Fitbit

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  • LilacDreamer
    LilacDreamer Posts: 1,364 Member
    I started counting steps witha a pedometer because of work. Our company joined the GCC (Global Corporate Challenge) to get us to move more. I love it. However, the pedometers we got suck. They fall easily and I dont think they are accurate at all. I also want a pedometer to track speed and distance. I keep seeing the fitbit online and seems good but want opinions from those who have it. Especially being 100$ I want to be 100% sure before buying...

    Thoughts and comments?

    Your going to get tracking for your total steps, stairways climbed, calories burned, and a basic activity level for the day...

    but it doesn't do speed/distance tracking... you need something like Pedometer GPS on the iphone, or even Nike+GPS on the phone, or a 6G Ipod Nano which can do that with the Nike+ fitness app on it... there are other smartphone pedometers, but these are the ones work the best and I've found are the most accurate...

    The fitbit can be useful, but if that's all you want is one that give you pacing... you'll need to spend your money on something else.

    it does track distance. mine always tells me how many miles i've walked. i'd imagine it calculates it based on the amount of steps I take and the stride length data.
  • PhatAv8r
    PhatAv8r Posts: 150 Member
    I did a lot of research and finally bought it. I've had it about a week and I love it. While reading reviews, I found that people complained of it not tracking your steps properly. 1. It tracks mine perfectly. I can watch the numbers move as I walk. 2. Everyone's stride is different. If you're tall or short, you can calibrate your steps, so Fitbit calculates correctly.

    It also does so much more than a pedometer. I love it.

    Ditto, and the AUTO settings for steps is a little off for short legged people... I have a long UPPER body, but my inseam is only 31 which is 1 inch shorter than AVERAGE for my height... so I did the WET FOOT test (set up 20 feet measured on the ground... put down soaking wet towels just at the start line, back step three steps before you cross the start line and then walk over the towels and forward to your next mark 20 feet away).. measure the TOE to TOE or HEEL to HEEL distances for each step, and then also a cumulative distance for all the steps between the start and stop lines... divide the total by your number of steps... and then average all the step measurements... you should get between 1-2" difference... then do the same for your RUNNING step count...)

    I did this for mine, and my daily miles and steps are dead on with my GPS pedometer +/- 200 steps and about .10 miles per day... highly motivating to see steps, miles, and stairs during the day...
  • PhatAv8r
    PhatAv8r Posts: 150 Member
    to the Zumba and aerobics question... your FitBit doesn't know what you were doing... all it knows is that certain movement across 3 axis occurred during a certain frequency of time... so doing Zumba, your movements are increased, and your taking steps, in a certain amount of time... this would translate to the FitBit as more calories burned and probably be VERY close to what you would LOG using MFP as Zumba.... but the difference is that when you use FitBit, a new field pops up in MFP... you tell MFP WHEN you started this activity, and how long you did it.. so you need to mentally note you started doing Zumba at 7:30pm and did it for 34 minutes... and when you look at FitBit, you'll see you got credited for the exercise and it logged it out... you can see how ACCURATE it is by first seeing what is recorded on Fitbit when your device downloads the data.. then enter your MFP data as above, and you'll see the little differences in peaks and valleys go away and it blocks out your activity more solid.. but the OVERALL burn total is very close...

    I've done this with my driving updates... I've found that on average, fitbits allowance for driving is about the same as the up and down measures I see..

    I asked my cardiologist about driving, and they told me that due to stress, reactions that you do almost automatically, and depending on traffic conditions that Fitbits estimates are about right for driving a car... just don't think its CARDIO, that it is not.
  • PhatAv8r
    PhatAv8r Posts: 150 Member
    I started counting steps witha a pedometer because of work. Our company joined the GCC (Global Corporate Challenge) to get us to move more. I love it. However, the pedometers we got suck. They fall easily and I dont think they are accurate at all. I also want a pedometer to track speed and distance. I keep seeing the fitbit online and seems good but want opinions from those who have it. Especially being 100$ I want to be 100% sure before buying...

    Thoughts and comments?

    Right you are, but if you don't look at your miles before you start, and after, and use the stopwatch, you can't figure all that out, and would have to use a calculator... the smartphone or Nano does it better....

    And if that's what someone really wants... I'd actually recommend the Nike sportwatch which will do that. Although I use a Nano and a HRM belt from Polar because I can get HR and distance, pacing and everything else when I walk or run...

    Your going to get tracking for your total steps, stairways climbed, calories burned, and a basic activity level for the day...

    but it doesn't do speed/distance tracking... you need something like Pedometer GPS on the iphone, or even Nike+GPS on the phone, or a 6G Ipod Nano which can do that with the Nike+ fitness app on it... there are other smartphone pedometers, but these are the ones work the best and I've found are the most accurate...

    The fitbit can be useful, but if that's all you want is one that give you pacing... you'll need to spend your money on something else.

    it does track distance. mine always tells me how many miles i've walked. i'd imagine it calculates it based on the amount of steps I take and the stride length data.
  • Perfectdiamonds1
    Perfectdiamonds1 Posts: 347 Member
    bump
  • alfpalmer
    alfpalmer Posts: 150 Member
    I love mine. For me, it seems to do a great job. Also, you cant beat their customer service. I recently lost mine, sent them an email asking if they could track it, and they replied that they couldnt, but they were sending me a replacement free of charge. Sure can't beat that


    I second the vote for customer service. I've had mine 2 and a half years and it cracked - i emailed because i had seen they offered a disount for return customers - they sent me a new one at no charge. I never dreamed of a 100% discount! Its the best $100 I've ever spent on myself and I'd be totally lost without it.
  • Dawn200321
    Dawn200321 Posts: 64 Member
    I love love love my fitbit!!!!
  • fltwins918
    fltwins918 Posts: 12 Member
    I bought my Fitbit as a treat for mother's day (single mom of 3 year old twins)... I teach prek and wanted to see how active I really was during the school day. Started using it as soon as I got it (May 3rd) and as of yesterday I have walked 250 miles! and lost 10lbs since getting it. It is calibrated perfectly to my step so I find it pretty accurate and I try to challenge myself daily. I have found myself walking randomly around my house before bed just to hit the next #### steps mark, or to get a little higher than the previous days. I also found it has become like my purse or cell phone... I will turn my car around to go back and get it if I left it at home lol!!! It is a great motivator! I would definitely recommend making the investment in one!
  • Tennessee2019
    Tennessee2019 Posts: 676 Member
    I LOVE my Fitbit & don't know how I ever lived without it. I first bought a Bodybugg but quickly regretted getting it (not to mention having to pay for their services on their website) & was so glad I was able to return it. I bought a Fitbit & have never regretted getting it.
  • mollysonnotice
    mollysonnotice Posts: 140
    As a college student, Im extremely poor. Anyone have a cheaper solution?
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Jacwhite22/view/fitbit-review-250398
  • Deltafliers
    Deltafliers Posts: 201 Member
    A lot of what I would say is mentioned here, but I will give a little more info about how I chose. :smile: First and foremost, I would like to say I love my fitbit, even tho it is not a heart rate monitor, and it has been a huge help with my weight loss goals, as well as helping me to be more active!

    I myself had a lot of trepidation about ordering a fitbit, but after looking looking into the cost of diet supplements/month vs the fitbit, I chose the fitbit. Assuming I take care of my fitbit properly, the warrenty is for one year, therefore the cost of the fitbit/month equates to a little more tha $8/month. I also used the reviews on amazon and took all the 4&5 star reviews and found the percentage of those happy with the fitbit because all the reviews were not always great...the percentage of people you were happy with the fitbit was about 80% (in March 2012).

    The other thing I would like to mention in regards to the fitbit not being a heart rate monitor: there is a calculation to the fitbit when it comes to energy expenditure. For anyone who has every used the wii fit plus, this should sound familiar--the fitbit uses MET's to determine energy expenditure values.
  • hillm12345
    hillm12345 Posts: 313 Member
    I am seriously considering buying one. I am looking for something that will accurately track the number of calories I burn during my zumba or kickboxing class. Is the fit bit accurate for that?

    The Fitbit is fabulous...but NOT for Zumba or kickboxing, for those activities you really need a HRM.

    Agreed, during my zumba class my fitbit told me I climbed 52 flights of stairs. LOL other than that, I love it.
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
    I have been using my fitbit daily for 3 months and I like it a lot. It does a pretty good job with steps taken, stairs, and distance. It will not give anything about speed or heart rate. I wear mine daily and don't take it off unless I am charging it. It does not take the place of a HRM and I use one in addiiton for my actual workouts because the fitbit does not do a good job with weightlifting, running and swimming. If you just plan to walk, it would be good. It will give you amount of calories burned, but it is usually much lower than what my HRM says for workouts. I do use it to determine how much I burn in a day because it works well with the MFP interface. I am glad I have mine as an additional tool.

    This... I love mine too. I've only had one day in the last 4mths that I haven't worn it and I was so frustrated at myself for leaving it in the charger! A very valuable tool although, as mentioned above, its not a replacement for a HRM. I think you need both.
  • Deltafliers
    Deltafliers Posts: 201 Member
    It's great for getting a really good look at your normal activity level each day. It is super helpful if you walk or run for exercise. If I do something that isn't picked up well for a pedometer (like 30 Day Shred) I input it into MFP and it wipes out the "walking" for that time period and inputs the assumed calorie burn for my height & weight. So it's great as a fancy pedometer but it's not great for kickboxing, weight lifting, cycling, etc.

    I do this too, and it is very helpful!
  • no1canadianangel
    no1canadianangel Posts: 115
    Wow thanks everyone for all your input.. I think I am sold... after i spend all my money on my vacation in less than a week, I will be buying it LOL

    Thanks everyone :)
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    How would I go about using a treadmill to calculate my pace for my fitbit ? I notice the gym ones have MET and pace etc when I am on them.
  • cynthials
    cynthials Posts: 213 Member
    I've had mine almost 18 months and haven't missed a day wearing it, I love it. I do still wear a HRM for exercise and log that on MFP. I love the fact that the two sites are now integrated so I don't have to "double log" anymore. :P My first one cracked and they replaced it at no charge. EXCELLENT customer service!
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