Fitbit. There must be some disadvantages surely

Options
jaz050465
jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
Aaaaa. After writing my previous post, I'm still not sure.

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/677473-fitbit-decision-made-please-read-if-you-re-unsure


I AM going to make a decision today. I've read so many good reviews but are there any problems with it

How useful is it if you don't sync it to computer. How many days does it store and does it give you all the info you need on the device itself?
«1

Replies

  • Altruista75
    Altruista75 Posts: 409 Member
    Options
    I personally love mine! The downfall is that you have to remember to put it on and make sure you charge it every once in awhile (I have it set up to actually send me a text message if I haven't put it on the charging base for a few days) and it isn't waterproof.
    The great things about it is that its pretty darn accurate (make sure to accurately put in your stride length); the separate activities thing is pretty cool if you go for a run or something (just remember to use the feature); the syncing with MFP rocks since the more you move the more you get calorie credits for! The sleeping feature is pretty cool and yes I believe it actually is monitoring movement but I was shocked to see how bad some of my nights really are compared to others.
    I've owned regular pedometers before and this one just seems to keep me more motivated for some reason. It is supposed to store 7 days worth of information on it but it only shows you the currents day info ( you have to put it on the base for all of the information to then be uploaded to your profile).
    I do pretty intense workouts so I use my HRM for those and log it on MFP and then that in return gets put on my fibit profile. I only use the fitbit for every thing else. (I'll be going for a run here shortly and I'll use the fitbit since it then will give me distance traveled and even my pace).
    Is it worth the $ they charge - I think so!! My 1st one just quit syncing for some reason and they sent me a new one - no questions asked!! So they get points for awesome customer service!!
    They have a 30 return policy I believe so maybe you should take advantage of that.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Options
    Personally, I think fitbit is just a glorified pedometer.. and it's silly to spend that much money on something that just tracks steps.

    I also wonder how accurate it is for exercise because it doesn't take heart rate into consideration.. only your movement.

    If anything, I would ditch he pedometer idea entirely and just get a good HRM that you can wear for exercise.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Options
    I'm doing JM body revolution and for running I use a gear rate monitor and GOS for distance. I want something to encourage me to move around moor in everyday life.
  • TheMolloy
    TheMolloy Posts: 31 Member
    Options
    I personally love mine! The downfall is that you have to remember to put it on and make sure you charge it every once in awhile (I have it set up to actually send me a text message if I haven't put it on the charging base for a few days) and it isn't waterproof.
    The great things about it is that its pretty darn accurate (make sure to accurately put in your stride length); the separate activities thing is pretty cool if you go for a run or something (just remember to use the feature); the syncing with MFP rocks since the more you move the more you get calorie credits for! The sleeping feature is pretty cool and yes I believe it actually is monitoring movement but I was shocked to see how bad some of my nights really are compared to others.
    I've owned regular pedometers before and this one just seems to keep me more motivated for some reason. It is supposed to store 7 days worth of information on it but it only shows you the currents day info ( you have to put it on the base for all of the information to then be uploaded to your profile).
    I do pretty intense workouts so I use my HRM for those and log it on MFP and then that in return gets put on my fibit profile. I only use the fitbit for every thing else. (I'll be going for a run here shortly and I'll use the fitbit since it then will give me distance traveled and even my pace).
    Is it worth the $ they charge - I think so!! My 1st one just quit syncing for some reason and they sent me a new one - no questions asked!! So they get points for awesome customer service!!
    They have a 30 return policy I believe so maybe you should take advantage of that.

    Agree 100% with this ... it is such a fantastic unit, and the tie in with MFP is just flawless.

    Would have no problems recommending a Fitbit at all !!!
  • Sheila_Ann
    Sheila_Ann Posts: 365 Member
    Options
    LOVE my fitbit!! The only time I don't wear it is when I'm in the shower! :blushing:

    I would def recommend it to anyone!
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    Options
    I use my hrm for intense exercise, when you enter your calories burnt on m f p it updates your fitbit numbers. I now walk 35 miles per week on top of my work outs. I wouldn't have done that before fitbit, just my work outs. I read a post someone said they went on vacation for 2 weeks and it saved her stats for her to update to the site.
    My first one broke quite quickly, I emailed fitbit and they sent me another. I'd say don't wear it on your bra it pushes your undermines omit. I ear mine on my top. It's got good grip. Think my last one broke co I was getting sweaty and it was on my bra...
    It counts turns of the wheel as steps on a bike. Love this as I use the bike a lot. I'm more active than I have ever been in my entire life and I owe a lot of that to fitbit. .so worth the money. Go for it! It will definitely make you more active. I get up at 5am to get steps in now! I never used to know what 5am looked like! X

    *underwires out... lol
  • mamakjknows
    Options
    I haven't had mine as long as others have, but I absolutely love it. The motivation factor alone for me makes it worth the $$.
  • TurtleRunnerNC
    TurtleRunnerNC Posts: 768 Member
    Options
    Fitbit gives you ''badges'' for accomplishments that you ''earn'' & will email these ''badges'' to you & you can in turn post them on your FB page or twitter if you want. Things like 20,000 step badge etc.

