Is a Fitbit worth it?

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  • ifaber
    ifaber Posts: 195 Member
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    I love love love my fitbit force! I would check it often to see if I'm making my goals and if not I would take more steps or climb the stairs in my house...as late as 11 at night! It is very motivational if you are the kind of person who thrives on meeting/exceeding goals. Plus its great to see how many calories i have burned so far INSTANTLY and how easily I adjust my eating in response to that.

    I am WAY more active than I originally thought and its nice to see a clearer picture based on how active I REALLY am versus just a generic number that doesn't include what I do in my normal day. MFP says my maintenance level is 1860 while my Fitbit tells me its more along 2300-2400 WITHOUT exercise. The sleep tracker is helpful too and I can definitely tell the difference when I toss and turn all night and when I don't. Now its great to see that I do because before I just attributed it to a bad day, not a bad night, lol!

    The only thing that was kind of sucky is that the clasp design will definitely need an upgrade because mine has come off of my wrist twice and I just got it for Christmas. But their customer service department is SUPERB and I love my Fitbit still! Definitely worth the investment in my opinion. I promise I do not work for Fitbit, lol!
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
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    I've had a Fitbit for over three years and would have to be without it even for a day. I'm addicted to the feedback and my visual history of my activity each day. I did a post about all the aspects of the Fitbit on my blog
    http://jenbsjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/wondering-about-fitbit.html

    We are a Fitbit family, with my older boys having them, my parents, my brother and his wife.

    I bought a Zip for hubby for Christmas, but it isn't quite clicking for him (which I just can't understand as I am such a fan) but either you love it or ... not. We currently can't find his either, I'm sure it's in the house (based on it's last update yesterday). He didn't have it in the silicone case, just had the device in his pocket.
  • KisaraKaiba
    KisaraKaiba Posts: 59 Member
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    I love, love, love my fitbit one. I've had it just under a year and don't go a day without it anymore. I have never lost mine *knock on wood*, but my mother lost 2 of them before giving up. (I keep mine in its little silicon holder and clip it to my pocket, facing inward so that the device itself is inside the pocket). For my fiance, I'd get him a force or flex because I know he'd lose the one.. so I guess the "loss" issue varies by person. :P

    But overall, a great investment on my part. I love mine and find it so useful, especially with MFP.
  • inside_lap
    inside_lap Posts: 738 Member
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    Go for the new water proof one. I sweated excessively on one about a year ago and it died. Their customer service was horrible even though I had it less then a year so it should be under warrantee (except that one you can't get wet). Who makes exercise tech items that are NOT water resistant/water proof and therefore you cant sweat on!?! They refused to replace my fitbit so I moved on to my body media. Will never purchase a fitbit again!

    Edit: I loved it BEFORE I had to deal with customer service. They literally told me it was not designed to withstand heavy sweating and to put it in rice. If that doesn't work then buy a new one. WTF!?!
  • JeweledSnail
    JeweledSnail Posts: 1
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    I've had a one for a year and for me it has been very much worth it.

    I mostly walk for exercise, so it makes logging it pretty effortless and it's really neat to see how many calories shopping or a more active day around the office burn. I definitely push myself more to meet my daily goals with it than I would without it. If I'm very close to my steps or floors goal, I'll go out just to get a few more. My mother has one as well and has had the same experience.

    The one time I interacted with their support, it turned out my problem was an outdated version of their software. I was a bit disappointed that it took them so long to figure that out (and a bit embarrassed I didn't catch it myself), but it was otherwise a positive interaction.
  • kat2475
    kat2475 Posts: 159 Member
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    I have the Flex and think the Fitbit is definitely worth it. That being said, I don't rely on it for accurate calorie burning information. I use it more as a motivator. If my steps are low, I get up and get moving. If my friends are "winning" on the leaderboards, I get up and get moving. I park at the back of the parking lot, take laundry downstairs in several trips instead of one, etc. It's made a huge difference for me.
  • SirDoctorofTARDIS
    SirDoctorofTARDIS Posts: 113 Member
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    I love my Fitbit Ultra (precursor to One). It has helped a ton with motivation. I love trying to beat my friends and get to the top of the leader board.
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
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    I use a free app on android called "Noom Walk" and and the MFP app. Works for me and it's FREE.
  • AnnofB
    AnnofB Posts: 3,584 Member
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    I have a zip and love it. It's a good motivator for me.

    As other have mentioned though, it's easy to lose. Or forget about. Mine has been through the washer twice and the dryer once and still works great. They are obviously well made. I'll get the Flex model when my zip zips out on me.

    Ann
  • ShadeyC
    ShadeyC Posts: 315 Member
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    I absolutely adore my fitbit.
    It's passive recording which is incredibly helpful ( I love that it syncs to everything).
    I haven't lost mine at all - though I wear mine on my bra. I supposed it depends on your husband as to if he would lose it or not. I wore mine on my belt loop once and forgot it was on there and it almost went through the wash.
    Either way. GET ONE! I honestly think it's one of the most useful things I have ever purchased.
  • breasonable
    breasonable Posts: 115 Member
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    I have had my fitbit one for over 1 yr... I would feel lost without it... It totally makes me walk more. I find myself going up and down my stairs to make sure I meet my goals... It was the best purchase. The only thing I have had a problem with is the plastic on my clip wore and then wouldn't stay on. I did infact loose it but fitbit customer support is awesome and replaced it for free..... For you hubby I would say get the flex it's less hassle trying to wear it....
  • Grumbers
    Grumbers Posts: 111 Member
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    I'm going to seem very dim here. What exactly is a fit bit? I have a Garmin Fore Runner I use for runs and I use Strava when I'm riding.

