Is it worth buying a Fitbit?

hnnhwldr · May 2016

Hello! I've been considering buying a Fitbit for a couple of weeks now but due to our tight budget and the new step tracker on mfp I keep to-ing and fro-ing between desperately wanting one and not being fussed. So my question, Fitbit users is - are fitbits worth their price? How much do you use yours, and would you recommend it? I'm considering getting a flex just to track everyday activity and daily workouts. I think it'll be a great motivator. Thanks in advance!! H x

CeeBeeSlim · May 2016

It all depends, of course. I resisted for a while thinking it was a fad and not into challenges, etc. however, I caved in when visiting my parents, started to eat badly from their southern cooking, felt my clothes tightening, ran to Walmart and bought one! Lol! I. LOVE. IT. And sorry i didn't buy it earlier. It's a charge hr. I wear it everyday. Track my exercise and how many calories I burn by walking, my various exercise videos, etc. Love the data. Still with my parents - it's been six weeks now - and I'm smaller than i ever was. Had to go back to Walmart to buy smaller clothes! I was overestimating my calorie burn pre-Fitbit, and unknowingly overeating. The combo of my Fitbit and mfp is great, and I'm still learning all the features. I love challenging myself.

nikkxjohnson · May 2016

For me, it was a game changer. I was never one for exercise, but I am a perfectionist and have some ocd tendencies. I love getting new badges and hitting my goals everyday.

LoveToRead91 · May 2016

I have a charge hr and I love it. Here's why: 1 the negative calories feature. If I lay on my couch all day, my Fitbit is connected with MFP and will take away some of my calories for the day to maintain the deficit I want for my weight loss goals. I like this a. Because I know I'm eating the amount I should be and not over (or over but I know I'm over lol) and b. Because I'm less likely to stay on the couch and more likely to go get my steps in and get my calories back up. And reason 2 is because if I'm wearing my Fitbit (which I almost always am) I make sure i get my 10,000 step goal because I don't like not reaching it and having my count on the app not turn green. So basically, if you're looking for something motivating I would look into it. Also, I've never had a flex but I think spending the money to get the heart rate is worth it, even if you wait a little longer to save up the extra amount. I like being able to see my heart rate when working out and feel like my calorie burn is more accurate. (I realize it's not going to be perfect, but it's working for me) hope this helps!

middlehaitch · May 2016

I didn't find it worth it. Luckily it was a 3 month loan to see if I liked it.

It was a One that clips on and I think that was the only feature I liked.

It liked to give me 960 cals on a couch day and only 150 extra calories for 15000 steps. I didn't rely on it for my calorie intake, or my calorie burn.

I found the expectation of 10000 steps demotivating. I move all day but not always steps. I didn't want to pace up and down the hall, or stroll around the neighbourhood to reach an arbitrary number.

Just not something that suits me and my lifestyle.

I have an old fashioned pedometer that I will clip on when training for a 10km walk- race. It gives me my distance and that is all I need to calculate my pace.

Cheers, h.

Xpecta · May 2016

I have the Charge HR and I have no idea how I got along without it!! Like someone said above, it's a game changer! Big time! I wear it ALL the time. I love how it connects to mfp and automatically gives me the numbers without the fuss of trying to figure it out. A lot of my exercises arent in the mfp database and it was hard to guess my burn. It's charging right now and it bothers me when I have to charge it! Haha. So personally, I would say just save up a bit more and get the heart rate one. And I get the tight budget. Thankfully I got mine second hand. But it's SO worth it!

maca416 · May 2016

Blaze for me & would not be without it I get 24/7 data feed back to MFP & I find it a big motivation to get moving. HR data is not 100% but very close to the chest strap I wear when running so pretty good for a wrist HR monitor.

