FitBit wristbands

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  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    I have a fitbit flex... I know there are a lot of haters out there but what they don't realize is that when you input your stats your fitbit estimates how many calories you would normally burn per hour... (even when you don't move) not just the steps. This is NOT a pedometer. It tells you your normal burn at rest and then incorporates and adds calories burned based on its sensed movement. I would recommend putting it on your non-dominate hand to get more accurate count because you won't be using that hand as much for every little thing.

    My TDEE on most calculators is between 1800 and 2000 calories and that's what my fitbit tells me on a daily basis so I think its pretty accurate... I don't really look at the steps because I could care less how many steps I take each day. I also like the fact that it tracks your sleep patterns and how many times you wake up each night.

    I would recommend it. I try to stay well below (300-500cals) what my fitbit says I burned for the day in my calories and I'm losing so it can't be that far off.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    I'm getting a Flex for Christma and I can't wait!

    Question for those of you who have one....I have a desk job where I'm always typing and answering phones, shuffling papers, etc so my hands are always moving. Have any of you found that the hand movements interfere with your counts at all? That's one thing I'm concerned with.

    Unfortunately it does register casual movements that you'd do at a normal desk job as steps

    Yikes that could be a problem. I have smallish ankles, maybe the large wristband will fit my ankle and I can wear it like that. I guess I'll give it a try and see how "off" it seems. I'm mostly sedetary at work so if it tells me I've had a lot of steps I will definitely know it's wrong.

    Thanks for your reply!

    I have a desk job... I wear my flex on my non-dominant hand. I do alot of typing, etc. and it doesn't really seem to register any of that as steps. My average steps are about 3-4,000 if I don't work out which seems reasonable. Again, I don't really care how many steps it says I'm looking at calorie burn and my "resting" or "at work" calorie burn is around 15-20cals per 15min which is in line with my TDEE.
  • oc1timoco
    oc1timoco Posts: 272 Member
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    I have the flex and happy with it. Just watch out when you sync with MFP. If you are using runtastic or endomondo or any other app you will have to ensure you enable negative calorie adjustment in you MFP settings
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I dont want to hijack the thread, but I did have another question. I dont care about it tracking my sleep. I have a 1 year old who is getting his last few teeth so sleep is kind of hit and miss for me anyway :) If all I want it for is to track my steps and cals burned through daily activity, would a zip be better for me or are there other features on the one or flex that I am not aware of??

    I think all you'd be missing is sleep, rechargeable and altimeter/floors. Oh, and the vibration alarms. That's the only reason I got the One over the Zip. The Zip uses a cheap watch battery that lasts months and is replaceable.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    The 2 FitBit Flexes that I bought for me and my girlfriend have been nothing but nightmares. I tried to sell them at a huge loss but no one would even buy them.

    The software had major problems installing on Windows 7 32-bit AND 64-bit. I haven't even tried on my Windows 8 machine, since apparently just plugging the dongle in is all we need now that we've "registered" the devices to our email addresses. I spent a week in customer service hell, and the support staff at the company are worse than useless. They've at least mastered the art of copying and pasting, but fail the most basic reading comprehension and have the memory and attention span of a brain-damaged goldfish.

    A few months later, the battery on mine lasts 2, maybe 3 days if I'm lucky, when it is advertised as lasting 5. My girlfriend has just stopped wearing hers almost entirely, after her band's rubber ripped apart, even after she started using my smaller one.

    0/5, would not recommend to my worst enemy.

    I've read other reviews where people had issues with the software on their computer.... I don't use a computer I just have the apps on my phone and ipad and have not had any issues. I've been using my flex for 2 weeks and have only had to charge it once so far. I've found however that a lot of people complained that the device didn't come with instructions because apparently they were too absent minded to think of looking on the website... which by the way has complete manuals for all of their products. Also, people said it was confusing to know how many times and how fast to tap the flex to tell it you're going to sleep. You don't have to tap it a certain amount of times or a certain speed.... just tap it rapidly until it vibrates.... then its asleep. People tend to make things more complicated then they have to be sometimes.
  • M00NPYE
    M00NPYE Posts: 193 Member
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    I asked for a FitBit Force for Christmas... I have no type of heart rate monitor or anything so I'm really no help to the OP, I'm sure anything I get would be awesome for tracking my movements!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    The software works fine on my Windows 8 machine.

