Fitbit or no fitbit?

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Replies

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited February 2016
    sault_girl wrote: »
    Fancy pedometer or not, my fitbit has motivated from being a sedentary sloth averaging 2000-4000 steps a day to over 20,000 a day. Seeing the kms increase along side the calories burned is a massive motivator!!

    That's great! How long have you been using yours for?

    March 28th 2015, so nearly a year . I'm walking as I'm typing this :lol:


    no thanks, the wristband ones are TOO expensive for me. I now have the pumpkin Bluetooth v4.0 and I love it. It was WAY cheaper and it works great. does distance, steps, etc plus it has a sleep tracker. I wasn't going to waste over $100 just for that.

    Yeah, my fitbit zip cost a whole $80, best investment ever!. I think they're only around $50 in the U.S

  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    I'm taking my ChargeHR to the gym right now to add some steps and burn.

    Makin' my OCD work for me!
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I discovered that my cell phone, a Samsung S4, had "S Health" on it last May. I started letting it track my steps, and have been incredibly motivated by this. I can see how a Fitbit would help, but I think pretty much any pedometer would have the same effect, including models you can pick up for $10 or so, or a free/cheap app on a phone.

    I'm a little sad when I see/hear people say "I'd love a Fitbit to motivate me to move more but I can't afford one". I want to shake them. Expensive toys are fun but definitely not necessary to pursue fitness for most of us.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    sault_girl wrote: »
    sault_girl wrote: »
    I haven't known anyone who seems to think they are something other than that. What do you think people think they are?

    A magic panacea for weight loss and fitness.

    Really? I think most people buy them thinking that by keeping tabs on how much they are moving/walking/exercising, they will be more motivated to stick with it, work harder, and improve. For some it will work, for some it won't. Some people will get frustrated with the technology if it doesn't work well, or they can't figure it out. Some will find it more hassle than it's worth. And some will find it a useful tool which does, in fact, motivate them.

    I can't say for sure which category I will fall into, yet, time will tell.

    You have a much higher regard for the masses than I do. What you say may be true within the confines of the people posting on a health and fitness forum but not the general public.

    The general public are the ones that buy diet books, DVDs, cleanses, magic pills, and other products in search of magic. I would wager that 50% of the fitness trackers purchased in December are tossed in a drawer and forgotten by June.

    A fitness tracker is a tool and so is a hammer. One can buy a hammer but that won't get a house built. The person has to take action and a fitness tracker is not necessary for taking action. All one has to do is get off their butt and start moving, however for many that is asking too much.
  • mccraee
    mccraee Posts: 199 Member
    I have had lots of different fitbits over the years. I continue to wear one (I am using the charge HR now). I find that although I exercise intensely 3x per week, I can be very very inactive on the other days. The fitbit gets me up and I do try to make that arbitrary 10,000 step goal everyday. I find that doesn't happen without intentionally going for a walk.

    I am using the charge hr because I do crossfit and step counting didn't really reflect my workouts very well. There is tons of stuff about whether the hr is accurate. It is good enough for me. I'm always just looking to up my game, not capture my calorie burn down to the last bite of chocolate cake

    I find the sync between fb and mfp is ok. Sometimes it is slow. I pretty much know after this long what my limits are going to be for the day to with 100 or 200 calories at most. I do like logging my food on the mfp ap on my phone.
  • sault_girl
    sault_girl Posts: 219 Member
    sault_girl wrote: »
    sault_girl wrote: »
    I haven't known anyone who seems to think they are something other than that. What do you think people think they are?

    A magic panacea for weight loss and fitness.

    Really? I think most people buy them thinking that by keeping tabs on how much they are moving/walking/exercising, they will be more motivated to stick with it, work harder, and improve. For some it will work, for some it won't. Some people will get frustrated with the technology if it doesn't work well, or they can't figure it out. Some will find it more hassle than it's worth. And some will find it a useful tool which does, in fact, motivate them.

    I can't say for sure which category I will fall into, yet, time will tell.

    You have a much higher regard for the masses than I do. What you say may be true within the confines of the people posting on a health and fitness forum but not the general public.

    The general public are the ones that buy diet books, DVDs, cleanses, magic pills, and other products in search of magic. I would wager that 50% of the fitness trackers purchased in December are tossed in a drawer and forgotten by June.

    A fitness tracker is a tool and so is a hammer. One can buy a hammer but that won't get a house built. The person has to take action and a fitness tracker is not necessary for taking action. All one has to do is get off their butt and start moving, however for many that is asking too much.

    lol, i generally "regard the masses" as plenty of stupid but usually with good intentions.
  • prettygirlstorm1
    prettygirlstorm1 Posts: 722 Member
    i love my fitbit surge. I love the challenges as well as the fact that I don't have to wear a strap across my chest to monitor my heart rate. The added bonus is I can see who is calling and texting without having to look at my phone while Im exercising.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,131 Member
    See that is the problem. Wearing any kind of fitness tracker means that you have to wear a gadget all the time. It is either a chest strap, a watch on your wrist, a band, something hooked to your body, whatever. Then if you are in MFP you have to sync "that" thing to the database; so bottom line you are always hooked to some kind of electronic stuff; and some people are unable to function without their guidance.