    Is a Fitbit basically a pedometer?

    Cheers
  • erinbuberinxo
    erinbuberinxo Posts: 64
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    I love mine! I find that keeping track of food and exercise is boring but the fitbit makes it much easier and more fun. I sync mine to mfp too so the food intake goes onto my fitbit profile and my suggested intake on mfp changes according to how much I've burned :) I definitely recommend getting one.
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    I'm going to seem very dim here. What exactly is a fit bit? I have a Garmin Fore Runner I use for runs and I use Strava when I'm riding.

    Is a Fitbit basically a pedometer?

    Cheers

    It's basically an advanced pedometer, yeah. Different models have different capabilities, but they all track steps (and relative speed - it can see a difference between a leisurely walk, a brisk walk, a jog, and a sprint), most track flights of stairs climbed (10 foot change in elevation, so a hike will add to this), most track sleep if you want it to, overall activity level, and an estimate of calories burned so far based on your BMR + the activities mentioned above.

    Basically it's a great way to capture your TDEE if you're having difficulty figuring out what it is. It also sets goals for you (10k steps a day, 10 flights of stairs a day, whatever) which some people - myself included - find motivating enough to seriously boost their TDEE. You get badges for milestones reached, and there's a social aspect - if you have friends that have Fitbits you can compete with them to have the highest weekly step total. (This has been VERY motivational for me).

    It syncs with MFP so you can log your meals (and activity the Fitbit can't or won't track, like swimming) here, and they will get pushed over to your Fitbit account.

    I have a One and the MFP + Fitbit combination is what finally made the nutrition part of weightloss click for me. A friend of mine (who had been using MFP for a month or two) bought a Fitbit on my recommendation, and he's about to hit 80 lbs lost.
  • lindsaylove07
    lindsaylove07 Posts: 444 Member
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    Quick question, leaning towards the fitbit, but if I log my foods on MFP will they sync BACK to fitbit, or is it one way syncing?
  • corsig
    corsig Posts: 3 Member
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    I have the Fitbit Force and the scale synced up with MFP. I don't think I would be motivated as much without these tools that I can look at in real time. I has been the difference between losing weight and gaining it. I would be lost without them
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    Quick question, leaning towards the fitbit, but if I log my foods on MFP will they sync BACK to fitbit, or is it one way syncing?

    They go back, but in a sort of limited way - Fitbit can't read MFP's database, so on Fitbit you'll see something like Lunch Summary (MyFitnessPal) - and then the nutritional breakdown of calories, proteins, fat fiber sodium carbs whatever. Fitbit knows the breakdown of what you ate, but it doesn't know what it was.
  • lindsaylove07
    lindsaylove07 Posts: 444 Member
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    Quick question, leaning towards the fitbit, but if I log my foods on MFP will they sync BACK to fitbit, or is it one way syncing?

    They go back, but in a sort of limited way - Fitbit can't read MFP's database, so on Fitbit you'll see something like Lunch Summary (MyFitnessPal) - and then the nutritional breakdown of calories, proteins, fat fiber sodium carbs whatever. Fitbit knows the breakdown of what you ate, but it doesn't know what it was.

    Ahhhhh makes perfect sense. That's what I wanted to know!!
  • tangowgirl
    tangowgirl Posts: 4 Member
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    I see many people at our gym use them and swear by them. They've got me wanting one myself!
  • Grumbers
    Grumbers Posts: 111 Member
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    I'm going to seem very dim here. What exactly is a fit bit? I have a Garmin Fore Runner I use for runs and I use Strava when I'm riding.

    Is a Fitbit basically a pedometer?

    Cheers

    It's basically an advanced pedometer, yeah. Different models have different capabilities, but they all track steps (and relative speed - it can see a difference between a leisurely walk, a brisk walk, a jog, and a sprint), most track flights of stairs climbed (10 foot change in elevation, so a hike will add to this), most track sleep if you want it to, overall activity level, and an estimate of calories burned so far based on your BMR + the activities mentioned above.

    Basically it's a great way to capture your TDEE if you're having difficulty figuring out what it is. It also sets goals for you (10k steps a day, 10 flights of stairs a day, whatever) which some people - myself included - find motivating enough to seriously boost their TDEE. You get badges for milestones reached, and there's a social aspect - if you have friends that have Fitbits you can compete with them to have the highest weekly step total. (This has been VERY motivational for me).

    It syncs with MFP so you can log your meals (and activity the Fitbit can't or won't track, like swimming) here, and they will get pushed over to your Fitbit account.

    I have a One and the MFP + Fitbit combination is what finally made the nutrition part of weightloss click for me. A friend of mine (who had been using MFP for a month or two) bought a Fitbit on my recommendation, and he's about to hit 80 lbs lost.

    Great explanation thanks.

    So I assume people using a Fitbit along with the MFP calories calculations have to set their activity level as Sedentary as the Fitbit will then factor in every movement you make (within reason, i'd be impressed if it counted the amount of time I spent picking my nose!)

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