Fitbit. Worth it or not?

keeponkickin · February 2013

I'm curious about the fitbit. I wear a Polar ft7 when working out but not sure how the fitbit really accurately measures calories burned when it isn't tracking your heartrate. Tracking sleep? Does it track calories burned other than walking?

Please convince me yes or no on this gadget. As you can see from my ticker that I've done well without one but with the last bit of weight to lose it's really a struggle and want to do all I can to reach goal but not sure dropping $100 into the fitbit is worth it.

Ready, set, go!

bearsmom82 · February 2013

LOVE my fitbit. Had it almost a year now, and still check it several times a day, and it motivates me to keep on taking the stairs, walking further and faster...

GauchoMark · February 2013

Is it a necessity? no.

IS it nice to have? yes.

I found that the closer I got to my goal, the harder the fat losses came without losing a great deal of muscle mass, so having the information I needed to really customize my calories for every day is great. Example, yesterday, I sat on my rear most of the day and I had a negative calorie adjustment of 190 calories - in other words, it reduced my calories by 190 because I hadn't done much all day.

That kind of info is great to have, especially if you are at, say, a 250 calorie deficit.

Sooze_1975 · February 2013

For me the Fitbit has turned out to be a disappointment and hinderance. It always gave me so many extra calories based on my activity therefore putting me into maintenance mode with my calories. I was dropping weight pretty regularly before getting the fitbit and linking it to my MFP account, but have really slowed down since getting it. I have only lost 4 lbs since getting it in November. Last week I 'unsynced' my FitBit and MFP accounts. I still wear the FitBit to get a general idea of how many calories I'm burning, but since I don't have it linked to MFP anymore, it doesn't mess with my calorie allowance for the day on MFP.

I was all gung ho to get the FitBit originally, but now that I have it, I don't think it's helping me. I may be doing things wrong, but I don't think so. I will add that it has been great for motivating me to get my daily steps in; that part is great!

stumblinthrulife · February 2013

My activity level is hugely variable, so I like the fitbit since it means I don't have to customize my calorie goals every day. I just set MFP to sedentary and let the FitBit do the rest. It does have limitations, however.

Pros -

1. Constant tracking of activity allows dynamic adjustment of your Caloric needs in a day.
2. The competition aspect can be good fun, until the novelty wears off. Just make sure you have friends with similar activity levels so you can actually compete instead of languishing at the bottom of the table, or resting on your laurels at the top.
3. The silent alarm is neat if you get up much earlier than your spouse.
4. It's nice to see a graph of your increased activity over time, it's confirmation that you're doing something right, and it keeps you motivated not to slip back into sedentary ways.
5. Very small and unobtrusive. An HRM is probably more accurate, but the prospect of wearing that all day just didn't appeal to me.
6. No recurring fees for the software. I really wanted a BodyMedia Fit, but the recurring software subscription fee really put me off. That and the fact that the armband would need to be regularly cleaned.

Cons -

1. It only tracks step based activity. You could burn a thousand calories shadow boxing, but the FitBit will pick up only a portion of it.
2. The sleep tracking is mostly a gimmick, I don't find it very helpful. Then again, I don't have a big sleep problem, so there's nothing there to solve.
3. If you are really anal about butting right up to your calorie limit, it can be frustrating toward the end of the day. It makes assumptions about your activity for the rest of the day, so sometimes it will reduce your adjustment after you went to bed. If you already ate up to your limit based on the old adjustment, now you're suddenly over by 10 Cals. No big deal, but an irritant for sure.

corneredbycorn · February 2013

For me the Fitbit has turned out to be a disappointment and hinderance. It always gave me so many extra calories based on my activity therefore putting me into maintenance mode with my calories. I was dropping weight pretty regularly before getting the fitbit and linking it to my MFP account, but have really slowed down since getting it. I have only lost 4 lbs since getting it in November. Last week I 'unsynced' my FitBit and MFP accounts. I still wear the FitBit to get a general idea of how many calories I'm burning, but since I don't have it linked to MFP anymore, it doesn't mess with my calorie allowance for the day on MFP.

I was all gung ho to get the FitBit originally, but now that I have it, I don't think it's helping me. I may be doing things wrong, but I don't think so. I will add that it has been great for motivating me to get my daily steps in; that part is great!

I hate reviews like this. That's like saying Magic Kingdom is a disappointment and a hinderance because you don't like the plants they used along the paths, but the rides and the food and the layout and the employees are great. You seem to love the primary function of the device (tracking movement). The calorie thing is secondary, at best. It's not an HRM so don't blame it for not being one.

