Looking to get a FitBit

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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Friends at work have been talking about their Fitbit challenge. I've been using the pedometer app on my cellphone, and walking 1-1 1/2 miles per evening. I've been working back up to three miles on weekends. I downloaded the Fitbit app to my phone, and have already become friends on the app with quite a few people.

My sister got me a device that is similar to a Fitbit, but doesn't sync with the app/site. Looking at all of the different options available, I'd like to purchase a Fitbit for myself for daily use. I've seen the wrist bands and the ones that hook to your belt loop. I have a goal weight of 250LBS, I currently weight 365LBs. Also, I have sleep apnea, I'd like to track my sleep habits. See if I'm getting restful sleep, especially like to know if my CPAP is working before I contact the company to recalibrate it, and if I'm experiencing afibb I'm unaware of in the middle of the night. I'm guessing only the wristband will be able to do that.

I see the older model bands are quite cheaper than the new Alta band. I have an iPhone 4S I use for podcasts etc, my phone is my 6S, can I still use those with the old bands?
 
I got no advice for you on the tech aspect, but I wanted to wish you the best of luck and willpower on the weight loss. I hit 211 back in January and realized that I'd been deluding myself that I wasn't fat. I'm down to 188.6 now with another 20 to go.

You can do it!
 
You should have no problems using the iphone 4S or 6S with the older fitbit. I had the Charge HR but hated wearing it. It always fell in the nook between my hand and wrist bone and rubbed. My friend has the Fitbit Flex and loves it. It is smaller, and probably less noticeable. I personally don't think the heat rate is worth it, and I hear isn't very accurate anyway.
 
I was obese when I was first diagnosed with diabetes at 19, then lost a ton of weight. Walked three miles a day with an active managerial position at Walmart, but ate horribly. Took the same diet to a sedentary job riding a desk, and packed the weight back on. I made it up to 450 a couple years ago, and was surprised to find that I was down to 365 a couple weeks ago. I was in a bad car accident a couple years ago. Broken back, broken ribs and chest cartilage, broken leg. My fat saved me, or so said the doctor that saved me, and I lost about thirty lbs by being stuck at home, unable to drive and get to my old haunts. I post a thread on here or Facebook every year about losing weight. I couldn't for a while. Diabetes meds? Maybe. I was walking every night, a mile to two miles a night. My weight stayed the same.

I need to stick to smaller portions, but I think I can only attribute my weight loss to the constant walking and taking saw palmetto and acidophilus. That's about it.
 
I have owned the FitBit One for several years and while it worked, I found it didn't really fit my lifestyle. I recently bought a FitBit Charge HR for $90 and I'm liking it A LOT. My experiences are a lot different that the user above. I don't have rolls of fat and floppy skin on my arms so, maybe that was part of the problem?

I have been down the Sleep Apnea road several times. My initial case was extreme so we started with surgery. According to my sleep doctor and surgeon, getting surgery with the original diagnosis with my insurance carrier is very unusual and highly unlikely. I am also on a CPAP. If you have a choice, the Auto-CPAPs are well worth the extra expense and are a lot better than the non-auto units based on my personal experience.

I also have very high blood pressure and a family history or heart attacks so, I also have a lot of personal experience here too. The heart rate monitor is just that, it gives you beats per minute. I find it to be very accurate in my case. Don't expect it to alert you to bad heart rhythms whether you are sleeping or awake. That takes a whole different type of monitoring and associated hardware and software.

Regarding the sleep monitoring, I find in my case FitBit provides good supporting confirmation of other information sources but, I guess I toss and turn too much for it to be what I consider "accurate". My Auto-CPAP does a wonderful job tracking sleep duration and sleep quality so, I may be a bit biased here.

I find the FitBit Charge HR to be a good size, not too small or too large, for everyday wear. It is really lightweight so, it is easy to forget it is there unless you are sweating a lot or getting it caught on things doing yard work. The display, while small, is easy to read and very clear. I would appreciate larger letters and symbols but, they are very good as they currently are. Charging it twice a week will keep it powered all the time.

For the price point and features, the FitBit Charge HR is a hard item to beat in the market place. The other options I looked at were either too large, too heavy, or too expensive for the features and perceived value in my case. I would buy it again if I needed to and will continue to recommend it to friends and family.
 
Fitbit devices are great. If you are the kind of person that likes a challenge, fitbit is for you. The Fitbit company is excellent also and stand behind their devices. I use and recommend the Fitbit One ($99). The only problem I have is remembering moving it from one pocket to another pocket when changing pants...LOL

My wife uses the Fitbit Surge. We are able to monitor or see each others progress on the fitbit "dashboard" which is full of interesting facts ad history of all of our actives (including sleep).

