Tell me about FitBit!

LaurenAOK
LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
edited November 12 in Fitness and Exercise
I am very close to my goal weight and I think in the next week or so I am probably going to start eating at maintenance and exercising regularly to focus on toning up (right now I eat a deficit and rarely exercise). FitBit looks like a really awesome tool to help me once I start working out, but is it really as cool as it seems? Do the calories burned seem accurate and stuff? Does the sleep tracker actually work?

I ask because I've been searching on ebay and someone is selling one for $75 (new), which is awesome since it's normally $100. I'm thinking about buying it while I have the chance, but I don't want to be disappointed. I am a pretty broke college student so even $75 is quite a lot for me.

One more question, I also noticed that some people on ebay are selling the older FitBit "classic" for cheaper. Is the ultra really a lot better or would I be just as set with the classic version?
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Replies

  • momof2winsplus
    momof2winsplus Posts: 137 Member
    Does the Classic sync with MFP?
  • sondyscraps
    sondyscraps Posts: 35 Member
    Bump! I have been looking at fitbit too and want to know the same things!
  • torri106
    torri106 Posts: 17
    i just got mine about a week ago... I LOVE IT! It def gets me moving and motivated.

    The things i love about it:

    * Makes me want to get in 10,000 steps + a day. Im finding myself running in place alot.

    * Same for the stairs..i strive to do 25 flight a day

    * It has a "stopwatch" feature so you can have an activity log for a certain time period...i use this feature for my workouts, so i know how many calories i burned (i use it for Zumba, walking, running).

    *it shows my calories for the whole day, including your "just living" calories..mine is 2184 so i know once i hit that calorie burn i know i did good!

    The one thing that i dont like is it gives you exercise calories as if your going to be at that same pace all day so my goal calories are constantly changing. Those calories decrease as your activity lessens. So ill have 1000+ exercise cal. after a run but 12 hours later its 500.

    I like the sleep feature, its interesting.

    Im still learning but i love it!
  • LRodich
    LRodich Posts: 15
    The Ultra is the only one that measures elevation and keeps up with stairs or hills climbed. I've had mine for about 3 weeks and I LOVE IT! I would NOT be without the elevatoin feature because it ENCOURAGES me to go up hills and take the stairs at work instead of the elevator (I'm a 60 year old grandmother who needs to move her buns). The Fitbit has been a POWERFUL motivating tool to encourage this granny to stay in motion rather than sit still...and it's rewarding each day when I can see that I've walked well OVER 10,000 steps and climbed 25 flights of stairs! The calorie connection is accurate s far as I can tell...and it syncs very nicely with MFP. And yes, the sleep function works; I have sleep apnea and it records all of my 'waking' periods (almost 12 a night)...but it has also shown me that when I take Ambien, I do NOT have those wakeful times. So, it measure me waking when I DONT take Ambien and DOESNT measure waking when I do. ONE WORD OF WARNING: it is tiny and EASY to forget that it's on your clothes and thrown into the washer and it's NOT water proof. I accidentally washed mine (for a few minutes, not the whole cycle, but it got completely wet)...two days in a bag of dry rice cured it, but BE CAREFUL about that. The one for $75 is most probably not an Ultra...and it could be one that has water damage (you never know). I think I would buy one new....
  • fypspirit
    fypspirit Posts: 109 Member
    How does the stopwatch feature work. I mean how do you get it to do the stopwatch. I didn't even know it had it on there til tonight.
  • naprestsleep
    naprestsleep Posts: 55 Member
    Mine arrived today, at work and I was off... I will tell you more tomorrow.
  • Stixx28
    Stixx28 Posts: 55
    It is awesome, I just got mine too. I like what I see so far...

    What I like:

    It holds a charge 10 days.

    Due to the open API, it links over to 10 healthy web sites.

    It's fairly accurate.

    FitBit dot com is free. (unlike others)

    It really makes you want to climb more stairs and take more steps.

    It uploads and updates when you are within 15ft of your computer.

    It shows your activity level throughout the day.

    Displays info by the hour, graphs, pie charts.

