Please note this is not a paid review...all thoughts are my own and all images taken from Google.
So if anybody else is on MyFitnessPal you will see that there are a number of different apps that you can buy that sync with MFP. I have been looking at the Fitbit for quite awhile (I did ask for it for Christmas but unfortunately I didn't get it) This is how it's described on the MFP website:
Fitbit Trackers monitor your steps, distance, calories burned and more. Automatically sync the data to your Fitbit account via your computer and select smartphones. Set goals and stay motivated to keep on your path to fitness with graphs, badges, and friendly competitions.
One of the reasons why I wanted to get something that would help monitor my activity level is although I go to the gym and the machines tell me how many calories I am doing and how far I am going I don't think that they are actually that accurate I also love me some health or diet related gizmos so of course was attracted to it! The Fitbit Zip costs around £50 in the UK and can be bought from most major tech or health retail stores...I bought mine online from Amazon.
Now I will be totally honest when I first got it I just thought it was a fancy pedometer with some extra things thrown in and was going to use it so I knew really how far I traveled each day... it is SO much more than that. Firstly let me tell you about the features:
Positioning: The Fitbit is really small and comes with a little holder which has a incredibly sturdy clip with it. It is designed for you to be able to clip it on pretty much wherever you want..the best places will either be on your trousers, a pocket or where I clip mine... the center bit of my bra. The reason why I clip mine there is that nobody can see it and yet it is still easily accessible for you to check on throughout the day if you want to.
To change the display all you have to do is give your Fitbit a firm tap with the finger and it will tell you a number of different things:
Steps: You are given a target of 10,000 steps a day to achieve and you can clearly see how many steps you have done at any point throughout the day by giving the Fitbit a quick tap.
Calories: Your calorie target will depend on how you set up your Fitbit profile (More on that later) but the Fitbit will show you how many calories you have used throughout the day, this will include any exercise you have done and general calories used from just living.
Distance: You are given a target of covering 5 miles a day in distance and again this will tell you how far you have gone and again includes distance traveled when doing any exercise and walking around the office or to the car etc..
Time: You have a clock on it
Emotions: You have a little smiley face that will change depending on how you are doing throughout the day.
Now this alone is all good, but when you then bring together the phone app and/or the website the Fitbit really comes in to it's own. So firstly you need to set up your profile, you say what your current weight is and what you want to lose and then at what speed. It works on a calorie deficit a day and you can set for -250cals a day, -500, -750 and -1000. I have mine set for -500 a day which will equal out to 1lbs loss a week.
Now this is the magical part that took me a while to work out: Your daily calorie allowance to include the -500cals will be worked out on your activity for the day. So each day you will have a different calorie allowance depending on how active you have been. So if one day you don't do anything but sit on the couch all day your calorie allowance will be really low for that day but if the next day you go to the gym, walk around town and then do the housework your calorie allowance will be higher. The allowance will change throughout the day to reflect your activity levels.
The Fitbit syncs with your phone and computer through Bluetooth and the Fitbit comes with a Bluetooth USB to plug into your computer in case you don't have Bluetooth. This means all your information is synced to your profile throughout the day. You could just sync it at the end of the day but I don't think you will get the best results in regards to food allowance so I sync mine through my phone app throughout the day.
What does this mean: Previously I had just said to myself ok I will have an allowance of 1500cals a day (-500cals from recommended 2000cals a day for women). This is all very well and good but what happens if one day I don't do anything and the deficit is actually only 200cals from cals USED or another I do loads and I have a deficit of 900cals from cals USED. It is not a realistic plan just to say how many cals you can eat without knowing how many cals you are using through the day. By using the Fitbit you can get accurate info on how much you should be eating all the time. The calories IN (food) should be 500 cals less than calories OUT (exercise)
Here is a photo of the computer dashboard:
This is my profile this morning, as you can see it has all the things previously mentioned as well as weight goal, very active minutes, food plan and Calories In vs Out. The dashboard will give you more detail on all the aspects so you can look at weekly stats etc.... The main thing for me is that if you you are reflecting a higher cals IN to your cals OUT you will get a warning and info on how many cals you need to burn to bring you back in to the goal zone. Your food intake syncs with your MFP account (you can also use the Fitbit calorie counter if you wanted to) and in turn the amended Calorie allowance from the Fitbit syncs with your MFP account.
I have been using the Fitbit for a week so far and last week I lost 2lbs which I am really pleased with as I did have one day of heavy heavy eating and hardly any movement. I have found that since using it I have been alot more active as I want to hit all the goals each day, I am checking my Fitbit all the time to see how many cals I have used and how many steps I have done. Yesterday I wanted to go and get an IcedTea and there were 2 shops I could have gone to, I went to the furthest as I wanted to rack up the steps. I think of ways that I can make sure I hit my goal, for instance today I went to the gym but only did weight training so didn't take any steps, so at Lunch I went for a walk instead of sitting at my desk eating my lunch to make sure I got to the 5 mile mark.
What it also means is that if you have a blow out and eat more than you wanted to you can still make sure you have a 500 cal deficit by ensuring you still burn more cals than you take IN. All you have to do is look on your app or your computer and it will tell you what you have to do to make sure you hit your goal.
There are so many things that I have missed out in regards to the dashboard and what else it can do, but needless to say my Fitbit is now kept by my bed at night so I can put it on asap in the morning and it is one of the last things I take off at night. Making sure I accurately count my cal intake with MFP and making sure I accurately keep track of my activity levels will enable me to have control over my weight loss and hopefully make sure I understand how I can make sure the weight keeps on going down.
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