    I agree the customer service can be annoying at times. But if your devices really don't work, they'll replace them. Though I can see giving up in frustration before that happens. My first device back in 2009 had issues and I bet I emailed with them for a month trying to diagnose it before they finally just replaced it. Then when I tried the Flex last month I had some questions and the rep was a little curt at times.
  • ginchybird
    ginchybird Posts: 3 Member
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    I don't have a fitbit, but I have been researching a lot of these devices and thought you might want a little more info.

    I have a BodyMedia Fit armband. In addition to the accelerometer (which is really all the Fitbits, Jawbones, and Nike Fuel bands are), it has skin temp, heat flux, and galvanic skin response (sweat) sensors. I feel that it is far more accurate because of this. They claim a 90% accuracy rating. Based on my experience with this, assuming my calorie intake tracking is accurate (always a dangerous assumption!), that's a fair statement. Mine appears to overestimate my burn by a little over 8%.

    I also have an old Polar F11 heart rate monitor that I wear when exercising.

    It sure would be nice if they could somehow take the features of all three of those and merge them. I would gladly wear the sensors of the BMF on a heart rate monitor chest strap if I could have all-day heart rate data and be free of the monthly subscription fee like on the Fitbit.

    Alas, nobody has a product that meets those requirements!

    I have a Body Media Link and I love it. I wouldn't settle for anything less. It tracks so much and I learned a lot about myself from it. It seems pretty spot on for me. I learned how poorly I was sleeping at night from it and how inactive I actually was being a desk jockey and if I didn't go to the gym, my calorie burned through out the day was very low because I sat around a lot! It also gives you tips on their site on the activity manager like "You didn't eat enough protein yesterday", "Why don't you try this to get a couple of steps in" etc,,,it also gives some food ideas too. It's fantastic. ti's nice because it keeps track of all day activity and it syncs with My Fitness Pal. As long as you log your food then it will give you your cal deficit. It's an awesome tool that helped me tremendously. You can set up your daily activity goals and it keeps track of sedentary, moderate, and vigorous activity.You can export your data on a spread sheet. It's also tracks steps you take. I feel so much better know how much I can actually eat as opposed to blindly guessing. It also syncs with your smart phone with the blue tooth. You can watch what your doing through out the day. Plus it does a lot more.
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
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    I have a flex and it has been an absolute life saver. I had a pedometer before and its pretty damn accurate for me anyway! Im a maid so a lot of my measured steps are also arm movements, but to me a burn is a burn whether its legs or arms!

    Its always spot on and Ive never found it to miscalculate any sedentary movements. Yes scratching your head will count as one step but its counted as a mild movement so doesnt dip into your proper burn for the day. Ive had slow walks that accurately measured my activity level and fast walks that do the same. It all reflects on the dashboard, So I trust it well.
  • jchrisman717
    jchrisman717 Posts: 780 Member
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    Question -- can I use the fitbit with the Iphone app only and have it sinc to MFP without downloading to my pc?

    I want to use the app on my Iphone without logging into the computer.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Question -- can I use the fitbit with the Iphone app only and have it sinc to MFP without downloading to my pc?
    I'm not sure but I have a feeling you would need to at least use a pc once to link the device to the account, via the bluetooth dongle that comes with it and the PC software you download. After that, I think you can use only your phone for synching, if you prefer. It still technically synchs to your online account which synchs to MFP, but if you never want to go near the pc again, you probably wouldn't have to, barring anything happening that causes you to need to re-link things.

    There are some non-Fitbit devices that only have iPhone/Android apps, no browser web sites. The Fitbit mobile app doesn't show a lot of the stuff the web site does, I think.
  • Badtzmaruxo
    Badtzmaruxo Posts: 1 Member
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    I have the Fitbit Force. I got it almost 3 wks ago and I love it.

