People with Fitbits.....thoughts please : )

Hi there.. I was also looking into getting one of these but I do want it for the intense work outs.. so why do they not work for them.. that to me is the whole point in getting one.. Any advice about a good Heart Rate Monitor would be greatly appreciated.. :bigsmile:

I have both. I use fitbit to give me an overall idea of how active I am (daily stuff) and as a motivational tool to increase my activities in my daily lifestyle. It's pretty effective for that purpose. I use my HRM for certain types of workouts that have varying stride lengths (ie, Zumba, Yoga, Circuit Training). I keep my fitbit on while I'm doing these activities. It registers some steps. I use the stopwatch feature on the fitbit during this time. It creates an activity record on the fitbit website. Then I know when to tell mFP I worked out and for how long. This is required when you sync the websites. This is so that even when steps are registered, you aren't getting counted twice for calories. I override it for that period and enter my HRM data. I wear mine all the time except when I'm in water.

P.S. The whole family gets involved in my fitbit. They ask me what number I'm at. If I'm close to a badge, they will cheer me on or go along with me. One night my husband was out walking with me trying to help me get 20,000 steps (haven't gotten that badge yet. I had an active day and was already almost at 15,000. I got the 15,000 step badge but he didn't realize the time starts over at midnight so I only got up to 18,855 before it rolled to zero steps. So I didn't make it. I had a very late evening date with my husband and it got him out walking too.

As for steps during driving. It doesn't do it for me but I've heard putting it in your bra/chest area seems to stabilize it better of it is a problem for you.

Hey deary... I LOVE mine. Definitely some trial and error but if you stick with it and research any questions you may have, you'll love it too. Their customer service has responded to all of my questions within 24 hours of sending emails which I think is fab!

As for usage.... I wear my Garmin HRM and the fitbit when I run and activate the timer on the fitbit so the activity coincides with my run entered into MFP. I do use my HRM numbers but like another poster said, they are always extremely close. I do not, however, activiate the timer when I do any strength because like my HRM, it just doesn't accurately give me the burn I create as my main body is planted. I use freedieting.com to determine strength cals.

Driving.... yes it does register slight burn while driving but you can actually input this as an activity through fitbit and it will adjust the cals. I've found where the driving tracking gets off is mainly the stairs climbed as I'm sure the bumps, etc register as elevation. The stairs climbed adjust as well once I log the drive.

The few things I have found annoying are put to rest by the motivation it gives me to keep myself up and moving. As you've notice, since you're a MFP friend of mine (and a wonderful one at that I no longer hang around on MFP, facebook, etc nearly as much as I've used to. When I sync and the numbers aren't what I want I get up and keep moving.

Oh - and I wear mine all of the time, with the exception of showers and swimming.

I love my fitbit ~ I feel naked without it. I primarily use mine to make sure I hit my 10,000 steps per day minimum & so far so good. I have had it for about a year & haven't had any problems with it.

If you're considering buying one, now is the time to jump on it - check out this thread on SlickDeals - http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/73066/24-hour-fitness-fitbit-ultra-wireless-activity-tracker-blue-or-plum

Thanks for this link! I was planning to buy my mom one for Mother's Day, so this is perfect timing. BTW, to the OP, I absolutely LOVE my Fitbit! I wear it constantly and it keeps me motivated to get up and move, whereas before I had it, I'd have whoever was up do my bidding :-p If you are looking for a motivational tool, this one is awesome, and I highly recommend it.

Oh, and the only time I have trouble with extra steps is when I forget to take it off before we go on a motorcycle ride. Regular car rides don't seem to affect it much, if at all.

LOVE mine! My favorite part, honestly is all the cool graphs and stuff on their website. I'm very visual and I love that feedback! I find it pretty accurate compared to my Polar HRM for running, etc, but it's supposed to not be good for weights, yoga, cycling, etc.

I just jumped on here to ask the same thing!! :-)

bump, i'm interested in the responses!

I love my fitbit. I use it mainly to motivate me to move. The calorie burn automatically loads onto MFP. Although, the sleep mode does seem to be a bit off...for the most part it is accurate. You can set up your account with daily/weekly goals for motivation.

You can find the fitbit at a cheaper price thru Amazon or even eBay.

Good luck no matter what you decide.

I use mine mostly as a motivational tool. I have a goal of 15K daily and if I'm not close to my goal by 5 pm I'm looking for ways to increase my steps.

I am also looking for challenges on the Fitbit site to motivate me. I love that it sync's with MFP and getting up to see that I already have a calorie deficit. I don't use it so much for sleep monitoring since I don't find any real value in it. I sleep pretty well.

I record my food on MFP and it will sync with my Fitbit.

I just purchased one for my DIL who wanted one for her birthday. It will be interesting to see if she throws down any challenges. It has really been the best thing I could purchase to get me to move more. I love the fact that it will talk to you too.