To Fitbit Or Not To Fitbit - That is the Question....
mtbusse73
Posts: 93 Member
Not to beat a dead horse - but should I get an activity tracker or not? Here's my normal gym routine: Some light stretching, hop on the stationary bike and ride for 20-30 minutes, then lift weights. Unless I strap that watch to my shoe I doubt it's gonna tell me much on that bike. Is it going to be another "gadget" I've got to keep charged and will wind up on ebay in a few months? Or will I be talking about it for years to come? Thanks for the thought and comments...
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Personal preference really, some people really love their wearables, others do just fine without them.
I got myself a Garmin Vivoactive HR in February and I'd feel lost without it now.
It's pushed me to move more by:- Move reminder - buzzes on my wrist if I've been inactive for an hour.
- Step Goal - I used to track steps on my phone, but often left my phone lying around rather than in my pocket, this meant a lot of my activity wasn't being tracked and I wasn't accounting for this in my food intake, which in turn meant I was under-eating.
- Challenges - I have a bit of a competitive streak and the Groups/Connections function of Garmins app allows me to have a bit of friendly rivalry and encourages me to get out more.
- Because it can track all kinds of activity, I've tried some of them out, out of curiosity to see my metrics (I am a data geek) - I started running in May, if you told me that last year I would be rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter, I wouldn't even run for the bus before that.
It gives me other goals and victories to focus on outside of weight loss, which distracts me when the scale is being stubborn:- I have increased my step goals
- I have reduced my resting heart rate
- I have improved my walking pace
- I am constantly striving to beat my personal bests for running.
- The calendar function allows me to plan and be more accountable with my workouts
It has helped me better understand my body:- Sleep tracking has been very helpful - when I sleep rubbish I want to eat more
- Getting to know my actual TDEE (although the accuracy on this can vary by device mine is pretty spot on)
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It wakes you up on how few steps you do take in a day. I also now find myself taking the long way to the batroom, and get upset when i have to charge my fitbt un recorded steps LOL!3
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Been there done that...no longer use but once upon a time I loved it and felt it kept me motivated...
but my becoming more active became the norm so I no longer needed a tracker to get me up and moving.
Sounds like you have good routine already and probably don't need a gadget to keep you at it.
I know I'm happier that I'm no longer focused on steps related exercise and can maintain my weight effortlessly by biking 5 days a week /40 mins along with strength training x 3.1 -
YES! HUGE eye opener. I realized that on my lazy days I don't even burn 1800 calories... so now I make sure to get 10,000 steps no matter what.0
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I had the same question last year, and read some opinion pieces on why they weren't necessary and skipped out. I just got a FitBit Charge 2 last week, and for me it's a real eye opener to see how active I am, or and how active I'm not. Health and activity isn't only dependent on your gym routine, but also how active you are throughout the day. On Saturday I spent literally an entire day food prepping and cooking. My HR was elevated the entire day. I also really like the sleep insights.
If you're really on the fence and want to try before buying, check out http://www.lumoid.com You can rent different trackers and see if it's for you, or which one you like best.4 -
i absolutely love my Fitbit Surge. It keeps me motivated. It also tracks calories burned from activity. So OP when you are on the stationary bike it will track calories burned. I sleep in mine so it tracks my sleeping patterns and is also my alarm clock. It syncs with MFP which is also great!!!0
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My personal opinion: If you're new to weight loss and exercise I think it opens your eyes to how inactive people really are. It gets you up and moving.
If you're already into exercise, the calories it says you burn is way off so you can't rely on it to base your daily caloric needs.
I stopped losing weight by going by my Fitbit numbers, which tells me that I wasn't burning the amount of calories it says I was. I put it away 3 years ago and never got it back out. Once I stopped using it I started losing weight again.5 -
My personal opinion: If you're new to weight loss and exercise I think it opens your eyes to how inactive people really are. It gets you up and moving.
If you're already into exercise, the calories it says you burn is way off so you can't rely on it to base your daily caloric needs.
