Fitbit

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does anyone have a fit bit? What kind do you have and what do you love about it? I'm back and forth on whether I want to buy one in 2 weeks or not. I want one that can tell me the calories I'm burning and not just estimating by how many steps I'm taking. I'm beginning to work with a personal trainer tomorrow and that's the main motivation, so that I know what I'm burning when I'm with him.

I'm looking at the Fitbit charge Hr. Does anyone have this?

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  • Th3Ph03n1x
    Th3Ph03n1x Posts: 275 Member
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    I don't have one but looking at the features I'm getting the Charge HR.
  • k2mexox
    k2mexox Posts: 72 Member
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    That's what I'm thinking but I want to find someone who has one before I spend that kind of money.
  • Th3Ph03n1x
    Th3Ph03n1x Posts: 275 Member
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    look for reviews on it also. I'm an avid review shopper.
  • Trailrider1
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    Right now I have a FitBit Zip. I really like it. It synchs with MFP . Then MFP show the calories used that were recorded by the FitBit. But the FitBit dashboard and the phone app both show calories. The Charge HR just came out and started shipping last week. I want the extra features on the Charge HR. I just got an email that my Charge HR has shipped!
  • k2mexox
    k2mexox Posts: 72 Member
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    Awesome. I was thinking of the zip but I think charger might be better. Keep me updated on how you like it!!
  • kpetry1
    kpetry1 Posts: 1 Member
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    Just got a Fit Bit Charge HR today! Very happy with is so far. Did my evening workout and it reported all data as advertised. I think I'm going to like this thing!
  • kellicci
    kellicci Posts: 409 Member
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    I have a Flex. I've had it for over a year.

    Pros
    I like that it is mostly waterproof (but I still take it off to shower)
    I like that you can get different colored bands.
    I like that it give me an idea of what my calories burned in a day are - I know it's not perfect but it's interesting and helpful.
    The blinking lights are just enough to tell me how far I am form my goal without being annoying.
    The Android app is great when I want to see stats (It does drain your battery a bit though)

    Cons
    I don't like that it's not 100% accurate at calorie counts but I don;t think anything is.
    Occasionally the battery will die I get an e-mail telling me it's low, but if I forget it'll just die and it takes a bit to charge so you lose a lot of data that was sometimes.
    It takes 2+ hours to charge so if you're not sitting doing nothing while it changes you lose data.
    If your wrist is stable while walking like when you're pushing a shopping cart or stroller (or sometimes if you're holding onto your purse or carrying a drink) it doesn't count all your steps.

    Overall I like it. For the $$ I think it's a good buy.
  • tinkerette
    tinkerette Posts: 5 Member
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    I have a Charge. Hubby bought me one for Christmas. Still getting use to it. I use a treadmill for my workouts & also use the heart monitoring. I take it off & put in my pocket so it will track my steps better since I'm not moving my arms. I have an IPhone 6 & the Health app in the other pocket, they track about the same, maybe a 100-200 steps different. I did a walk around the neighborhood today instead of doing the treadmill & for some reason the Charge says I did 7 stair levels. Not sure why. Yes, there were some hills and maybe that's what it was counting.
  • HardyGirl4Ever
    HardyGirl4Ever Posts: 1,017 Member
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    The Fitbit site told me that the Charge HR hasn't come out yet. I gave them my email so that I can be notified when it comes out. I'm dying to get it. But I think you'll have to wait a bit longer to find someone who has one who has used it long enough to tell you if it's good or not...

    I've had different fitbits over the years and I like them. They keep coming out with new better ones.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
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    I have a Fitbit One, I have it sync with MFP so I do get non-workout calories for steps and since I sit all day at a desk pretty much most of my steps are pre-planned workout steps. I like the One because it can be hidden, the wrist type doesn't fit my style and as for the HR function I would also have to read some reviews about that.

    It definitely helps keep you active, after looking at my steps in December, I am challenging myself to get 200 miles for January already have 159.68 miles.
  • jocooper43016
    jocooper43016 Posts: 13 Member
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    My wife has had her Charge HR for about a week now. Seems to work well, no complaints. Heart Rate monitor is consistent with her results from Polar FT4. Battery charge lasts 4-5 days.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    I have had my Zip for about 2 years now. It's the cheapest one and doesn't have all the fancy bells and whistles, but I love it. It's discreet (it's a clip on), it's accurate, and I don't need to worry about charging it.