The Fitbit program online, besides the dashboard, has a page to enter all of your daily food intake and converts it to percent of carbs, fat and protein etc and provides a history of your intake. I also use the Fitbit wifi weight scale that posts up to the dashboard....All of the activities are goal driven.

As you can tell i like Fitbit and I like a challenge. I like to walk and consistently do aerobics. I try to maintain a good diet and the Fitbit food intake program helps out. The scale, though a bit pricey, is very cool.

I hope that helps.
 
I use a charge hr mostly for heart rate tracking, and most of the time it seems pretty accurate. I'm on my second one, the first was replaced on warranty. Really happy with the customer service on that.

The HR can get stuffed up and over-count steps in some conditions (driving on rough roads) but it often triggers an "activity" which you can then edit to driving, and it re-calculates your calorie burn to just heart rate related.

What I'd also look at is the garmin Vivosmart hr, since its also waterproof. the fitbit is not. It looks to be about the same price.
Good luck!
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I was obese when I was first diagnosed with diabetes at 19, then lost a ton of weight. Walked three miles a day with an active managerial position at Walmart, but ate horribly. Took the same diet to a sedentary job riding a desk, and packed the weight back on. I made it up to 450 a couple years ago, and was surprised to find that I was down to 365 a couple weeks ago. I was in a bad car accident a couple years ago. Broken back, broken ribs and chest cartilage, broken leg. My fat saved me, or so said the doctor that saved me, and I lost about thirty lbs by being stuck at home, unable to drive and get to my old haunts. I post a thread on here or Facebook every year about losing weight. I couldn't for a while. Diabetes meds? Maybe. I was walking every night, a mile to two miles a night. My weight stayed the same.

I need to stick to smaller portions, but I think I can only attribute my weight loss to the constant walking and taking saw palmetto and acidophilus. That's about it.
Click to expand...

it all boils down to calories in and calories burned.

The less expensive was to do it is, go to the food store. Buy a bunch of Veggies and fish along with a bunch of Broccoli crowns that have the big red or blue rubber band on them.

When you get home, put the rubber band on your wrist, go for a LONG walk.

Cook & eat the veggies & fish for dinner, then repeat the next day!:)
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
it all boils down to calories in and calories burned.

The less expensive was to do it is, go to the food store. Buy a bunch of Veggies and fish along with a bunch of Broccoli crowns that have the big red or blue rubber band on them.

When you get home, put the rubber band on your wrist, go for a LONG walk.

Cook & eat the veggies & fish for dinner, then repeat the next day!:)
Click to expand...

This has been my experience, too. You can fight battles at the gym, but you win the war at the dining table. I was working out fairly regularly and still gaining weight, because I wasn't controlling my portions or frequency of eating.

Making sustainable changes is hard, but the secret for me was to not really change my diet a whole lot, just start measuring portions and stop eating when I hit a certain level of calories. It does help that I'm up to five days a week in the gym very consistently. Two days of running 3.2 miles, three days starting with a mile run and then doing a whole-body strength class.
 
Rhino, research has shown that being able to track your progress makes it easier to stay motivated to keep at it. It also makes it easier to do lots of short walks which are as good as one long one. I know they seem to be a bit of a fad, but they do help.
 
Silenthunterstudios,
My Wife has the FitBit HR. It tracks night-time sleeping habits and heartbeat rates, either of which should detect episodes of sleep apnea.

And an FYI, you don't need an expensive iPhone/iPad/whatever to use the FitBit HR. Wife's connects to a standard PC laptop computer for downloading data and creating charts.
 
gadgetgeek said:
Rhino, research has shown that being able to track your progress makes it easier to stay motivated to keep at it. It also makes it easier to do lots of short walks which are as good as one long one. I know they seem to be a bit of a fad, but they do help.
Click to expand...

Whatever helps you, will help you. I find that really simple things make a sustainable diff like, Don't bring crap like chips, cakes, cookies etc into the home if I want to shed a few and keep them off.

Buy fresh fruits & Veggies along with lean meats and drink LOTS of water! Most of the time when we think we are hunger, we are actually a little dehydrated and a glass of water, Tea or coffee and we are good!

Also, it can be good to have one single scoop ice cream etc once or twice a week. Living a little helps you transition into a better overall diet instead of trying to force yourself to only eating Bark, sticks & twigs!;)
 
I got the Fitbit Charge a few months ago. I wore it for a week and it was then quickly relegated to the junk drawer. I later gave it to my sister, who work it for a week, and it now rests in her junk drawer.