I stopped losing weight by going by my Fitbit numbers, which tells me that I wasn't burning the amount of calories it says I was. I put it away 3 years ago and never got it back out. Once I stopped using it I started losing weight again.
This differs from device to device and person to person, one month of reviewing loss against expected loss will tell you how accurate it is. I eat back all of the calories I get back from my watch and lose as expected, as do many others.
I also had the opposite experience in terms of activity levels, I was far more active than I thought I was.
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I have never felt the urge to get one. I use my phone in my pocket for fitness that uses gps (walking, running, cycling) and manually enter "stationary" activities like dance. I have a chest strap heart rate monitor that I used to use all the time before I learned my patterns, avg heart rate for various activities, peak, etc.
I think fitbit is most helpful for people who don't realize how inactive they are (newer to fitness?) or people who have desk jobs and need reminders to stand up. My caffeine addiction/water drinking habits keep me moving throughout the day, so I haven't bothered.0 -
I love my FitBit, but it's completely possible to lose weight without it. It's really just a matter of personal preference.3
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I like my FitBit, but I lost a majority of my weight without it. Initially, it made me realize that I wasn't moving much outside of my standard workout time, and I learned to walk more. I no longer need to know to move more throughout the day, but I still enjoy overshooting my 10k step goal and calculating my TDEE with help from my FitBit. Be sure to read both critical and positive reviews from Amazon, and make a decision from there. If you can wait, Black Friday is approaching in a little over a month, and if no sales happen before then, you can bet that there will be a sale on that day.0
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Not to beat a dead horse - but should I get an activity tracker or not? Here's my normal gym routine: Some light stretching, hop on the stationary bike and ride for 20-30 minutes, then lift weights. Unless I strap that watch to my shoe I doubt it's gonna tell me much on that bike. Is it going to be another "gadget" I've got to keep charged and will wind up on ebay in a few months? Or will I be talking about it for years to come? Thanks for the thought and comments...
Don't do that. If you put a walking tracker on your ankle when you ride a bike it'll tell you you walked a mile or whatever. That's like eating steak and entering popcorn.
Garmin makes fantastic devices that can tell you meaningful things about your time on a bike (if it's set up for that) but not by wearing it on you ankle.2 -
If you're looking for an accurate calorie burn count I would advise against it. If you're looking for a cool device to wear that gives you semi-meaningful feedback about the amount you move in a day then they are great. The problem my wife and I found with them is that they are woefully inaccurate to base your daily calories on. For the longest time she could not figure out why she wasn't losing any weight, then we tossed the silly thing in the drawer and she started manually entering her exercise and she started losing weight. It was giving her twice the amount of calories it should have been because it was always counting steps, even when she wasn't walking. She could simply be standing in place doing the dishes and just from moving back and forth it would count hundreds of steps. Anyway, I look at this as a toy more than anything.
Having said that, I do use a HR strap when I do exercise to help me measure intensity and HR zones. Even with that though, I figure calorie burns given to me with the HR strap are probably inaccurate at least by 30-40% at times. If you keep inaccuracy in mind all of these devices are good tools to use.1 -
Unless you are trying to count calories from miscellaneous walking throughout the day, I'd say its a waste. It's not going to track any of what you list. It might be worth it if it motivates you to move (ie walk/run) more or if you have no idea how active you normally are, but otherwise the stationary bike will have a better clue about your speed/mileage/resistance than a Fitbit on your wrist. And if you decide to go for a run or a long walk, that is trackable (for free) via many phone apps.2 -
It depends on if that information is particularly meaningful to you...I personally never saw the point.0
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I like my fitness watch because it keeps track of my miles and paces during trail running. Day to day, it's a reminder to get myself up from my desk and walk around.1
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RunRutheeRun wrote: »Been there done that...no longer use but once upon a time I loved it and felt it kept me motivated...
but my becoming more active became the norm so I no longer needed a tracker to get me up and moving.
Sounds like you have good routine already and probably don't need a gadget to keep you at it.
I know I'm happier that I'm no longer focused on steps related exercise and can maintain my weight effortlessly by biking 5 days a week /40 mins along with strength training x 3.
