Fitbit...to buy or not?

I also LOVE my Fitbit!! It seems pretty accurate and I LOVE that it syncs with MFP, so there's no guess work with the calories burned from exercise! It keeps me motivated to walk at least 10 flights of stairs everyday and 5 miles everyday!! It's an awesome way to stay motivated!!!

I've had one for about two weeks - shortly before I signed on here. The Fitbit Ultra comes with a wriststrap (for monitoring your sleep cycles), a clip attachment (that I don't use) and free use of the website that integrates with MFP.

I must enter my food diary here, and it shows up on FitBit.com. I also enter my exercise here on MFP. I put my weigh in values on both sites (doesn't seem to synch that). My amount of steps taken, distance walked shows up here and is credited to my calorie allowance as calories burned. Stairs climbed will show up as calories burned as well.

I generally wear it on my bra, right near the center, and I ignore it all day. It has a USB attachment for your computer, and when you are within 15 feet of it, it will automatically upload your stats to the website. It kept the initial charge for almost 2 weeks. I did forget to wear it today, and I did forget to turn it into sleep mode last night. But the website is pretty forgiving: when I put in the hours I thought I was asleep for, the FitBit supplied information on my activity levels for that time and calculated my sleep pattern anyway.

Pretty cool!

I find it's a motivator. When I look at my activity levels for the day when I get home, and I've only climbed 7 flights of stairs, and walked only 3000 steps, I've had a crappy day, and I will go out and walk some more.

I wish my relatives would all get one: we're a competitive lot, and seeing the tally on a website is bound to spark a little Fitbit throwdown!

I have it & LOVE it!

FYI: I bought mine on eBay.. you can find one cheaper there. Mine has never fallen off. I wear it 24/7 (except when I'm in the shower - then it's on the charger).. Highly recommend it!

I agree with a lot of the comments here. I think it depends on your needs. An HRM may be better for actual workouts I am told.

I use it for tracking walking and climbing stairs. It does have a nice web site with lots of data. It syncs with MFP and will make the one-time adjustment on your exercise page if you go over the calories burned with normal activity set by MFP. For example, if your MFP normal burn is 2200 calories a day and you burn 2500 according to FitBit, it will make an adjustment (I think after midnight) of 300 calories. If you don't reach your 2200 level, it will not do anything. Hope that makes sense.

As far as the clip goes, I was using the clip that came with it and was nervous about losing it. Then I realized that the clip was for thick clothing, belts etc. You don't HAVE to use it. The device itself is a clip and slips easily over the lip of your pocket, or whatever. It is snug and I don't worry at all anymore.

However, you do have to remember not to throw it in the laundry with your clothes because it will NOT survive the washing machine!

The technology is a mystery to me. How it knows you are taking steps, I do not know. I can hold it steady in my hand and walk around the house at it will record every step. I read it uses an altimeter (like in a plane) to calculate heights (stairs, hills, etc) going up only though. Going down stairs is regular steps.

If you ride a bike like me, clip it to your hip. I tried it on my collar and it did not seem to work well.

While it is a motivator to some degree for me, I can't say it makes me want to get out and walk every day. I can still easily talk myself out of it!

Good luck!


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I'm waiting for mine to come in the mail. I'm also waiting for my HRM. They are two very different products.

Hi Cindy! Welcome! I have a Fitbit and I love it! It's a huge motivator for me. Sometimes I wonder a bit about it's accuracy, but at this point I don't see the steps as the actual number of steps I've walked but rather my activity level throughout the day. I work as a cook, so I'm typically at 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day, gym days is around 20,000. Last night I had 17,500 steps at 10pm, and I was so close to 20,000, so I got my friend to walk another 2500 steps with me. When I got home, I saw that I was at 19 flights of stairs, which was 190% of my goal. So, barefoot and in my pajamas, I ran downstairs and then back up to get to 200%. Going back and forth between Fitbit and MFP is a little time consuming, but it's become part of my daily routine, and so I am gaining more and more awareness of my health, and that's what matters most to me! I am very grateful for my Fitbit and for MFP because I'm seeing results and feeling better than I've felt in years!!

Lot's of luck to you, no matter what you decide!

I strongly recommend it.

I bought one about 3 weeks ago and it is an awesome motivator -- my daughter is obese, I bought one for her as well. The fitbit and MFP 'talk' to one another, so your cal intake is adjusted based on what the fitbit is tracking in addition to the exercise you log. For example, one of the fitbit goals is to climb 5 flights of stairs a day. At first that was hard for me. Now I routinely log 25 stairs. You are constantly competing with yourself to get better and better.

Love it.

Hubby got me mine for Valentine's day and I've worn it every day since. Havent had any trouble with it falling off, except at night until I read you can slip the whole thing into the slot on the arm band and that does the trick! My sister just got one and is loving it. Hubby wants one now. It totally motivates you to MOVE!! Great investment. I also like the sleep tracker. Great to use in conjunction with MFP too.

I adore my Fitbit. When mine broke about a month ago, the company shipped me a brand new one right away- no charge. I am lost when I'm not wearing it- awake or asleep!!

It's freakin' awesome!!