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MyFitnessPal Community

Thinking of buying a Fitbit

Redgal56

Thinking of buying a fitbit. Any advice?

Replies

newhealthykim

Go get one

. If you want more specific advice, please be more specific.

ambrosia79

I have the fitbit one. I hear it's much more accurate than the flex because using your hands for anything else can cause it to register steps. In the two weeks I have owned mine, I have found that it definitely motivates me to get more steps in. I easily hit 10,000 when I workout, but on days I don't run, I tend to fall under 10,000. If you have friends who also have a fitbit, you can friend them online and compete for the most weekly steps. I just wish I could get a heart rate monitor with it.

dougii

I have been enjoying my Flex for over a month now, so my recommendation is to get one.

CM9178

I have the Fitbit one and I love it, but it depends what you are looking to use it for. Remember, it does NOT Measure calories burned for any exercise, unless it is step based (walking/running). If you want to measure calories burned for other exercise, then you need an HRM. The fitbit is basically just a pedometer, it will tell you how many steps you took and how many calories you burned for the day, but those numbers are based off calculations based on your height, age, sex, etc so they are still estimates (although they are pretty good).
It doesn't know the difference between you sitting or standing, and you burn more calories standing. It doesn't know if you are standing up lifting things or doing something. It just knows if you are walking or not walking.
It also doesn't know the difference between driving and walking, which I've found to be a pain. You have to manually log the driving to override any steps it may record (not everybody has this problem, but I drive 20 minutes to work and it has been known to log over 200 steps while I'm driving).

sbenner17

Wait until the new ones come out. There are suppose to be two waves of new ones- a replacement of the Force and then a "Daddy" of trackers, that combine the Force with a GPS tracker.

Redgal56

Thanks everyone!

jacksonpt

Just make sure you understand what it does and how it does it so that you have reasonable/appropriate expectations for it.

TeaBea

newhealthykim wrote: »

Go get one . If you want more specific advice, please be more specific.

This^

I have a FitBit One. I use it to help calculate my maintenance calories. It tracks my sleep, it tracks stairs climbed, it tracks my steps, it tracks active minutes. Because my cardio workouts are step based, the calorie burn estimates aren't too bad. It syncs with My Fitness Pal and the website is fee-free.

If you're looking for exactly this....it's a good purchase.

HRMs do a better job estimating calorie burns for steady state cardio (bike, elliptical, running).....but other forms of exercise....not so much.

jnord8729

I have had a fitbit one for probably 2 years now. I love it. I prefer it over the flex because I can keep it in my pocket rather than wear a bracelet. Plus I hear it's more accurate.

Raynne413

Yeah, you might want to wait for the new one. I switched to a Vivosmart because I wanted a wrist band, and it syncs with heart rate monitors, But I'll probably switch back once the one bands come out. I'm curious as to how accurate the continuous heart rate monitoring will be, though.

annaskiski

Microsoft and Apple are both coming out with watches that are heart rate monitors. Microsoft's supposed to release soon. Maybe wait a bit....

Zx14chick

It really depends on what you intend to use it for. I bought the Flex because it's waterproof (that was important to after washing my previous pedometer) and my company uses a service that pays us for our steps we take! I have already earned $150 and will come really close (if I don't hit it by December 4th) to earning another $100! I also have a heart rate monitor to track my calorie burn during runs (Fitbit calorie burn is typically estimated much lower than my HRM says I have burned) and other workouts. Figure out what's tracking is important to you and go from there, read reviews, etc.

Raynne413

annaskiski wrote: »

Microsoft and Apple are both coming out with watches that are heart rate monitors. Microsoft's supposed to release soon. Maybe wait a bit....

Yeah. I am really curious about Microsoft's and FitBit's Big Daddy Band. LOL I think the main deciding factor for me will be if the Microsoft is going to be waterproof, as well as the price of each.

EvelineUK

What are your reasons for getting a fitness tracker?

I've got a Garmin Vivofit and love it. I love that you can see your results on the screen rather than have to plug it in, it takes a watch battery so it will last for about a year without having charge it every day or every few days, it's waterproof so it's OK if you leave it on in the shower or sweat a lot (heh...) and you could even leave it on swimming, it doubles as a watch, and with the chest strap HRM I feel the calories burned are pretty accurate.

I like that you can buy different coloured straps for it so you can change it up to match whatever outfit you're wearing. Not hugely important maybe, but a plus in my book.

Do your own research on all trackers available and pick one that suits your needs and your lifestyle.