Anyone use a Fitbit or Fitbit Zip?

[Dee*Jay]

I am looking for new motivation (as if the need for bigger pants isn't enough!) and everyone and their dog is sporting a Fitbit lately. I like the idea of the Zip more than the wristband becuase I can't stand things on my arm (ergo the Rolex and Roadster that I never wear... the pave bangle that sits sad and lonely in my jewelry box... but those are topics for a different thread!). Also, if I understand correctly, the measurement is based on arm swing and when I walk any distance at all I typically hook my thumb through the strap of my purse up by my armpit so my wrist isn't moving. That leads me to the Zip, which it seems you can hook on your garb somewhere and still get measurement.

What about the bluetooth syncing? On the rare occassions when I use bluetooth on my phone it seems to drain the battery very quickly, but maybe Fitbit somehow is less draining than phone use?

Any feedback on these questions, and of course all the questions I'm not eventhing of yet, will be much appreciated!

 

[luv2sparkle]

I have a fitbit. I do like it. I have a girlfriend who uses it also, and we kind of compete with one another. It is a good motivation too. I have been known to stand in front of the tv jogging in place to make my 10000 step goal for the day, The blue tooth syncs with your phone to record all your step and your weekly totals so you can see them at a glance, and when your power gets low on the fit bit, you phone will have a message that you need to re-charge. I think when I buy another, I will get the wrist band. I now have the fit bit one. I am not sure which I would like better but the wrist one is more of a visual reminder. The One I attach to my bra and a couple times it has almost fallen out of its little holder. That is mostly because I will sometimes take it off to check my totals during the day. If I just looked at my phone I wouldn't have that problem.

I have a girlfriend who has the nike band. I see on facebook sometimes 'Debby ran 5.2 miles today'. I always joke with her about it and she says it does it on it's own. I don't want my workout to show up on facebook thank you very much. But she likes it.

The thing about a fitbit, is that it really gives you and accurate amount of activity that you have done for the day. Sometimes, I think I am more active than I really am and it gives me a wake up call. I need that. I also like to feel every day that I have accomplished my goal and sometime way surpassed it. It's worth it for that to me.

I can't say that I have noticed it draining the battery at all.

 

[ImperfectGirl]

Hi Dee*Jay!

I have a Fitbit so I thought I'd weigh in. I've had it for about 1.5 months and overall, I like it as it does motivate me to move more.

As you mentioned, generally, I do think it calculates steps taken based on arm swing, but like you, I sometimes hold my purse straps and have noticed that the steps are still recognized. I've opened the app on my phone and watched the step counter move as I walked for verification. I've also swung my arm without taking any steps and noticed that it doesn't not recognize those movements as steps. Obviously, it's not perfect though. I have woken up to my counter at 100 steps when I've only walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth, but I don't necessarily rely on it for extremely accurate measurements. I rely on it as a motivation tool to encourage me to move more. I will check in through the day and if I'm not near my goal, I'll walk during my lunch hour or get up every hour and walk around the office.

I like the sleep analysis as well. One way to turn on sleep mode is to tap the face several times. I have noticed on 1 occasion, a very bumpy cart in the grocery store activated sleep mode as I was pushing. I also like the silent alarm. I wake earlier than my husband and having the vibration on my wrist is enough to wake me without waking him, so that is a win! I don't even notice I'm wearing it anymore. If you opt for the wrist bracelet, ensure that you indicate in the settings if you're wearing it on your dominant or non-dominant hand. It will be slightly less sensitive if you're wearing it on your dominant hand.

The battery life is good. I have to charge in once a week and it takes about 2-3 hrs. I haven't noticed any additional drain on my phone battery.

Sorry that I can't comment on the Fitbit zip! Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[amc80]

I have a Nike Fuel Band. I really like it and it has some great features. I think the best one (over FitBit) is that it has a display, so you can easily check your progress at any time throughout the day. Calories are converted to Nike Fuel Points. This seems sort of weird but the benefit is that fuel points are standardized so that you can "compete" against other people. DH has one too and it's fun to be able to try to out-score him. Nike also issues challenges through the Nike Fuel twitter account- "Try to earn X many Fuel Points today." That sort of thing. In regards to the comment above- you don't have to have it update FB with workouts or anything else. That's a setting.


I've also had a BodyBugg in the past. It was much more accurate but I didn't like having to wear that thing on my arm all the time.

