this site so it's really been a win win for me.

    I also have a desk job, so having the fitbit makes me want to get up and move around a little more each day!
  • MbiggsHFD319
    MbiggsHFD319 Posts: 427 Member
    I love mine except I think it reads bumps in the road as I am driving as steps and gets my daily step count off but that ok. I have had mine since April. I'm on my second 1 though because the first began to malfunction but Fitbit sent me a new one free with very little hassle; the new one works better than the 1st one ever did. I really love the sleep monitor on mine. I knew I didn't sleep well at night but now I can see my sleeping trends and I am working on ways to improve sleep quality.
    I think the calorie burn is pretty accuate for when I am working out just need to always remember to hit the start/stop on it before and after workouts to avoid doubling up on calories being added to myfitnesspal. Great product only with it came with a heart rate monitor for even mor accuate calorie burn calculation.
  • ChrisRN75495
    ChrisRN75495 Posts: 89
    Gosh, I hope you're "allowed" to comment on it!! I'd also like to know how you like it and what your candid and honest review might be. They go for about $99 (or so I am told), and that's too much money to drop on something that isn't helpful.

    A client and his wife both use them to keep track of steps (goal of 10,000). He talked about docking and downloading, but not about any other features. I can count my own steps if that's all it does....

    Thanks for this thread! And welcome!!
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
    For those of you who're interested there's a Fitbit Users group you can join:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/1290-fitbit-users
  • sionnain
    sionnain Posts: 96
    LOVE my fitbit products (have the ultra and the aria). The support is AMAZING. When you email them, they get back to you, like the same day, and will ship out a replacement product after providing information on where you obtained it.

    The only problem I have is that I think my fitbit calorie adjustment is a LOT over, even though I enter the right amount of time i spend doing each exercise; it's been doubling those calories, essentially. i don't mind; I'm still losing weight.

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