    Gets you of your a**!.
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
    Same experience as everyone else... I love mine too! I've been so much more aware since I've had and spent few evening running on the spot or going up and down the stairs to te my numbers up! I've just ordered one for my husband as well :)
  • Stixx28
    Stixx28 Posts: 55
    Get the newer one. Throw some bids on Ebay, make sure it has the elevation feature. Don't get the older one. I paid 99 for it from Fitbit! It came really fast, and I'm sure I got the latest model. It's impressive!
  • takehimaway
    takehimaway Posts: 499 Member
    I traded a $20 grill with $20 shipping for mine; it was new in box. See if you can find someone to make a trade. I couldn't justify purchasing it.

    I love every little thing about it, but I don't wear it on my clothes; I would wash it/lose it/drop it in the toilet/forget about it. I put it in it's sleep strap, and put it on one of my ankles. I did get mine in the shower for about 2.5 seconds, before I threw the showerhead down screaming, but like the other woman said, rice worked, and it's still perfect. The FitBit site is awesome; I LOVELOVELOVE the sleep tracker, as it lets me know how I actually sleep. It does make me wanna walk/stairs more. It syncs awesome; you really need it, and I hope when you get it, that you like it.
  • KatyE213
    KatyE213 Posts: 447 Member
    I've had mine for 2 months now and i LOVE it!!! I absolutely love the way it syncs with MFP and as other people have said, it really gets you motivated to move. I would definitely recommend you buy the Ultra (newer model) as it has more features. :smile:
  • DeborahStanley
    DeborahStanley Posts: 90 Member
    Sorry this is a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyway - I spend a lot of time at the gym with the treadmill and use it for incline more than speed since I'm not allowed to run, does the fitbit pick up this or is it only 'real' elevation like on stairs or hills?

    I use a HRM but I am really tempted with a fitbit, I just need a tiny bit more convincing before I part with my cash :)
  • Ghewlett
    Ghewlett Posts: 22 Member
    Sorry this is a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyway - I spend a lot of time at the gym with the treadmill and use it for incline more than speed since I'm not allowed to run, does the fitbit pick up this or is it only 'real' elevation like on stairs or hills?

    I use a HRM but I am really tempted with a fitbit, I just need a tiny bit more convincing before I part with my cash :)
  • Ghewlett
    Ghewlett Posts: 22 Member
    Sorry this is a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyway - I spend a lot of time at the gym with the treadmill and use it for incline more than speed since I'm not allowed to run, does the fitbit pick up this or is it only 'real' elevation like on stairs or hills?

    I use a HRM but I am really tempted with a fitbit, I just need a tiny bit more convincing before I part with my cash :)

    Oops - missed the reply!!

    the Fitbit only measures "real" elevation (ie, walking up hill or up stairs), not Simulated elevation such as Stairmaster/treadmill.

    But it REALLY REALLY motivates you to get moving - I've had mine for 2 months and was previously a couch potato - can't believe how much more active I've been since wearing this little fella.

    It really works!!
  • Ghewlett
    Ghewlett Posts: 22 Member
    How does the stopwatch feature work. I mean how do you get it to do the stopwatch. I didn't even know it had it on there til tonight.

    I have the Ultra model & to start the stopwatch feature you hold down the little button for 2 seconds till the stopwatch starts. To stop, hold the button down for another 2 seconds will "STOP" and a little flag appear!

    Then when you go onto Fitbit website, you'll see that you've logged an activity for that period, which you can rename & add notes to.
  • jonski1968
    jonski1968 Posts: 4,490 Member
    The best £80 i have ever spent on a fitness gadget...I broke my record last night of 54 flights of stairs...Made me more active than ever before...If anyone wants to add my on Fitbit.. http://www.fitbit.com/user/22FJ8V

    More the merrier to compare stats.

