Fitbit

I have a FitBit and I love it. I have the One, but I would love to get a Flex eventually. I think it helps because it keeps you motivated as far as making sure you get your steps in every day.

I have the Fitbit One. I didn't want the Flex mostly for fashion reasons - what happens when I don't want to wear it in 6 month's time? But that's just me.

To be honest, within about 2 weeks I was ready to return it. I'd heard people saying how motivating it was, that it made them work harder to get to that magical 10K steps a day. For me? Not so much. Which is strange because I tend to be fairly competitive and have been known to stay up into the wee hours of the morning to beat my own score in some video games. But I stuck it out and I've found it to be useful.

I don't use it to get my TDEE or to count calories, I don't eat back my exercise calories, so I don't link it to MFP. What it does do for me is keep me mindful, and that's huge for me. I don't get obsessive about reaching the magical 10K steps number but if I get lazy and don't want to go the the gym I check in with the Fitbit and if I've gone 8K steps I feel like I can take a day off. But if I've only gone 5K steps then I need to get my butt to the gym.

So, for me, it's not so much as a motivator but way to keep track of my daily activity level.

I use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor when I do intentional cardio exercise, and I also use a simple iPhone app as a pedometer.


If I were just starting, I'd look into the Polar Loop. It supposedly does what the Fitbit does to monitor your daily steps, but also acts as an HRM.

I have the Fitbit One and I absolutely love it.

I use it for maintenance and the calories are spot on, I have maintained without hitch and it is a great motivator.

I would get the Force over the Flex.

Thanks all - I will check into Fitbit flex, fitbit one and Polar Loop

I just ordered Fitbit One, should have it the end of the week. One thing I read in a review here (search MFP for reviews) is that the ones you wear on your wrist aren't as accurate as the One if you use your hands / arms a lot bc it reads your arm movements as steps. Also, you can't "read" your progress on the wrist models if I remember correctly.

I just got the Fitbit Force at the beginning of January and love it! It's not a magic button, of course, but it makes me far more mindful of my activity level during the day. (I log "actual" exercise on MyFitnessPal and have a HRM to track the actual burn there.) It ensures that I walk around a bit more if I'm having a mostly sit at the desk day at work, that I take the stairs more, etc. It basically helped switch around my brain to teach me how little bits of movement throughout the day will add up in additional to my actual cardio and strength workouts. I like having graphs and trends, enjoy tracking my sleep, and like how discreet it is. (I guess if the bracelet isn't to your fashion sense it could get in the way for some people, but it's small and black and just not that noticeable on me.)

My mom got one for Christmas (Fitbit Zip) which means that we can encourage one another, which is nice.

I have the FitBit One and I love it! Plus it synchs with MFP and adds my exercise calories.

I had a fitbit and loved it. Note I said "had" I went through 4 of the things in a little over a year. They just randomly stopped working. Then when I contacted the company to get a replacement they kept trying to tell me how to fix it instead of just sending a replacement. After the 4th one quit working, I decided I was done with FitBit.

I'm a HUGE Fitbit fan ... I've had mine for over three years and really am addicted to my Fitbit feedback. We are a Fitbit family as well (two of my boys, my parents, three brothers and three SILs) ... that said I bought the Zip for hubby and it didn't take.

I did a pretty comprehensive post about the Fitbit on my blog (the features, what to expect, the different types) ...
http://jenbsjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/wondering-about-fitbit.html

We have every kind of Fitbit in the family ... it just depends on what you want and what you are comfortable with (are you ok with wearing it on your wrist, do you feel you would lose/wash a clip-on, do you want immediate feedback, stair counting, sleep tracking? What's your price point?)

I really do recommend the Fitbit - it's great for all-day feedback. I've found it quite accurate with most types of activity (I'll wear a HRM and compare those stats to my machine and the Fitbit estimates). It's NOT a magic bullet, it won't "make you lose weight" but it is a valuable tracking tool and it can be very motivating as well!

Good luck!

I have a Fitbit ONE and I LOVE it.. its nice be be able to set goals ( IE 10K steps for the day , etc) and be able to track them reasonably well

I have the fitbit flex and love it. I like knowing where I am at through out the day with my steps and my sleep. I'm a person who loves information of all kind so this is a great tool for me!

I'm using the jawbone and I believe it's similar to the fit it. I absolutely love it.