Fitbit...yes or no?

Posts: 38
2/21/13 10:46 A

Thanks for sharing your experience, KatyDid! I'm just starting again on SP, and got a fitbit as a gift. I do very much enjoy having it count my steps for me - I have found myself walking a bit more, in little ways - taking two trips carrying individual things vs. piling everything together in my arms when I'm cleaning up, taking a slightly longer loop around the office, etc.

I have found synching the fitbit with my laptop to be trivial (I just leave the wireless plug bit in, and it synchs automatically when I'm sitting by the laptop at home), and the link into SP was really simple as well.

However, I have also had a challenge trying to figure out the best way to reconcile the data form the fitbit with the actual exercise I do, and how to record it. I mean, it's awesome seeing that i have some number of steps in a day, but as you say, these can be couch-to-fridge steps, and hardly heart rate-raising. However, when I did an intense 30-minute session on the elliptical, I wanted to somehow record this to separate THOSE steps from all the others.

So I'm considering un-linking from SP.

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2/21/13 10:34 A

CILER11:

I think their are plusses and minuses to the Flex (e.g. no display, worn on wrist so not as easy to lose, but not as "hidden" as my Ultra that no one knows I have on, etc.)

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2/21/13 10:34 A

I have only recently gotten a FitBit One but I love it! I find that I am moving much more and I have no excuse not to wear it because it can be placed inside your bra if a waist band or pocket is not available. It is incredibly easy to use (and I am not the least but tech savvy). You just plug in the little do-dad that comes with...I think they called it a dongle, into your USB port and it downloads everything for you. You just have to hit OK. Then you go over to your Sparkpoints and tell them you want to sync the accounts. FitBit will ask your permission and once you hit "yes" you are all done! Then anytime you are within 20 feet of the dongle on your computer it will automatically download all the info and plug it into your tracker for you! It records your steps, the stairs, distance, calories, even your sleep patterns! I don't really know about the ease of use with the FitBit but I really highly recommend the FitBit One.

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2/21/13 10:31 A

I got my FitBit One after Thanksgiving. I like it a lot, find the steps very accurate but the floors, maybe not so much.

After a couple of months of synching it with SP I un-synched it. Basically it was counting every step I took, even from the living room to the refrigerator, as fitness. I felt like that was inaccurate, "cheating" in a way, and weirdly de-motivating for me. So I still wear it every day and many nights, let it count my steps and floors walked, but enter my exercise into SP manually.

FitBit also has a nutrition tracker, which I've heard anecdotally is great. I haven't used it.

Newheartstart: I don't find it difficult at all to sync to my PC. It's very user-friendly.

Edited by: KATYDID412 at: 2/21/2013 (10:31)

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2/21/13 10:28 A

I'm thinking about getting one, but I don't know if I should wait until they release the Fitbit Flex or not.

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2/21/13 10:22 A

I have been thinking about getting one but I didn't know how hard it is to do the technology part. Is it difficult to sync it to your computer? I don't have a smartphone.

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2/21/13 10:07 A

Love mine! Having a lot of trouble synching it with SP. no help from the company.

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2/21/13 9:41 A

Econlady,

Might be helpful if you gave your reasoning for not buying it.

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2/21/13 9:34 A

I got my fitbit last October and I love it. I find it very accurate. When I first got it, I counted my steps on treadmill and compared it to the fitbit and it was very close. I find myself putting in a few more steps each day just to see a little higher number. I know several other people who hae also improved their fitness partially because the fitbit motivates them.

So definitely a YES from me!

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2/21/13 9:25 A

I considered a fitbit, did the homework and decided against it.

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2/21/13 9:20 A

Have had mine for just under a month, its a great to & motivator

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2/21/13 9:12 A

I have friends who have it and love it, but one of the professors where my hubby works said it didn't track right and he stopped using it. I was thinking about getting one, but reading the different things people on here have posted i'm rethinking that decision, plus they are expensive so i'd need to save first anyway.

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2/21/13 9:09 A

I absolutely love mine. I find it very motivating especially on those days I really don't want to get moving.

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2/21/13 9:05 A

I received my Fit Bit as a Christmas gift and was excited. However, I have had to constantly reset it in order to see the progress online - which is frustrating. It is also frustrating that there is no telephone number to call for assistance. There is an e-mail address that you can communicate with the company - however, you received canned, generic answers such as "reboot your computer" and "delete your cookies."

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2/21/13 9:04 A

love mine and wear it every single day - have the One and love knowing when I have been active enough each day and to know how well I slept!

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2/21/13 9:02 A

I am generally an active person. I had a pedometer and would sometimes forget to wear it. I am not considering a Fitbit.

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2/21/13 8:59 A

YES!

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2/21/13 8:56 A

The trainer's at my gym use them. I am planning on getting one once my paycheck comes. Been saving my pennies and now I can get it!!!!

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2/21/13 8:39 A

I love my Fitbit; I sync it each night before bed. I began using it on January first and I am sure it has motivated me to move more!

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2/21/13 8:30 A

I am saving my pennies for one of these!

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2/21/13 8:24 A

I bought the Ultra a year ago. Still wear it everyday and every night to record sleep. I like gadgets and technology in general, but nothing compares to how much I have used my FB. It is like brushing my teeth, I use it day in and day out.

