Why I love my Fitbit!
Flookbird
Posts: 81 Member
I'm more of a lurker on these forums than a poster, but today I hit a milestone and thought I'd write a post! I see a lot of people asking whether they should get a Fitbit and hopefully this will help!
Today is exactly a year since I got my Fitbit and started using MFP properly. It's also the day I hit 5 million steps taken according to my fitbit! I have worn it every single day and night since I got it.
In that time, using a combination of the 2 tools, I have lost a further 25lbs (on top of the 60 I'd already lost using Weight Watchers) and more importantly I have maintained that lost - something which it has taken me 32 years to learn to do! (For anyone interested, I'm 5'7 and have gone from 221lbs to 136lbs).
So, here's why I love my Fitbit (please add your own!):
1. It has (combined with MFP) taught me how to maintain my weight. It tells me how many calories I've burned, I eat them, my weight stays within a range of a few pounds! Bingo! If I want to lose a few pounds, I eat less than what it tells me I've burned, and guess what? Yep, I lose the pounds.
2. It makes me want to move more. I can directly see how moving affects my calories burned and therefore the number of calories I can consume. Want a glass of wine with my tea? Run on the spot while watching TV to 'earn' it!
3. It gives me goals which help to improve my overall fitness. I'm super competitive, even with myself, so I find the badges, challenges competing against other users, and graphs/data about steps taken, calories burned, minutes active etc hugely motivating.
4. It keeps me grounded when water weight scale fluctuations happen! I'm inclined to panic at these things even though I know it's not logical. I panic much less now because I know for sure that I haven't gone over my calories enough to have gained fat - I know because I have data to back it up, which I know I can trust because it's been really accurate for a whole year!
5. It's paying for itself! I'm signed up to the Bounts website/app. I get 10 points for every 7000 steps I take. The points add up and can be exchanged for high street shopping vouchers. I have already had a £15 Debenhams (UK department store) gift card after 3 months of using the site. And guess what? My daily step average has increased from 12k to 14k because I love earning the extra 10 points that gives me. If you want to sign up you can use my referral code, newton1753 at Bounts.it. I also use the Pact app - do 10k steps a day and log my food? Earn money. Miss a day and pay money! I haven't missed a day, and although it's only around $1.50 a week earned, it all adds up!
There's loads more I could say, I really do love my Fitbit! Why do you love yours?
Today is exactly a year since I got my Fitbit and started using MFP properly. It's also the day I hit 5 million steps taken according to my fitbit! I have worn it every single day and night since I got it.
In that time, using a combination of the 2 tools, I have lost a further 25lbs (on top of the 60 I'd already lost using Weight Watchers) and more importantly I have maintained that lost - something which it has taken me 32 years to learn to do! (For anyone interested, I'm 5'7 and have gone from 221lbs to 136lbs).
So, here's why I love my Fitbit (please add your own!):
1. It has (combined with MFP) taught me how to maintain my weight. It tells me how many calories I've burned, I eat them, my weight stays within a range of a few pounds! Bingo! If I want to lose a few pounds, I eat less than what it tells me I've burned, and guess what? Yep, I lose the pounds.
2. It makes me want to move more. I can directly see how moving affects my calories burned and therefore the number of calories I can consume. Want a glass of wine with my tea? Run on the spot while watching TV to 'earn' it!
3. It gives me goals which help to improve my overall fitness. I'm super competitive, even with myself, so I find the badges, challenges competing against other users, and graphs/data about steps taken, calories burned, minutes active etc hugely motivating.
4. It keeps me grounded when water weight scale fluctuations happen! I'm inclined to panic at these things even though I know it's not logical. I panic much less now because I know for sure that I haven't gone over my calories enough to have gained fat - I know because I have data to back it up, which I know I can trust because it's been really accurate for a whole year!
5. It's paying for itself! I'm signed up to the Bounts website/app. I get 10 points for every 7000 steps I take. The points add up and can be exchanged for high street shopping vouchers. I have already had a £15 Debenhams (UK department store) gift card after 3 months of using the site. And guess what? My daily step average has increased from 12k to 14k because I love earning the extra 10 points that gives me. If you want to sign up you can use my referral code, newton1753 at Bounts.it. I also use the Pact app - do 10k steps a day and log my food? Earn money. Miss a day and pay money! I haven't missed a day, and although it's only around $1.50 a week earned, it all adds up!
