To get a FitBit One or not?

LaserMum · May 2013

Hi, :bigsmile:

My name is Jan. I'm 53 years old and I have sleep apnoea and diabetes type 2. I'm also overweight (surprise, surprise)!

I've been thinking of getting a FitBit One and have finally saved up enough money to get it.

However ... I'm not sure that the benefits are worth the expenditure. It's a lot of money for me so I want to make sure I'm getting a benefit for the amount of money it costs.

Currently, I have a free app on my phone for monitoring step count/calories/distance and enter that manually into MFP.

The main benefits I think I would get from the FitBit One would be:

Automatic syncing with MFP - although I understand that FB1 isn't too good logging some forms of exercise?
Altitude monitoring (stairs climbed) - not a big deal for me as the terrain where I work is fairly flat and I can count the times I go up and down stairs at home and in work.
Sleep Monitoring - this interests me but how does it do it? I can only think that it monitors how much you move around during the night, thereby assuming that if you move then you must be awake?

I'd be grateful if anyone can give me some more information on the above or point out some other possible benefits.

I know about having FitBit friends to pitch yourself against and the motivation aspect. That is a bonus!

I'm just trying to see if I can justify the expenditure.

pinkraynedropjacki · May 2013

I got one for myself November last year, since the 2nd day I been averaging over 20,000 steps a day. Something I didn't do before that. Normally I would have gone running for 10km & that's it all day. Now I walk EVERYWHERE just to get more steps in.

I loved mine so much in the 1st few days I got hubby one, and then son one. Then I got one for someone on here as well. THAT is how much confidence I have in the One.

My sleep is tracked & I find ways of sleeping better, and I can see it works.

My walking has become crazy. I walked 23km to get mascara. I walk everywhere, I do mean everywhere. Even today it's poring rain, and cold....I walked to the supermarket & back....6km round trip. If it had not been raining I would have walked the 17km to the other supermarket.

Get the One. You wont be dissapointed at all. Really you wont. Get some friends on Fitbit.... http://www.fitbit.com/user/244J9B

That's me.

Just trust me. If it was not for this tiny device, I'd have stopped after 10km. It's keeping my weight down, even on the days I don't run. I actually do more Walk at Home now & refuse to stop till I hit a certain amount of steps.

You will love it, it will love you. You will lose weight with it... that's as long as you use it like you should. Attach it to your underwear on your hip, your pants will keep it in place then....and it will count every step. Not your bra.... it adds extra steps I find.

You will love love love it. :flowerforyou:

Ottinger13 · May 2013

You will love it. To know each day how many calories you are burning is fantastic. I am not guessing at my activity level in a day. I know I burned x number of calories and to lose the 1.5 pounds each week, I need to eat 750 calories less then I burned. Simple math now.

I use MFP to track the food I eat, and Fitbit tracks everything else. LOVE it

marcoscu · May 2013

The Fitbit is a great little device and I would be lost without mine. Personally, I have not found the integration with MFP to be that good and so no longer bother with it, although many other people have no problems with it. The Fitbit website when used in conjunction with MFP is very useful also.
The Fitbit is great because it motivates you to walk that bit further when otherwise you would have not bothered or to takes the stairs rather than the lift. You will amazed at how quickly it becomes important that you meet your daily step count.
Remember that Fitbit also produce the smaller but more inexpensive Fitbit Zip that may suit your budget better although it does not measure stairs or hills climbed.

GinnieC100 · May 2013

I have the Fit Bit Zip. Not quite as expensive as the One. It does not monitor sleep, though. I love it. Well worth the money. I haven't had any problems syncing with MFP. It does it automatically once I had them connected together.

Lbriggs82 · May 2013

Hi all,

Sorry to jump in on your thread with another question, but I've been considering getting one of these too - my only concern is that on reading reviews a lot of people have lost theirs due to the quality of the clip not being good enough - have any of you had this problem? Just I'd hate to spend £80 on something I may lose in a weeks time.

Thanks

x

pkw58 · May 2013

My husband loves his FitBit! I love my Nike Fuel Band! I am addicted to walking & taking more steps. Even if I am going to eat at my desk at lunch, I walk to the farthest place I can to get my lunch and bring it back. I stand at least 10 minutes of every hour.