 

[ame]

I have a fitbit one. It has done nothing to motivate me at all, if anything it's demotivated me further, if that was even possible. I've had it a year, now. Syncing is not very consistent either. My "dongle" and my app never seem to find my fit bit, no matter what USB port I use, and regardless of my distance between the phone and the fitbit, and regardless of computer. I have restarted my Fitbit doohickey like 10 times. I am about to quit on it.

 

[packrat]

I have one that I bought from a PS'er months ago and..it's still sitting there. Horrible. I need to get it out and try to figure it out cuz 40lbs aren't going away on their own accord.

 

[baby monster]

I have fitbit flex and really like it. It sits on my wrist next to the watch and is almost weightless. It does motivate me to move more. If I don't get to my 10k goal, I will jump on treadmill or walk around the house. The vibrating alarm is great because it wakes up only me instead of DH and baby. Im also connected with others to encourage be more active.

 

[nala]

I have a fitbit and have been using it for about a month and a half. I love it because it motivates me to do 10,000 steps a day, but I'm beginning to wonder if it has made me lazy. I seem to be putting on weight since I started relying on only completing 10k steps. About 3 days a week, I actually do 12-15k steps, and my diet hasn't changed, but I seem to be gaining weight. Prior to my fitbit, I was working out 3 times a week at the gym and maintaining my weight. So...I wonder if the fitbit backfired on me.
As to the battery and syncing...mine does perfectly well with my iPhone, but it's not been 2 months yet so it may be too early to tell. As far as accuracy, I do find it to be very accurate in measuring steps bc I doubted it at first, so I was ever watchful and kept repeating the same walks, and sure enough, they were all consistent.

Anyone out there find they are actually losing weight? If so, how many steps do you have to do daily?

 

[Dee*Jay]

Thank you all for the responses!

Ame, how did the Fitbit de-motivate you? That's pretty alarming... !

Nala, you hit something that I did think of in terms of what does 10,000 steps really mean *to me*. Who knows, I could be going MORE than 10,000 already (which I highly doubt, but I'll have to figure that out). I think I would wear the Fitbit for a few "normal" days and see what it registers before I just rely on some arbitrary numbers like 10,000.

Luv2sparkle, LOL at jogging in front of the TV! You gotta do what you gotta do!

Imperfectgirl, thanks for the info about the arm swing. I guess every system has its limitations, but it seems like this issue is not really a problem with the Fitbit.

Amc, I did consider the armband things a while ago but I just didn't think it would be comfortable. One of my colleagues uses it though and said she doesn't even notice it any more.

Packrat, I'm with you on those lbs not going away on their own!

Babymonster, I am hoping that once I find "my number" if I don't hit it in a day I will be motivated like you are to get myself up and moving a little more.

 

[junebug17]

I have an UP24 wristband, and I guess it's a little motivating for me…sometimes. There are days I'll say "ok, gotta get up and move a little more" and other days where I say "oh well, guess I'm not making it today." But I think it's a good way to at least be a little more aware of your activity level. It's more motivating for my husband - he'll take a walk at lunch or after work to make his steps, bless his heart. He's more disciplined than I am, but I'm trying.

 

[amc80]

You really don't notice the BodyBugg at all. But you can still see it...and it doesn't really blend in.

Another bonus to the Nike Fuel Band? It comes in rose gold.

http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pd/fuelband-se-rose-gold/pid-1057886/pgid-1057887

 

[TravelingGal]

I love my fitbit flex. LOVE. We got it through work a month ago and it totally motivates me. I'm counting cals again with I'm losing less than a pound a week, but losing more inches than what the weight seems to indicate I should. I credit this to exercise. A bunch of friends got the fitbit a while ago and I didn't see the allure, but when I got one because it was free, I was like, DOH, I was WRONG, this thing is great!

I will write more later, but if you are committed to wellness, it is a great and fun tool. I also had the Fitbit One and the Flex as we were allowed two through our work, and didn't like the clip on at all. I also found that if you're not anal, the differences in data between them weren't substantial enough for me to care. I like the flex is on my wrist, but some people hate that.

 

[ame]

I love my fitbit flex. LOVE. We got it through work a month ago and it totally motivates me. I'm counting cals again with I'm losing less than a pound a week, but losing more inches than what the weight seems to indicate I should. I credit this to exercise. A bunch of friends got the fitbit a while ago and I didn't see the allure, but when I got one because it was free, I was like, DOH, I was WRONG, this thing is great!

