Thinking about getting a Fitbit...input appreciated

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soccerkon26
soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am thinking about getting a Fitbit so I know how accurate I am throughout my normal day (desk job, gym, etc)

Which Fitbit do you have?
Do you think it gives you an accurate calorie burn?
What is it not able to count steps on? (I.e. I heard it isn't able to count steps on a stair master because you aren't moving your arms)

I was thinking about getting a HRM because I heard it's an accurate calorie burn, but I don't really care about where my heart rate is at. I'd love your input :)

Replies

  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I have a fitbit One. A couple of years ago I had the original fitbit. I have found the fitbit and its website the single most useful device I have ever used to assist in tracking calories for weight loss. For me at least, it is uncannily accurate.
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    scottb81 wrote: »
    I have a fitbit One. A couple of years ago I had the original fitbit. I have found the fitbit and its website the single most useful device I have ever used to assist in tracking calories for weight loss. For me at least, it is uncannily accurate.

    That's great to hear! :)
  • DaddyOf3Gs
    DaddyOf3Gs Posts: 6 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I have the Fitbit Charge HR and I find it very helpful and motivating. It seems to help me mentally with the restrictions of counting calories as when synced to MFP it will adjust accordingly, letting me add more healthy foods to my diet and I don't feel hungry all the time. I feel as it has helped myself and my wife as when we see low numbers we get moving more. I personally think it was a good investment towards my healthier lifestyle journey and haven't had any issues with mine yet.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I have the FitBit One - it was a pretty good investment. It really opened my eyes as to how little I moved everyday (I always assumed I was at least above average).

    The only downside for me....it's so small that I washed it once! It works fine now...but I think I got lucky.

    Here's a link to the group, lots more information there: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    Thank you so much! :)
  • dagost17
    dagost17 Posts: 55 Member
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    I have the Flex and I don't really find it to be accurate. I woke up and laid on the couch and it said I went 30 steps!! I bike six miles and it doesn't take that into account. I wanted it and got it as a gift. I don't know if I'd pay the $100 myself.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I have the One, also. I've had it for 2.5 years and it's survived a lot although I haven't washed it... yet. The advantage of the One over the Fitbits you wear on your wrist is that it's more accurate. It will measure steps on a stairmaster, for one, although it won't measure it as floors climbed since you aren't actually moving upwards.

    I recently looked at getting one of the newer Fitbits, like the Surge, but decided I didn't want to be tied down to having to wear it on my wrist every single day. I wear the One clipped to the middle of my bra and it works perfectly there.

    I honestly don't pay much attention to the actual calorie burn I get from the Fitbit site. I have it synced to MFP so the only thing I'm interested in are the extra calories I earn during the day that the Fitbit transfers over to MFP.
  • Keladelphia
    Keladelphia Posts: 820 Member
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    I have a Charge HR. I really don't trust the calorie burn/HRM, sometimes it tells me I burn more calories from silly things like walking from the parking lot into work then in a serious crossfit session. I do trust the steps and like looking at how I sleep. I think its a fun little gadget but i'll probably buy a more accurate HRM.
  • Whitty1982
    Whitty1982 Posts: 30 Member
    edited April 2015
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    My wife and I just upgraded to the Fitbit Charge HR because they became too big!
    Good problem to have! We have both lost 30-40 lbs each since November last year and the tracker combined with MFP has been great to keep us moving towards our goals.

    The Charge HR is much more accurate than the Charge without the heart rate monitor and adjusts well with MFP - just be sure to hold the button to start and end the timer during workouts and it will adjust on MFP when you document your workouts.

    I tested the accuracy against the HR monitors at the gym and even tried "tricking" the step counter and it didn't go up during my attempts to throw it off with daily desk tasks.

    I'm extremely skeptical but so far the Charge HR has been awesome. We'll see how it pans out on the scale and how the clothes fit with the more accurate readings. I think with the old one I wasn't consuming enough calories to keep my metabolism up.
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
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    I HAD a Fitbit flex. I found it to be so inaccurate that I just tossed it in the trash. You are correct that it doesn't measure steps if you don't move your arms - so shopping, carrying, etc. never registers. I also found that it wasn't accurate on stair count or sleep tracking. To me it was an absolute waste of $100.
  • Kimberly_Harper
    Kimberly_Harper Posts: 406 Member
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    I have the fitbit flex (wrist) and its accurate enough for me although I'm considering getting either a one or a charge hr because it doesn't accurately count my treadmill steps (I have tested it with my iPhone Health app and the steps are waaay off) For regular steps throughout the day, though, it works pretty well. I don't rely 100% on the sleep tracker but I can at least tell if I had a restful night or a restless night and adjust my pre-bedtime rituals accordingly.
  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
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    I love the fitbit (I have the Charge HR) but its not perfect. Its basically a glorified pedometer for me. It seems to only count about half the flights of stairs I climb (it also never counts the flight from the basement coming up to the main floor). Also, it way calculates the daily calories burned - its far to high for me and there is no way to adjust it. The instructions say it will adjust to your body type as you enter your exercise, but I've noticed it only seems to go higher. If I truly burned 3000 calories a day, I would not have a weight problem. My calculations have it nearer 1800. Also, because I wear 24 hours a day and the band is a rubber like material, my skin is getting irritated under the band.

    I do like the sleep pattern that is tracks for me. I always wondered why I was tired even if I slept seven hours. The fitbit shows me that I only sleep about four hours and I am restless or awake during the remaining three. I like the heart rate monitor. Its pretty accurate on the daily steps. Another neat feature is that it buzzes when my phone rings and it lets me know who's calling. It also has an alarm feature - no more sleeping through my alarm with the buzzing on my wrist.

    I would say its a good tool if you don't have high expectations of it.
  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
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    I used to have a One, now I have a Charge HR. On a couple occasions since I got my first Fitbit, I've had to be without it for a few days and I've hated not having it. At first, I just used it to be more aware of how much I moved and to get a more accurate idea of how much I burned during exercise, but I wasn't tracking my food carefully enough to get the maximum benefit. However, I was still losing using a rather relaxed approach to diet.

    More recently, I'd stopped losing, so I decided to get serious about tracking what I eat. Since then, I have compared my predicted weight loss, according to Fitbit's reports of calories burned and calories in (which it gets from MFP) against my actual weight loss and it has been very, very close. That really motivates me to track my food carefully and to find more ways to get moving.

    So yes, it can be a very accurate and useful tool. It isn't good at non-step based exercise - swimming, weight lifting, cycling - so that still needs to be entered manually, but since almost all of my exercise is step based, I rarely need to do that. If you are doing an activity that keeps your steps from being felt at the wrist - pushing a shopping cart or stroller, holding on while using a stair climber, etc. - and you have a wrist worn tracker then it can help to take it off the wrist and put it in a pocket. I do this with my Charge HR when I'm shopping. I'd probably not do that when using a stair climber because my heart rate would be elevated and it would probably be able to detect enough steps to determine that it isn't just stress causing a higher heart rate.

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