    They also label the stair climbs (has to be a 10ft elevation change for it to count) I think 2 flights it will say on your 'dashboard'(fitbit page) that you have climbed a tall girraffe & how many flights to the next level. If that will encourage you to climb more stairs to get to the next level then you will enjoy it. Same with steps. If actually seeing the number of steps you are taking will motivate you to get more / make that # higher then it will do what you need.

    I think people can also post challenges on the site to join but I may have it mixed up with Earnedit.com where you can sync your Fitbit with them & earn points that you can use for discounts on some things @ retail stores (the stores post the deals). How many points is based on your activity level.

    It probably really is a 'glorified pedometer' but if it motivates you to be more active, take the stairs instead of the elevator & park farther from the door to get more steps then it is doing what they say it does.

    I love mine.
  • Mindmovesbody
    Mindmovesbody Posts: 399 Member
    Options
    I love my Fitbit as well. You do not have to put it on the base to upload any of your reads. As long as you are within 15 feet of the base it will update itself. If you want to see your last 7 days of activity you just look at fitbit.com 'your dashboard' and you can scroll through as long as you have been wearing it.

    The are too many Pros to list but most importantly it gives you a great idea of your TDEE and if you eat at a 15% deficit of that you will lose weight no problem.

    The cons, it's not waterproof ( I do not find this to be a big deal). You have to remember to put it on which is not an issue for me, it's just habit for me. It does not accurately count calories for upper body work. For example, when I use my elliptical, it is usually about 50-70 calories lower than what my heart rate monitor shows as it does not factor in the work out for your arms or go off of heart rate.

    It is like a glorified pedometer but i vehemently disagree with the above poster that a HRM is all you need to replace this. This tracks your activiy ALL DAY LONG and uploads to MFP automatically so you earn calorie credits all day long.

    I got mine on eBay for about $75 including shipping. It was well worth the money!!!!!!
  • dutchk
    dutchk Posts: 121 Member
    Options
    The fitbit is more than a glorified pedometer. I live in hill country and every walk/bike I take requires going up and down them. The fitbit gives me an accurate estimate of calorie burn without having to strap on a HRM. I've compared the two on my walks and they are always very close in their estimates. I use my HRM for exercising like doing interval training, etc because I want to track heart rate at those times. Otherwise I really could care less about it and it is not particulary convenient to wear on a full day basis. Also, the fitbit includes and altimeter that provides a "stairs climbed" calculation. My typical walk gives me 45-50 flights of stairs climbed. That might not mean much to some people but I like this measure of relative "goodness" of all the steps I've taken. Finally, the fitbit is so small and unobtrusive it is a pleasure to wear. The downside to it is that it is easy to forget you have it on so make sure you know where it is before you do laundry!
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Options
    I personally love mine! The downfall is that you have to remember to put it on and make sure you charge it every once in awhile (I have it set up to actually send me a text message if I haven't put it on the charging base for a few days) and it isn't waterproof.
    The great things about it is that its pretty darn accurate (make sure to accurately put in your stride length); the separate activities thing is pretty cool if you go for a run or something (just remember to use the feature); the syncing with MFP rocks since the more you move the more you get calorie credits for! The sleeping feature is pretty cool and yes I believe it actually is monitoring movement but I was shocked to see how bad some of my nights really are compared to others.
    I've owned regular pedometers before and this one just seems to keep me more motivated for some reason. It is supposed to store 7 days worth of information on it but it only shows you the currents day info ( you have to put it on the base for all of the information to then be uploaded to your profile).
    I do pretty intense workouts so I use my HRM for those and log it on MFP and then that in return gets put on my fibit profile. I only use the fitbit for every thing else. (I'll be going for a run here shortly and I'll use the fitbit since it then will give me distance traveled and even my pace).
    Is it worth the $ they charge - I think so!! My 1st one just quit syncing for some reason and they sent me a new one - no questions asked!! So they get points for awesome customer service!!
    They have a 30 return policy I believe so maybe you should take advantage of that.

    with the newest gen fitbit, the fitbit ultra, you don't HAVE to put it on the base to sync! You just have to be within 15 feet of the base (plugged in to the computer).

    I actually only take mine off to shower! I wear a sports bra to bed, so just leave it clipped to that 24/7 with the exception of my shower or when I put it on the base to charge for an hour while I am sitting at the computer.

    Right after I bought it, I went away for 3 days. When I got back, it synced ALL the info for 3 days!
  • karijoeide
    karijoeide Posts: 103
    Options
    Yes, they are small which makes it easy to forget them in your pocket...AND into the washer/dryer they go...one downside!
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    Options
    I love my fitbit! I wear it everyday and there arent many disadvantages. It helps monitor my TDEE and shows how active I am throughout the day.

