<p>Bay—there must have been some calorie reduction along with the movement b/c I routinely cover 120-130,000 steps/week and I’m not losing any weight! Summer weeks regularly exceeded 140,000 but 10-20,000 fewer now that the days are shorter. I don’t know that I am that much more active with the FitBit than I had been w/o it, but it certainly makes me stand up and walk when the phone rings. Congrats to your H as that is fantastic! How fun for you both to have FitBit groups.</p>
<p>I have the $59 version of the Fitbit (a Zip). It is basically a high-end pedometer. That being said–I find that the device motivates me. I set a goal (12,000 steps) which means that I’ve got to do some fitness walking every day to meet that goal. </p>
<p>I also have a heart rate monitor so I can keep track of HR during exercise and make sure when I’m doing cardio exercise I get my HR up. I also like that my HRM tells me how many calories I’ve expended during an exercise session. For example, I can track how many calories I burn during a 50 minute spinning class. Can’t really do that with the Zip.</p>
<p>Final comment on Fitbit–the company provides really good customer service. I lost the gizmo that allows you to open the back of the Zip to change the battery. I emailed customer service and asked how I could change the battery given that I no longer had the tool required to do it–customer service suggested I use a quarter to open the Zip and change the battery. I did that and it was a disaster. I later emailed the company and explained what happened when I followed their directions–they send me a new Zip.</p>
<p>CT,
I didn’t lose any weight either, I think because as you noted, I was already putting in a lot of steps before I started and also because I didn’t need to lose much, fortunately. He had a lot more runway to cover so to speak, so the increased steps made a big difference for him. </p>
<p>Btw, I recently went vegan and lost 4 lbs in 4 weeks without really trying. I think you need to change things up when you reach a plateau. You walk a lot of steps!!!</p>
<p>The theory would be that having the FitBit would encourage you to do more movement than you did without it. If you are just doing the same and making no other lifestyle changes (type of food you are eating, quantity of food you are eating, exercise) of course you will not lose weight!<br>
Many people are motivated by the numbers and then get confident enough to make other lifestyle changes - THEN is when you will likely see some changes - though they may take a while and it may not be on the scale. Most people tend to only see the number on the scale - not notice the physical changes of their body (becoming more lean or better toned, losing inches, etc.)</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me how it “tracks” your sleep. Is it a function of how much you move during sleep? DH said a friend had one and he was interested, so I bought him one for Christmas. DH is a terrible sleeper–wakes up a lot, etc. So I’m curious what it does to track sleep. I’m sure it won’t help DH sleep better, but it might help him convince his Doctor to look into more testing. (He already has an apnea machine, mouthguard, etc). </p>
<p>Maybe it will convince him he needs more exercise. He was told about 4 years ago that he couldn’t run anymore due to ankle issues and that was his favorite/only exercise. Hopefully the fitbit will convince him he needs to walk more (he seems convinced that all the walking he does at work is plenty).</p>
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<p>My best single day was about 110 flights and my best single day was 32k+ when we had a wedding at our house. I am rarely not able to meet the 10k steps with a busy dog to walk, but some days I realize I am slacking! We must have very similar patterns, in general topping 20k is a great day for me.</p>
<p>There is one person who friended me, a stranger, she is 150k-240k every week, I wonder if she puts it on her dog’s collar??</p>
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I believe it tracks your active movements, the theory being that deeper sleep = little movement.</p>
<p>somemom–do you mean that you have strangers ‘friending’ you on your FitBit account? Or is this linked via Facebook in some way? 150-240K/week is quite active and your dog collar comment almost had me spit my water on the keyboard! 10K or lower seems to be the # if I don’t go for a walk, but the daily five mile walk is what pushes it to 20K. </p>
<p>VAMom–I am intrigued to hear that your husband walks at work. My husband will sit so long in front of his computer w/o moving that the lights in his office will go off. He then needs to stand and wave his hands or something. (He is very fit and has been to the gym and back before I wake every morning.) The piece of info your husband might find interesting is the bar chart that shows activity in five minute intervals, expressed as sedentary through three levels of activity. I find it very telling, especially for my end-of-day computer sitting time. </p>
<p>And, yes, I realize that I need to curtail eating if I am to ever do more than gain and lose the same five to eight pounds a couple of times a year. The will power just isn’t what it used to be….but I still love my Fit Bit toy.</p>
<p>CT- I joined a couple of fitbit groups just to check it out, so yes a stranger, but from a group to which I volunteered my info. I am not impressed with the groups, I will probably delete them in January when I have time to fiddle around with that stuff.</p>
<p>All this FitBit talk has me thinking about getting one for my H - he walks a good bit and does WWatchers but I do think that he often overestimates how much he has done. He is also a numbers guy so I think he would be intrigued and encouraged by the numbers. Plus maybe we could share it some days. 
