Thinking of getting a FITBIT

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taintedbutterfly18
taintedbutterfly18 Posts: 189 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am currently doing WW online and tracking here at MFP. Thinking of dumping weight watchers after my 3 month membership I paid ends in July. So many people talk about FITBIT's on here. What all does a FITBIT do for you? would you recommend getting one?

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  • RedefiningMe
    RedefiningMe Posts: 44 Member
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    Can't answer your questions from personal experience as I just bought mine a few days ago and still need to figure out all the ins and outs of it before I can use it - too busy to do that this week...looking forward to delving into it this weekend - YEAH!

    What I can tell you is the majority of the hype here on the formums (based on reasonable purpose) is positive...there are always a few naysayers,. but then again every tool is not for everyone. You need to understand your purpose and goal and assess if fitbit is a match for them.

    I have a friend who has the older versions and she said it really motivated her on her path to health...along with other things. When I told her I was considering it for the purpose of trying to quantify my daily calorie burn, she said it was a good tool for that.
  • Shell_7609
    Shell_7609 Posts: 786 Member
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    I love my fitbit. I like to use it to challenge myself to try for a few more steps each day & I love seeing how I slept the night before especially when I think I've slept well but still wake up exhausted
  • Joneisha07
    Joneisha07 Posts: 49
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    I have been using mine for about 3 mo. It makes me want to move more and also shows me how active I am, and adjusts MFP's calorie limitations accordingly. I would say it is worth the money. I get anxious if I forget to put it on during the day. You should give it a go.
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
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    For me its an additional motivation and monitor device, I already have a heart monitor/GPS that measures how much I walk when I'm actually exercising or checks my intensity when I'm doing weights. The Fitbit tells me how much I'm doing just hanging around being alive.

    It counts my stair steps that I want to increase, and used to have to remember to write down - too much trouble.

    It shows me that despite walking an hour a day Its hard to do 10,000 steps if I'm sitting at a computer in a home office most of the day - I'm only up to 8500. I've been awake for 3 hours and only did 201 steps and 3 stair climbs - I have to go make a coffee now to get a stair climb and a few more steps. But I burnt 1080 calories sitting here breathing.

    I no longer bother entering my workouts/walking into MFP, I just let the FitBit fill in the calories burned automatically. That saves the hassle.

    It monitors my sleep - not a big deal for me - but a nice bonus.
  • cj4903
    cj4903 Posts: 1
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    My mom and I both love ours. It allows us to compete and see how active the other person is during the day. For me having a workout partner and the thought that she may be up and moving while I'm sitting around motivates me to get moving.

    Personally I love the sleep tracker since this is an area I have problems in.
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
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    I love mine. Had it about a month. It encourages you to take more steps and it adjusts your calorie count. Some times you work off more than what MFP calculates so it gives you those extra calories back. Also if you get one look on ebay or amazon. They tend to be a slight bit cheaper.
  • littlekat1
    littlekat1 Posts: 53 Member
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    I love my FITBIT! High recommend it! It keeps me honest in my exercise, how many steps I take per day and the myfitness pal helps me with my food intake. Combine the two and in my opinion, it is a win-win combination.

    One thing, I am on FITBIT #3. The first two were defective, but the company was super great about replacing it.
  • Cocochickdeleted
    Cocochickdeleted Posts: 343 Member
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    A lot of people who get the Fitbit (me included) say it becomes like a part of them. I wear mine 24/7--except for when I shower, and it can't be worn while swimming. It definitely makes me want to move more. Instead of asking the kids to fetch something for me now, I do it myself. It makes it a little harder for me to want to be lazy.

    Also, it integrates with several other fitness sites. You can sync it with MyFitnessPal, and I also have it synced with earndit.com. I joined a challenge over there, and my Fitbit automatically sends information to earndit so that I get credit for my activity.

    For me, the $99 investment was well worth it, and I would buy it again (I have a friend who's on her third because she keeps washing them--so make sure you always know where it is. Being small, it IS easy to misplace). I bought one for my daughter and my mom as well.
  • MeMyCatsandI
    MeMyCatsandI Posts: 704 Member
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    I got one just a couple weeks ago and I LOVE it! It counts your steps, miles, flights of stairs climbed, it has a clock and stop watch, and it "analyzes" your sleep. I found that it instantly made me want to move more, for example, I climbed my stairs at home 50 times in one day to make my FitBit happy (= As far as the sleep goes, I have insomnia so I like that it can help me see how many times I wake up per night. It seems to be pretty accurate. It is well worth the money in my opinion. And the fact that it syncs with MFP is a huge added bonus!
  • taintedbutterfly18
    taintedbutterfly18 Posts: 189 Member
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    I take 3 fitness classes a week doing aerobics, zumba, jumping jacks, jogging and so forth. Would it stay on securely doing high activity like that?
  • jarrettfam
    jarrettfam Posts: 186 Member
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    I love mine! I makes me want to do more. Its nice to see through the day how many steps I've went, stairs Ive climbed... Its very easy to set up and use. The directions are on the website. It syncs easily to MFP and adjusts through out the day when you are near the base. It also keeps track of how much you sleep! I hate when I forget to put mine on or forget where I've placed it.
  • rhodenizer
    rhodenizer Posts: 95 Member
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    I just read about this on the website, sounds amazing for sure, do stores carry it or is it just on line?
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    I do Zumba and it stays on fine.