Thanks Ruthee. I think you are probably right. I'd probably forget to charge it anyways!0 -
What were you hoping a tracker would do for you? If it's just about keeping track of what you're doing in the gym, I wouldn't bother. You can enter all of that stuff manually, anyway. If you're interested in seeing how active you are during the other 23 hours of the day, it might be worthwhile for you.0
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I LOVE my FitBit. It's all about preference. Truth is I become a little obsessed on checking my fitbit and MFP more than I do my Facebook. lol3
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I am more or less married to mine because my health insurance premiums are discounted based on my status in a “healthy habits” program and step counts in a day is one way to pretty easily get points (more than 5000, more than 10000, more than 15000).
Beyond that, mine does seem to be pretty accurate as to calorie burn. Like others have said, that seems to be a personal thing. Works for some, not for others.0 -
I recently started wearing my Fitbit again. I knew I'd started slacking on activity so it was helpful for me to see how little I was actually walking everyday. I had stopped wearing it when I started doing a lot of exercise that wasn't step based (swimming, biking, strength training) because not getting 10,000 steps in a day was discouraging, even if I knew I'd biked 20 miles. But for the past 3 months I've been super lazy and not really doing any exercise so I'm hoping it will be a motivator again.0
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It is a personal preference but I find it pushes me to get up and moving more. I dont necessarily use it for the calorie count, but to see how many steps I am doing, how active I am, and my sleep pattern.1
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I also have a Fitbit that I love. But its personal preference really. May be a good idea to do some research on the different brands and types of watches they offer. Then go to a Best Buy-type store and check them out in person.1
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As others have said... Preference.. I had a Fitbit for like 4 yrs. Did well, but was highly inaccurate at times. Now have a Garmin forerunner 230.. does well & works with MFP. Just use what works for you & keeps you motivated!0
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I find it helpful. I work in an office, and have a long commute, so my MFP is set to sedentary. If I can walk enough to get up to lightly active or active, I get to eat more.3
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Glad that this topic has been posted, I've been toying with the idea of getting a fitness tracker but still convincing myself if I'll use it or if it'll collect dust (because of the battery life and me not wanting to charge it or forgetting to keep it charged). Not to hijack the thread but is there an app that does almost the same thing as a fitbit (keeps track of steps taken, miles walked, calories burned)?1
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If your gym routine includes a stationary bike or heavy weight lifting, I recommend wearing a fitness tracker that records heart rate and and calories as opposed to foot steps. I personally have a Fitbit Charge HR that I use for weight lifting which, obviously, records my heart rate, converts it into calories burned, and then syncs it to MFP to give me exercise calories to eat.0
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Glad that this topic has been posted, I've been toying with the idea of getting a fitness tracker but still convincing myself if I'll use it or if it'll collect dust (because of the battery life and me not wanting to charge it or forgetting to keep it charged). Not to hijack the thread but is there an app that does almost the same thing as a fitbit (keeps track of steps taken, miles walked, calories burned)?
Trackers that track foot steps and calories without tracking your actual heart rate are basing your calories burned upon the number of steps you've taken. If you've been riding a stationary bike, most trackers won't record any steps and therefore it won't show that you've burned any calories.0 -
jasonlangdon74 wrote: »Glad that this topic has been posted, I've been toying with the idea of getting a fitness tracker but still convincing myself if I'll use it or if it'll collect dust (because of the battery life and me not wanting to charge it or forgetting to keep it charged). Not to hijack the thread but is there an app that does almost the same thing as a fitbit (keeps track of steps taken, miles walked, calories burned)?
Trackers that track foot steps and calories without tracking your actual heart rate are basing your calories burned upon the number of steps you've taken. If you've been riding a stationary bike, most trackers won't record any steps and therefore it won't show that you've burned any calories.
And trackers that record your HR are going to wildly overestimate your burns.0 -
I love mine, I don't use it to track calories, I just feel like it keeps me honest with how much I'm moving in a day. I always try to get 10 to 15k steps a day.0
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