Fitbit One...

fruitloop2
fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is it the only Fitbit that tracks stairs? Trying to figure out which Fitbit model I want to buy. I have a fair amount of stairs in my house and I'm up and down them at least 15 times a day so I would like to track that I think. Stupid question...do you burn more calories walking up and down stairs vs not? I would think you do but could totally be off on that one, which is why I asked. Also, i have a Polar HRM that i use for exercise, would i take the fitbit off so it doesn't do a double count or should i just not sync it to MFP and just use it on the fitbit site? i'm not really sure how the fitbit works in regards to tracking and then syncing it to MFP. Anyway...just looking for some input in regards to that and when I did a search I couldn't find anything that really answered that.
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Replies

  • persian_star
    persian_star Posts: 197 Member
    Don't know about the Fitbit, but stairs definitely take more energy than level steps - as well as using your muscles to propel your body forward, you're also lifting your entire weight the height of the step.
  • natalienstegall
    natalienstegall Posts: 4 Member
    Yes the fitbit one is the only one that tracks stairs. Yes you burn more calories walking stairs. I have the fitbit one and I love it!
  • jhstroebel
    jhstroebel Posts: 49 Member
    You can let your fitbit track, or you can just keep track of the time (start and stop the activity counter) and then go enter your HRM calorie burn online for whatever activity online during that time and it will override the fitbit data and everything will sync well.

    I've stuck to using MFP for food and Fitbit for exercise. Even if I log something not related to my fitbit data it goes in fitbit so it has no chance of being counted twice and throwing off the count.
  • fruitloop2
    fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
    So everyone thinks they are worth the $100?
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
    So everyone thinks they are worth the $100?

    I do, I love mine and it's definitely helped me move more (I work at a desk job so it's easy to be sitting working on data entry for hours on end) At work I always have fitbit.com open so I can look at it and refresh it. I started with an ultra then was upgraded to a one when I had issues with my 2nd ultra-the customer service is amazing! They only have email so they can take awhile to reply but well worth it. Long story short-$100 was completely worth it for me
  • Dona_Maria
    Dona_Maria Posts: 78 Member
    I have a Fitbit ultra and it tracks stairs, it's the older model and works well you can find them on Ebay.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Santa brought mine, and I LOVE it!
  • spantz1
    spantz1 Posts: 17
    totally worth $100
  • Mama_Jag
    Mama_Jag Posts: 474 Member
    Yes, worth it. I adore mine.
  • fruitloop2
    fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
    Alright, you've convinced me, lol. I really am curious as to what exactly I burn through the day as apposed to a "guess" on the TDEE calculators. The Fitbit is still an estimate I'm sure but it's got to be a lot closer.
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
    So everyone thinks they are worth the $100?

    No. I love electronic type gadgets so got one. This one has been pretty worthless and disappointing to me. It's fun to look things over, but I'm not impressed. I find a lot of errors in it's numbers - ie, I wake up in the am already having traveled 300 steps. It counts steps and stairs when I'm driving. The calorie counts make NO sense to me either on it, I can go the same steps 2 days in a row, do the exact same workout, and it will show me 500-1000 calories different each time. Its fun to have written data somewhere, but that's just it, a toy with no real value for the information provided. I mainly really like mine for the sleep tracking feature, it's given me a more clear picture of my sleep quality.
  • hansenkh
    hansenkh Posts: 9
    Definitely worth the $100, I have had mine since January and it definitely makes a difference in my movement during the day. I work a desk job, and move very little, so I have set little mini goals throughout the day to make myself get up and move (1000 steps by 9, 2000 by 11, etc). I also try to get 10 flights of stairs every day, and have been known to go up and down several times in the evening if I'm coming up short, and I love the sleep data as well. I don't even use a HRM any more on the treadmill, I just go by the fitbit sync.
  • usflygirl55
    usflygirl55 Posts: 277 Member
    Yes, worth the $100 and my Ultra tracks stairs!
  • jcdeboer
    jcdeboer Posts: 8 Member
    Also, i have a Polar HRM that i use for exercise, would i take the fitbit off so it doesn't do a double count or should i just not sync it to MFP and just use it on the fitbit site? i'm not really sure how the fitbit works in regards to tracking and then syncing it to MFP. Anyway...just looking for some input in regards to that and when I did a search I couldn't find anything that really answered that.