I will write more later, but if you are committed to wellness, it is a great and fun tool. I also had the Fitbit One and the Flex as we were allowed two through our work, and didn't like the clip on at all. I also found that if you're not anal, the differences in data between them weren't substantial enough for me to care. I like the flex is on my wrist, but some people hate that.

That was the big thing for me. I didn't want to deal with the bracelet option, and I didn't know the metal content on the bracelet to know if I'd react. I clip my one inside the cup of my bra kinda between my boobs and it's very secure in there.

 

[momhappy]

My husband has Fitbit and likes it. It is good motivation for him. I recently ordered a Lumo Lift, which is a small device that keeps track of steps, calories, etc. and it also vibrates when you're slouching (reminding you to correct your posture).

 

[luvsdmb]

Just curious if anyone has bought the Fitbit Charge or Fitbit Charge HR?
If so is the HR worth it?
Also the bands are quit different wanted to see how comfortable the watch like band is for a larger wrist?

Thanks

 

[TooPatient]

Just curious if anyone has bought the Fitbit Charge or Fitbit Charge HR?
If so is the HR worth it?
Also the bands are quit different wanted to see how comfortable the watch like band is for a larger wrist?

Thanks

We don't have a fitbit (actually created and are selling our own tracker app) but do have a wrist hear rate monitor. It is the large size but is still really uncomfortable on my large wrist. I can't stand it even just for testing our app. Would NOT want to wear anything like that on my wrist all day.

 

[baby monster]

I've been thinking about upgrading from flex to HR but the reviews aren't great. I do a lot of interval training as opposed to straight walking/running and HR doesn't pick up the heart rate that well for intervals.

 

[soocool]

I bought the FitBit Charge HR back in February. I used to use the Polar chest monitor for my workouts but it would constantly lose contact. For my needs the Charge HR is great. I have it in the small wristband and probably could have gone to the large. On my right wrist I have it second opening from the bottom and my left wrist on the 3rd hole from the end. I switch every couple of weeks from dominant (rt) to my non dominant wrist (left). For my needs it works very well. I made sure I adjusted my stride length and workout heart rate zones in the app so that I monitor my appropriate rates. The only thing that I do not like is that it doesn't constantly show your heart rate as you exercise. I have to tap on the screen to see my HR, but again for my needs it works well. Using the FitBit along with the app I have lost 8 pounds and just 2 more to meet my goal, but would not mind if I lost another 5.

What I do like about it is that it monitors my sleep. It might not be the most accurate, but if definitely shows trends in my sleeping pattern that I have been able to adjust and my quality of sleep has vastly improved.

You can turn off the heart rate monitor which would improve battery time. Currently I charge every other day, but when the HR is off I have gotten about 5 days of battery life. It charges up in less than an hour so if you wanted you can always plug it in when you are getting ready in the morning.

 

[NOYFB]

I had and used a Fitbit while I was on my health kick back in 2012 and it helped me lose 34 pounds. It really did motivate me, but I used it more for tracking the calories burned in my workouts than the steps taken.

I still have it. I should probably start using it again, since I've gained back 27 of those pounds. Ooops!

 

[Dee*Jay]

I just saw this old thread pop up!

My fitbit kind of fell by the wayside last year after my unit flooded and I had to spend a lot more time doing house stuff and a lot less time walking around the neighborhood, but I started using it again a few weeks ago. I have to admit it was more motivating when I first got it -- Oh no, I've only gone 9,000 steps, I better go get those last 1,000 in! Now I'm like, oh... well I guess I'm 1,000 short today. Time to kick myself in the butt a bit and get out more, which I think will be easier now that we are emerging from the cold hell that is winter in Chicago...!

 

[msop04]

I have a fitbit one. It has done nothing to motivate me at all, if anything it's demotivated me further, if that was even possible. I've had it a year, now. Syncing is not very consistent either. My "dongle" and my app never seem to find my fit bit, no matter what USB port I use, and regardless of my distance between the phone and the fitbit, and regardless of computer. I have restarted my Fitbit doohickey like 10 times. I am about to quit on it.

HAHAHAHAAAAAA!!! I love you, ame! Your post sounds like me!! I don't get motivated by stuff like that, so I always feel so crappy when I read how it works well for so many... *womp womp*

edited for stupid typos...