Fitbit or no fitbit?

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Replies

  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    I don't know what I would do without my fitbit. I started with the flex and upgraded to the Charge HR. It definitely helps me push myself harder! I love that you can have competitions with friends which also makes it more fun!

    This!
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    rmduck81 wrote: »
    Is it worth investing in a fitbit or tracker?
    In my line of work I'm either sitting at a desk 8 hrs plus a day or out on jobs on my feet all day. I work for a moving company and I usually don't have my phone on me during the day, but if I'm walking or something I use that to track my steps.
    I recently worked 7 hrs unpacking and I didn't have my phone on me. I googled the amount of calories burned unpacking and it told me for a 140 lbs person packing or unpacking that they burned 222 cals per hour. I don't know it that is a good estimate to go off of. Just seems kind of high, but who knows.
    So if you own a fitbit, is it worth the extra cash?

    Thanks

    I had a Fitbit for years and loved it. But just made the switch to Garmin Vivosmart. One of the perks with this tracker is that it reminds me to MOVE every hour. So on days where you're stuck at a desk for 8 hours it might be good motivation and a reminder to get up and walk for a few minutes. Plus, similar features as Fitbit trackers.

    They just released a new Fitbit that does this- The alta and pulse!
  • e_v_v
    e_v_v Posts: 131 Member
    Love my Fitbit. The ones that track your HR are great for estimating calories burned. What's great is that you can sync your Fitbit to MyFitnessPal, so you don't have to use the Fitbit food tracker.
  • airangel59
    airangel59 Posts: 1,887 Member
    rmduck81 wrote: »
    Is it worth investing in a fitbit or tracker?
    So if you own a fitbit, is it worth the extra cash?
    It truly depends on the person. I found it to be very motivational. Sedentary job here and a couch potato.

    I started out with Fitbit Flex, wanted more from it so bought the Force, which I loved till it died on me.
    The Force was recalled so went back to the Flex....but was spoiled from seeing my step count with the Force. Since Fitbit hadn't come out with their Charge etc at the time, I went with Garmin Vivofit w/HRM (and still wear the Flex for what it does that Garmin doesn't). Right now I'm waiting for the Fitbit Alta to be released.
    Fitbit has awesome customer support btw.


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  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    DH and I both have had Fitbit Ones for over two years.... Never lost one and no issues with either one! I clip on my bra and it is very unintrusive.
  • 1brandn
    1brandn Posts: 9 Member
    each to their own but:

    Garmin vivoactive + heartmonitor + myfitness pal = lots of success so far for me.

    vivoactive keeps you motivated and focused on weightloss and fitness, I would highly recommend it...
  • katkins73
    katkins73 Posts: 416 Member
    I love my basic Fitbit Zip. I haven't had any problems with it and have had it a year and a half
  • maidengirl_
    maidengirl_ Posts: 284 Member
    I'm probably the only person who returned their FitBit Charge. I found it to be very inaccurate. I would move my arm and it would say I walked a step. I ended up getting a Polar 24/7 tracker which I found to be much more accurate and gives you info on what you can do to reach your daily goal. Hope that helps.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    I <3 my fitbit flex! It simplifies the CO part of CICO, especially if your activity level is all over the place.

    I also really enjoy mine. I'd recommend them to everyone and almost my whole family has them now :)
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
    rmduck81 wrote: »
    Is it worth investing in a fitbit or tracker?
    In my line of work I'm either sitting at a desk 8 hrs plus a day or out on jobs on my feet all day. I work for a moving company and I usually don't have my phone on me during the day, but if I'm walking or something I use that to track my steps.
    I recently worked 7 hrs unpacking and I didn't have my phone on me. I googled the amount of calories burned unpacking and it told me for a 140 lbs person packing or unpacking that they burned 222 cals per hour. I don't know it that is a good estimate to go off of. Just seems kind of high, but who knows.
    So if you own a fitbit, is it worth the extra cash?

    Thanks

    I absolutely adore mine. I've had a Fitbit One (the same one) for almost three years now and can count on one hand the number of times I've had it off longer than to shower.

    That said:

    1. It's most useful if you're a person who enjoys and is motivated by data. Do you log everything you eat, enjoy looking over your MFP nutrition breakdown, get a sense of satisfaction out of badges or data from other apps in your life? If so, you'll probably love Fitbit. Do you find data boring or overwhelming? You probably won't get much out of it.

    2. You have to actually wear it. If you only wear it part of the day or once in a while, your data won't be complete or accurate. I like the One because it's small and I can wear it under my clothes even in formal situations, and it's also more accurate than wrist-mounted models. If you're pushing a cart, stroller, or wheelchair, wrist models don't register, and arm-intensive activity can over-registered. The wrist bands are also pretty sporty-casual looking, so not appropriate for all situations. The Fitbit one I actually wore under my wedding dress (not gonna miss out on credit for all those steps down the aisle!).

    3. It works best if you make it a habit. I wear mine on the neckline of my shirt facing inward 99% of the time- it's pretty unobtrusive and if I forget to take it off, it's right there in my face when I get undressed. I remove it as I get undressed, immediately plug it in to charge while I shower, and then put it back on my pajamas as a step in getting dressed. This way it's *always* either on the charger or on my person- never gets laundered, never gets lost, never misses more steps than it takes to get in and out of the shower.

    I find it very motivating on days when I might be tired but see that I have just a few more steps to goal. I also found it illuminating that lots of walking *really is* effective exercise, and that I can see changes in my weight and overall feeling during periods when I accumulate 10K+ steps/day vs I only get 1K, even though those might not seem, psychologically, very different. It's a great tool for accurately increasing your activity in a gradual, sustainable way.