To the OP, I love my Fitbit. I have disconnected it from MFP because I didn't like it adding exercise calories to MFP that weren't actually exercise calories (I walked from the kitchen to my daughter's room...that's not exercise). However, it is a great motivator to get me moving and I like seeing trends over time.

keeponkickin · February 2013

Is it a necessity? no.

IS it nice to have? yes.

I found that the closer I got to my goal, the harder the fat losses came without losing a great deal of muscle mass, so having the information I needed to really customize my calories for every day is great. Example, yesterday, I sat on my rear most of the day and I had a negative calorie adjustment of 190 calories - in other words, it reduced my calories by 190 because I hadn't done much all day.

That kind of info is great to have, especially if you are at, say, a 250 calorie deficit.

Thanks for the insight.

dogacreek · February 2013

I have a BodyMediaFit (BMF) that I wear 23+ hours a day. It tracks sleep patterns, steps, calorie burned and activity time and intensity. I only take it off to charge while taking my shower. I have a Polar FT7 that I had used for a couple of years and loved it. I still wanted to know how many calories I burned in my everyday activites. Since I've started wearing the BMF, I have lost another 7 pounds after being on a plateau for a while. I love it. I track my calories and enter them when BMF syncs & charges. I received an email saying that BMF is having a huge Fat Tuesday sale tomorrow 2/12, if you are interested.

Sooze_1975 · February 2013

For me the Fitbit has turned out to be a disappointment and hinderance. It always gave me so many extra calories based on my activity therefore putting me into maintenance mode with my calories. I was dropping weight pretty regularly before getting the fitbit and linking it to my MFP account, but have really slowed down since getting it. I have only lost 4 lbs since getting it in November. Last week I 'unsynced' my FitBit and MFP accounts. I still wear the FitBit to get a general idea of how many calories I'm burning, but since I don't have it linked to MFP anymore, it doesn't mess with my calorie allowance for the day on MFP.

I was all gung ho to get the FitBit originally, but now that I have it, I don't think it's helping me. I may be doing things wrong, but I don't think so. I will add that it has been great for motivating me to get my daily steps in; that part is great!

I hate reviews like this. That's like saying Magic Kingdom is a disappointment and a hinderance because you don't like the plants they used along the paths, but the rides and the food and the layout and the employees are great. You seem to love the primary function of the device (tracking movement). The calorie thing is secondary, at best. It's not an HRM so don't blame it for not being one.

To the OP, I love my Fitbit. I have disconnected it from MFP because I didn't like it adding exercise calories to MFP that weren't actually exercise calories (I walked from the kitchen to my daughter's room...that's not exercise). However, it is a great motivator to get me moving and I like seeing trends over time.

Hate away; it's my opinion :-)

corneredbycorn · February 2013

For me the Fitbit has turned out to be a disappointment and hinderance. It always gave me so many extra calories based on my activity therefore putting me into maintenance mode with my calories. I was dropping weight pretty regularly before getting the fitbit and linking it to my MFP account, but have really slowed down since getting it. I have only lost 4 lbs since getting it in November. Last week I 'unsynced' my FitBit and MFP accounts. I still wear the FitBit to get a general idea of how many calories I'm burning, but since I don't have it linked to MFP anymore, it doesn't mess with my calorie allowance for the day on MFP.

I was all gung ho to get the FitBit originally, but now that I have it, I don't think it's helping me. I may be doing things wrong, but I don't think so. I will add that it has been great for motivating me to get my daily steps in; that part is great!

I hate reviews like this. That's like saying Magic Kingdom is a disappointment and a hinderance because you don't like the plants they used along the paths, but the rides and the food and the layout and the employees are great. You seem to love the primary function of the device (tracking movement). The calorie thing is secondary, at best. It's not an HRM so don't blame it for not being one.

To the OP, I love my Fitbit. I have disconnected it from MFP because I didn't like it adding exercise calories to MFP that weren't actually exercise calories (I walked from the kitchen to my daughter's room...that's not exercise). However, it is a great motivator to get me moving and I like seeing trends over time.

Hate away; it's my opinion :-)

That's the thing though, your "opinion" is based on shoddy logic. If you wanted an accurate measure of calories burned, you should have purchased an HRM, not a pedometer. The fact that you then blame the pedometer for not being an HRM is completely illogical. Review the item for what it is, not what it isn't.

Fitbit. Worth it or not?

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