Fitbit...to buy or not?

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!!

I just got mine today. No idea what I'm doing yet.... Oh well hopefully in time it will do something. I've only opened it about an hour or so ago.

Thanks for this input. I was actually debating if I should get a HRM to monitor my calories burn but then I saw the add for Fitbit too. That's why I wasn't sure which one I should go with. Which one would you recommend if I only want to find out how many calories I burned when I work out on a video because I can never be sure after a video workout or after a run outside, how many calories I actually burned. Thanks for your help in advance.

about to read everyone else's responses but i will say that i work in fitness and my manager just LOVES hers. she said it really helps her stay moving because it counts your steps. Only thing i personally dont like about it, is that it doesnt monitor your heart rate and that is a key thing to knowing exactly how many calories you burn. I've always wanted a fit bit though. But maybe i'll get a heart rate monitor just for when i exercise.

Love love love my Fitbit. I can say with confidence that it works. Things I do that I never did before:

Took the stairs (the Ultra has a meter for how many flights of stairs you go up, so I try to take stairs as often as possible now)

Park in the spot farthest away from the store. Gets me a few more steps in, which the Fitbit also tracks.

Pace at work when I'm stuck in a spot (I work retail, so if I am at a register or somewhere that I normally would just stand, now I walk around when not helping someone)

These are just a few of the pluses.

There is one negative. It seems that Fitbit/MFP linking breaks all the damn time. Annoying as hell, down a day or three generally, but it sucks. I put my lifestyle at sedentary so that when I walk/move a lot with the Fitbit, it syncs those calories back to me and I get an adjustment. Thats why I normally don't log any exercise unless it's intensive. Fitbit does it all for me, except when its down.

When it won't send the data over quick enough. Unlink it from your MFP account and then relink it. It instantly moves over your fitbit exercise calories burned to MFP.

I LOVE my FitBit! I usually clip it to my bra. It's great.

I bought mine last year at best buy. It worked really well and then in the summer it stopped working I was really sad.

Pros- Simple to use, links with MFP, can put in pocket, clip on belt, put in bra (for women), records calories burned, floors climbed, steps taken, miles traveled, automatically links send data when you are close to base, looong battery life between charges, knows when you are active and knows when you are not, records sleep pattern, smells like cinnamon. Ok, I made the cinnamon part up.

Cons- My spouse is jealous and wants ones, easy to misplace, I contstantly look at a girl's bra thinking she could possibly be a fitbit partner, it doesn't smells like bacon.

All in all, I LOVE my fitbit. I named him Teutonic and he goes everywhere with me. My goal is 10,000 steps a day and he will get me there. ( Got 8855 yesterday!)

You are a riot! Just cracked up at the food referenced (cinnamon & bacon)