Fitbit does it really work?
Kagemori
Posts: 88 Member
ive been hearing about fitbit over and over again on this site and a few others I want to know if all the hype about it is really true. After checking out the fitbits website it sounds really cool and it sounds like it would be very useful but Im not sure if it would actually be worth it to buy it.
For the people that have owned or used fitbit what do you think about it? Does it actually help you? Is it worth it to buy it? Fitbit is very expensive both new and used from what ive seen and don't want to spend money on something like that unless its actually worth it to have.
For the people that have owned or used fitbit what do you think about it? Does it actually help you? Is it worth it to buy it? Fitbit is very expensive both new and used from what ive seen and don't want to spend money on something like that unless its actually worth it to have.
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i have had my fit bit one since the middle of june. what it has shown me is that i am more active during the week than i thought i was and that i need to eat more during the week and i am lot less active at the weekend and that i need to reduce my calories there, since i got it i have started loosing weight again as before i got it i was at the same weight for a couple of months, i haven't lost anything the last two weeks because i have been on holiday and i have relaxed my diet, but i am confident that i will soon shift it again with the help of my fitbit.0
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I have the Fitbit Zip (retails around $50). I love it! OK so its a glorified pedometer but here's why I like it:
-its small, lightweight, and can be clipped to my bra where I'm less likely to lose it (as opposed to my waistband)
-it syncs up with MFP and auto adds any calories burned
-the fitbit dashboard is cool and easy to use
-it keeps me aware of my step count for the day. I always shoot for 10K+
-I can log gym workouts and it makes adjustments in the calorie count (some workouts don't correlate well with the fitbit)
-its a gadget that tracks data points, love my data0 -
It's a fancy pedometer...it works more or less as intended. It will give you a reasonably good estimate of how much energy you burn/need in a given day. It's still an estimate, it's not an exact number.
People who have a really difficult time grasping the fact that they actually burn calories with their day to day hum drum can greatly benefit from these...for many, it's a real eye opener...to many people thinking they have to just go over-train their bodies at the gym and try to burn a gazillion calories...completely unaware that they burn most of their calories per day just being alive.
If you're rather sedentary it can also provide some motivation to get up and move more. Keep in mind that the more exercises you do, the further off that calorie count is going to be...it's pretty good if you're just walking around a lot and some jogging or something...but if you're really training, it's going to become less accurate.0 -
It's a great motivator. For people like me who sit behind a desk all day; it's a reminder to get up and walk, be active and burn calories. Adding 10,000 steps to my day has been a real game changer.0
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Any thoughts about the sleep patterns it can track?0
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I think it is a great motivator. I have the zip and it helps motivate me to at least get in my 10,000(usually 15,000) steps a day. It also works great with MFP.0
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I have a Zip...I love it! The battery finally died just this morning....and I feel Naked without it! Off to buy a battery...and a spare!0
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It's a great motivator. For people like me who sit behind a desk all day; it's a reminder to get up and walk, be active and burn calories. Adding 10,000 steps to my day has been a real game changer.
Same for me too, I have gone from doing nothing to walking 5 - 6 miles a day so Fitbit works for me as a motivator to get up and walk.0 -
I bought my Zip in April, wear it every day & I love it. It's a great motivator for me. I try to do more than 10K steps every day. I think it's accurate for what it measures. As for the One, I don't really care about measuring my sleep or stair climbing.
Fitbit syncs with mfp so I don't have to figure out the calories or the pace or amount of time I walked. I'm glad I bought it. It's worth the $50 I spent on it.0 -
It's a fancy pedometer...it works more or less as intended. It will give you a reasonably good estimate of how much energy you burn/need in a given day. It's still an estimate, it's not an exact number.
People who have a really difficult time grasping the fact that they actually burn calories with their day to day hum drum can greatly benefit from these...for many, it's a real eye opener...to many people thinking they have to just go over-train their bodies at the gym and try to burn a gazillion calories...completely unaware that they burn most of their calories per day just being alive.
If you're rather sedentary it can also provide some motivation to get up and move more. Keep in mind that the more exercises you do, the further off that calorie count is going to be...it's pretty good if you're just walking around a lot and some jogging or something...but if you're really training, it's going to become less accurate.
Pretty much this....I have a fitbit and I love it.0 -
I have the One. I only used it at night once because it's a bit annoying to wear, and it told me how long I slept, how many times I woke up, when I was agitated etc... pretty cool. The stairs tool is nice I guess but not very accurate from what I've seen, I go up and down the stairs a lot and it seems to only register half a floor every time.