    Be warned though...THEY ARE ADDICTIVE..
  • Stixx28
    Stixx28 Posts: 55
    I doubt the fitbit will pick up an incline, since your elevation wont be changing.Thats what it measures.Fitbit is also coming out with a Wi-Fi Scale, that will prolly have the open API as well, uploading your weight to MFP, and other sites. It's called the Bitfit Aria, Shipping the end of April, you can preorder for 129.00 now. Cool stuff coming our way! Gottal love it. : )
  • AussieGem
    AussieGem Posts: 96 Member
    Im curious, does the fitbit track calories burnt in gym sessions automatically or does it just add to the calories you burn through the day? Basically, how does it calculate calories burned?
  • Stixx28
    Stixx28 Posts: 55
    I just used this today mind you, but I think it was accurate, althogh the Fitbit had me at over 2500 cals, for 9700 steps, MFP credited me with 23 of them. I think it's fair. This is all relativley new, calories are hard to nail down. I think the Bitfit site is cool, and they just released their new phone app last weekend!
  • mocoworm
    mocoworm Posts: 31
    FitBit is brilliant. Will really help you push on.
  • mocoworm
    mocoworm Posts: 31
    Im curious, does the fitbit track calories burnt in gym sessions automatically or does it just add to the calories you burn through the day? Basically, how does it calculate calories burned?

    You set the FitBit into 'Activity Mode' for the duration of any excercise / activity and at the end you stop it. (like a stopwatch), you can then on the website view all your activity periods and overwrite that period with the proper data. (ie: 5k run, 450 Kcals).

    If you are synced to MyFitnessPal you can just add your excercise in MFP and as long as the times match your activity sessions in FitBit it will automatically overwrite it using the MFP data.
  • mocoworm
    mocoworm Posts: 31
    Im curious, does the fitbit track calories burnt in gym sessions automatically or does it just add to the calories you burn through the day? Basically, how does it calculate calories burned?

    You set the FitBit into 'Activity Mode' for the duration of any excercise / activity and at the end you stop it. (like a stopwatch), you can then on the website view all your activity periods and overwrite that period with the proper data. (ie: 5k run, 450 Kcals).

    If you are synced to MyFitnessPal you can just add your excercise in MFP and as long as the times match your activity sessions in FitBit it will automatically overwrite it using the MFP data.

    To do this properly, you MUST ALWAYS put the FitBit into activity mode when doing an excercise / activity.

    Activity mode is also used to track your sleep. You put it on your wrist, pop it into activity mode and then sleep. When you wake you stop activity mode and next time you look on the site you will see all your sleep data. It must have an algorithm that says if in activity mode and no movement, this is sleep.
  • AussieGem
    AussieGem Posts: 96 Member
    ^ Thanks for that ... I have just gone ahead and purchased it!! So excited!
  • samf36
    samf36 Posts: 369 Member
    I have have mine for 1 full day and like it so far. I was shocked to find I do so many stairs a day ( 37) normal.
  • BackToPreBaby
    BackToPreBaby Posts: 81 Member
    I've been holding back with purchasing this! I was worried it wouldnt sync to MFP! I see from your cmments it will definitely work!

    Now I have to get my behind in gear to order!
  • Resalyn
    Resalyn Posts: 528 Member
    I just found out last night that Fitbit is now available for purchase at my local Best Buy - so I'm gonna go get it today on my lunch as my birthday gift to myself. I had originally ordered it back in 2010 when they were on the Today Show, and their backlog on orders at that time was 5 months. I waited for 3 and ended up canceling my order when the delivery date was pushed out even further. Back then, it didn't have the bluetooth feature or the incline sensor....

    I'm so excited! Can't wait to get it!!!
  • skullik
    skullik Posts: 142 Member
    bump!
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
    I am seriously considering this now as my payday treat. I have a Polar HRM but this sounds much better.
  • Ro0kins_Wedding
    Ro0kins_Wedding Posts: 295
    I want one!
  • violetness
    violetness Posts: 131 Member
    I just got a MediaFit, which is much like the FitBit - and I got it on a groupon sale for $95 instead fo the $180 it normally goes for. I am really liking this thing so far, and cannot wait to get like a good solid week's worth of data to really see how I am doing. So far, I am surprised though, at the amount of calories I have burned, the steps I have taken, and how LITTLE sleep I really get.
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