Is Fitbit worth it?

Love my Fitbit One. It keeps me aware of how much I'm moving (or not moving). I love the way it syncs with MFP. Get it, you'll love it!

I'm also thinking of getting a Fitbit. This might be a stupid question but I know that it tracks the number and calories of steps and stairs that you take, but if i go running will it track those calories too? i.e. Will it be able to tell the difference between running 1000 steps or walking 1000 steps?

Yes. It can tell how fast you are going as well as how many steps, and when you are going faster it ups your calorie burn. It will count hills as stairs though, which is a little disconcerting at first.

Ok I had never heard of a fitbit until tonight reading all these posts. So i think it sounds like it might be good for me, but have a few questions if anyone knows..... I workout on my treadmill at a variable incline, will the fitbit be able to sense the change? Also we ride horses, anyone know how it would measure that? any suggestions on whether to buy or not and how it works would be greatly appreciated.

I'm guessing it won't be able to register the incline on a treadmill seeing as you're not actually climbing (if you walk up a hill it'll count one flight of stairs for every ten feet of elevation, but that's because you're actually ascending). I suspect that in terms of horseriding it would count steps but possibly not very accurately. There are some exercises that it can't take into account, so perhaps team it up with a heart rate monitor for those ones (swimming and cycling are another couple of examples). I find it to be accurate for most things though!

Ok, so I got my Fitbit as a late Christmas present from my mother-in-law (I asked for it!), and I used it for a total of 3 days... I was SO excited to finally have one. And on the third day, I wore it on my bra, exactly as instructed, and I checked it several times that morning.... and that afternoon it was gone. Just... gone.

I am so disappointed. $100 is not pocket change. Anyone have any experience with losing theirs? Does anyone have any experience with Fitbit's customer service? I've read on a few other sites that this doesn't seem to be a particularly isolated problem, and that some people have received replacement units from Fitbit.

Fitbit will be able to see that after 2.5 days, my unit stopped logging in on my account.

Thanks for any input anyone has!!

I've been using my fitbit ultra for 13 months and i love it, especially the way it interacts with MFP. It definitely motivates me to do more and whereas MFP enables me to keep track of what i am eating, Fitbit keeps track of what I am burning. Love it !!

Ok I had never heard of a fitbit until tonight reading all these posts. So i think it sounds like it might be good for me, but have a few questions if anyone knows..... I workout on my treadmill at a variable incline, will the fitbit be able to sense the change? Also we ride horses, anyone know how it would measure that? any suggestions on whether to buy or not and how it works would be greatly appreciated.

I love it and use it daily to assist with my calories. You can also see your sleeping patterns and when you wake up at night. You can also segregate your workout steps so it does not double count with MFP.

Check out the fitbit thread on here or search the forums for fitbit. It's basically a snazzy pedometer that also tracks your sleep quality and floors climbed. Based on your weight, it will also provide a pretty accurate calorie burn. It is NOT a heart rate monitor.

I wear mine 24/7. I use the stopclock feature to track my sleep (push it when I'm ready for bed and when I get up). I also use that feature when I want to call out a particular part of the day - like if I'm working out. I'll use the stopclock to call out that 30 minutes so I can easily find it. And the fitbit is smart enough to know which is sleep and which is another reason I'm tracking.

I still enter my workouts into MFP. Walking based workouts I set the calorie burn to 1. This lets me track the activity but doesn't double-dip - Fitbit will already give me credit for the steps. If I'm doing a non-walking based workout, like bicycling or swimming, I enter the activity in MFP and let it count the calories.

I *LOVE* this fitbit and the reports I get, as well as the "Chatter." I find it very motivational to try to beat my previous day. It's changed how I think and act.

My hubby will ask me, "How'd you sleep last night?" And I will say, "I don't know, let me check...." then log on to see. HA! I also found setting the sleep tracking to sensitive and wearing it on my bedtime sports bra gives me more accurate results than keeping it on normal and using the annoying wrist band.

I find myself parking further away from stores... walking my errands.... taking the long route for dog walks.... all to see that number climb. I want to beat the numbers from the previous days and weeks. I don't use the social aspects, but you could compete with friends and participate in the leaderboards, too.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Fitbit or HRM, they're great tools but not necessary. I'm the type of person that would rather go out casually for a run, and listen to my bodies feedback than a monitor. I'm already inputting a lot of numbers on a daily basis, and I'd hate to rely on a little monitor for even more numbers. Honestly purchasing a HRM was the worst decision I made which made me end up returning it. It's true when the say ignorance is bliss. I was really burning less calories than MFP was telling me, but once I found that out my whole exercise regime got sabotaged and I got less pumped about my workouts. Now I don't have one anymore, and I just RUN FREELY!