    When you sync your Fitbit to MFP, your exercise page changes so that you can enter in the exact times that you do other exercises, and it will offset the Fitbit count. So you can enter in calories burned from your HRM, and it won't double count.
  • HappyElizabeth
    HappyElizabeth Posts: 231 Member
    The Fitbit was the best $100 I've ever spent.
  • hansenkh
    hansenkh Posts: 9
    So everyone thinks they are worth the $100?

    No. I love electronic type gadgets so got one. This one has been pretty worthless and disappointing to me. It's fun to look things over, but I'm not impressed. I find a lot of errors in it's numbers - ie, I wake up in the am already having traveled 300 steps. It counts steps and stairs when I'm driving. The calorie counts make NO sense to me either on it, I can go the same steps 2 days in a row, do the exact same workout, and it will show me 500-1000 calories different each time. Its fun to have written data somewhere, but that's just it, a toy with no real value for the information provided. I mainly really like mine for the sleep tracking feature, it's given me a more clear picture of my sleep quality.

    In regards to this, I have found that there is some wrong information, but I've found that to be true with any other gadget I've ever used. For me, I accept that this happens, and realize that it probably happens every day. So if I continue to work toward improving the numbers, those inconsistencies really don't matter. For example, if I really walk 4500 steps, and Fitbit says I walk 5000, but I work on increasing it and now my Fitbit says I walked 6000 when it was really 5500, I've still increased by 1000, and I'm okay with that. Just my two cents!
  • kluedesigns
    kluedesigns Posts: 72 Member
    just a note that hasn't been mentioned - you must climb 10 feet in order for the Fitbit to count it as a floor and most homes have 8 foot flights of stairs and you might not get stair credit.

    also the barometric pressure will give you false floor readings - Low pressure give you bonus floors and high pressure give you short floor credit.

    in my opinion, the Fitbit is not worth the money - i returned mine to Fitbit for a refund.
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
    Love my Fitbit One! You earn "badges" for daily steps, floors, etc. I kept showing my hubby the badges I was earning, so he went and bought a Fitbit too... and I'm pretty sure he did it so he could out-do me! LOL

    As for the "floors" questions. It's actually every 10 feet in elevation (without too big a gap or pause going up) that counts for a floor. So if you walk outside or hike, you will get "floors" as well.
  • lorcart
    lorcart Posts: 406 Member
    There's a Fitbit users group on MFP also:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
    I have had a fit bit one for two months and absolutely love it. I try to go up and down stairs 50 times, at least, everyday, yesterday I did 90.
    I walk the road in front of my home on the weekends. It is 1/4 mile from the end of our road to the main highway. I do six round trips for 3 mile walk. We live in a hilly area and it tracks by elevation. It gives me 9 flights of stairs for my 3 mile walks. It challenges me to do more, it is great!
  • jhstroebel
    jhstroebel Posts: 49 Member
    Yes... Worth the $. People talk about the inaccurate results, but I haven't seen that. Actually quite the opposite, I've seen my Fitbit One be accurate up to .01 miles on a 3 mile run on a treadmill. As for counting steps while you sleep, maybe you should investigate why you're moving so much in your sleep! But my theory is if I'm moving around enough to have it count steps I'm probably doing enough to burn the calorie of a step too... As for the car, I have not experienced this problem either. I personally love my fitbit and it drives me to walk or be more active when I realize how lazy a day its been. It also does a great job of taking into account the very variable nature of my days and giving me back the calories on MFP when I am more active than my activity level setting. I would recommend one to anyone!

    Another thread today was asking about the best thing people have bought to help them lose weight and the 3 constant things were a fitbit, a food scale, and a HRM. Not a coincidence.
  • runningk919
    runningk919 Posts: 13 Member
    I have the Fitbit One and I LOVE IT! I accidentally washed it this weekend and IT STILL WORKS that is an awesome product, in my opinion! It does track stairs, and you're right stairs burn more calories than walking alone.
  • DonaA123
    DonaA123 Posts: 337 Member
    bump
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
    So everyone thinks they are worth the $100?

