Are fitbits worth the money?

Personally I don't see much point if one trains anyway, they're fine if the motivation is to build in activity to daily life and don't want to supplement that with actual phys.

There'll be loads of people along with "i've got one and it's greeeaaatttt", but as you're already running and doing yoga it probably won't add much.

I prefer a simple step counter. It is not too expensive and it keeps me moving. And when I loose, damage or drown it, I am not too concerned about the cost

For simply counting your steps, I recommend a plain ole pedometer. The bells and whistles (and $$$) of a fitbit just sync it to other devices/the internet.

A quick search of amazon found this. It's $16 with 4 stars and 21 reviews. : http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Scientific-Digital-Pedometer-Calorie/dp/B000UVA69O/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1403092966&sr=1-5&keywords=digital+pedometer

Not in my opinion. I gave mine to my sister.

I have a fitbit one, paid over 80 dollars and don't think it's worth it. I bought my son in law a fitbit zip... much cheaper version. I think it was 59.00 I do wear mine every day. You can get a pedometer much cheaper and some of them have the calorie burn too. I'd like to have a heartrate monitor myself. But they're expensive too. Syncing on MFP is confusing also.

Worth every penny. Mine has given me the motivation I needed.

Plus it syncs to MFP automatically which just makes life so much easier.

Without it, I wouldn't be where I am now, it's as simple as that.

I just got mine yesterday still trying to figure it out. My though is if it motivates me it is worth it. I have had step counters that clip on my pants but they dont work for me as office job dress or kid on my hip they go crashing down. We will see. love how connects with MFP.

I have a polar loop which for the last two months sat on the floor of my passenger seat in my car. I walk 2.4 miles a day and run at least 6 miles a day (average) so I didn't find it useful. if you live a sedentary life then it would help to know you haven't been active enough. but if you are active it will just tell you that you are active but you know that because you are already doing it.

i think the fitbit is cool to compete with friends to see who is living a more active lifestyle but I had no friends on polar flow so there was no one to compete with so I just took it off. I wear too much on my wrist already (garmin and my ipod nano and road ID braclet)

I really enjoy using my fitbit flex. I'm a numbers girl and although IIFYM gave me an average daily burn, I was thrilled to see that fitbit matched up with that average daily burn and that I was eating the right amount of calories for my goals. I'm also an avid hiker, and I hike hours upon hours when I hike. Using my cell phone is not practical. The gps that the apps use just kills my battery and I could be left stranded and in a bad situation. My fitbit flex stays charged for 5 days, so I can hike a 14,000 foot mountain, camp in the hills and hike another a day or two later and still get all my data when I get home, leaving my cell phone for it's intended usage. I have had mine since January and have never once lost it. The one day I accidentally left it at home I felt bereft the whole day without it, lol.

I also had no idea how active I was at work. I am now trying to mimic that activity when I am off in the summer.

I'm also getting some pretty good data on my sleep cycles. I'm figuring out how restless I am most nights while I'm sleeping and seeing my longest periods of good sleep. Doing some adjustments on what I eat before bed, when I go to bed, etc. has seemed to improve my sleep quality over time.

I bought the Fitbit Flex for US $95 after I'd lost 10 lbs. as a reward. I've never once had second thoughts about it. Since then I've lost an additional 17.5 lbs. using it in conjunction with MFP.

I have learned some things since getting the Fitbit. I had MFP set to active, because I felt like I was always on the move. Using my stats, it put me at 2800 calories burned a day. I would then log my workouts, which MFP over-inflated as well. Since then, I learned that while I do burn 2800 calories some days, I don't burn that every day. I've since adjusted MFP down to my barebones calorie burn, something that I would burn if I had an average day at home of getting up, making food, doing some light household activity, etc. I let my fitbit add in the rest as a positive adjustment. That way, if I don't get up and moving one day because it's my rest day, I'm getting more accurate information about my deficits. I like that. I'm a numbers girl. And while I understand that MFP and Fitbit can be inaccurate, I figure that if I am 200 calories under or over, it's better than knowing nothing at all. Now I tend to eat a tiny bit less than my goal for the day, just in case I didn't log something accurately, and I underestimate my burns by a little. It seems to be working for me and I am a very satisfied customer!

Just a slight note on the pedometers. I lose them. All the time. Or the batteries die and it's hell to find a new battery that fits. My SIL gave my daughter one for our hike the other day. My fitbit was on my wrist and she put the pedometer on her waist. We hiked together stride for stride and my numbers matched hers. We stopped for lunch and she sat on a rock and her pedometer came loose from her waistband and promptly took a swim down a waterfall, never to be retrieved.

No pedometer I ever owned could sync to MFP, or give me sleep data and it's own website full of great data such as weekly emails that tell me my calories in vs. calories out for the week, steps taken, etc. And if there is now one, I would probably lose it on a hike, lol. I'm very happy that I took the plunge and bought the Fitbit. My next indulgence when I lose another 2.5 lbs for a 30 lb. loss is to purchase a 3 pack of wristbands to change the color of my fitbit. :happy:

I had a fitbit zip and I liked it. I bought it for the motivation to be more active during my work day since I sit at a desk from 9-5. I upgraded to the fitbit one because I wanted to start tracking my sleeping patterns after several weeks of waking up lethargic.

If you just want a number, pedometer or app on your phone work just as well for way less. If you wanted to have that motivation, I'd say get it.