With respect to weight loss, I highly doubt a wrist-mounted gadget is going to be the difference between obesity and fitness. I shoot for an average of two miles a day, other than the little amount of walking I do at work. For me, I just went on Google Maps and plotted some various routes through the neighborhood and we're about two miles. It was free and I don't have to worry about keeping any ridiculous gadgets charged.

Far be it from me to recommend against a piece of tech, but I don't see the value...
 
Ketogenic diet has worked for me. High fats (good fats). Medium protein and low carbs. Cut out all sugars and starches.
The body will reach ketosis, and becomes a fat burning factory.
 
With all due respect gents, Silenthunter asked about people's experience with trackers, I'm sure he's gotten all the diet advice he can stand and more. Its like raising kids, everyone is an expert for other people's situations.
What works for one, does not work for all. On the average, most users find that some type of tracker helps them stay motivated, and keeps them from slowly decreasing their activity level, but it depends on your lifestyle and your personality. oguruma, if your method works for you, that's great. Same for you Krav, if it works for you. But no one should embark on extreme weight-loss without the assistance of a doc. It might be hard to convince a doc to help you, since for most they will have been burned by putting time into people that didn't follow through. Most current diet science is shaky at best, fraudulent at worst, and the average MD knows about what you do about diet. But what they can watch for is kidney and liver problems, and detect over-stress on body systems. They can recommend medication adjustments, and detect other problems that may come up.
 
gadgetgeek said:
With all due respect gents, Silenthunter asked about people's experience with trackers, I'm sure he's gotten all the diet advice he can stand and more. Its like raising kids, everyone is an expert for other people's situations.
What works for one, does not work for all. On the average, most users find that some type of tracker helps them stay motivated, and keeps them from slowly decreasing their activity level, but it depends on your lifestyle and your personality. oguruma, if your method works for you, that's great. Same for you Krav, if it works for you. But no one should embark on extreme weight-loss without the assistance of a doc. It might be hard to convince a doc to help you, since for most they will have been burned by putting time into people that didn't follow through. Most current diet science is shaky at best, fraudulent at worst, and the average MD knows about what you do about diet. But what they can watch for is kidney and liver problems, and detect over-stress on body systems. They can recommend medication adjustments, and detect other problems that may come up.
Click to expand...

thanks for your experience that's some great advice.
 
There is a ton of pseudo-science with diets and nutrition in general so I generally try to stay away from of those topics and just stick with the basic "eat healthy" and avoid "chips, fried fruit pies, etc.". It is also shocking that US medical schools provide so little nutrition and dietary training in school and post graduation training, especially considering the obesity crisis along with diabetes and metabolic syndrome that has become so commonplace. I'm not a medical professional so, my observations are just that. I have been fortunate to spend time in Europe and experience their medical system. Their treatment is very high quality IMHO but, pretty different from what I would have received in the USA. In summary, basic food items can be and are treated like medicine in many cases. Call it placebo effect if you want but I recovered from one particularly bad illness with basically specific nutrition and "mild" antibiotics.

What good does it do to loose 50 pounds only to damage your liver or kidneys? Significant weight loss should be done under appropriate medical supervision.

Rant over ....
 
Got an Alta on 4/14, and love it. Each week my total steps has increased, and I am down to 299 from 314 lbs. My favorite part is the alarm that goes off if you have not done 250 steps in the last hour. It keeps me from getting behind my computer for hours at a time. Liked it so much we got them for my wife and four kids. It turns walking into a game, and that keeps me motivated.
 
I would go as far as to say, 90% of weight loss is done at the table. What and when we eat.
 
In 2012 I was in a horrible car accident. A piece of my spine was sheared off, broken ribs that haven't healed correctly (your ribs shouldn't move around when you breathe or laugh), broken chest cartilage and broken leg that hurts like hell when a storm is coming, like today.

I wasn't able to drive, and just staying away from bad foods, like salty/sugary/greasy foods, I lost 50 lbs in a couple months. No swelling in my legs or feet. I started feeling a lot better.

Then two months later I got my wheels back. I was good for about a month, drinking a ton of decaf coffee, but that was it. Then I fell off the wagon, or broke it, and got back into the convenience store/fast food/subshop dive crap.

I cut out most processed foods, two years ago. No breads/grains either. Only drank water, iced tea (no sugar) and hard cider. I didn't lose any weight but I was doing good. Then vacation came and I haven't been able to get back on the no grains train. I truthfully think that good flora in my guts from acidophilus helped me lose 50 lbs, and I need to just get back on the wagon. Walk, no processed foods and get back into weight training.

This Fitbit app has been fun for me, seeing that I've walked three miles total for the day has made me think, why do I need to walk a continuous mile and a half for exercise. I definitely need to walk more, and eat less. I am working on staying away from my favorite processed foods.
 
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