Is having a fitbit or something similar worth it?

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  • karen_golfs
    karen_golfs Posts: 377 Member
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    Love my Fitbit One - keep it clipped to my pocket or in my bra if I have no pockets!
  • iamihobo
    iamihobo Posts: 232 Member
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    I had a fitbit ultra and it is VERY worth it. Worth every penny I completely loved it
    My only problem which I had and I think other people have too is that I lost mine. It is either somewhere in my laundry that I can't find or I lost it at a friends.
    BUT!
    fitbit has the Flex wrist band and that's what I use now. Love Love Love it!

    Pedometers are a great reference for your activity level which will let you know how many calories you've burned that day, which that can be compared to your BMR etc.
    :)
  • kazsjourney
    kazsjourney Posts: 263 Member
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    I have one and honestly never wear it. I have a step challenge coming up and prolly will then but apart from that it wasnt something I felt was a good buy for me (nothing wrong with it i just didnt gain much from it)
  • nathan6878
    nathan6878 Posts: 115 Member
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    Is it more reliable in tracking cal, distance and just steps then a pedometer? Also I am starting to swim a whole lot more can it be water resistent?
  • twinmoon
    twinmoon Posts: 108 Member
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    Yes - definitely worth it. I have Fitbit One - it's an important part of my health & fitness. I like that it syncs with MFP; also like the fitbit dashboard. It motivates me to be more active, and I always have it on.
  • lana_313
    lana_313 Posts: 13 Member
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    I have the fitbit Flex and I absolutely LOVE IT. Of course it's a great way to track your data, but more importantly for me, it's a motivator. I like to have friends on my site and you can kind of compete with others which is another form of motivation. I hope you find what you are looking for! Good luck on your purchase.:smile:
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    I've been wearing a fitbit almost daily for about a year. I love that when I started, getting in 2000-3000 steps a day was a challenge, now 7500 is pretty much my minimum. It's exciting to look and see a new daily best, and it's a good kick in the rear if I see it's still low for the day. I can't say if a regular pedometer would be as effective, but the gadget-ness of it makes it appealing and I love checking my online dashboard to track my progress. I had the ultra, but it started cracking just recently. I didn't have my receipt, but the company gave me a 50% discount on a new One.
  • billieconrad
    billieconrad Posts: 2 Member
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    I lost 100lbs. using the body bugg! It was totally worth it! I was able to really "see" how my activity (output) and food intake worked. I took it off and found a stressful job and gained 25lbs. back(big time bummer) I am now wearing body media and it works, but it is hard to get back into counting and moving if you take a break...SO DO NOT STOP PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU EAT, HOW MUCH YOU MOVE, AND WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE! Take it from me it is not easy to start again.
  • Leesel66
    Leesel66 Posts: 67 Member
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    Well worth the investment, I wear my practically 24/7, ex water areas, but it's fantastic, calculates it all for you and sync with MFP so you don't need to log exercise. Paid $119 for mine...the Aus $...
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
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    I'll answer the "something similar" part of this with: My BodyMedia was the best purchase I have ever made. Hands down. Period. End of story.
  • Lrdoflamancha
    Lrdoflamancha Posts: 1,280 Member
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    I agree with everyone else here... Love mine and don't leave home without it. The One is water resistant but not water proof. I dont believe the Flex is water resistant or water proof.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
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    Thanks for asking this as I have been wondering too. I see different types are mentioned. Is there one that is better then the other? Can you see your progress on the wristband or do you just go by the lights. I saw a reference to a Jawbone - that one seems to track food too. Wondering if anyone has any experience with that one?
    The Fitbit One has a digital display; you can customize it to show any or all of:
    - steps taken
    - miles traveled
    - calories burned
    - flights of stairs ascended
    - progress toward an "active score" goal

    The Fitbit Flex just shows the progress toward the active score goal, in 20% increments, and doesn't track flights of stairs.

    I wore a Jawbone UP band for a month or so before I got my Fitbit. I got the Fitbit because the UP band broke. I think I flexed it too much trying to make it snug on my wrist. Whatever the reason, I didn't want to throw more money away on something that failed so quickly on me, so I switched.

