Talk to me about Fitbit

[Nuggie's Auntie]

I'm pretty intrigued by this little gadget! I've heard it mentioned quite a bit here on VF, and I'd love to hear specific feedback on how it works, how feasible it is to wear while sleeping, etc. I have a lot of sleep issues (I've already had a sleep study, been diagnosed with sleep apnea and wear a CPAP, but I still struggle,) so I'm particularly interested in that component.

As for exercise, does it function like a heart rate monitor?

[smissy]

I'm hooked on mine; that being said-it does not function like a heart rate monitor. I've had mine about a week and a half. It motivates me to move much more. It's very easy to wear and comes with a clip on holder. Some have used a pedometer tether. It comes with a velcro band with a compartment for the fitbit to wear on your non-dominant wrist at night. I don't know how accurate it records; I imagine it records arm movement.

It comes with a base that hooks to your computer to sync with the fitbit software that you download from the fitbit site. I've only had to recharge mine once so far.

The device itself measures steps, tells you how many miles you've walked that day,how many calories you've burned (which I imagine is an estimate calculated from the information you've entered into the software), and has a flower that "grows" leaves the more active you are.

I'm sure someone will come along that will fill in some things that I haven't covered. I do plan to wear a heartrate monitor. I do a lot of circuit workouts and since fitbit only measures numbers of steps but not intensity (it will list a higher intensity if you have a higher number of steps per minute) I plan to compare the intensity with the intensity the software gives me for the activity.

I'm still getting used to mine, but it is a great motivator. I was much more sedentary before using my fitbit.

[Hilary]

There was quite a bit of discussion about the Fitbit in this thread:

http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...ghlight=Fitbit

I'm not a techie, but they describe the way the Fitbit works as similar to the Wii remote; it has an accelerometer that measures movements in all directions. Therefore, although it doesn't measure heart rate, it does gauge the intensity of movements more than a pedometer.

As far as the sleep function, it's certainly not as sophisticated as having a sleep study done. You put the Fitbit in a little strap that you wear around your wrist at night. When you look at your data, you can see it in regular or sensitive mode. In regular mode, it shows me waking up about seven or eight times a night, with around 97 - 98% sleep efficiency. In sensitive mode, it looks like I never sleep more than a few minutes straight the entire night! For me, the regular mode definitely reflects more accurately the way I perceive my sleep to be. Although I move around frequently, I don't really wake up that much.

[Mary09(b)]

I didn't get much from the sleep mode, but maybe that's because I used a GoWear Fit for a few months and got some sleep info from that. The Fitbit also had me at like 98% sleep efficiency, which is way higher than the GWF. Not sure which is more correct, but it doesn't matter to me. I know when I wake up how well I slept. And because I generally sleep great, I'm not that interested in seeing it graphically. Occasionally I wish I'd slept with it so I could confirm that I had a rougher night than usual. It's easy to sleep in. Just slip the little cuff over your wrist.

smissy- I don't want you to lose yours due to wearing it on that clip-on thingy. I read that was added in for men with belts too thick for the Fitbit to straddle. I've never used that clip so I don't know this for sure, but intuitively it seems to me that having the Fitbit itself straddling your clothing would be more secure. I think it's more discrete without the clip, too, right?

[chrisjeffnick]

I just ordered mine thanks to Hilary's other thread.

Hilary, can I effectively wear it in the cleavage of my bra?

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Thanks to all for your input. I think I'm going to ask DH for it for Christmas! He loves buying techie gifts.

As for the sleep function, I'll be curious to see how that works in practice. While a sleep study may be more accurate in how they measure sleep, I found the sleep lab environment to be *SO* not conducive to good sleep! It's a bizarre experience--my lab had me sleeping in an uncomfortable murphy bed with wires hooked up all over my body.

I had two studies done, and the second one involved a VERY bulky and uncomfortable CPAP mask. CPAP takes some getting used to in your own home with a more inconspicuous mask, so I counted that experience at the lab to be useless. Plus, the tech bundled all the wires using hard plastic hair clips that kept digging into my back throughout the night.

So, I'm a little skeptical about the veracity of sleep study results! The fitbit might be just as good!

[YvonneP33]

Yes, this is where I wear mine and it is very secure - both all day and while jogging both outside and on the treadmill.

[chrisjeffnick]

I just got my Fit Bit and tried wearing it in my cleavage attached to my bra. I think the step counter is wildly inaccurate. I am walking across the room and it's logging 250 steps? Is there something I should be doing?

I like their website and it is easy to use. But if I can't get it a little more accurate I am going to return it. Thanks!

[Mary09(b)]

Are you sure you're reading the steps item off the display, not calories or something? Have you tried counting your steps and then checking how many it counted during that span? You can also turn the display on and hold the thing in your hand and move it in a stepping motion and watch the step count advance while you do.

[chrisjeffnick]

Hi Mary! It's showing up on my FirBit dashboard (online tracker) when I walk away from the computer and come back. The step counter is way off. You guys aren't having this issue?