Fitbit phone & PC software is very good imo & I just love all the detail it gives.

lisaseager45 · May 2016

I have had my Fitbit charge 2 weeks I love it and it's definitely helped me move more;-)

EddieP50 · May 2016

I have upgraded three times. I have the Fitbit One, Charge HR and just purchased the Fitbit Blaze last week. I love Fitbit. It motivates me to get moving more. Some mentioned about the 10,000 step goal. You can set your step goal to whatever you want in the settings menu. As OP mentioned I have not had any issues with it showing showing more calorie adjustment for a light day versus an active day. I recommend getting one with the HR function. I have found it to be within one to beats of my Polar H7 chest strap. The user manual recommends moving it on your arm one or two finger widths and tighten it a little snugly to get an accurate heart rate while exercising so it doesn't slide up and down your arm. It has motivated to be more active, take more steps, use the steps instead of elevator (floors climbed feature).

marm1962 · May 2016

I have the Flex, you can put it almost anywhere you want...I put mine on my wrist mainly, but have also put it on my shoe (through the laces) when I ride bike or on my treadclimber. It doesn't count actual steps, it tracks your movements throughout the day. It may have a tendency to over estimate your burn, but that's also why it has adjustments to the settings on the website. I ignore the sleep feature though. Personally I think it's a great motivator

Phrick · May 2016

meh. I guess it is going to depend largely on your personality, as well as how you want to use it. I used to have a Fitbit zip, the most basic model (now have a similar device, the Jawbone UP Move) and I actually found myself to be TOO driven to hit the arbitrary goal. It was neat to use in the beginning, and I think for a long time it was quite motivational, but I gradually went a bit over the line into musts and have-to's about getting in steps, complete with guilt if I didn't make it - as I tend to do with a lot of things in my life. I had to step back from it for a while and only recently started using it again in the past couple of weeks and already feel the frustration of "only ___ steps today?!" creeping up again. I'm probably going to ditch it completely.

godlikepoetyes · May 2016

I love my wearable--Polar 360. I LOVE it. I started out with an inexpensive Polar Loop (about $50 on Amazon, tracks steps, sleep, calories). I have the Polar because it is waterproof and I do my movement in the water. It tracks my heart rate, calories, sleep, steps, etc. I have an Activity Goal, not a Step Goal. I can meet my activity goal without hitting 10 k steps. It does NOT sync with MFP via Android, but this doesn't bother me. I believe it syncs with IPhones. As others have said, it keeps me motivated. If you're interested in a wearable and are on a budget, there are plenty of inexpensive versions to start with--Timex, Garmin, Polar, etc, etc. I do urge you to try one out.

NBowes88 · May 2016

I have the Charge HR and absolutely love it! I'm connected with a lot of my friends on Fitbit. I love how you can do daily, weekly, weekend challenges with your friends. It definitely helps motivate me to exercise more so I can win the challenges! I also love the heart rate feature so I know how many calories I burn during exercise. It also tracks my sleep! I bought mine at Kohls so I could get the kohls cash for buying it. While it is a little pricey I think it's worth it!

lorrpb · May 2016

Both hubby & I love our fb ones. It's s big motivator & accountability partner. Whether it's worth it for YOU depends on your goals, your budget, and if the free step trackers do the job for you.

DM01234 · May 2016

Depends on your goals and what you want from it. If you only want to track steps - stick with the zip. Worth it? Depends on your definition of worth it. I lost my zip a year ago and had no intentions on replacing it until I got one for free a couple months ago and used it for a corporate work challenge.

If you want to do more with it such as HRM there are other options. From the challenge I did, I actually ended up with a new Blaze and have been working with it for the last couple of weeks. The HRM on the Blaze seems to be fairly accurate from the tests I've done - which is important to me.

Beware though, if you are like me and do many non-step based activities and really want to track steps you may be disappointed. Fitbit does not convert non-step based activities to steps. This is a sticking point some people who want to be in step based challenges are disappointed with (not me). Also no on-board GPS with the thing which, again, may people are struggling with (again-not me).

I'd be sure to identify your needs/wants/expectations of what you want from any tracker and let that be your guide in shopping.

Aymzc · May 2016

I bought an alta a week ago and definatly find it has helped my motivation. I have a desk job so really I was only doing around 4500-5000 steps a day, the alta between 9am-6pm buzzes to remind you to move if you haven't done 250 steps per hour. I like that it links easily to MFP.

Is it worth buying a Fitbit?

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