    The UP band does not "track food." The app that comes with the UP band allows you to enter foods in a daily diary -- no different from the Fitbit app or MFP, except the UP app allows you to take and store photos of your food, a feature I don't really grok. The UP band can be configured to signal you when you've reached your step goal, but aside from that it doesn't give any feedback until you plug it into the headphone jack of your smartphone/device to sync. That's right -- no Bluetooth syncing, and an iOS or Android device is required. The form factor is a bit odd too; it snags on pretty much anything long-sleeved and it will probably get overflexed at some point because of the way you put it on and take it off. And it's 30% more expensive than either the Fitbit One or the Fitbit Flex.

    The UP band app is nice -- it's useful, attractive, friendly, and informative. Its sleep tracking interface is the nicest I've seen. In fact, its sleep-related feature set is quite good. MFP is better for food tracking unless you just really like taking pictures of your food.

    Bottom line, FWIW -- When my UP band broke, I bought a Fitbit One. When I lost my Fitbit One... I bought another Fitbit One.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
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    I agree with everyone else here... Love mine and don't leave home without it. The One is water resistant but not water proof. I dont believe the Flex is water resistant or water proof.
    A friend of mine wears his Flex in the shower. It's still working.
  • JulieMarie01453
    JulieMarie01453 Posts: 14
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    I love mine. I like the fact you can download the Fitbit app to your phone, and it will periodically update on its own when you have bluetooth enabled, keeping your calorie burn and step counter as up to date as possible. It offers weekly reports and a helpful "dashboard" to keep tabs on your steps, calories burned, distance traveled and how many minutes you've spent active that day. BUY IT! You wont be sorry!
  • tonguetied69
    tonguetied69 Posts: 22
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    TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love my Flex, take it off only to charge. Waterproof too. Swim and bathe in it, no problems at all. Get one. The Fitbit community is awesome too. Have good people on my leader board that keeps me motivated.
  • glocke12
    glocke12 Posts: 21
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    Honestly, I've gone back and forth with getting a HRM for years, and most recently a fitbit....

    Im probably the odd man out, but I don't really see a practical application for these gadgets unless you have a medical need to monitor your HR..

    Sure, its neat to have access to the information that HRM and fitbits provide, but at the end of the day neither one will really do anything to help you achieve fitness or weight loss goals, and in a year, or two years time your new gadget will either be broken or sitting in a drawer unused.

    Id rather hang onto my money and use it for something else, such as a piece of exercise equipment or something..
  • rachseby
    rachseby Posts: 285 Member
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    I had a zip but returned it b/c I wanted it to monitor calories but it seemed to really overestimate, so I was afraid that I would be tempted to eat more. I couldn't find any info. as to whether or not it was accurate. It did encourage me to move more, but I almost lost it the first time I wore it out...I think that I'd rather have a hrm...
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
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    I like my FitBit One, I don't love it. The data is interesting but I won't attribute a single pound lost to having it. I'll keep on using it but I wouldn't replace it if I lost it.

    Though it monitors sleep, I halfway suspect I'm actually losing sleep from the distraction of wearing the device. I notice if I wake up in the middle of the night, I fidget with it some.
  • CeddysMum
    CeddysMum Posts: 101 Member
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    I've had the Fitbit One for exactly one month and I LOVE it! I wear it clipped onto a pretty strong necklace like a pendant and then tucked into the bra so it's out of sight and (hopefully) quite secure.

    I was pretty shocked to find how little I was actually moving throughout the day and it certainly motivates me every day to move more e.g. I park further away from shops, walk between errands wherever possible instead of driving, even on 'lazy' days I'll get up regularly to do 5 minute walks in the yard, on my 'exercise walks' I try to find as many 'uphill' routes as possible, all that just to get more steps, "floors" (= uphill walks) and calories burned into my day.
  • MistyAnneK
    MistyAnneK Posts: 68 Member
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    I've been toying with the idea of getting a fitbit or something similar to replace my pedometer. Does anyone here use one? Do you think it is worth the cost?

    I started with the zip and graduated to the One. I love it. I have a dongle on my computer at work and home so it updates all day. I can keep track of how much I walk and it motivates me to do more. I paid the extra $50 for the Fitbit premium website to get the trainer. It basically ups your activity level every week to get you moving more, doing more and feeling better.

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