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2/21/13 8:22 A

I absolutely love my Fit Bit -- I use it to challenge myself. I've gone from zero activity to actually being able to walk on the treadmill three times a week. I have fibromyalgia and for a few years it was getting the better of me. I hurt too much to do exercise but I knew if I exercised I would feel better. Fit Bit helped me start small and work my up. Plus I love the alarm function! I wake up now in such a better mood because I don't have that awful alarm noise first thing in the morning.

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2/21/13 8:21 A

Absolutely love mine!

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2/21/13 8:07 A

I am so glad I got one. It motivated me to do more walking. In the first month I lost three pounds just by being more motivated. It broke my plateu.

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2/21/13 7:59 A

Just ordered one...can't wait.

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2/21/13 7:55 A

YES!!! I got my fitbit last October in time to use it for a 5K. It is a wonderful motivational tool. It keeps me moving. I forgot to put it on one day and felt naked all day. I was clothed though.

FitBit is a great tool to keep you motivated and they send you weekly reports.

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2/21/13 7:47 A

Was excite when my Fit Bit arrived but I have had to constantly reset it because it was never tracking & now no longer use it. Went back to my pedometer.

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2/21/13 7:44 A

I absolutely love mine! If you can afford it, I would get one!!

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2/21/13 7:31 A

I've been using the Fitbit One since November. It's fun to be able to track my level of activity day by day etc. and it does provide some motivation to do more. However, there's a potential trap here if you get obsessed with numbers. I'm seeing people on the FitBit forum getting stressed and upset once they link their Fitbit to Sparkpeople and it starts impacting their numbers on SP. It's easy to forget that the formulas that both SP and FB use to calculate things like calories burned are generic, not tailored to the individual. You have to individualize the numbers by finding your own baseline and figuring out what's normal for you. The numbers you see are just indicators, not hard and fast limits or rules that you have to live by and you may need to adjust your goals based on YOUR new baseline.

So, if you can use the fitbit as a fun way to motivate yourself I'd say yes, if the numbers are just going to stress you out then no.

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2/21/13 7:29 A

My fit bit one only worked for 3 days, then wouldn't recharge the battery. Waiting for a replacement so I can use this tool again. I enjoyed the 2+ days it worked.

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2/21/13 7:24 A

I think I will save up and get one.

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2/21/13 7:07 A

I have the fitbit zip and love it .... I feel it makes you want to be more active!

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2/21/13 6:48 A

A huge yes from me. I love my fitbit!

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2/21/13 6:48 A

Love mine !!!! Got it for Christmas and don't go anywhere without it. It is very accurate (more so than my old pedometer). I find myself doing extra steps and stairs just to see the numbers get higher and the flower grow taller. Definitely a yes in my book !!!

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2/21/13 6:27 A

I'm thinking of getting a fitbit too. But I am leaning tword buying the zip instead of the one since I don't feel like sleep is an issue for me, or something I need to track.

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2/21/13 6:22 A

Fitbit is a fantastic device. It turns your entire day into a workout. Sometimes I will walk extra flights of stairs just to build up steps. Lost 13lbs since Dec 15, 2013.

Edited by: DFLEMINGN215 at: 2/21/2013 (06:22)

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2/21/13 6:12 A

I'm on my second one, I lost my first one I love love love my fitbit!

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2/21/13 6:10 A

I have been thinking about it too. Pedometers do not work on me, they never register my steps. I wonder if Fitbit would?

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2/21/13 5:57 A

My Fitbit keeps me accountable.

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2/21/13 5:24 A

I got the fitbit one for Christmas and I LOVE it. The only time I take it off is when I'm in the shower. Because of the goals and graphs and badges, I'm a lot more active.

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2/21/13 2:04 A

YES! I love my fitbit.

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2/21/13 12:42 A

I love my fitbit. Ive had one for about 2 years now. I wear it every day. I love that I can go look at graphs of pretty much every activity or variable (sleep, calories, steps, miles, stairs, etc). That is what sets it apart from a $10 pedometer. Plus, with the new versions, it can sync with your phone. It was definitely worth my money.

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2/20/13 9:46 P

HealthyCath, I've had a fitbit for three years (am on my second) and love it. It kind of depends what you are looking for and how easily you figure out how to use gadgets.

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2/20/13 9:35 P

YES and I love love love it!!!!

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2/20/13 8:41 P

I know I seriously want one! I'm a charts, graphs, journaling type of person. Lol.

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2/20/13 5:19 P

I have the Fitbit One and I love it. It's definitely motivating me to exercise much more. I lost six pounds in four weeks with it. There are days when I would have blown off exercising for the day, except I don't want to see my little graph on the Fitbit website take a nosedive. You get a little obsessed with it, in a fun, productive way.

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2/20/13 2:17 P

I've been using my FitBit One for all of three days and I love it so far. It's so cool how you can see all your statistics day to day... how long you were active, how long you were sedentary, an estimate of how many calories you burned... it's kind of addictive.

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2/20/13 1:05 P

I have had my fitbit one for 3 weeks now and i love it. but im also a little ocd when it comes to numbers and I cant stand it when i dont reach my goals.
I do really like this little gadget, it was worth my money.

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2/20/13 1:02 P

No

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2/20/13 12:57 P

I'm a gadget person but I've spent so much money on so many things that I end up selling on ebay. I've been looking at the Fitbit One. Who has one and do you love it or feel like it's something you can do without?

Thanks!

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