Fitness trackers...are they worth it?

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  • dewsmom78
    dewsmom78 Posts: 498 Member
    I bought a BodyMedia arm band after I had my baby so I could figure out how much I burn in a 24 hour period without exercise. Turns out it's right around 2000 per day. So I quite wearing it after about 2 weeks.

    Now I just use my Polar Hear Rate Monitor while exercising and record my exercise using that. I would highly recommend this HRM.
  • SaraBL15
    SaraBL15 Posts: 7 Member
    Same! I LOVE my Jawbone UP. In fact, I've become a bit obsessed about getting in my 10K steps, so it definitely motivates me. Plus, since it tracks sleep (and my length of sleep is horrible), I've been making a concerted effort to GET. MORE. SLEEP. I did a lot of research FitBit vs. Jawbone and Jawbone came out on top. Also, I think it's more attractive than the FitBit ... IMHO. Definitely not a waste of $100. If you go this route, buy it from Jawbone.com directly. Free shipping and if you need to return it for any reason, it's easier than going through Amazon. Good luck!
  • jchurch9
    jchurch9 Posts: 20 Member
    Love love love my Fitbit Flex!! It helps keep me accountable. I have a competitive streak, so adding friends and family turns it into a competition!! By far the best $99.95 i've spent in a long time.
  • TehLaughingDog
    TehLaughingDog Posts: 200 Member
    I have a fitbit one. Personally I really like it mainly for the sleep attribute since I'm a poor sleeper and it really does impact how you feel the next day. Steps are nice also because it really helps you stay in tuned with how active you are on a day to day basis.
  • gspero72
    gspero72 Posts: 16 Member
    My wife and I both have the Fitbit flex, and I know that we both are very happy with them. Is it 100% accurate no, if you move your arm quickly when sitting you will get an extra step, but if when you are walking and your hand is in your pocket, you might lose a step, so in the end it probably averages out. I have my fitbit tied into MFP, and I log all my food and excercise in MFP (but I log the water in Fitbit). I also have the Fitbit scale, so it adds my weight, fat and BMI into fitbit as well.

    I find that because it is on my wrist day in and day out, I hold myself more accountable to my eating healthy goals (generally!!) I use the sleep tracker every night which has helped me to address some of my bad sleeping habits as well!

    Personally I would say it was a good investment for me, its a physical reminder to eat better, get my 10,000 steps in and just being more aware.

    Cheers!
  • rheannaraye
    rheannaraye Posts: 62 Member
    I have a FitBit Flex and I LOVE it!!! I was in some serious denial about how active I really was. I thought I was doing great- and what a kick in the face that was! It helps me to challenge myself, and was something I definitely needed in order to SEE. My average when I began was around 1/2-1 mile per day. now I'm averaging around 3. I'm still working towards bumping it up to 5, but it's hard with a desk job - means I have to be more active in the evening when I'm usually grading papers. (I work for a cyber school). It's been a great tool, though, and is SO helpful! I love that it monitors my sleeping patterns (you manually set it when you go to sleep and have to "wake" it up in the AM). It gives me a full idea of my health -- calories in, vs. calories out, distance walked each day, total sleep time and if it was "restful" sleep, etc.

    Simply put: best $100 I've EVER spent! I haven't taken it off since Christmas except to wash dishes or to shower ;)
  • debsfran
    debsfran Posts: 100 Member
    I had a Fitbit flex. Great little gadget but only for tracking walks/runs. Due to not having a proper clasp there is the risk of losing it, which I did, lucky for me it was lost in the house. If like me you want to track cardio then Polar Ft7 is great. I also use a withings body analyzer for weighing myself.
  • benebabe
    benebabe Posts: 13
    I have two fitbit's and they are really nice. they are small and you can wear it in your bra strap. they are also really cool because you can sync it to your computer and smart phone so you can check your stats all the time.

    My only pitfall and its very specific to me is that I am a derby girl so I skate a LOT and I like/want to track my skating, and the fitbit cant handle that.

    I thought that was a derby shirt I saw in your pic!! I played for 5 years and loved it! I had to stop when I got pregnant and have not been able to get back to it since then. I miss it! I always wondered how many calories I burned during an intense practice :)
  • jtrack3d
    jtrack3d Posts: 91
    I think it isn't necessary, but I have a Flex and it does a few things...
    - It's there like that little reminder.
    - It vibrates when I hit 10,000 steps, yay! I love that pat on the back.
    - It's not really that accurate for anything except maybe running and walking. Other activities makes it hard to know.

    Here is how I use it.
    1. You wear the flex and connect it to MFP.
    2. It keeps a log entry in your diary called "Fitbit calorie adjustment".
    3. If all I did was walk or run, I don't even have to log exercise.. I'll just keep that adjustment as my entry.
    4. If I did something else, like the elliptical with my hands on the handle (not moving and it counts motion), then I log the exact time I exercised.
    5. Since Fitbit knows when you are moving as well as that you are moving, it can carve out the steps it counted during that time frame you logged and replaces it with your "better" estimate.

    Hope that makes sense.

    Do you need one... no.
  • helenarriaza
    helenarriaza Posts: 517 Member
    Fitbit Flex, adore it.
  • NotJustADieter
    NotJustADieter Posts: 229 Member
    I just got a Fitbit Flex and LOVE it- not only does it track my steps but also my sleep, helping me get a more complete picture of my fitness and health
  • HaibaneReki
    HaibaneReki Posts: 373 Member
    I just love my Flex, it's so accurate. Just had a run, Endomondo says 446cals burned, Flex logged 477 (default settings - stride length not set). I guess I don't need to bring my phone with me during my runs :glasses:
  • envysion
    envysion Posts: 2
    I have an UP by Jawbone. I love it. I have fibromyalgia, so it's a great way for me to motivate me to do SOMETHING, even if I'm in too much pain to go to the gym. Every little bit helps.
  • GFielding_56
    GFielding_56 Posts: 76 Member
    I have the Fitbit One - it's excellent - it motivates me to move more - the eating less bit I have to do myself - that's where MFP comes in !

    The two in combination are excellent - I've had the One since a year past December lost over 2 stones and have kept it off - eat normally but walk more than ever before but fitter and healthier than ever.

    If I lost my One - I'd buy another that's how good I think it is
  • ginaquinn2
    ginaquinn2 Posts: 136 Member
    Hi for me they are very worth it. When I started here at my Fitness Pal I was totally a couch potatoso I decided to exercise a little bit but I have no idea how much I actually moved. so for me it's really been worth it I am very self competitive I just love challenging myself I really love how my fitness tracker has helped me to set goals and without it, without the fitness tracker I couldn't see if I was actually meeting my goals. so with fitbit I was able to actually set goals and know that I was meeting them and then I just continue to set my fitness goals higher and higher. I'm glad I bought my Fitbit. It has really has motivated me to improve myself and I've lost weight and am eating better. So if would ask yourself a question will you use the fitness tacker? Are you actually interested in setting goals for yourself? If you answered yes then perhaps it will be worth it to you. Good luck to you hun.
    Be well, Gina :drinker:
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Thank you for this thread.

    I love seeing everyone so thrilled with whatever they have. This makes shopping a lot easier. I feel like I can just go out and buy anything I like the look of and end up very happy.

    Thanks for all the people who responded, it was so helpful.:happy:

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