The FastDay Forum

Hi Im thinking of getting a 'fitbit' anyone have one and if so advice would be welcome thank you

Sorry to show my ignorance, but what the heck is a fitbit?

It's like a super pedometer that tracks calorie expenditure & other fitness stats - that's the short non-technical description I've been wondering whether it's worth getting one too so would like to know if anyone's used one.

Thank you shachat.

I had a fitbit this time last year (left it in a hotel in October though so I'm fitbit-less now)!

I'd absolutely recommend buying one - I loved finding out how many calories I'd burnt, how many steps I'd taken and how far I'd walked at the end of each day.

The fact in was counting steps and distance made me want to walk a bit extra every day and the calorie counting made me be more active too. Also being aware of the fact that, on average, I only burnt around 1750 calories a day made me much more conscious of what I was eating. As a result I lost about half a stone in 4 months (not masses compared to what people are losing on here, but I wasn't trying to lose weight at the time).

I can't recommend them highly enough. They have a new one coming out in the next few weeks called fitbit flex - it goes on your wrist like a bracelet rather than on your clothes. I guess it's just a case of personal preference as to where you'd like it to be!

I'm torn between the flex and the jawbone up at the moment... hmmm x

OH! that looks so good. I've just put a Fitbit Flex Band on my wishlist. I once had a pedometer, which was great until I lost it. It made a pretty big difference getting me to do loads more of that laid back casual movement which is what we should be doing rather than sitting on our bums. A Flex Band on my wrist would be much more secure, plus having lights to remind me to be a bit more active, syncing with my phone/ipad, oh look at good little consumer me saying I MUST HAVE ONE!

Question for those who've used Fitbit. When I've used a pedometer in the past, I've found sometimes that the jolting in a bus or car will add steps so you end up with a false total. How accurate is Fitbit? Do you get the occasional false reading?

Have to admit, KataMac, I'm rather yearning after one too!

Do you know where you can get them in Oz KataMac? Any idea on price?

Thanks

Have a read of these articles on lifehacker before splashing out on the gadgets.

http://lifehacker.com/5994256/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-fitness-tracker-without-falling-off-the-wagon

http://lifehacker.com/youve-started-self-tracking-now-what-493562901

I do like the look of them (I love gadgets anyway!) but can't justify spending that much money on them myself.

thanks for the replies- thy are about £68 on amazon- but it may just be the motivation I need- then its which one do I choose?

My advice: get one!

I love mine to pieces. The customer service is fantastic as well, and if yours ever breaks or you lose it they will normally replace it for you for free.

The website is fantastic for seeing all your data - and if you use MyFitnessPal for logging food you can link your accounts up so that your food carries over to Fitbit to add to the data. It's great.

In terms of accuracy, mine (the fitbit ultra) did seem to miraculously add steps taken when I had been on a car journey!

I didn't really mind though - as long as you know that the final count for that day isn't going to be quite correct, I don't think it matters, personally. ALTHOUGH having said that, I'm very very rarely in a car so it didn't have a huge impact on my life.

As for which one to choose, I guess it depends what you're after - if you're just interested in calories, steps and distance walked/run etc then the fitbit zip is only £50, but if you're interested in monitoring sleep too then the fitbit one or flex should suit. My fitbit ultra did track sleep but I rarely bothered to wear it to bed because I had to fix it to a wrist strap which got pretty boring after a while! Sounds lazy, but I didn't get an awful lot out of the sleep monitoring - I sleep pretty well and know roughly how much sleep I get each night anyway.

There are also others like the Jawbone Up and Nike Fuel. Jawbone looks pretty, but isn't wireless or discrete... choices...

I would say that mine is more accurate than a regular pedometer and although I have not had the problem, I have read of others who end up with extra steps while riding in a car. Gotta say it must have been one heck of a ride though cause I have shaken mine to try to see if it would register and it didn't.

I like that it records sleep too.

I would say that it is only semi accurate in determining calories burned. There are other things that are more accurate for that (body bug and the like), but it is accurate enough for me because I don't use that information anyway. Truthfully if it wasn't for the sleep recording I would just use a regular pedometer. (I actually just put it in the pocket of my pj's and it works for monitoring sleep from there!)

I will also say that I have had a couple of issues with it syncing with my computer as well as having one of the clips snap in half. However their customer service is fantastic and they sent me a new clip at no charge. I bought mine through the company itself, on their website.

Have a read of these articles on lifehacker before splashing out on the gadgets.

http://lifehacker.com/5994256/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-fitness-tracker-without-falling-off-the-wagon

http://lifehacker.com/youve-started-self-tracking-now-what-493562901

I do like the look of them (I love gadgets anyway!) but can't justify spending that much money on them myself.

Thanks for the links, jimhough! Good food for thought!

Thanks for all the info on accuracy. Bit disappointed that it might record a car or bus journey as steps but still seriously tempted by the new Flex. Lot of money for me though. Sigh!

Interesting links, btw, jimhough - thanks.