Fitbit works for me because...

Just took a quiz on Amazon which was supposed to tell me what Fitbit to buy. Its answer was the Fitbit Alta. One thing I still don't know, however, is whether or not I need a Smart Phone to use it. (So far, I've refused to buy a Smart Phone.) If I don't have a Smart Phone, how will that restrict the Fitbit Alta's use? Thank you!

MiscCatFunt wrote: »

I've had the one for a couple of years and it's an absolutely awesome bit of kit. Especially at the start of my journey. Once you get down to the lowest reaches of body fat it definitely over calculates calories but I no longer use it for that function and merely keep it for the steps.

I'm awaiting the next generation of these wearables, one that calculates calories based on heart rate not just steps. Also one that knows when I am lifting weights, what I'm doing, can help with form and such. Has GPS, has smartphone linkage, waterproof and at least a weeks battery between charges. Basically I want everything, cos that's how I am.

I feel the same. I love my fitbit but today I took a non-strenuous walk for 23 minutes and later ran (fast! hard! sweaty!) on the elliptical for 23 minutes. My Alta logged me as basically the same calorie burn for each of these activities. There is no way that is accurate. I know the Alta does not have HR but from what I understand the HR function would not solve this problem with current models anyway.

I had and loved my Basis Peak but it was recalled. I'm in love with my FitBit Blaze and it has an illuminating display. (Peak lit up with prodding) I'm impressed with the accuracy. I'm fond of walking a path with mile markers and my distance is spot on.

Bmoremama wrote: »

MiscCatFunt wrote: »

I've had the one for a couple of years and it's an absolutely awesome bit of kit. Especially at the start of my journey. Once you get down to the lowest reaches of body fat it definitely over calculates calories but I no longer use it for that function and merely keep it for the steps.

I'm awaiting the next generation of these wearables, one that calculates calories based on heart rate not just steps. Also one that knows when I am lifting weights, what I'm doing, can help with form and such. Has GPS, has smartphone linkage, waterproof and at least a weeks battery between charges. Basically I want everything, cos that's how I am.

I feel the same. I love my fitbit but today I took a non-strenuous walk for 23 minutes and later ran (fast! hard! sweaty!) on the elliptical for 23 minutes. My Alta logged me as basically the same calorie burn for each of these activities. There is no way that is accurate. I know the Alta does not have HR but from what I understand the HR function would not solve this problem with current models anyway.

I'm not so sure that's true. I have the Charge HR and I definitely get more calorie burn for a jog/run than I do for a leisurely walk.

Bmoremama wrote: »

tiffanylacourse wrote: »

Bmoremama wrote: »

MiscCatFunt wrote: »

I've had the one for a couple of years and it's an absolutely awesome bit of kit. Especially at the start of my journey. Once you get down to the lowest reaches of body fat it definitely over calculates calories but I no longer use it for that function and merely keep it for the steps.

I'm awaiting the next generation of these wearables, one that calculates calories based on heart rate not just steps. Also one that knows when I am lifting weights, what I'm doing, can help with form and such. Has GPS, has smartphone linkage, waterproof and at least a weeks battery between charges. Basically I want everything, cos that's how I am.

I feel the same. I love my fitbit but today I took a non-strenuous walk for 23 minutes and later ran (fast! hard! sweaty!) on the elliptical for 23 minutes. My Alta logged me as basically the same calorie burn for each of these activities. There is no way that is accurate. I know the Alta does not have HR but from what I understand the HR function would not solve this problem with current models anyway.

I'm not so sure that's true. I have the Charge HR and I definitely get more calorie burn for a jog/run than I do for a leisurely walk.

Oh, good to know! Thanks!

No problem at all! :flowerforyou:

tiffanylacourse wrote: »

Bmoremama wrote: »

MiscCatFunt wrote: »

I've had the one for a couple of years and it's an absolutely awesome bit of kit. Especially at the start of my journey. Once you get down to the lowest reaches of body fat it definitely over calculates calories but I no longer use it for that function and merely keep it for the steps.

I'm awaiting the next generation of these wearables, one that calculates calories based on heart rate not just steps. Also one that knows when I am lifting weights, what I'm doing, can help with form and such. Has GPS, has smartphone linkage, waterproof and at least a weeks battery between charges. Basically I want everything, cos that's how I am.

I feel the same. I love my fitbit but today I took a non-strenuous walk for 23 minutes and later ran (fast! hard! sweaty!) on the elliptical for 23 minutes. My Alta logged me as basically the same calorie burn for each of these activities. There is no way that is accurate. I know the Alta does not have HR but from what I understand the HR function would not solve this problem with current models anyway.

I'm not so sure that's true. I have the Charge HR and I definitely get more calorie burn for a jog/run than I do for a leisurely walk.

Love my FB - and I have the tan line too! I have the ChargeHR and I definitely get different calorie numbers depending on the activity - run, walk, row, whatever. (and I can see the breakdown when I click on the calorie "tile".) For the price it obviously won't be as accurate as more expensive monitors, but I assume that if some activity numbers are high and some are low, it averages out enough for my purposes.

The "maximum heart rate" numbers are annoyingly one-formula-fits-all (it uses 220-age) and there's no way to change it manually without gaming some of the other numbers (like age), tho supposedly they're working on it. Mine is higher (which I know b/c we did specific testing in my erg class), making the color coded ranges on the FB out of whack for me, so I just keep that in mind when I'm looking at how hard I worked. For resting heart rate numbers, I care less about the absolute number on a given day than about the trend over time, and for heart rate during activities I only care about getting the rate "up" for a certain period of time. I run/row for general health purposes and don't do the kind of particularized training where I'm trying to hit specific numbers.

I find that if I charge it every time I take a shower, that tops up the charge pretty well.

Just got mine and I stay at the gym twice as long and burn twice as much because I love seeing my stats go up

mdnorthside wrote: »

It's pretty darn accurate. I've seen a lot of complaints on the internet about Fitbit products being inaccurate, and that has not been my experience. They're not as accurate as more expensive, or more complicated equipment, which is to be expected. However, my Charge HR has been an absolutely instrumental part of my weight loss. I have been on and off the bandwagon for many years. I generally picked a calorie limit and just stuck with it, adding extra calories for exercise. But that misses out on this whole other category of movement! There are days when I'm sitting on the couch the whole day, and day's when I walk nearly 15 miles just going around campus. That's a huge difference in calories - and it needs to be taken into account.

I have been steadily losing about 1.5lbs a week by:

1. Eating 1,000 calories less than my Fitbit calorie count at the end of the day
2. Doing 4 sets, 12 reps of two weight exercises each morning to build muscle

That's all! If that doesn't sound like a good deal to you I don't know what would.

Yep, I love my Fitbit Charge HR! It's helped me eat little enough to lose 38 kg and get to my goal weight, but eat enough so I don't starve myself and crash and burn.

I hope you don't think I'm being too personal, but I looked at your profile and it says you only need to lose 19 lbs.

I'm concerned your calorie deficit is too aggressive.

The general rule is that you should aim to lose 0.5 lbs per week if you have 15 lbs to lose.

You might find it easier to stick to your eating plan for longer if you increase your calories, rather than risking a crash and burn.

My kindest regards.