    Again, though, this all only applies if you're a person who is motivated by data and willing/able to reliably incorporate the device in to your daily routine. It's not magic, it's just a way to get more information about yourself.
  • kat160505
    kat160505 Posts: 12 Member
    I've a charge HR, its good. Works well as a watch too :p
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Fitbit Charge HR. I only ever take it off to shower, swim, or charge the battery. I love it. Not only does it make me sure my math is spot on, it also is a huge motivator for me to stay active. I've got nothing to say against it and a million billion good things to say about it.
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
    edited February 2016
    I have both a fitbit charge and a Samsung Gear S2. The fitbit is best for sleep tracking and it syncs with MFP easily. It also sends you a weekly report with all your steps through the week, sleep, stairs, etc. The S2 is nice because I get my texts on it and it maps my walks but it doesn't sync with MFP or track my sleep.

    The fitbit is fantastic and it kept me motivated because I wanted to hit my daily step counts and I wanted to keep my weekly reports up :)

    My only issue with BOTH is that both have problems tracking your steps when you're pushing a stroller or a cart, any time your arm isn't swinging. You have to keep the watch in your pocket if you want it to count your steps while you push something around.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    My Fitbit flex is a great motivator to get off the couch. I work long hours behind a desk (typically at least 10 hours M-F), so by the time I get home I typically only have 3,000-4,000 steps (if that sometimes). I've added a lot of friends from MFP to Fitbit as well and we participate in daily and weekly challenges. I hate being super far behind on challenges, so I find it motivates me to get and and go for a walk or run instead of sit on the couch until bedtime. Even if I'm not doing a challenge, I'm disappointed when I see a really low step count, because I know I can do more - I'll walk around my house if that's what it takes!

    I only take mine off to shower and charge (mine only needs to charge approximately once per week).
  • smiles4jo
    smiles4jo Posts: 202 Member
    Does it really not count steps when you're pushing a shopping cart? I've often thought I should have way more steps after finishing a shopping trip, but it didn't occur to me that it was because I was pushing a cart!

    I've also noticed lately that when I go on my morning coffee run across the street, the steps seem to be less if I'm carrying my coffee in the same hand as my FitBit. It's almost as if it counts arm swings, instead of steps.

    I really LOVE my FitBit, but now that I'm paying a little more attention to the steps, I'm noticing things that I never had before.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    I have both a fitbit charge and a Samsung Gear S2. The fitbit is best for sleep tracking and it syncs with MFP easily. It also sends you a weekly report with all your steps through the week, sleep, stairs, etc. The S2 is nice because I get my texts on it and it maps my walks but it doesn't sync with MFP or track my sleep.

    The fitbit is fantastic and it kept me motivated because I wanted to hit my daily step counts and I wanted to keep my weekly reports up :)

    My only issue with BOTH is that both have problems tracking your steps when you're pushing a stroller or a cart, any time your arm isn't swinging. You have to keep the watch in your pocket if you want it to count your steps while you push something around.

    See I keep hearing this, but this doesn't happen to me. Mine counts my steps whether I'm swinging my arms or pushing my kid in a grocery cart or what have you. I wonder why the difference. Am I doing something to cause this? I dunno, but I have repeatedly checked cause I'm all paranoid about that now from hearing it and it counts completely accurately for me.
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
    smiles4jo wrote: »
    Does it really not count steps when you're pushing a shopping cart? I've often thought I should have way more steps after finishing a shopping trip, but it didn't occur to me that it was because I was pushing a cart!

    I've also noticed lately that when I go on my morning coffee run across the street, the steps seem to be less if I'm carrying my coffee in the same hand as my FitBit. It's almost as if it counts arm swings, instead of steps.

    I really LOVE my FitBit, but now that I'm paying a little more attention to the steps, I'm noticing things that I never had before.

    It doesn't.

    A hospital I used to work for gave a big discount on fitbits, and nearly everyone had one, but when people realized the wrist models didn't count steps while pushing things, you started seeing nurses and techs pushing wheelchairs and beds down the hall one-handed, swinging the other arm to get their steps!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    smiles4jo wrote: »
    Does it really not count steps when you're pushing a shopping cart? I've often thought I should have way more steps after finishing a shopping trip, but it didn't occur to me that it was because I was pushing a cart!

    I've also noticed lately that when I go on my morning coffee run across the street, the steps seem to be less if I'm carrying my coffee in the same hand as my FitBit. It's almost as if it counts arm swings, instead of steps.

    I really LOVE my FitBit, but now that I'm paying a little more attention to the steps, I'm noticing things that I never had before.

    Mine counts steps when I'm pushing a cart, carrying bags/cups, or whatever. I have heard some people lose steps when pushing carts, but I don't.
  • smiles4jo
    smiles4jo Posts: 202 Member
    edited February 2016

    See I keep hearing this, but this doesn't happen to me. Mine counts my steps whether I'm swinging my arms or pushing my kid in a grocery cart or what have you. I wonder why the difference. Am I doing something to cause this? I dunno, but I have repeatedly checked cause I'm all paranoid about that now from hearing it and it counts completely accurately for me.

    I did find that the accuracy was better when I started wearing my fitbit on my dominant hand, but keeping my settings to non-dominant.

    What does bug me is that it doesn't count steps if I'm just strolling. I often pace when I'm on the phone at home and because I don't have enough momentum, it doesn't register as a step.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    I don't know how accurate a fitbit would be for unpacking to be honest. I would set it as lightly active and forget about trying to adjust based on activity.