    No. I love electronic type gadgets so got one. This one has been pretty worthless and disappointing to me. It's fun to look things over, but I'm not impressed. I find a lot of errors in it's numbers - ie, I wake up in the am already having traveled 300 steps. It counts steps and stairs when I'm driving. The calorie counts make NO sense to me either on it, I can go the same steps 2 days in a row, do the exact same workout, and it will show me 500-1000 calories different each time. Its fun to have written data somewhere, but that's just it, a toy with no real value for the information provided. I mainly really like mine for the sleep tracking feature, it's given me a more clear picture of my sleep quality.

    In regards to this, I have found that there is some wrong information, but I've found that to be true with any other gadget I've ever used. For me, I accept that this happens, and realize that it probably happens every day. So if I continue to work toward improving the numbers, those inconsistencies really don't matter. For example, if I really walk 4500 steps, and Fitbit says I walk 5000, but I work on increasing it and now my Fitbit says I walked 6000 when it was really 5500, I've still increased by 1000, and I'm okay with that. Just my two cents!

    Maybe that is the difference for me, I'm already very active. I get 10k to 15k average steps per day not counting days I run. I work in an office but am rarely sitting still for long, I'm always up and down from my desk I hoped to find an average calorie burn day, but my numbers are all over the place with no consistency even tho my routine is pretty set.
  • crimsontech
    crimsontech Posts: 234 Member
    It was worth the $100 to me, and the $700 more I spent getting FitBits for dedicated friends and family members! We all love it and are very competitive to get the most weekly steps. Just look at my ticker - I've been wearing a FitBit (original model, then an Ultra, then a One) since before I started my weight loss journey. (It was one of the steps to starting the journey)

    You should be thrilled with it!
  • fruitloop2
    fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
    Well, I ordered 1. It should be here next week sometime so hopefully I'll be happy with it. I'm really curious what it will put me at for calories burnt though the day as opposed to the online calculators. Did you find it to be lose to the same or a fair difference?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Well, I ordered 1. It should be here next week sometime so hopefully I'll be happy with it. I'm really curious what it will put me at for calories burnt though the day as opposed to the online calculators. Did you find it to be lose to the same or a fair difference?

    I found that it generally comes in pretty close to what I'd otherwise calculate for a day. It's fun, it's motivating, and it removes a lot of "let's try to guesstimate the calories for this exercise" headaches.
  • fruitloop2
    fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
    Well, I ordered 1. It should be here next week sometime so hopefully I'll be happy with it. I'm really curious what it will put me at for calories burnt though the day as opposed to the online calculators. Did you find it to be lose to the same or a fair difference?

    I found that it generally comes in pretty close to what I'd otherwise calculate for a day. It's fun, it's motivating, and it removes a lot of "let's try to guesstimate the calories for this exercise" headaches.

    I don't ever really play the " let's try to guesstimate the calories for this exercise" game because I always wear my HRM when I'm doing actual exercise. I'm wanting it more for telling me what I burn through out the day doing my job and living. :smile:
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Well, I ordered 1. It should be here next week sometime so hopefully I'll be happy with it. I'm really curious what it will put me at for calories burnt though the day as opposed to the online calculators. Did you find it to be lose to the same or a fair difference?

    I found that it generally comes in pretty close to what I'd otherwise calculate for a day. It's fun, it's motivating, and it removes a lot of "let's try to guesstimate the calories for this exercise" headaches.

    I don't ever really pay the " let's try to guesstimate the calories for his exercise" game because I always wear my HRM when I'm doing actual exercise. I'm wanting it more for telling me what I burn through out the day doing my job and living. :smile:

    Ugh, HRMs. That's a whole nother story. I think HRMs that give "calorie" readouts are one of the worst products ever.
  • fruitloop2
    fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
    Well, I ordered 1. It should be here next week sometime so hopefully I'll be happy with it. I'm really curious what it will put me at for calories burnt though the day as opposed to the online calculators. Did you find it to be lose to the same or a fair difference?

    I found that it generally comes in pretty close to what I'd otherwise calculate for a day. It's fun, it's motivating, and it removes a lot of "let's try to guesstimate the calories for this exercise" headaches.

    I don't ever really pay the " let's try to guesstimate the calories for his exercise" game because I always wear my HRM when I'm doing actual exercise. I'm wanting it more for telling me what I burn through out the day doing my job and living. :smile:

    Ugh, HRMs. That's a whole nother story. I think HRMs that give "calorie" readouts are one of the worst products ever.

    Why do you say that?

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