    The biggest complaint that I have heard about the ones that are worn on the wrist is that they tend to be inaccurate if you are doing an activity where you are not moving your arms (like walking and pushing a stroller) but many people get around it by putting the device in their pocket or ankle.
  • gizy
    gizy Posts: 3 Member
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    I was given a Flex for Christmas. I like it. I use it with the iOS app as well as the website. I like being able to see my progress during the day. A few of things:

    1) I walk for exercise and use Mapmyfitness to track that. I don't use Fitbit to track it.
    2) I sync Fitbit to MyFitnessPal and I sync MyFitnessPal and Mapmyfitness. This means that my steps for the walk I did on Mapmyfitness sync. I can see my steps on Mapmyfitness. I don't have things double-counting.
    3) I have a calendar item to charge my Fitbit every 5 days. I do it while I'm sitting at the computer in the evening. Yes, it takes 2.5+ hours to charge, and I lose data, but not enough to worry me. I don't get the low battery warnings by doing this.
    4) I'm not convinced that the calories from exercise from the Fitbit to Myfitnesspal are accurate. I'm trying hard not to eat these back for that reason. These would be the ones in addition to my walking I do with Mapmyfitness.
    5) I haven't worn a watch consistently for years. Given that, now that I have something on my wrist, I keep looking at it for the time. This was a gift, which I'm grateful for since I'd still be procrastinating on getting one, but given what I know now, I'd probably spend the extra and get a Charge that shows the time.
    6) #5 not withstanding, being able to swap out bands is nice. (I haven't looked to see if you can do that for the Charge.)
    7) Since I use the iOS app, I have bluetooth turned on my phone all the time. I no longer have to remember to turn it on when I get in the car. It's an advantage I didn't expect.

    For what it does, I think it's well-worth the price, especially combined with a mobile app.
  • HardyGirl4Ever
    HardyGirl4Ever Posts: 1,017 Member
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    I try to charge my fitbit flex every 2-3 days so that the battery doesn't get too low and I don't lose any data. My problem is, taking it out of the band to charge it causes the bands to rip. I've had it for a little over a year and I've gone through 8 bands so far.
  • ajanderson84
    ajanderson84 Posts: 24 Member
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    I had a Fitbit flex, force, and now the surge. I love the devices. As stated they're not 100 percent accurate, they are not waterproof, and you do need to remember to charge them... but If you like seeing numbers to help you along I highly encourage the investment. I am by no means a runner... or even a regular gym-goer. However, I was surprised to discover that despite being overweight, I was easily hitting my 10k steps at work each day. This told me that I needed to push a little harder, set goals a little higher, and totally take a long hard look at my diet.

    The other benefits besides being encouraged by numbers is that there are social features, challenges, badges (another big motivator for me, since I love achievements) and data over time to look at. I chose the Surge because I generally get my exercise from elliptical, bike, and weights as opposed to just steps. I also wanted to not have to wear a heartrate monitor seperately from my Fitbit.

    Hope that helps, and good luck.
  • k2mexox
    k2mexox Posts: 72 Member
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    I had a Fitbit flex, force, and now the surge. I love the devices. As stated they're not 100 percent accurate, they are not waterproof, and you do need to remember to charge them... but If you like seeing numbers to help you along I highly encourage the investment. I am by no means a runner... or even a regular gym-goer. However, I was surprised to discover that despite being overweight, I was easily hitting my 10k steps at work each day. This told me that I needed to push a little harder, set goals a little higher, and totally take a long hard look at my diet.

    The other benefits besides being encouraged by numbers is that there are social features, challenges, badges (another big motivator for me, since I love achievements) and data over time to look at. I chose the Surge because I generally get my exercise from elliptical, bike, and weights as opposed to just steps. I also wanted to not have to wear a heartrate monitor seperately from my Fitbit.

    Hope that helps, and good luck.


    How does the flex work with your activities or elliptical and weights? Does it do heart rate? Do you find it to be somewhat accurate?
  • ajanderson84
    ajanderson84 Posts: 24 Member
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    The flex did not do those things, which is why I upgraded to the Surge. The device is preprogrammed to recongize several different workouts including elliptical and weights. It also does heartrate 24/7 if you wish, or only during workouts if that is your preference. There is also a GPS feature, but I don't use it as I'm not an outdoor runner. I find the heartrate to be fairly accurate for me. There were some complaints early on that it wasn't... but fitbit released an update to correct that. However, I do not actually eat back the calories burned, so truly, I personally only use it for informations sake.
  • k2mexox
    k2mexox Posts: 72 Member
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    It looks awesome but it's way out of my price range =[
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    I find the fitbit flex too unreliable with the step count. I know for a fact that it counts steps when I am sitting down.