There's loads more I could say, I really do love my Fitbit! Why do you love yours?
0
Replies
-
ohhhh this is a message from heaven!! today I was running around trying to find a bed bath and beyond store to get my fit bit and couldn't find it at all the store, I'm in a pretty tight budget right now and while walking trying to find the store I wasn't sure and felt so guilty about spending the money that i just left.
but you know what I think that I earn it and tomorrow will try to buy it.
btw the one the I'm getting is the flex, will that be ok? I know there are others better but that's the one that I can afford right now
0 -
That's the one I have and I love it! It's the best £70 I have ever spent (and they are even cheaper now!). If you can afford to prioritise it above other things then go for it!0
-
I only own the one. It works for me because i rarely do exercise besides running and walking, and weights but i don't ever log them..
You could try Amazon, you can get them pretty cheaply.0 -
I like the One because it counts floors/hills as well as steps. I used to hate climbing floors/hills because they were do hard for me to do at 300 lbs. Now I can do them, seek them out, and lovethat my fitbit counts them!0
-
Cool, thank you both! Will do a little search now and see where I can find the best price
0 -
ohhhh this is a message from heaven!! today I was running around trying to find a bed bath and beyond store to get my fit bit and couldn't find it at all the store, I'm in a pretty tight budget right now and while walking trying to find the store I wasn't sure and felt so guilty about spending the money that i just left.
but you know what I think that I earn it and tomorrow will try to buy it.
btw the one the I'm getting is the flex, will that be ok? I know there are others better but that's the one that I can afford right now
I had the flex for a long time, and it was fantastic. TBH I only upgraded so I could get the GPS function for hiking. I use to use run keeper but I am paranoid about bringing my phone with me after I almost dropped it down the side of a canyon. My mom has the flex and she loves it.
We are friends on the Fitbit website and interact quite a bit. We live a continent apart, and it's a fun way to stay in touch daily.0 -
Getting a fitbit is the hands down absolute best thing I have done since starting this weight loss thing!!!
0 -
I love my fitbit hr charge. It definitely has given me motivation. I never really knew what was my daily calorie burn. I was super surprised to find out I burn around 2000-2300 calories a day. No wonder I can't maintain a 1200 calories diet. It made me feel more comfortable in eating a higher calories diet - knowing Ill still lose. It also points out the days I'm too lazy - and only burned 1800 calories - and I need to move it more.0
-
MakePeasNotWar wrote: »ohhhh this is a message from heaven!! today I was running around trying to find a bed bath and beyond store to get my fit bit and couldn't find it at all the store, I'm in a pretty tight budget right now and while walking trying to find the store I wasn't sure and felt so guilty about spending the money that i just left.
but you know what I think that I earn it and tomorrow will try to buy it.
btw the one the I'm getting is the flex, will that be ok? I know there are others better but that's the one that I can afford right now
I had the flex for a long time, and it was fantastic. TBH I only upgraded so I could get the GPS function for hiking. I use to use run keeper but I am paranoid about bringing my phone with me after I almost dropped it down the side of a canyon. My mom has the flex and she loves it.
We are friends on the Fitbit website and interact quite a bit. We live a continent apart, and it's a fun way to stay in touch daily.
That sounds like so much fun! I'm so excited to get my fitbit, I have a pretty active job and I'm always curious about the steps, cals burn and all of that.
0 -
Without my Fitbit and MFP I've lost 42 lbs. with the continued use of both of them I have every hope of keeping it off0
-
Do fitbits count only calories burned from walking or do they include exercise calories? I'm so clueless, I thought they just counted steps.0
-
victoria_1024 wrote: »Do fitbits count only calories burned from walking or do they include exercise calories? I'm so clueless, I thought they just counted steps.
They count your TOTAL daily burn. I've got a basic fitbit zip. I don't know if the swanky heart rate monitors are different.
I do wish they only counted deliberate exercise. It would make things a lot clearer
0 -
victoria_1024 wrote: »Do fitbits count only calories burned from walking or do they include exercise calories? I'm so clueless, I thought they just counted steps.
