FitBit... should I?

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khol1
khol1 Posts: 100 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey, so... Im thinking about getting the FitBit Flex for my birthday (which isn't till July :(). I was wondering if anyone else has one and if they are any good?

I don't want to pay a lot of money for something that isn't very good, I've had a look on their website, and the Flex would suit me down to the ground! :)
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Replies

  • pittjenn
    pittjenn Posts: 247 Member
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    I have the Flex and my new Charge HR will be arrive on Saturday! The tracker really motivates me - I thought I was an "active" person because I fit in 30 min of exercise most days...getting a fitbit showed me that was pretty much the ONLY time I moved during the day. When I'm at work, I am motionless. So it's really helped get me up and moving more frequently, and I'm hitting my 10,000 steps (5 miles) goal most days.
  • RunsForFood
    RunsForFood Posts: 110 Member
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    I loved my Fitbit Flex! It was really motivating to get up more during the work day to get my steps in. I liked the sleep tracker as well.
    Unfortunately, after a year it pretty much just died. Stopped holding a charge for more than half a day, then just quit altogether :/ I've thought about getting another one, but I'm not sure I want to pay again if it's only going to last a year!
  • khol1
    khol1 Posts: 100 Member
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    pittjenn wrote: »
    I have the Flex and my new Charge HR will be arrive on Saturday! The tracker really motivates me - I thought I was an "active" person because I fit in 30 min of exercise most days...getting a fitbit showed me that was pretty much the ONLY time I moved during the day. When I'm at work, I am motionless. So it's really helped get me up and moving more frequently, and I'm hitting my 10,000 steps (5 miles) goal most days.
    Sorry I'm quite new to this.. whats a Charge HR? I've heard people talking about them..

    I have a desk job, so I really wanted it so I know what i'm actually doing!
  • pittjenn
    pittjenn Posts: 247 Member
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    Oh yes, the silent alarm is one of my favorite things! No more waking the bf up when I get up.

    RunsForFood - did you try the "reset" button? When you have the Flex in the charger, turn it over. There is a little hole on the back. Push a paperclip or earring into that, and you will see lights on the front (I think the middle light is off, and the other 4 are lit). That is a hard reset, and it should charge/work normally after that.

    My issue is the charger for the Flex itself. I think it is VERY poorly designed, and if you google, you will see many people like me that have to do a combination of post its/duct tape/hair ties to get it securly set in the charger so that it will make contact with the ports. They could have just made the cradle a couple mm shorter and avoided this issue.
  • pittjenn
    pittjenn Posts: 247 Member
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    khol1 wrote: »
    pittjenn wrote: »
    I have the Flex and my new Charge HR will be arrive on Saturday! The tracker really motivates me - I thought I was an "active" person because I fit in 30 min of exercise most days...getting a fitbit showed me that was pretty much the ONLY time I moved during the day. When I'm at work, I am motionless. So it's really helped get me up and moving more frequently, and I'm hitting my 10,000 steps (5 miles) goal most days.
    Sorry I'm quite new to this.. whats a Charge HR? I've heard people talking about them..

    I have a desk job, so I really wanted it so I know what i'm actually doing!

    It's the newest model. It tracks steps, stairs climbed, and your heart rate/calorie burn. The Flex will estimate your calorie burn for you, but it's not as accurate as with a HR monitor built in.

  • khol1
    khol1 Posts: 100 Member
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    RunsForFood wrote: »
    I loved my Fitbit Flex! It was really motivating to get up more during the work day to get my steps in. I liked the sleep tracker as well.
    Unfortunately, after a year it pretty much just died. Stopped holding a charge for more than half a day, then just quit altogether :/ I've thought about getting another one, but I'm not sure I want to pay again if it's only going to last a year!

    This is what worries me, for something which is technically non-essential, I do want something which is going to last. I don't think the Charge HR is for me, I want something discreet I can wear all the time and it looks quite bulky, i'm happy with an estimate - better than what i have at the minute!
  • belle_reve9
    belle_reve9 Posts: 1,099 Member
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    I love mine!!
  • dolaflec
    dolaflec Posts: 3 Member
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    pittjenn wrote: »
    I have the Flex and my new Charge HR will be arrive on Saturday! The tracker really motivates me - I thought I was an "active" person because I fit in 30 min of exercise most days...getting a fitbit showed me that was pretty much the ONLY time I moved during the day. When I'm at work, I am motionless. So it's really helped get me up and moving more frequently, and I'm hitting my 10,000 steps (5 miles) goal most days.