In addition to moving more, all the activity helps me sleep at night. I don't monitor my sleep but if is amazing how much if you hit that magical 10000 steps or more you sleep better.

pkw58 · May 2013

My husband broke the clip on his fitbit and the fitbit company replaced it. He now wears his clipped inside the "watch pocket" inside his pant pocket. fitbit has a new "flexband" that you wear the fitbit like a bracelet. I got the nike fuel band because I lost about 15 pedometers either by them falling off or by washing them accidently. I like the bracelet option and if my nike fuel band ever just absolutly dies and Nike doesn't replace it, I would probably go with the fitbit that comes in a bracelet.

Lbriggs82 · May 2013

Thanks for this, I'll look at the Nike one, I like the idea of a wristband over a clip I think.

LaserMum · May 2013

Thank you all so much for your help. I would like to get the FitBit but I'm still not sure I can justify it. Maybe I should just spoil myself for once and get it anyway. I'll take some convincing over that though!

My activity level is low (I currently do about 3000 steps a day) and I just hope that it will motivate me to move around a bit more. On the other hand, if I get depressed at not meeting goals, I'm likely to say "S** it" and throw it in a drawer and forget about it.

Anyway, thanks again for all your input - it's been really useful.

Jan :bigsmile:

pinkraynedropjacki · May 2013

Easy.....velcro on both fitbit & case..... simple

LaserMum · May 2013

What a good idea! Thanks pinkraynedrop!

Also thanks for your invitation to add you as a FitBit friend. I hope you won't take offense but I'll pass on that. I don't think I could ever manage to keep up with you! You must be incredibly fit to get 20,000 steps in a day! Well done!

pinkraynedropjacki · May 2013

You could think of me as motivation to go further :happy: There are people on there that o way more than I can ever think of doing in a day & they are the ones that make me want to go further. 20,000 a day is not really hard, my husband is really unfit & manages to get that quite often. I on the other hand have no choice due to an injury to my back, walking is the only thing that helps stop the pain. More I walk, less painkillers I take, better I feel.

Stargrace2 · May 2013

I got my fitbit as a birthday present back in April and I absolutely love it. I clip it to the inside of my bra, between the girls as it were, and it's incredibly secure and I've never lost it. Of course sometimes I forget to wear the wristband to monitor sleep, but that's not a big deal.

If you like looking at charts and graphs and knowing exactly how active you are throughout the day (and then using this to motivate yourself) you'll love it. If you couldn't really care less about that stuff, probably not so much. I use mfp for food tracking like someone mentioned and I use fitbit for everything else. I think it gives a pretty accurate number on how 'active' I am - and you can also manually log exercises that it may not 'see' very well. Although to be honest so far I haven't had any issues with tracking, even on my stationary bike it can see my steps.

PinkNinjaLaura · May 2013

Buy the fitbit. It's worth the $100. Like others have said it has definitely modified my behavior. I had the fitbit one (never lost it - usually kept it clipped to my bra) but also liked the wristband idea so when the fitbit flex came out I bought that and love it. The flex does not track hills or stairs but does have the sleep tracker & silent alarm. Do you have your cell phone app running all day, or just for walks? Unless you have it on all the time it's not capturing all of your activity. Fitbit does that, plus your level of intensity. I get a breakdown of how long I'm sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, or very active, so when I'm walking around the office (lightly active) it knows that I'm not burning as many calories as I would be if I were out jogging (very active). It knows not all steps are equal.

jkestens63 · May 2013

Love mine!!!!!!! Motivating and great for tracking activity. Easily syncs with MFP!

gts175 · May 2013

New question. Guess I could start a new thread but, I am hoping someone here knows. Is there a big difference between the Fitbit and the Polar HRM? Are they basically the same type of device?

stardancer7 · May 2013

I love my fitbit, and I think for most of the reasons people have already said. Its corny, but I love getting the badges as I meet little goals! Gamification, LOL! My mom got one too and loves it, and we are considering getting them for our teen daughters.