Any step based exercise is counted by the Fitbit. Any exercise which isn't step based (eg swimming/cycling) has to be logged separately. I log my swimming on MFP, some people would log it on Fitbit. Whichever you do, if your accounts are linked then they will 'talk to each other' and share that info. So I log my swim on MFP including the time I started and the length of time. It sends that info to fitbit, which counts it in my total calorie burn for the day and then sends that info back to MFP. It sounds more complicated than it actually is - as long as you only log it once and out the correct times in, it all sorts itself out!0 -
christinev297 wrote: »victoria_1024 wrote: »Do fitbits count only calories burned from walking or do they include exercise calories? I'm so clueless, I thought they just counted steps.
They count your TOTAL daily burn. I've got a basic fitbit zip. I don't know if the swanky heart rate monitors are different.
I do wish they only counted deliberate exercise. It would make things a lot clearer
0 -
Thank you! Bounts - well fancy that! I had never heard of it. I have just joined and used your code.0
-
The Fitbit Charge was down to te same price as the flex at Argos when I bought mine 6 weeks ago. Might be worth checking out.0
-
I just signed up for Bounts as well with your code, thanks very much! I also love my flex and never take it off except to charge it!!0
-
Thank you! Bounts - well fancy that! I had never heard of it. I have just joined and used your code.hapeximendios wrote: »I just signed up for Bounts as well with your code, thanks very much! I also love my flex and never take it off except to charge it!!
Great! It really is good! The app can be glitchy sometimes but as it's all free I'm not complaining. You can also get points for gym check ins, and auto logged activity on other apps like Strava and Swimtag. It seems too good to be true but it really isn't - I have the maxi dress to prove it!
0 -
I got the Flex because I can wear it and it counts my steps while I water jog (even though I log that over on Fitbit to get the burn number accurate, I still want those step numbers!).
I love it. I think it was one of the best investments I've made besides good high-quality shoes towards being more fit. I got it with an eye towards the future and maintenance, but it's come in so handy now. It's VERY motivating and I found out that my TDEE is much, much higher than I thought it was.
I've had it almost 4 weeks now, and right now, my average burn is a bit over 2100 calories. What the what now? Heh. I'm going to be 53 at the end of the month and I'm short. I've had myself set on sedentary on here because my exercise can be sporadic due to chronic medical issues. Thanks to my Fitbit, I've been able to up my intake from 1200 calories to 1400-1500 calories and still lose.
0 -
How do you see your average burn please? I can only find my average over the week? I'm still getting used to it!0
-
hapeximendios wrote: »How do you see your average burn please? I can only find my average over the week? I'm still getting used to it!
If you go to your fitbit dashboard and click on your profile you can see your average burn for the past 30 days. You can also see your average intake.
If you subtract one from the other you'll see your average deficit.
If you times your average deficit by 30 you'll see your total deficit.
If you then divide that by 3500 (the number of calories of deficit needed to lose 1lb of fat) you can see the theoretical number of pounds you should have lost in the past 30 days.
Of course, there are lots of variables involved, the main one being accurate logging. But doing that can help you see how your Fitbit is working for you weight-wise.0 -
I have the fitbit charge HR and love it! I purchased it in May and have gotten more active. I also find it to be very accurate with my heart rate even when lifting heavy weights. During cardio I get the same read out as the machines. I burn over 2800 cals on my workout days and have upped my calories. It does take some effort to get 10,000 steps but it's so worth it.0
-
Just got a charge HR last night, super excited!0
-
this post, and I love my Flex! Every single point made in the OP is spot on for me as well. My man is even getting into it--we've been going for hour-long walks every day and he's starting to hint at wanting his own Fitbit. My six-year-old always asks how I'm doing on my challenges and gets me out for a walk if someone is beating me. It's been awesome. 0 -
1. I love Fitbit because it syncs with Trendweight (it's free) to plot a moving average of my weight without the "noise" from water weight.
2. Fitbit challenges are great motivation—and fun.
3. Fitbit showed me that even with a desk job I'm lightly active.The one the I'm getting is the flex, will that be ok? I know there are others better, but that's the one that I can afford right now.
Which Fitbit you choose is entirely a matter of personal preference.victoria_1024 wrote: »Do fitbits count only calories burned from walking or do they include exercise calories? I'm so clueless, I thought they just counted steps.
All Fitbits calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the calories necessary to maintain your current weight. When you connect your accounts and enable negative calorie adjustments, MFP adjusts your daily goal to TDEE minus deficit.
You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users0 -
Good to see so many of you have signed up for Bounts!0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions