I too think that the BMF is more accurate
Nevertheless I decided to go for the FitBit. I just wanted to get a general idea of my burn and I am not willing to pay a monthly fee.
I use it in combination with my HRM and it works out great
Scooby gave me about 200kcal less, but I am very active beside my workouts, so I think it,s pretty accurate.

Sorry I could not find the article. I actually got my first BMF before the FitBit ever came out and then got a great deal on a Link one. The other one still works. I don't mind the fee but wish I did wireless linking with the computer too.

Plus since I have give up most of my Starbuck's trips (yes, I was an every day $25/week habit) I now but that money into my subscription and exercise dvd's & equipment.

Good question for Noor. I believe it calculates your total calories burned per day but not sure how it does it. Noor?

FitBit measures how much you are moving, with a special focus on steps taken and number of flights of stairs climbed during the day. Unlike BMF, it does not do any sort of biofeedback to see how much effort you are making, what your heartrate is, etc. It only measures the intensity of the movement of your body. If you are swinging your arms or lifting weights, it is not going to think you are doing much of anything. If you are walking, running, dancing, climbing stairs, or doing your daily chores, it will consider you active.

You get a breakdown of how many minutes a day you are sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, and very active. It gives you your TDEE, which I have found to be fairly accurate.

It has a built-in timer so that you can time your activities and then record what you were doing during those time periods on the web. For example, if I time for 20 minutes and tell it I was doing weights for that time period, it will adjust my calories (TDEE) accordingly. I can let it estimate the calories based on perceived exertion (light or vigorous weights) or I can input the number of calories manually (if I'm doing a program that estimates my calorie burn, or used iSmoothRun to track my run, etc.)

I moved my Fitbit from my waistband to my bra after flipping it into the toilet pulling down my pants! I know, TMI . . .

I love my Fitbit. It tracks your steps and calorie bun and I like it because my activity is so variable from day to day. I think it's really accurate - and for the price, it can't be beat. I got mine for $70 on eBay so I would definitely look around to see if you could find one discounted too.

I wear mine on my waistband and it's really discreet. If your activity is pretty constant then I guess you could stop after a few months but I think it's fun and would be sad to stop using my Fitbit.

I have a Fitbit, love it for it's simplicity. I also wear mine on my bra. One thing not mentioned is customer service. My Fitbit is not syncing without me jumping through hoops! I have been emailing back and forth with customer service for the past couple of weeks and they are now sending me a whole new Fitbit. It seems mine is defective, although it is picking up data and if I uninstall and reinstall the program once a week, I can sync it! It is supposed to sync wirelessly so hence the diagnosis of being defective.

I also have done some math with the weekly calorie burn, it is very close to my Scooby TDEE-15% number, within 50 calories, I have checked all 6 weeks worth of reports.

Oh and it is cheap to buy, I like that too.

I am so impulsive.

I just bought a fitbit!! So excited for it to come!

I am so impulsive.

I just bought a fitbit!! So excited for it to come!

Yay so exciting. I've been impulsive too, was planning to get one after payday but I put a random bid on one on eBay yesterday really not expecting to get it but won! Can't wait to start using it and getting a better idea of my actual burns but it won't arrive until next week. Happy FitBitting

I didn't like the idea of always wearing something on my arm so I opted for the Fitbit. I absolutely love the little thing.

Wow, how awesome is this: I was going to post this very thing just now and the question and answers were already here!

I think I'll get a fitbit...I like the idea of more bells and whistles, but it sounds like a fitbit will give me the general idea of where I am on a daily basis and if it is close to reality.

One question: I use the exercise bike at the gym...will the fitbit track that, or will it think I'm just sitting still?

No, the fitbit does not do well with cycling. You will need to either use a HRM and input the data as exercise here on MFP. Enter the type of exercise, the time started and the duration along with the calorie burn if you know it from using a HRM.

Just time your cycling, and either enter "cycling" with your time and distance, or "stationary bike" with your time and intensity, and it will adjust your stats accordingly.

Wow, how awesome is this: I was going to post this very thing just now and the question and answers were already here!

I think I'll get a fitbit...I like the idea of more bells and whistles, but it sounds like a fitbit will give me the general idea of where I am on a daily basis and if it is close to reality.

One question: I use the exercise bike at the gym...will the fitbit track that, or will it think I'm just sitting still?