</p>
<p>Where exactly do I shop for a FitBit - online or in store. And can someone give me a consumers summary of the different ones available from basic to more complex? I’m thinking he would just want something basic - that would count steps and sync up with an app on his phone to tally and keep track.</p>
<p>[Official</a> Store](<a href=“http://www.fitbit.com/store]Official”>Shop Smartwatches, Fitness Trackers, and More | Fitbit)</p>
<p>This page outlines the differences. Personally, I would avoid the wrist band ones but that is b/c I want to wear the thing hidden always, and the wrist band wouldn’t be the look I was going for with sleeveless or dressy clothing.</p>
<p>So then you are down to the $99 One and the $59 Zip. As far as I can tell, the features the One includes that the Zip does not have are the stair counting and sleep monitoring. I have never used sleep monitoring but like the stair counting. (One more goal each day!) Climbing hills or inclines counts as flights of stairs, so it is not just true stair cases.</p>
<p>I believe that either will wirelessly transmit data to phone and computer. On computer, your H can view his activity as bar chart, pie chart, etc. I didn’t realize there were Fit Bit groups, but now that some mom mentioned it, I went on line and found those. He does not need to join one but apparently there is an entire community of supportive Fit Bit users out there. (Like CC, but for step counting!) The phone sync does not provide as much info (or ways to display the info) as the computer app. And, he can click on the device itself at any time during the day to see that day’s progress. The computer and phone retain life history for the device. </p>
<p>Amazon has it for $85 at this moment, but Amazon prices change by the minute. They are sold widely: Walgreen’s, Best Buy, Brookstone, etc. </p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Fitbit One Wireless Activity Plus Sleep Tracker, Black: Health & Personal Care](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Fitbit-Wireless-Activity-Sleep-Tracker/dp/B0095PZHPE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386166168&sr=8-2&keywords=fitbit]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Fitbit-Wireless-Activity-Sleep-Tracker/dp/B0095PZHPE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386166168&sr=8-2&keywords=fitbit)</p>
<p>Thanks CT, I’m thinking the “Zip” will fit his needs.</p>
<p>FitBit owners, do you think these would be helpful???</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Safety Leash for Pedometer (2) Units. Helps Save Pedometers From Loss and Misplacing and Not Lose Them While Running or Walking and Exercising: Sports & Outdoors](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Leash-Pedometer-Pedometers-Misplacing-Exercising/dp/B0051IG9LU/ref=pd_sim_hpc_1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Leash-Pedometer-Pedometers-Misplacing-Exercising/dp/B0051IG9LU/ref=pd_sim_hpc_1)</p>
<p>CT–DH works at the Pentagon, so there is quite a bit of walking involved during the day for meetings, lunch, and to and from transportation. We’ll see if it’s as much as he thinks it is!</p>
<p>Abasket–The leash looks like a great idea since I’ve seen several people who commented on lost/dropped fitbits. They are inexpensive, too!</p>
<p>Now I want a fitbit too after all this research and discussion!</p>
<p>I put a tiny carabiner on my fitbit one and I clip that to a belt loop. I’ve had it for over a year now without loss.</p>
<p>Ordered the zip for DH. 15% of on Walgreens.com with 15CYBER discount code (and free shipping).</p>
<p>I wanted to get DH the fitbit force, but it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere! I’m wondering if they didn’t make very many for the first production run. 
I thought I had ordered one, but it’s on backorder. Doesn’t look like it will be here for Christmas.</p>
<p>The FitBit Force wristband appears to be available at Target, if that appeals to you, for pick up in store if you prefer not to trust delivery.</p>
<p>I got the fitbit force. Just getting used to it. Best Buy offered a $20 giftcard with the purchase, and I had a $5 credit with Best Buy. Worked for us. Now I have to exercise…
I forget to tell it when I am planning to go to bed. I just fall asleep and it doesn’t track my sleep :(</p>
<p>HIMom–Thanks! I had checked earlier and the local targets were all out of stock. They must have gotten a shipment because now a couple of targets have them in stock. Now if that is really true! I went to a local Target yesterday for something after checking that it was in stock and they were out when I got there. It’s worth a shot once the weather gets better. We’re supposed to have freezing rain all night so I won’t be going out until the roads thaw!</p>
<p>BTW VAmom-
Ordered mine on line. Free S&H. Was here in 2 days. Was able to select the color and size.</p>
<p>*** ETA: BTW- the Amazon prices look high, which is surprising. We paid $129 before the $5 credit and $20 giftcard. And free S&H.</p>