    I am in the same boat. I just got the FitBit Flex and it has been helping motivate me to get off my butt more at work (desk job)
  • Fatbuster205
    Fatbuster205 Posts: 333 Member
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    Ditto! I love mine and it is nicely motivating! I have the flex and I also got a load of diffferent coloured bracelets with it to coordinate with outfits! I got mine on Amazon and saved a few pennies.
  • janerfitnesspal145
    janerfitnesspal145 Posts: 55 Member
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    My husband got me the Fitbit Charge (for Christmas and I love it. I agree that seeing how much you move (or don't move!) during the day is a huge motivator to get moving. Now I'm trying to take a five minute break every hour or two just to get up and walk around. We're going to get the hubby the Fitbit Charge HR ('cause he wants the heart rate monitor, plus I think the watch band type closure will work better for him, and it's only $20 more than the Charge).
  • xXBabyBelleXx
    xXBabyBelleXx Posts: 110 Member
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    I have a Fitbit Charge and love it ! Makes MFP so much easier to use :-)
  • palwithme
    palwithme Posts: 860 Member
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    How accurate is the HR / calories burned feature on the fitbit? Does anyone know?
  • reneesmith1974
    reneesmith1974 Posts: 5
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    Does anyone have the Fitbit Zip? I think I would like this one because it doesn't have to be on my wrist...
  • usflygirl55
    usflygirl55 Posts: 277 Member
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    khol1 wrote: »
    RunsForFood wrote: »
    I loved my Fitbit Flex! It was really motivating to get up more during the work day to get my steps in. I liked the sleep tracker as well.
    Unfortunately, after a year it pretty much just died. Stopped holding a charge for more than half a day, then just quit altogether :/ I've thought about getting another one, but I'm not sure I want to pay again if it's only going to last a year!

    This is what worries me, for something which is technically non-essential, I do want something which is going to last. I don't think the Charge HR is for me, I want something discreet I can wear all the time and it looks quite bulky, i'm happy with an estimate - better than what i have at the minute!

    I have to say that if this happens contact Fitbit customer support. They are fantastic! Plus they do come with warranties. My Fitbit Ultra (no longer in production) got water damage and would not work. I contacted customer support via e-mail and got a response almost immediately and they asked a few questions and then sent a replacement out the next day.
    Fitbit fan here!
  • StaceyJ2008
    StaceyJ2008 Posts: 411 Member
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    the new charge hr is awesome
  • RunsForFood
    RunsForFood Posts: 110 Member
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    pittjenn wrote: »
    Oh yes, the silent alarm is one of my favorite things! No more waking the bf up when I get up.

    RunsForFood - did you try the "reset" button? When you have the Flex in the charger, turn it over. There is a little hole on the back. Push a paperclip or earring into that, and you will see lights on the front (I think the middle light is off, and the other 4 are lit). That is a hard reset, and it should charge/work normally after that..

    I haven't tried that, I will check it out. Thank you!!!
  • StaceyJ2008
    StaceyJ2008 Posts: 411 Member
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    the charge hr is small, the surge is the big one.
  • janerfitnesspal145
    janerfitnesspal145 Posts: 55 Member
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    palwithme wrote: »
    How accurate is the HR / calories burned feature on the fitbit? Does anyone know?

    From what I can tell by what I've read, it calculates calories based on your BMR (when you setup online, you key age, height, weight). At any rate, it has to be more accurate than me trying to figure out how fast I'm walking, keeping track of my distance, then manually figuring.

  • malonefit
    malonefit Posts: 1 Member
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    khol1 wrote: »
    Hey, so... Im thinking about getting the FitBit Flex for my birthday (which isn't till July :(). I was wondering if anyone else has one and if they are any good?

    I don't want to pay a lot of money for something that isn't very good, I've had a look on their website, and the Flex would suit me down to the ground! :)

    I love mine (flex). Very easy to use; syncs with Myfitnesspal very easily, and syncs with the Virgin Health Miles we use at work. I only have to record my steps in one place and get points for all the programs I am setup with. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the alarm feature on the fitbit; I use it for many things! I love that it vibrates on my arm when I reach 10,000 daily steps; it pushes me to walk more.
  • Th3Ph03n1x
    Th3Ph03n1x Posts: 275 Member
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    khol1 wrote: »
    RunsForFood wrote: »
    I loved my Fitbit Flex! It was really motivating to get up more during the work day to get my steps in. I liked the sleep tracker as well.
    Unfortunately, after a year it pretty much just died. Stopped holding a charge for more than half a day, then just quit altogether :/ I've thought about getting another one, but I'm not sure I want to pay again if it's only going to last a year!

    This is what worries me, for something which is technically non-essential, I do want something which is going to last. I don't think the Charge HR is for me, I want something discreet I can wear all the time and it looks quite bulky, i'm happy with an estimate - better than what i have at the minute!

    If you buy it get it off amazon and purchase the service agreement. Then if it does have issues within a year or so you're covered. I believe the service agreement is two years for about $8.00.

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