Otherwise though, I use it every day. I like it. It's a good motivator, and it gives you a good idea of your activity level, with how many calories you burned (approximation obviously) every day. The only thing of course is that it doesn't take into account when I work out (Les Mills Pump, which burns about 300 calories), because I don't really move while I do it, so I have to factor that in, but it's great to figure out what your average TDEE is otherwise.
I haven't bothered syncing it with MFP though, it seems a bit of a pain, plus I use a custom goal anyway.0 -
I have the flex and I love it. Like others have said, it's gotten me up and moving. I can see a difference in the number of steps I was taking - or not taking - when I first got it, and now. Same with calories burned each day, that number has risen. It syncs with MFP so I just do all my logging here. I have "friends" over there and get to see their steps and have this competition in my little brain trying to outwalk the ones similar to me
The bracelet is comfy, I wear it all the time except for when it's charging. I'm happy with the purchase 0 -
I got my fitbit one back in April, and absolutely love it. Since I have a pretty sedentary day-time life style MFP was over estimating how much I was burning, and I feel that this gives me a better estimate. It's a great motivator, and the sleep tracking aspect works really well to tell me how soundly I've slept. No complaints at all. Even washed it once by mistake and it survived. I have it syncing to MFP so my calories over here are adjusted, and since all I do is walk and no real heavy training it seems pretty spot on.0
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I couldn't have managed to lose weight so steadily without Fitbit. My main exercise is walking so I set my TDEE to sedentary, and then the fitbit calories get added on top of that when it syncs. Makes it really simple to eat at a consistent deficit. I think it's great. I didn't get much benefit from the sleep function though - I already know when I've slept badly.
Fitbit One has more features than Zip as it counts stairs and sort of measures sleep, but battery lasts less long and it's harder to read in sunlight.0 -
My husband and I consider our fitbit to be one of our best purchases ever. We are highly competitive so we have a ball trying out step the other. It is also great for me on days that I have not moved much to see that I need to get off my behind and get to stepping.
We are going on 2 years with ours, so its not like its fun for a while then fades, if anything, the addiction gets worse.0 -
My fitbit does a very good job of helping me to match my calorie consumption to my real activity levels. I think the people who have the most problem with it are the ones who expect 100% pinpoint accuracy from it.0
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I love mine. So much. Lost my Fitbit One on Thursday and bit the bullet to buy a new one Friday morning. It's useful, it's motivating, it's addictive. The feedback really pushes you. Well, it pushes me anyway, because I like all green on my goals and I like nice round numbers. "Oooh, made my 8,000-step goal, but it's just .39 miles more to hit my 4-mile goal... oooh, 27 flights of stairs, where can I find three more to climb? ... oooh, if I went out and jogged around the block, I'll bet I could clear 12,000 steps!" And so it goes.
Without a Fitbit, there is NO WAY I would have climbed over 30 flights of stairs yesterday (let alone almost 1400 in the past four months) and gone jogging after my cardio-machines workout in the gym. Using a pedometer probably accounts for most of the 40 pounds I dropped.
It's also convenient: You wear it, you move around, it syncs, MFP reflects the calorie burn and tells you how much you can eat for dinner. No manual entry required. I like that a lot. It doesn't track all my activity well; e.g., indoor stair climber and rowing machine. For those things, I have my HRM and Digifit, which syncs up with Fitbit and presto, still no manual entry. Happiness.
As a sleep tracker, I think it's meh, just ok -- the Jawbone UP band/application was better for this (UP band was pretty decent too, but died on me after a couple months). But it does give some feedback. I don't use the armband, I just wear something to bed and clip it to that.
