Fitbit worth getting?

I have a Fitbit Charge HR. It does calculate the calories I have burnt working out, as well as the calories (and steps) for the rest of the day. Fitbit displays how many calories I have eaten because it is linked with MFP, where I log my meals. I believe you can log your meals on Fitbit instead, but I have heard that the MFP database is larger and I am already used to it so I'm not interested in switching. I use MFP as my "source of truth" for calories left for the day, not Fitbit. I have seen threads where people get confused when they try to use both Fitbit and MFP for food tracking -- most people find it easier to use MFP for all food logging and Fitbit for exercise.

Fitbits are great! I have a Flex and I LOVE it! It tracks your activity throughout the day and gives you an estimated calorie burn, which if you sync it to MFP will either add or take away calories from your MFP goal based on how much or little you move.

It is really accurate for step-based activity (which is most of my exercise), but isn't perfect on other types of exercise (if you get one with a heart rate monitor it will be more accurate, but still not perfect). For non-step based exercise, you can log it manually and it will estimate.

You have the option to log food in the fitbit app, but I find MFP much easier to use for food, so I just sync them together. This means that fitbit will tell MFP how much I burn (calories out), and MFP will tell fitbit how much I log (calories in). This simplifies the CICO equation for me and makes it easy.

I love my Fitbit too. I have a zip and just got my mum one too.
I like seeing my daily tdee and also it motivates me to move more. I'm always doing mini challenges on it with friends to see who gets the most steps x

I have the FitBit One and love it. I let it give me calories for steps and stairs, and enter things like yoga via MFP. I use MFP for entering food and tracking calories.

I thought about getting one. I saw that there are many products out there that are similar, so I went into a frenzy researching which are best to get.

Bottom line is: They're all inaccurate. I think the most accurate one is something like 9% off. The sensors all come from different manufacturers, have different firmware/software etc. If we wanted real accuracy, we would pay a high price for a type of medical equipment I read about.

It's really just good for motivation. Personally, I think it's best to just get a simple heart rate monitor and track things when needed. A few sites called it "entertainment" that gets people involved, which some people do need. But, you don't have to spend money to get more involved really. For instance, for me, I prefer calculating everything on my own and keeping my own journal instead of leaving up to software to track it. But to some, that might not be the best case.

exact0ninja wrote: »

I thought about getting one. I saw that there are many products out there that are similar, so I went into a frenzy researching which are best to get.

Bottom line is: They're all inaccurate. I think the most accurate one is something like 9% off. The sensors all come from different manufacturers, have different firmware/software etc. If we wanted real accuracy, we would pay a high price for a type of medical equipment I read about.

It's really just good for motivation. Personally, I think it's best to just get a simple heart rate monitor and track things when needed. A few sites called it "entertainment" that gets people involved, which some people do need. But, you don't have to spend money to get more involved really. For instance, for me, I prefer calculating everything on my own and keeping my own journal instead of leaving up to software to track it. But to some, that might not be the best case.

But how do you know how many calories you burn doing that day 3 of 30 Day Shred? You just guess? You just hope? While the trackers may not be accurate, they are more accurate than just a random guess.

clobern80 wrote: »

exact0ninja wrote: »

I thought about getting one. I saw that there are many products out there that are similar, so I went into a frenzy researching which are best to get.

Bottom line is: They're all inaccurate. I think the most accurate one is something like 9% off. The sensors all come from different manufacturers, have different firmware/software etc. If we wanted real accuracy, we would pay a high price for a type of medical equipment I read about.

It's really just good for motivation. Personally, I think it's best to just get a simple heart rate monitor and track things when needed. A few sites called it "entertainment" that gets people involved, which some people do need. But, you don't have to spend money to get more involved really. For instance, for me, I prefer calculating everything on my own and keeping my own journal instead of leaving up to software to track it. But to some, that might not be the best case.

But how do you know how many calories you burn doing that day 3 of 30 Day Shred? You just guess? You just hope? While the trackers may not be accurate, they are more accurate than just a random guess.

Yeah, I don't follow my calories burned that it adds back 100%, but when I've moved around enough that Fitbit adds those extra calories in, I eat them back. I usually leave around 100 or so that I don't eat, but I've lost weight just fine that way.

clobern80 wrote: »

exact0ninja wrote: »

I thought about getting one. I saw that there are many products out there that are similar, so I went into a frenzy researching which are best to get.

Bottom line is: They're all inaccurate. I think the most accurate one is something like 9% off. The sensors all come from different manufacturers, have different firmware/software etc. If we wanted real accuracy, we would pay a high price for a type of medical equipment I read about.

It's really just good for motivation. Personally, I think it's best to just get a simple heart rate monitor and track things when needed. A few sites called it "entertainment" that gets people involved, which some people do need. But, you don't have to spend money to get more involved really. For instance, for me, I prefer calculating everything on my own and keeping my own journal instead of leaving up to software to track it. But to some, that might not be the best case.

But how do you know how many calories you burn doing that day 3 of 30 Day Shred? You just guess? You just hope? While the trackers may not be accurate, they are more accurate than just a random guess.

Exactly. I was estimating the calories burned in my 90 minute boot camp at around 600 calories. Now, the range I get on my FitBit is usually anywhere from 450-700, and on the nights I get a higher count the class was definitely harder/faster/more intense. I definitely trust my FitBit's count over my own estimates.

janejellyroll wrote: »

I have a Fitbit Charge HR. It does calculate the calories I have burnt working out, as well as the calories (and steps) for the rest of the day. Fitbit displays how many calories I have eaten because it is linked with MFP, where I log my meals. I believe you can log your meals on Fitbit instead, but I have heard that the MFP database is larger and I am already used to it so I'm not interested in switching. I use MFP as my "source of truth" for calories left for the day, not Fitbit. I have seen threads where people get confused when they try to use both Fitbit and MFP for food tracking -- most people find it easier to use MFP for all food logging and Fitbit for exercise.

^^ that

i dont track anything other than random data with my fitbit. It was a gift. i wear it. i like it, but mfp works for me so i see no reason to change how i do things. i dont worry about steps or anything like that.

after my vacation in june, i'll likely sell it