FITBIT?? yes or no?

As a stock holder I say YES!

Seriously though. I see a lot of people on here that love their fitbit devices. I have also seen a few posts by people unhappy because their device quit working rather quickly after purchase.

I personally don't use one. I have enough other ways of counting steps with either my smartphone (runkeeper) or iPod (Nike Fitness) that I don't see a need to add another gadget.

What are you looking at the Fitbit doing for you? Does it tie well into other electronic devices you use and will it help motivate you to move? If it will help you succeed in your goals, by all means do it!

If you just think it will help you, maybe, then maybe you should look at some other options first.

Good luck with your choices and meeting your goals.

I am waiting patiently for my fitbit flex to arrive today :happy: I know people that are really happy with theirs

Love my little green booger.



It keeps me motivated and gives me that extra little nudge I need. I have no complaints other than its so light that I sometimes forget I wear it and dump it in the hamper sending me into panic mode the next morning.

I am looking to upgrade to the flex next.

I have one. I have also had a Zip and my husband has a One. We both love our fitbits. I will say that the models (zip & one) which are worn on your torso are more accurate than the Flex, but that is to be expected since the flex is worn on your wrist.

Now the question is what are you expecting it to do?
They are great at tracking stepped based activities, but anything else has to be manually logged. Now if you manually log activities that aren't stepped based, it can give you a pretty good estimate of your daily TDEE. It's also good for judging how active you are outside of exercise. Overall though it is an expensive pedometer that has a few extra features that cheaper pedometers don't have.

I think it depends on what you want. I ended up w/the Polar FT7 b/c I wanted to track calories burned ONLY during workouts... not throughout the day - or while sleeping for that matter.

I have a Fitbit Flex that was provided by my work. I don't love it. It's SHOCKINGLY inaccurate. Yesterday it says I walked 3.5 miles or close to 8000 steps. Actually yesterday was one of my most sedentary days recently - the only place I walked was a few blocks with the dog - MAYBE a mile total, if you include going from home to the car to work.

I assume that FitBit counted all my workout reps as "steps," which seems fairly pointless.

The first day I had it I went to an event. Fitbit went to sleep every time I applauded. Annoying.

If you are a totally sedentary person, I can see how these devices might make you move more. But the GPS on your phone can do it too, and that is at least *a little* accurate (and does a million other things).

I'm going to keep in on for a few more weeks and see if it grows on me. But after a week with this pointless thing on my wrist, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who already works out, or runs, or walks, or even moves occasionally.

I got a Fitbit One about a month ago and to me it was really worth it. As others have said, it is a great tool for motivation. It made me more aware of the activity I do (or don't do) outside of scheduled workouts.

Initially I wanted a wrist band but I'm glad I went with the clip. From what I've read it is more accurate, and I like the fact that it is more discreet; people don't see it all the time. Plus it has a display so I can check my progress any time.

I have the Fitbit Flex, and I love mine. I've got it set to sync with my Android smartphone, and I find myself driven to get the categories (steps, distance, active minutes) in the "green" every day (currently set at 10,000 steps, 5 miles walked, and 30 very active minutes). I've also convinced a couple of co-workers to get one...it's helped jump start their exercise, and my wife now has one as well.

They do have their problems...if you mow yards with one it tends to be very inaccurate. I know that GPS is certainly more accurate than the Fitbit as far as distance goes, but I've run my GPS alongside of my Fitbit and found that my Fitbit under reports distance. However, your mileage may vary. What I do suggest is that if you have a course that you walk (or several courses), go ahead and map them out using GPS (Mapmywalk or some other program) so that you know the true distance. Having come from a very sedentary lifestyle (desk job), it has been a godsend in motivating me to get off my butt and put asphalt under my feet.

It's also been suggested on the Fitbit forums to keep it in your pocket if you suspect that it is too sensitive, or wear it on your ankle.

I looked at fitbit and it seemed to be a way to try and gain extra calories from stuff that is already taken into account in your daily routine. I am now looking at HRMs for a more accurate view on my burn and I will only use it when I am actually exercising and genuinely burning extra calories.

If someone can convince me on fitbit I would still consider it.

The Fitbit, when synced with MFP, takes into account what you set your activity level at. So if you're set for "lightly active," your Fitbit will NOT give you extra calories to eat just from your normal walking around that you might do on your job... but will give you extra calories for exercising, like going on a run. If you're set for "very active," then it's actually really hard to get your Fitbit to give you any extra calories to eat, and more likely that your Fitbit will take away calories (if you have negative calories enabled) if you're not actually being "very active" every day.

So what I've done is set my activity level on MFP to sedentary (since I do work a desk job most of the time and have to make a conscious effort to get steps in). On days where I really am sedentary, I get no added calories from my Fitbit. But days when I make sure I'm moving around a lot, when I go for walks or on a run, I do get added calories from my Fitbit. So what I really love is that it's like getting a personalized activity level setting *every single day.*

I've had a fitbit zip since Dec 2013... it's really addictive and great motivator!

Not 100% sure of it's accuracy - guessing it's not to far out but it certainly is a great way of keeping track of how much movement you are putting into a day and trying to nail that 10K-a-day target!

Also if you can find any other fitbit'ers add them as friends as this makes the whole thing much more fun and adds a little element of harmless competition and banter into the mix!!

Any fellow fitbit'ers feel free to add me BTW always could do with some more fitbit buddies!

(username is CypherQ as here).

My wife has the Fitbit (which she likes). I waited about six months for her to try it out and then deduced to look into getting one myself. After much hunting I steeled on the Garmin Vivofit. It does everything plus more that the Fitbit does.

1. I like that it has a heart rate monitor which I use daily.
2. I like that it displays the time and date so that you can use it as a watch.
3. I like that it displays the total steps (not just 4 blinking lights to show progress as my wife's does)
4. It ALS shows the steps need to reach goal
5. I like the activity bar which comes up telling you if you haven't moved in the past hour.
6. But most of all I love the fact that it has a one year battery and doesn't have to be charged every few days as hers does.

All the other features seem to be the same.

Hope this helps!

How much did the Garmin cost?

I bought the fitbit zip three weeks ago, and I love it. It motivates me to move a lot more. My friends and I compete with each other to get the highest 7 day step count. I've stopped taking the elevator at my apartment building and instead take the stairs (up 5 floors!). If you want it as a motivating tool, and to see how much activity you do on a daily basis, I highly recommend it. Also, if you plan on walking or jogging/running for fitness its great. It isn't so good at tracking other exercise activities though.

Love my little green booger.



It keeps me motivated and gives me that extra little nudge I need. I have no complaints other than its so light that I sometimes forget I wear it and dump it in the hamper sending me into panic mode the next morning.

I am looking to upgrade to the flex next.

I like the FitBit Zip....it is a synchronized pedometer and activity tracker. It works well with My Fitness Pal. It automatically syncs to my Iphone and computer at home. Battery only has to be replaced every 6 months...no need to charge.

If you're into losing weight and you like electronic gadgets, why not?

It's completely unnecessary, of course. But if you want one, the answer has to be Yes.