I'm at goal weight and working hard at figuring out how to stay there. Using a pedometer is definitely part of the plan. I plan to continue using Fitbit for life, or at least until somebody makes a pedometer that's way better somehow.0 -
I love my Fitbit! I have a Fitbit One and I especially love the stair climbing feature that the One has! I got mine as a Christmas gift last December and I have lost 12 lbs since then by using it and syncing it to MFP. It encourages me to move more with goals, rankings, and award badges. It was really eye-opening for me because I realized just how much I walk on an average day...A LOT! I learned that if I'm moving around a lot during the day, I don't have to kill myself for 2 hours at the gym to lose weight. (I also learned that shopping at a mall burns a good 200-400 calories! AWESOME! Why? Because you're basically walking for 3-4 hours straight, and especially if you have a naturally faster-paced walk like I do, it's basically equivalent to a very light workout.) The stair climbing feature also encouraged me to want to climb more stairs and now I'm pretty awesome at stair climbing and I'm convinced it's made my legs stronger! :laugh: My Fitbit also gives me a pretty good idea of my TDEE because I've lost weight following those approximations. But best of all, it gives me peace of mind; I no longer have that nagging voice in the back of my head telling me that I need to go to extremes or I'll gain all the weight I lost right back. My Fitbit tells me what I'm doing and approximately how much I'm burning and with that knowledge, I know I'm in control and I know I can keep it up. :bigsmile:0
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I'm going to answer yes. I have had a FitBit for the past three weeks. During that time I have consumed 63,789 calories (2,773 cal / day) and according to the FitBit, I have burned 64,829 calories (2,819 cal / day). I had about a 1,000 cal delta over that time and my weight has not changed measurably. I think I'm in maintenance.
But the FitBit just estimates calories just like the online calculators, so it could be wrong. By a lot.
Tom0 -
My fitbit has been amazing. It more accurately calculates how many calories I should be eating (compared to simply logging food and guestimating average daily burn).
I find the sleep quality function to be incredibly helpful--I'm bipolar, so sometimes I have real problems with sleep and this helps me control medication use.
I like how you set goals and then can tap the fitbit to see how close you are to meeting your goal.
The software and the journals are top notch as well. Just always log food and exercise in MFP, and then everything else in the fitbit dashboard.
Anyhow, I've had mine for 2 weeks and I'm in love!
**forgot to say that I have a Fitbit Flex0 -
As far as the sleep tracker, it is OK. I know that I need to try to get more sleep. Seeing every day that I only had 5 hours makes me a little more aware that I need to be going to bed earlier. As far as telling you how well you slept, I have found that it is pretty accurate. But I think most people know when they slept well and when they didn't.
Like every one else, I feel that it is a great motivator. It tells you when you've been lazy and when you've done well. If you sync it with MFP, it will automatically add your exercise calories. I have found it does a great job for walking/running, elliptical, Zumba, Turbo Jam, and jumping (jump rope, trampoline, jumping jacks, etc.) It doesn't do a great job for weight lifting or biking. I haven't tried it for anything else. You can even set it up to take calories away from you when you are being lazy.
The thing I love most about it is the daily estimation of how many calories I have burned. I know there are tons of people out there who will say that it is not highly accurate. So what if I am really only burning 2400 calories every day and it tells me I am burning 2550? I have found that it is very consistent with its estimates. It gives me a number to work with. I know that I had stalled out on my weight loss with a very low calorie diet. I wanted to try TDEE - 20%, but I was terrified when I saw how many calories I would be eating. After wearing my FitBit (I have the Flex), I have found that I really do burn somewhere around 2500 calories on a normal day, and I can easily burn over 3000 on active days. And sure enough, for the last three weeks I have seen the scales move again.
I have purchased all kinds of devices in an attempt to help me lose weight. I have bath scales, kitchen scales, body fat calipers, a timer for HIIT training, a heart rate monitor, weights, resistance bands, a multitude of fitness DVDs, a gym membership, a mini trampoline....... If I could keep only one thing that I have purchased, it would be my FitBit (closely followed by my kitchen scales!).0 -
Yes it is worth it. In bought the Zip a month ago and it really opened my eyes to how ln active I was. I have built up some friends and love to compete with the steps taken. Last week my tracker came out of my clip while I was running errands. I contacted customer service and they r sending a replacement no charge.0
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It's a fancy pedometer...it works more or less as intended. It will give you a reasonably good estimate of how much energy you burn/need in a given day. It's still an estimate, it's not an exact number.
People who have a really difficult time grasping the fact that they actually burn calories with their day to day hum drum can greatly benefit from these...for many, it's a real eye opener...to many people thinking they have to just go over-train their bodies at the gym and try to burn a gazillion calories...completely unaware that they burn most of their calories per day just being alive.
If you're rather sedentary it can also provide some motivation to get up and move more. Keep in mind that the more exercises you do, the further off that calorie count is going to be...it's pretty good if you're just walking around a lot and some jogging or something...but if you're really training, it's going to become less accurate.
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Perfect Answer
I find it really helpful as it does show you just what you do in a day in terms of walking & the sleep thing is interesting but just remember it's a pedometer I think some people expect it to cook your meals & get guaranteed results. 0 -
There is no quick fix to weight loss and fitness, you have to work at it but I have had my Fitbit (Ultra) at first since January 11 2012 and then I invested in the Fitbit One when they came out last year, as it syncs to my iphone so I can have my data on hand whenever/wherever. I have never regretted purchasing either
It is as others have said here, a pedometer, but with a website, friendly groups, friends to support and challenge you, like here, a dashboard which lets you know exactly how many steps, floors, miles you have done each day plus a sleep tracker if you want to get a picture of how you sleep at night, it is far more than 'just' a pedometer. It shows your daily burn for breathing which people often forget about and your activity level and there is also the opportununity to have a personal trainer (a subscribed Premium account) to make you work harder too.
With lots of challenges with other Fitbit friends (virtual friends of course) I have just reached my 10 millions steps --- 10,020,681 steps to be precise since Jan 2012.. and have done 24,000 floors... so it can be done... I also work in an office, not entirely sit-down all day as I work with students so have to be up and down to deal with their quieries but on a quite day, or days when I didn't take advantage of my lunchbreak to get outside.. I would be lucky to get 3,000 steps... walking at lunchtime gets me approx 5-6,000 steps so then when I get home, it's up to me to work at getting my steps up. Everyone has of days, or days when our Mojo's go AWOL, but the Fitbit is always there to remind you just how much you have slacked off.. and gives you a friendly ;kick up the butt' to get moving again.
The website is very supportive with many groups depending on your interests, or where you live, i'e UK, Or US or even other more location orientated groups, and loads more.
Talking of virtual friends, there has also been the opportunity to meet up with 'real' fitbit friends made over the website and this year I and 6 others did a 40Km walk for charity (in fact one lady did a 60K walk)... something, I had never envisaged pre 2012.
By the way, I am approaching my 64th year.. and have gone from 164lbs and looking at size 16 trousers to 129lbs and now in 10s and feeling fabulous so anyone can do well.. you just have to want it
Check Amazon for the 3 different Fitbits, One, Zip and Flex.... Zip and Flex don't measure floors or altitude.... 1 Floor equals a 10ft increment so for instance climbing your stars at home, or a hill or driveway with elevations above 10ft. I think someone on here mentioned that their fitbit didn't count their stair climb accurately.. it has to be at a certain pace (if you pause, or just even slow on the way up, it will not count it.. it needs to be a steady movement and must rise above 10ft.
Hope that helps you make a decision to change your life... well worth the money in my book xx0 -
Lets see....I hit 40,000+ steps a day now. From nothing after my run to then 20,000 then to 30,000 then my highest is 60,000 in one day.
I'm hitting a minimum of 40,000 steps a day just because I can & want to do so much more than sit or do nothing after my workout. I eat what I want due to the extra calories (i can eat a whole pizza to myself..a large one) and still be under in calories for the day easy enough to have lunch & snacks on top.
Worth it? Hell yes.0 -
My Fit Bit 1 was given to me as a gift in may by my best friend who has been worried about how lethargic I have become over the last several years due to illness.
At first I was UGH, now I'm gonna have to walk...
Well now I am so excited to see my progress on my Fit Bit that I only take it off to shower, hahaha.
Has changed my world !!
I wish I was computer smart enough to figure how to sinc it up with MFP.
YES worth it !!0 -
LOVE my fitbit!0
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I have the flex. I love it. It's around my wrist so I don't even think about it all day. For me it's very motivating!! I always want to get at least my 10000 steps... But the best thing is the challenges!!! I have a few friends in mine n it really drives me to try n beat them. Lol. If that means jumping in the treadmill for 20 mins after my workout in order to be #1, I'm all about it!!! For the most part I think it's fairly accurate. I stay within my MFP calorie intake n I don't eat the additional calories it gives me because I'm not exactly sure how accurate that is! According to my treadmill, I have burned much less then what my fitbit is telling me. But the bottom line, it DEF motivates me!!0
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It's a pedometer and some decent software but it's not magic. I have a Flex and I don't love it; it's done it's job but it's over priced, buggy and I wouldn't replace it if I lost it. However, you can see most people would disagree with me and if you are counting heads you should buy it, but if you are on a budget you could get a decent pedometer for much less and just add your steps into MFP and you would get pretty much the same results.0
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itsscottwilder wrote: »It's a great motivator. For people like me who sit behind a desk all day; it's a reminder to get up and walk, be active and burn calories. Adding 10,000 steps to my day has been a real game changer.
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