    I'm living abroad so I don't have first hand knowledge of seeing it in stores but I've seen people mention that in forum threads. I think it was Best Buy. You might do a search and see if you can come across that. It MIGHT have also been Target. Best Buy sticks out in my head more.

    In another thread, I shared what crazy things I've done to move more. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/602953-just-won-a-fitbit-ultra?page=1#posts-8663410

    It is worth it to me. It is not, however a heart rate monitor (HRM). I suggest combining both. I use my fitbit to motivate me A LOT for daily movement. See the thread above. For scheduled workouts that are highly cardiovascular and don't really have accurate stride steps (in my case: 30 Day Shred, Yoga and Zumba), I use my HRM to calculate my calorie burn and then I replace it with that part of the day. I don't get double counted and it gives me more accuracy. Fitbit, on the other hand, shows me how much I move all day long (walk). That's good for figuring out your overall activity (TDEE).

    My point is this. I love love love my fitbit. It is, however, important to know what the devices are good for and what you intend to use them for. Again, see that thread to see my long long reply about some interesting ways it has motivated me to move more.
  • taintedbutterfly18
    taintedbutterfly18 Posts: 189 Member
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    I do Zumba and it stays on fine.

    I'm living abroad so I don't have first hand knowledge of seeing it in stores but I've seen people mention that in forum threads. I think it was Best Buy. You might do a search and see if you can come across that. It MIGHT have also been Target. Best Buy sticks out in my head more.

    In another thread, I shared what crazy things I've done to move more. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/602953-just-won-a-fitbit-ultra?page=1#posts-8663410

    It is worth it to me. It is not, however a heart rate monitor (HRM). I suggest combining both. I use my fitbit to motivate me A LOT for daily movement. See the thread above. For scheduled workouts that are highly cardiovascular and don't really have accurate stride steps (in my case: 30 Day Shred, Yoga and Zumba), I use my HRM to calculate my calorie burn and then I replace it with that part of the day. I don't get double counted and it gives me more accuracy. Fitbit, on the other hand, shows me how much I move all day long (walk). That's good for figuring out your overall activity (TDEE).

    My point is this. I love love love my fitbit. It is, however, important to know what the devices are good for and what you intend to use them for. Again, see that thread to see my long long reply about some interesting ways it has motivated me to move more.

    Read your post on the link you gave. Inspired! I think i really want to get one. :)
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    Get it. Be excited about it. You have to buy into it. Let it treat you right.

    Here's another story...

    One day I went to the zoo with my kids and because it is a very hilly zoo, it counted lots of "floors." I wanted to finish up my 50 stair badge that day. I normally don't focus on high stair badges. I focus on step badges but this day I had maybe 10 left. While I was chatting with a neighbor on FB, I would rush outside and do a quick round up 2 floors and back down the read and answer her. It was all so seemless but definitely not something I would think of doing with just an HRM. It is a motivator.

    Oh and...

    Last night, I was out walking a dog that I'm dogsitting for the weekend. I had to get to the next badge before we could go in. I admit it. I was tired. I didn't wanna. So I decided to run some of it to hurry it up. Oh my! I don't run. When I did it that one time with my son, I went 1/4 the distance I did last night before giving up because I was gasping. In the last few months my endurance has gone up and I had no clue I was able to go that much further. Truthfully, it gave me a smile and I wanted to keep going but the dog had other ideas.
  • Leesa22
    Leesa22 Posts: 73 Member
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    Love love love mine! Had it since early April and I still get excited seeing how many steps, floors, calories burned etc and seeing if I am on track with my eating and seeing if I am on target. I also love that it sync's so easily with MFP, the best investment ever, and that is my 2 cents!
  • Leesa22
    Leesa22 Posts: 73 Member
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    I just read about this on the website, sounds amazing for sure, do stores carry it or is it just on line?
    I ordered mine online but they are also at Best Buy and most Target stores.

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