    I don't wear a watch much, most of the time I don't know where my cell phone is, and if I take it to the gym I leave it inside my gym bag because I don't want to be bother with calls or texts (very few people has my cell # anyway); I am there to workout. I have been a gym rat for several years and I never needed to record or watch numbers in a electronic device to be and stay fit. So I think that we are taking technology too far and we are getting too attached to external devices and that probably in my opinion, is not healthy. But to each its own.
  • sault_girl
    sault_girl Posts: 219 Member
    I don't have a cell phone (well I have a 9 year old flip phone that I carry for emergencies) and the fitbit has simply replaced my watch.

    @Gisel2015 , no one "needs" to record these things in an electronic device to stay fit. Just like no one "needs" to go to the gym to stay fit.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    Is a fitbit magic? NO, but they very helpful to those of us seeking out certain data. The TDEE calculation is extremely helpful in the maintenance phase, and as I and others have said the daily step counts is a constant reminder that our daily movements influence our daily burn significantly.
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,074 Member
    Activity trackers (Fitbit, et al) are a fad. They are totally unnecessary as proven by the billions of people that have never owned one.

    If we're going by the population of earth having had something or not, then we could call automobiles a fad. Or computers. Or any number of tools that some people have access to and others do not.

    A fitbit is not necessary for weight loss, but much like a hammer isn't required to pound a nail into a wall (rocks work great:) ) it's just a tool to make the process a little easier.

    That. And it definitely motivated and motivates me to get my butt up and move when i realize how much i am not. Plus its cool to have one
  • markyrocks
    markyrocks Posts: 33 Member
    If its just steps or exercise that you track I find it just as good having a smartphone app - I have PACER which works in with MFP automatically. Each to their own :)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    markyrocks wrote: »
    If its just steps or exercise that you track I find it just as good having a smartphone app - I have PACER which works in with MFP automatically. Each to their own :)

    Yeah but I don't carry my phone with me every second of the day. I clip my fitbit on in the morning... Set and forget.

  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    markyrocks wrote: »
    If its just steps or exercise that you track I find it just as good having a smartphone app - I have PACER which works in with MFP automatically. Each to their own :)

    I cannot carry my phone around with me all day. We have a no cell phone rule at the school I teach in and most of my clothes I wear to work do not have pockets!

    My Fitbit is on my wrist all the time, except when it is charging when I am in the shower.
  • bspringer544
    bspringer544 Posts: 155 Member
    I fantasize about the day when you can literally wear your doctor on your wrist; a fully AI system that monitors both physical and mental health, tells you exactly what to eat/how much to eat, when to sleep, if you're sick, why you're sick, if you need more sodium or less cholesterol, and so on. The Fitbit is a step in that direction. I really enjoy wearing it for psychological reasons...

    But at the end of the day it's just a toy. The only real benefit that I can see is that it's far more accurate in calculating my TDEE than MFP is.
  • cchardt
    cchardt Posts: 21 Member
    edited February 2016
    I have a Garmin because it tracks me by GPS because I work as a cashier and I don't walk a whole lot but I move around behind the cash register and it picks it up. I did not care for my Fitbit because you have to move your arm for the step to count so when you push a grocery cart it didn't count.
  • CER1961
    CER1961 Posts: 5 Member
    My Fitbit Charge HR, has encourage me to reach my goal. I half way to the weight I want. I would recommend the Charge HR, you will love it. Good luck
  • lezerlies
    lezerlies Posts: 39 Member
    Activity trackers (Fitbit, et al) are a fad. They are totally unnecessary as proven by the billions of people that have never owned one.

    Billions of people never log their food either, does that mean it's not beneficial? Just because something isn't necessary for better health doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

    That said, I LOVE my Fitbit. I'm both a data junkie
    And highly competitive so having data about my physical activity and calories burned all day long keeps me motivated as well as always wanting/needing to be at the head of the pack with my Fitbit friends! Best thing I ever bought.
  • lezerlies
    lezerlies Posts: 39 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!

    I've heard that too but it hasn't proven true for me. The majority of my steps earned on the weekends are from me pushing my daughter in her stroller on long walks. Tracks every step.
  • lezerlies
    lezerlies Posts: 39 Member
    edited February 2016
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    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 wear my fitbit on my non-dominant hand and I have it set up that way on their website. I donno what you are doing differently but I went shopping once and it only counted like 2,000 steps and my friend had over 20k. So I started putting it in my pocket and it was much more accurate after that. Some people even attach it to their shoe laces, lol.

    Maybe I walk really...hard? The thing is supposed to count impact as a step, not just swinging. I do have a tendency to hit heel-first pretty loud... Maybe it jars me enough to translate up to my arm. I'll have to video it for you guys, cause I'm not special to anyone but mommy, so something has to be going on.

    It actually tracks your pelvis. Seriously. Try moving your waist like you're hula hooping. Watch the steps start flying. I swear to god, try it right now. My Pilates instructor taught me that little tidbit.