My husband got the zip, but probably looking back we'd get him the fitbit also, because it takes a battery instead of getting recharged on one of our laptops.

yourenotmine · May 2013

I've never had any problem with the clip. I do wear it on my bra though, and occasionally it will fall off - often because an animal kicks it off at work. The customer service is fantastic - I actually ran over the base with my car, and they replaced it, no questions asked.

I think it's a fabulous little piece of equipment. I am not one who likes carrying my phone around all day, so this is much better for me. I am easily annoyed too, and this is so light that even I don't notice it most of the time.

In short - it's totally worth it.

csuhar · May 2013

I like my fitbit for most of the reasons stated above. The immediate feedback is a motivator that lets me know where I am at any point.

But I've also had some troubles making the fitbit and MFP work together. Namely, I have my MFP calorie goal set at "moderately active" due to my calisthenics regimen, alone. But the system keeps trying to take the walking / running calories measured on my fitbit and count it against those same calories, which meant I was often undershooting my goal by a wide margin. So I'm currently testing some approaches that will hopefully sort it out.

Even so, I think it's a truly valuable piece of hardware as far as monitoring your walking activity throughout the day.

whyhelloheart · May 2013

I would suggest the FitBit Flex then! It's their latest product and it is a wristband that does everything else that a normal FitBit would do!

Unfortunately, so many people want it that they aren't in stock right now, but it will be WORTH IT when they come out!

whyhelloheart · May 2013

The Fitbit currently does not take your HR into consideration. That's the one thing that I don't like about it

It does everything else, but your heartrate!

mkparis · May 2013

You will love it. It's an extra incentive to watch how many steps you actually take. There is a new organizaiton = everymove.org - fitbit syncs to that - it's a great program. I work for Blue Cross Blue Shield of NE and we are their "test" pilot; however, you can also join as an individual. Try it -

whirlybirdknits · May 2013

Get it. You won't regret it.

The biggest issue people seem to have is keeping up with it and making sure they don't wash it. I haven't lost mine yet - I clip it to the same spot on my pants pocket and make sure I wear it every night on my wrist when I go to bed. I also clip it so that the fitbit sits inside my pocket with the clip on the outside. That way the fitbit doesn't get as banged around in day-to-day activities. The outside of the clip is all torn up, but the fitbit is still happily in it case.

pinkraynedropjacki · May 2013

Fitbit is a pedometer
Polar HRM is a HRM only

Fitbit will NOT measure your heart rate in the slightest, just like the Polar will not tell you steps/distance (unless it's one with a GPS pod as well) measure your sleep or tell you how many floors you climbed.

pinkraynedropjacki · May 2013

Actually Flex is not tall the worth it. It counts hand movements as steps, so people like me who knit would get steps for doing nothing. Talking with your hands gets you steps.

Ditch the Flex...stick with the One.

whyhelloheart · May 2013

Thought about that the other day, actually. I like my One because I just put it right on my bra and it doesn't confuse me for walking when I'm like driving or something.

I just wish it had a foot element to it so it would know that I was cycling

LaserMum · May 2013

Isn't there anyone out there who doesn't like the FitBit?! LOL

I guess the general consensus is that I should get it. So I will.

I just have to order it so that I get it before I go on holiday now.

I'd love to get one for my daughter but her sport is sailing and the FitBit isn't waterproof and I'm not sure if it would measure the amount of exercise expended in 6 hours on the water competitive sailing! (It would take too long to save up for another one anyway - she gets enough spent on her too!)

Katie1951 · May 2013

Awesome idea. I keep my slipped to my bra.

Samstan101 · May 2013

Another very happy Fitbit One owner (and I also use Velcro in the case and on the Fitbit, plus have it facing into my pocket). It's my silent nag to be more active, use the stairs etc. if you want it to track steps when cycling wear it in your pocket - works for me on a stationary bike anyway. I also log any non-walking activities so that any calories burnt are captured (eg swimming or strength training as well as cycling). It then syncs with MFP where I log my food. If I had to be super critical then the Community on Fitbit is a bit small so prefer here for information/entertainment! I do around 7000 steps a day so if anyone wants to add me (euther here or on Fitbit!) then feel free

pinkraynedropjacki · May 2013

Attach it to your shoelace, facing inwards so the shoelace holds it all in place, it will count the cycling 'steps' easy

To get a FitBit One or not?

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