Fitbit Reviews?

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emAZn
emAZn Posts: 413 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm interested in getting a Fitbit, specifically the Fitbit Force, and hoping I could get reviews. Is it better than bodybugg or bodymedia? Is it accurate? What do you really get out of it?

My story - I've been on MFP for over a year and am slowly but surely reaching my goal 2 more pounds :) After that I'll probably try maintenance for a while and then may lose 5 more just for kicks. I'm currently using the TDEE method but have used the MFP method and ate my exercise calories back and that worked for me too. I'll probably stick with TDEE for now. I'm currently training for my first marathon and will stay active after that but probably won't be running 16 miles on the weekends.

I'm hoping if I do purchase this it will help with the phase into maintenance and knowing what my maintenance TDEE is also if I decide to lose a few more it will help with finding a true deficit. Also I'm hoping it will help me with finding a good exercise balance after training. I like working out but I'm getting a bit burned out on long workouts so I'm hoping it can give me an accurate calorie burn.

I'm concerned though that it will just make me even more dependent on using technology to manage my fitness and weight. I'm hoping with maintenance to also be able to practice not logging as often or as accurately and listening more to body needs then what I'm "allowed" each day.

Thoughts and suggestions?

Replies

  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
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    Wow, after some internet research it looks like the Basis 1 band is a badillion times better? Anyone have this watch?
  • zoeybleepbloop
    zoeybleepbloop Posts: 22 Member
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    I have the Bodybugg (by BodyMedia, just the older version), and a Fitbit One. You can do lots of internet searches and find tons of articles comparing the two. Bodybugg generally is thought to be more accurate for calorie burn, but it's a beast to wear, and it costs and extra $7 a month or so to operate. By the end of the day, Bodybugg usually says I burned about 100-300 more than Fitbit does. Sometimes that's closer, sometimes it's farther apart. Yesterday they came within 50 calories of each other and were on the same step count. So it just depends on what I did that day. Usually I do a bit of HIIT in the morning, which Fitbit doesn't really count, since it's not that much stepping, but Bodybugg counts it just fine. When I go for runs though, they are both counting almost perfectly in sync. So it depends on what you want to do with it. If you don't want to be dependent on technology, get an old school pedometer or bodybugg, so that it only syncs once a day when you plug it in- otherwise all the new ones bluetooth to your phone and you become OBSESSED with your step count (in a fun way! I love it!!! But I'm a huge tech geek.)

    I'm wearing both right now to see how accurate fitbit is (I just got it a month ago) and I"d rather wear it than the bodybugg. I think after the end of this week I"ll ditch Bodybugg and go with fitbit, and just keep in mind that it's usually underestimating my calories burned by just a tad (in my case, anyways). I'm still losing weight (just a few pounds, so it's harder)- so I'll be glad to go conservative with my calorie burn.

    Oh- and sorry if I rambled about those two, I have no experience with the Basis - I've never even heard of it. But go with whatever works for you! There's a reason there are a ton on the market- everyone has different needs.
  • dshalbert
    dshalbert Posts: 677 Member
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    I absolutely love my Fitbit Force. I'm not familiar with the Basis 1. The force helps me to make sure I'm keeping active and getting to 10k steps per day, which is far less than marathon training. If you are training for a marathon, I'm wondering if the Run Keeper app will make more sense for you. You can download it on you smart phone.
  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
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    I track my runs using runtastic and that works for training but I was just wondering if it accurately tracks TDEE. I read it doesn't have a heart rate monitor so I am a little weary on how accurate it can track your calories burned per day.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    http://biobeats.com/2013/09/16/quantified-self-device-comparison-basis-fitbit-and-fuelband/

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