The FastDay Forum

"It started out innocently enough.

My partner offered me his old Fitbit when he got his replacement, which the company had shipped free after he emailed them saying his had worn away on the edges." Read more:

http://www.businessinsider.com/should-i-get-a-fitbit-2015-5

[carieoates]

Dear me.
That was not a great read for me I'm afraid. Some people should learn how to not be drawn into unnecessary competition. Hope it doesn't turn too many people off getting one as the benefits far out weight etc etc etc....

Reading that left me feeling the problem was more with the author than the device.

What a pity. Fitbit keeps me honest with myself. I don't care that others do more than me.

Same here Karen, I don't let it rule my life now but still find it a great incentive to get off my bum and move!

[Tracieknits]

I think that the author has a problem with OCD and perhaps should look for a therapist.

My fitbit is great. It keeps me accountable and it keeps me moving. People need to move more, especially here in the US. Exercise is very important to physical health.

Well I didn't read the article did I don't care what anyone else thinks, especially some negative naysayer. As you have all put it so well, it's encouragement for ourselves to keep moving. Before Fitbit I used to do 5,000 steps on weekend days, now I pull finger and do 10,000 to 20,000 steps. If you don't know what you are doing, how can you improve upon it.

I love my fitbit. It keeps me honest with myself. I could soooo easily convince myself that trips back and forth from the sofa to the kitchen to the loo are a lot of steps. HA! My dog looks at me with those begging eyes, and my fitbit tells me how much I need to move, and I grab the leash and we are out the door. It is all good! I compete with no one but myself and not really then. I aim for 10k steps per day and I love the vibration on my wrist when I hit it! On zumba days, I usually hit 15k, which is good because it helps make up for those days I fall asleep early on the sofa.

maybe fitbit isn't for everyone, like most things in life. That's ok, too. though not necessarily worthwhile to write about ...

Hi Guys,

Well I agree with you all. My thoughts is she has a compulsive/obsessive personslity and would go to extremes with one thing after another. She was also obsessing about food too. Shame she didn't realise that diet is for weight management and exercise is for health. She would work herself into the ground trying to work off all she eats lol.

However it has made me think I should use one! I have a very sedate life! I don't work through mobility problems. I am moving better with my strenghening exercises and work out band use as well as daily stretching and regular physio. Not enough to get back to work or to engage in walking long enough for exercise. It would be good to see what I walk just in the house and what I walk when I go out and try to gradually improve this. I'm thinking it would spur me on to make some mini goals, maybe starting with moving more when I'm at home. Even just to do something like using a small glass to make me go to get water more often or doing the housework (again lol just to move more). Generally getting up and moving more at home etc.

On that note can you all give me advice on what I should buy? I don't have any experience with Fitbits but I do love gadgets and apps. I have an iPhone and iPad I could link it to as well as My Fitness Pal. What price range would I be looking at? I would rather go mid to lower end budget, than high.

Thanks

I've made a purchase lol. Just happened to ask a friend if he owned a Fitbit and he said after months of research yesterday he bought a Jawbone Up24 for £48 on Amazon. So I have bought that, has great reviews and syncs nicely with iphone and apps. It arrives on Saturday... Excited.com!!!

Can I join in? I'm thinking of getting a fitbit HR via the offer on parkrun, does anyone have any thoughts on these?

I'd also like to know if it has a vibrate alarm - I'd like to get up for early runs without waking my wife up. Would also use for cycling occasionally, not sure if I'm able to swim with it on.

I'm currently using Sports Tracker on my windows phone - the averages are about right, but there are some strange high speed spikes during runs!

Hi @Egduf
My OH and I both have the Charge HR and have been using them since May, mine was a birthday present his was...ummm. I've had Fitbits since the Spring of 2013 starting with the entry level Zip, then buying a One on ebay, thinking it monitored sleep, which is does but only if you tell it when you're going to sleep and when you wake up (doh!).
The Charge HR does have a silent alarm though I haven't used it, but if its like the one that I have set to alert me to 10k steps it would wake me up. You can't swim in it as it isn't waterproof. You would have to log your cycling as an Activity via the online Dashboard.
Because it does much more than my previous Fitbits the battery life is shorter - about 3 days, but that does depend on how many times you look at the display.
Reasons I like the Charge HR -
It isn't clipped on to my bra, or my OH's belt (from where he lost a Zip)
The wristband has a proper clasp, while the regular Charge has the old Flex wristband (which accounted for the loss of another of OH's Fitbits.
It does monitor sleep
It monitors HR, though there is a huge online Forum debate about this
It syncs well with MFP and Map My Run, I don't know about Sports Tracker but there is a list of compatible apps on the Fitbit website
Their Customer Service has always been excellent

I hope that answers your questions but please feel free to ask again if anything else comes to mind.

If I lost or broke my Charge HR, would I replace it? Absolutely

@SianS
Many thanks for your very helpful reply, I'm going to consider it - there's another offer in my parkrun email today!