To think fitbits are largely a load of bollocks

[ihuli]

Well, more the 10,000 step thing. Which is all people I know seem to use them for.

Basically most of the steps are used shuffling around indoors and a bit of cooking. The odd small stroll.

So you can then justify no other health attempts such as a healthy diet or actual exercise that causes exertion.

Ok, I’m aware not very fitbit user fits this model and they probably have loads more functions, but I know a hell of a lot of people who are reasonably rotund or unhealthy who do this. Then justify sweet treats. Just tracking ‘steps’

I can sympathise, I’m peri-menopausal and it’s shit. And I’m not a shining example myself, but I do thing it’s best not to kid yourself you’re fit or healthy with the 10000 step thing if you do little else, plus acquire steps through stuff like typing sometimes.

It’s not a criticism of people as such, it’s that this marketing sells an unhealthy easy answer for profit. When people need to be told to get their heart rate up, eat fruit etc. People love the easy solution

I found mine wasn't very accurate. I'd done 180+ steps one morning despite having not even got out of bed!

I see how it can benefit some people though. When I was working in an office, it was actually difficult getting to 10k steps each day despite also being a busy mum of 3. The step counter made me aware of just how little I was doing (despite being quite fit and healthy), so made me more conscious to move more. Then once I was consistently hitting 10k I begun aiming for 15k then 20k....

Agree, they are quite random

I use mine for the frequent flyer points. I average 200 points a week for just going about my daily lazy business. 350 points a week if I actually get off my ass and walk.

I quite like mine because while I’m a bit dubious about the step count, it helps me track distances for jogging.

Also I was able to “prove” to my doc how little sleep I was getting.

If you are doing specific training to hit a particular heart rate it’s good too.

That said, now I’ve got better at knowing how far I’ve run in 40 mins, if it packed up I probably wouldn’t fork out to replace it. I also don’t worry about syncing it, the figures are handy at the time, so to speak.

It is useful only for continuous walking. I prefer to do my steps per day in one go and for me 10k steps works out to be approx 4.5 miles.

I quite like mine. I love the vibrate alarm function, the sleep tracker, and the hourly reminders to get off my arse. I also like that we have a family challenge group that allows us to compete with grandparents on the other side of the world. It just another tool for continuing relationships as we can chat and comment with each other.
There are plenty of articles around debunking the 10000 steps thing. I don’t know anyone who uses a Fitbit to make sure they do 10000 steps a day...

I thought that the 10,000 steps theory had been discredited. Maybe I’m wrong.

I also wondered how accurate they were.

I know a lot of people who use them for the 10,000 steps thing.

I have a Huawei band, same idea as a fitbit only loads cheaper.

The main thing I use it for is the sleep tracker. I have bipolar and sleep, or lack of sleep, is one of the biggests factors in my wellbeing. I take it to my psychiatrist appointments every few weeks and he loves looking at my graphs. This sleep tracker seems to be one of the best ones as it tracks REM as well as light and deep sleep and he has commented on things like the time it has taken me to go into REM on different nights and given me explanations why.

It also motivates me to walk more to get my step count up. I always feel good when I hit my target, but don't bother too much if I don't.

I use the swim tracker which is ok, it just measures time in the pool rather than how far you have swum.

I used to think they were a waste of time but love mine now.

I like mine as I'm a runner and it gives me km or miles as I run. My 10k steps just happen in my daily life, walks to school, dog walks etc. It's not A substitute for exercise at all. I find the period tracker function helpful too.

In the summer I was wearing mine and it congratulated me on my 20 minute aerobic workout. I’d actually been standing at the sink scraping potatoes. They’re not accurate at all

The 10k steps thing was made up by marketing people. No scientific basis of help in terms of fitness.

I don’t get to anything like 10000 steps shuffling about and cooking. To reach my 10 I generally have to go on 2 decent walks a day (as another poster said totalling about 4 miles) when I work in an office based job I only achieve about 4000.

It does give me something to aim towards and keep me active.

I changed the settings so it congratulated me at 8000 steps now. Some of those steps I achieve by just wiggling my arm around.

I like the sleep tracker but that's not accurate all the time either.

The alarm is useful. Plus now I've started running I can track calories on that.

It tells me when I've been bone idle. And it tells me when I went to sleep and when I woke up. I can also wear mine swimming, which is more than can be said for my glasses or contact lenses, so now I actually have a way of telling the time when I'm in the pool.

It also thinks lifting my hand to my mouth is steps. It's not. It's probably crisps.

On balance though, I like it. It's a nudge in the right direction and means I can't kid myself when I've really done nothing at all.

ITV did a program recently , one of those spending money programmes and there were 3 different branded watches which were used by 3 different members of a family running up steps of a stadium and each one had different results. They said on it that Fitbit was the least accurate watch .

I love mine. I’m not bothered if its100% accurate or not, it has helped me to think more about how much I move. Overall it’s made me more active and less stressed about my sleep which I see as a pretty positive thing from a watch!

My friend used it to track her sleep, and found out that she had severe sleep apnoea. Her doc said she could have died in her sleep, it was so bad. So yes, sometimes a Fitbit can save your life.

I agree the step count total is dubious. I don't care about that myself. I like it for other things. It's moderately good at identifying the time I spent walking or cycling. I like the sleep data & numbers. It tells me about the duration of my sedentary periods. The 'active' minutes & calorie count are usually fairly accurate. The app & website are easy to use. I'm quite satisfied with mine. The benchmarking is interesting. Works for me!

I love mine. It tracks my parkrun and I get really accurate data on pace per km, time etc. It’s great for pacing myself when I am trying to get a personal best.

Mine is reasonably accurate, I have never noticed steps accumulating while I am stationary.

I don’t think they will ever be scientifically accurate down to one step, but days of lying about the house are much lower step count than days I walk to and from work.

As for shuffling around d the house, mine also records Heart rate, so this wouldn’t count as active minutes,

I suppose like anything it’s how you use it.

Only it takes a lot more than shuffling round the house to do 10,000 steps in a day (unless they’re shaking their arms a lot or something!) I walk about an hour a day and just about do 10,000 steps and I believe walking that much is healthy so what’s wrong with encouraging people to move more?

It depends on where people start from - if they’re massively overweight and previously wouldn’t even walk to the shop then tracking steps might be great encouragement and 5k even a day could make a difference.

Love mine. Use it for tracking swimming, jogging, sleep and periods. Bought one for OH and he has turned from a couch potato into someone who goes out in the dark to make sure he's getting some exercise in. It's also almost stopped him moaning he sleeps badly. I say almost, because it has pointed out that he sleeps quite well most of the time, but now he moans that he doesn't understand why he thinks he's had a terrible night but the Fitbit says otherwise.

I have a cheaper version of the Fitbit - basically a step counter. Im not saying they are 100% accurate but it does spur me on to do more. If I've got to 9000 steps for example I'll have a quick stroll to make it up to 10. Recently I've been really busy and have been averaging 13-14k a day which I'm really happy with. I don't think there's anything wrong with them as long as you realise they aren't totally accurate. But they do give you some indication of what you're doing.

The health app on the iPhone tracks steps with decent accuracy. I therefore have no need for a FitBit.

I average just under 10000 a day just by going to work, walking around the office, walking to the car, walking the jog and general life with the kids at weekends. Given though that I don’t always have my phone on me I’m sure it’s 10000 or just over in reality.

I don’t have time for any other exercise. I eat what I want and my weight is normal and never changes. So I think there is something in the 10,000 steps thing.

@AwkwardFucker how do you do that? I feel like that’s something that might motivate me!