    I can only think of one downfall, is that its not waterproof and easily scratched (just my opinion) It also guesses calories over a bit. I walked with my HRM with my fitbit at the same time. I burned 133 calories with my HRM and 165 calories with the fitbit.
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    Options
    I'm selling mine I have bought a Hrm instead

    If you are going to get one you do need to sync it to a computer.

    Part of the reason I'm getting rid of mine is if you forget to stop it when you go out in the car it addes floors for driving .

    It did make me realise how little I was active though!

    It's a good incentive to get you moving.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Options
    I love my fitbit! I wear it everyday and there arent many disadvantages. It helps monitor my TDEE and shows how active I am throughout the day.

    I can only think of one downfall, is that its not waterproof and easily scratched (just my opinion) It also guesses calories over a bit. I walked with my HRM with my fitbit at the same time. I burned 133 calories with my HRM and 165 calories with the fitbit.

    Does your HRM take your BMR into account? the difference between FB and HRM could be your BMR for that time period....Just about every morning I have 400-500 calories burned before I even get out of bed!
  • iainf101
    iainf101 Posts: 3
    Options
    I agree with much of what is written above but the only issue I have is that you have to plug the base unit into a computer to synchonise. I am just back from a holiday in Mexico which was a mixture of lazing by the pool and also a couple of pretty intense days at adventure parks but because I couldn't sync with my iphone or ipad I simply left the Fitbit in the hotel bedroom for the whole holiday. I, like the other user above, find it does not accurately monitor the vario at the gym but I use a heart rate monitor for that and I also find that I have to use the HRM for cycling as it is not good at recording this activity - to be fair, Fitbit acknowledge this and it is, after all, a hi-tech pedometer. My only other gripe is that what users in the US pay in dollars, we in the UK have to pay in Pounds but again, that is common across the whole spectrum and not confined to Fitbit. As far as recording is concerned, I believe it will record minute-by-minute for the previous seven days but only a total for the previous days since last being synced. I haven't found any other issues, except having forgotten to wear it on a couple of occasions.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Options
    Personally, I think fitbit is just a glorified pedometer.. and it's silly to spend that much money on something that just tracks steps.

    I also wonder how accurate it is for exercise because it doesn't take heart rate into consideration.. only your movement.

    If anything, I would ditch he pedometer idea entirely and just get a good HRM that you can wear for exercise.

    I kind of agree with you. I received the old version as a gift. If money were tight, if I were planning on doing vigorous exercise several times a week and I couldn't buy both a Fitbit and an HRM, I'd get the latter.

    But the Fitbit can be a fun motivator; the linking to the site and to this are plusses. I have not worn it only a couple of cays since December, when I forgot to take it off the charger.

    I don't use either tool to calculate exercise calories: They're too unreliable.
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    Options
    I love my fitbit! I wear it everyday and there arent many disadvantages. It helps monitor my TDEE and shows how active I am throughout the day.

    I can only think of one downfall, is that its not waterproof and easily scratched (just my opinion) It also guesses calories over a bit. I walked with my HRM with my fitbit at the same time. I burned 133 calories with my HRM and 165 calories with the fitbit.

    Does your HRM take your BMR into account? the difference between FB and HRM could be your BMR for that time period....Just about every morning I have 400-500 calories burned before I even get out of bed!

    I have a polar FT4, it knows my weight and height and age. Not sure about BMR though.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Options
    I agree with much of what is written above but the only issue I have is that you have to plug the base unit into a computer to synchonise. I am just back from a holiday in Mexico which was a mixture of lazing by the pool and also a couple of pretty intense days at adventure parks but because I couldn't sync with my iphone or ipad I simply left the Fitbit in the hotel bedroom for the whole holiday. I, like the other user above, find it does not accurately monitor the vario at the gym but I use a heart rate monitor for that and I also find that I have to use the HRM for cycling as it is not good at recording this activity - to be fair, Fitbit acknowledge this and it is, after all, a hi-tech pedometer. My only other gripe is that what users in the US pay in dollars, we in the UK have to pay in Pounds but again, that is common across the whole spectrum and not confined to Fitbit. As far as recording is concerned, I believe it will record minute-by-minute for the previous seven days but only a total for the previous days since last being synced. I haven't found any other issues, except having forgotten to wear it on a couple of occasions.

    you don't HAVE to sync daily. I would have TOTALLY worn it at the adventure park! As long as you are not planning on getting drenched in water....

    Not long after I got my fitbit, I went away for 3 days. I wore my fitbit the entire 72 hours with exception of showering. When I got home and walked in the door, my fitbit synced all 3 days appropriately. Had I taken my craptop with me, I could have synched it nightly. Even without being able to sync it daily, it still gave me an idea of how active I was...
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Options
    My only other gripe is that what users in the US pay in dollars, we in the UK have to pay in Pounds but again, that is common across the whole spectrum and not confined to Fitbit.



    I've found it for £63.99

    http://oursmartershop.com