    I have a Samsung Galaxy III and I have never had any issues with it syncing, freezing, or causing any issues.
    The dongle works the way it's supposed to work. No issues there.
    I installed the desktop sync program on my laptop. I have Windows 8. I have never had a problem with it. As a matter of fact, I didn't install it until after the first week I started using Fitbit and I never had a problem.
    I have fully charged the Force once, last weekend. I've never had any charging or other battery related problems.

    I am a nurse. I am alternately super busy and running around or sitting at my desk charting. I have never noticed the Force tracking random hand movements. Sometimes I like to watch my step count tick up while I'm walking and it's accurate. I understand that it is not 100% accurate 100% of the time for everything it tracks, but it's pretty close.
    Sometimes, it logs stairs that I haven't climbed. But that doesn't happen often.
    It does not count all of your steps if you cheat on the treadmill and put your hands on the sides to hold yourself up (/shame), but it is a great motivator to actually run without holding on to anything.

    I love that it syncs with MyFitnessPal. The Fitbit food log isn't nearly as extensive as MFP.

    I wear it in the shower, no issues.

    It is not a heart rate monitor, which is sad.

    I've learned that I "wake up" every hour, on the hour while I sleep. I've also learned that when the cat isn't in my bedroom, this is not the case.

    I love mine. My husband is getting one for Christmas. So are my sisters. And my parents. That's how much I love mine.

    Good luck!
  • Amitysk
    Amitysk Posts: 705 Member
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    I have a Fit Bit One and I love it. I have found it to be pretty accurate and motivating. I really like the sleep tracking feature. I used to have the Ultra but got the One since it can sync to my iphone.

    Good luck!
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    Question -- can I use the fitbit with the Iphone app only and have it sinc to MFP without downloading to my pc?

    I want to use the app on my Iphone without logging into the computer.

    If your iPhone is 4s or more recent, yes.

    You may need to use your computer (or a friend's?) for the initial device setup/account linking, but going forward you wouldn't need the PC at all.
  • jchrisman717
    jchrisman717 Posts: 780 Member
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    Ok I was able to get it set up and sinc it with my phone only. I created an account and went into the fitbit.com site and set my settings to a goal of losing weight. Now it is telling me that I can only eat 376 calories for the rest of the day. Shouldn't it sinc with my MFP goals? I read that the more you wear it the more accurate it gets so maybe it will take a few days of actually wearing it for it to display correct. Haha - it says I've lost weight already so I guess it synced with MFP. I hope to see that keep going down!
  • donnaleighh
    donnaleighh Posts: 178 Member
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    I have the One - prefer it very much to my friends Flex - especially as a woman as just tuck it in my bra and no one knows and I can wear it all the time.

    The following links might help - a similar thread on MFP from a few months back

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/992573-fitbit-flex-vs-one-review

    AND some comparative reviews:

    http://krypted.com/?p=42133

    http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/gadget/3468264/fitbit-flex-review/

    Good luck, I know whichever one you choose, you will love it.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Fitbit doesn't take your MFP eating goals in. But it'll send activity data to MFP and MFP will adjust your MFP calorie goal based on it. Also, MFP sends your food log totals to Fitbit. But your eating goals here don't affect your eating goals there. Those are all based on settings in their software, and what options you pick over there.
  • ksntls63
    ksntls63 Posts: 5 Member
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    I have the flex and I've had no issues plus it is pretty accurate. You need to make sure the setting isn't on sensitive. I've had the app open while standing in place moving my arm and never did it register as a step. The I started stepping in place and it started to register. The faster I stepped he faster it was recording my steps. Walking into work one morning I also recorded the miles on my run keeper and they were just about the same miles recorded. Nothing you get will be completely accurate. I luv mine!
  • jchrisman717
    jchrisman717 Posts: 780 Member
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    So I got my flex and I'm trying to get it all figured out. I think I have it set up correctly. I have it set for non-dominant hand and I am wearing it on my non-dominant hand. Do I need to stride length and my running stride length? Would that make a difference as to how it registers my calories burned?
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    No, all stride length affects is the distance measure. The default works fine for me.

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