Is the fit bit or other devices worth the cost?

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  • bradnerj2
    bradnerj2 Posts: 10 Member
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    Wow thanks everyone!!!! In still thinking about what's right for me but I loved hearing about all your experiences and recommendations so thanks!!!
  • cld111
    cld111 Posts: 300 Member
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    I can't speak to the other trackers, but I currently have the fitbit Charge, and I love it! I previously had the One and I thought it was great but it kept falling off, and I finally lost it in a toilet in a rest stop in the middle of PA. So definitely happy with the Charge placed securely on my arm! I did notice that it would count steps when I was doing something mundane like folding clothes. So, I went into the website, and said that I have it on my dominant hand. (I don't, but that makes it less sensitive.) That's how I get around it adding extra steps. Good luck!
  • FitOldMomma
    FitOldMomma Posts: 790 Member
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    Love my Fitbit Flex. $99 at Costco. I'm very motivated to get my daily 10,000 steps. Heck, I'll march or jog in place just to accomplish that before I go to bed. :)
    Only drawback is it isn't meant to go in a pool and I swim 3xs a week. But, I just log that activity here on MFP. My daily activity has improved greatly since I began wearing my Fitbit in early March.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
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    I'm hanging on to my BodyMedia Fit (recommend, if you can find one) while I test the new Jawbone Up3 (do not recommend...pretty sure I'll end up sending it back.)

    It's unfortunate that the BodyMedia isn't made any more, as it really is the very best, top of the line, most accurate tracker. Barring that, the most consistently good reviews I've seen have been from Fitbit Charge HR and Basis Peak. Both have some issues with accuracy, but that's going to be the case with almost any tracker.

    If you swim, consider the Basis, as it's waterproof. If not, just check out the features of both. I've also seen very good things about the Moto 360, if you want to spend the extra money for a true smartwatch, but it also has a much shorter battery life.
  • JennieMaeK
    JennieMaeK Posts: 474 Member
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    I have a Vivofit and love it. I can wear it all the time (swimming, in the shower, etc). The battery lasts about a year. I've worn it since I bought in January and find it helpful to remind me to keep moving.
  • rachael00679
    rachael00679 Posts: 186 Member
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    I bought a Fitbit flex. I wore it for a couple of weeks and now I don't bother. It's ugly. I can't wear it to bed as I find it uncomfortable. I find generally it the novelty of it wore off pretty quickly....and that is what it is, a novelty. If your a gadget person then you might like it. I find my activity levels are consistent during the week and rarely change. My organised exercise is steadily increasing, which is what I aim for (except the last week because iv been unwell). Whether or not I wear a device plays no bearing on whether or not I will get out there and do what I set out to achieve.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
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    I tried the Vivofit and sent it back because it gave me an inactivity warning when I was on my way out of a grocery store where I had just spent 45 minutes walking around pushing a shopping cart. It hadn't recorded a single one of those steps because I wasn't moving my wrist.

    I tried the Polar Loop and sent it back because it recorded steps at times when I was typing or driving.

    I tried the Fitbit Surge and sent it back because it is HUGE and it's so rigid that it was leaving bruises on my wrist.

    I will probably send the Up3 back because Jawbone has not lived up to any of its promises and says they will turn on features in some amorphous future update which may or may not happen. It took them 6 months to ship the preorders past the date when they said they would, so I expect them to take at least that long to finish the freaking software for this beta piece of tripe.
  • amandaturner612
    amandaturner612 Posts: 14 Member
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    YES!
    Check out my post on fitbit here:
    http://smilestrengthstretch.com/2015/05/09/fitbit-flex/
  • amandaturner612
    amandaturner612 Posts: 14 Member
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    rachael00679 wrote: »
    I bought a Fitbit flex. I wore it for a couple of weeks and now I don't bother. It's ugly. I can't wear it to bed as I find it uncomfortable. I find generally it the novelty of it wore off pretty quickly....and that is what it is, a novelty. If your a gadget person then you might like it. I find my activity levels are consistent during the week and rarely change. My organised exercise is steadily increasing, which is what I aim for (except the last week because iv been unwell). Whether or not I wear a device plays no bearing on whether or not I will get out there and do what I set out to achieve.

    That's too bad. I love my flex, I don't even notice it anymore, and when I don't want people to see it, I just take out the tracker and put it in my pocket- keeps working the same way! It's not really a novelty to me, it's helped me steadily increase my movement and lose 15 pounds over the past year.
  • MomTo3Lovez
    MomTo3Lovez Posts: 800 Member
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    wolf39us wrote: »
    I have a Fitbit Surge which is quite large for most people. I would recommend that or the Charge HR. As far as extra steps are concerned, I don't have too many problems with extra steps...I can even wave my hand around and not get extra steps!

    That being said, you can "negate" steps on the dash board by simply adding the activity "Driving" and any steps in the specified time period will simply zero out! I utilize this function a LOT because I drive my motorcycle a lot and it counts about 500-700 extra steps by the time I get home.

    Get out I did not know you can do that to change the steps! I have found that when I drive home it does count steps while I was sitting in my car driving lol but now I will enter that in for the time I am in the car...thanks for that tip!

  • aggiekaren01
    aggiekaren01 Posts: 30 Member
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    I just upgraded from a Fitbit Flex to the Fitbit Charge HR. I have a desk job and sometimes I don't even move from my desk for hours. When I log into MFP and it has deducted calories from my day, I know I need to get up and walk around. (You can turn off negative adjustments but I find them motivating). I like the heart rate monitor on the Charge HR and find it motivating when I'm at the gym to get my HR up.

    My sisters and nieces also have fitbits so we've been competing in challenges as well. We're pretty competitive. :smile:
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    lonerockz wrote: »
    I have a Microsoft Band. It's not as popular as the Fitbit, but I really like the device. I would STRONGLY recommend that you get one with integrated heart rate monitoring like the Band or the Fitbit ChargeHR. Knowing what you heart rate is while you work out is really important. I start my workouts with 10 minutes of Stairmaster. 3 months ago this 10 minutes was a 200 calorie burn; now my body is used to it and its about 160 calories. Without HR monitoring, I would not know this. As your body adjusts you need to adjust your exercise plan to keep up the burn numbers.

    I have been looking into getting one and this is the exact reason why. I really just want to get an accurate description of my calories burned but I'm not sure I want to pay 100 dollars.

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    aggiekaren01 wrote: »
    When I log into MFP and it has deducted calories from my day, I know I need to get up and walk around. (You can turn off negative adjustments but I find them motivating).

    Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), aka your maintenance calories. Your default MFP calorie goal is activity level minus deficit. Adjustments are the difference between your Fitbit burn and your MFP activity level.

    If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments, eating your Fitbit adjustments means you're eating TDEE minus deficit. Disabling them means you never eat at a true deficit on days you burn fewer calories than your activity level.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

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