Tell Fitbug your tips for squeezing exercise into a regular day and read MNers feedback on the Fitbug Orb. Chance to win two free Fitbug Orbs. NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the 50 Mumsnetters who tried Fitbug Orb.

Here’s what Fitbug say: “The system sets you personal targets each week for steps and food, helping you improve your lifestyle at a rate you can gradually adjust to, so it’s not a hardcore exercise regime or a diet that you do for a short time, but a way of improving your habits for the long term."

Testers: We’d like you to post on this thread twice. First with your initial impressions, and then a couple weeks later letting us know how you got on. Please answer the questions below but feel free to add any other thoughts you may have.

First impressions:

Q1. Why did you want to take part in this product test?
Q2. What were your first impressions of the Fitbug Orb when you opened it? Did you like the look of it? If so, why? If not, why not?

Non-testers: What’s the easiest form of exercise that you manage to squeeze into a regular day? Do you have any tips to fit exercise easily into your day to share with other Mumsnetters? Maybe it’s taking the stairs to your office on the top floor of the building, or walking your children to school each day. Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it.

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a pair of Fitbug Orbs (worth £50 each).

Thanks,

MNHQ

Tester:
Q1. Why did you want to take part in this product test?
I'm very very overweight but I have signed up to a sporting event next month and I am determined to give it my best shot. I really find it hard to fit regular exercise into my life because my husband and I both work weird, variable hours and so routine is hard to find. I felt the Fitbug would give me a way of tracking exactly what I am managing to do despite being so busy and motivate me to fit more in.

Q2. What were your first impressions of the Fitbug Orb when you opened it? Did you like the look of it? If so, why? If not, why not?
Mine is black with pink, it looks really cool. I like the different options to wear it and it's light and comfortable, very unobtrusive. It was easy to fit the battery etc but I found the whole setting up and synching impossible, lots of strife, then it turned out that only certain versions of my tablet are compatible and mine isn't one of them so I am hoping once a dongle arrives I will be able to get going with it properly. I am feeling pretty enthusiastic :)

Tester
Q1. Why did you want to take part in this product test?
I am approaching a big birthday and over 2 stone overweight so wanted something to help motivate me to lose weight. I also want to set a better example to my son about fitness.

Q2. What were your first impressions of the Fitbug Orb when you opened it? Did you like the look of it? If so, why? If not, why not?
First impression was that it looked quite cute and not very obtrusive. Mine is black with pink.

I set it up with the wrong stride length and have no idea how to correct this. Google and the fitbug site has not been any help so far. Can any mumsnetters help? Please?

Yes InculKate I forgot to mention in my first impressions the absolute pain of it logging you out and you only being able to be logged into one device at a time. I was on the website on my iPad trying to find out how to work it and also on the app on my phone. I downloaded the app to the iPad to so that it would be easier to try things and it logged me out of the phone app then. I logged in about eleventy million times. This is quite a big problem Fitbug people, as you are not always using the same device.

Q1. Why did you want to take part in this product test?

I looked at these a while back, but ended up buying a HRM instead. I am very active, and do a wide range of activities, and I do keep track of exercise and food already, using MyFitnessPal and Runkeeper. I hoped that this would save the need to having to track every exercise individually (which really drains on my mobile data) or faff about with my HRM. I was also interested to find out how active I actually am, when not actively exercising. I also liked the idea of goals, as I am training for events next year, so constantly pushing myself further.

Q2. What were your first impressions of the Fitbug Orb when you opened it? Did you like the look of it? If so, why? If not, why not?

I liked the look of it, it looks sleek, unobtrusive. (I was glad I got the black) It was very easy to get up and started. I have the clip and the watchstrap, didn't even bother looking at the clip thing. I had already installed the app, so just had to put in the registration number and then go. The app on first impressions is far too limited though. I found that once I signed into the website I had to register it again. As far as basic counting steps go, it seems to be mostly working fine, but I had expected more from it.

Tester here
Q1. Why did you want to take part in this product test?
Well I have been meaning to lose weight for 3 years now and I have instead put it on! After 7 years as a SAHM I returned to work last year and life is just so busy that I don't find time to exercise and eat chocolate to give me energy to keep going. I hoped this would give me motivation.
Q2. What were your first impressions of the Fitbug Orb when you opened it? Did you like the look of it? If so, why? If not, why not?
I have the white one which is very modern but not as attractive as the pink or black. I was fascinated by the mention of KiK on the box but have heard no more about this which has disappointed me. The set up leaflet directed me to a website, which I did and entered all the details. I then went to the app and was shocked how basic it is. You can't update data or add food on the app, you have to use the website which is annoying and means I am unlikely to do it. My lovely husband did get it syncing with my fitness pal however which means I can do it all on my phone.

I like the fitbug concept and like the range of ways to wear it. I use the belt clip during the day as it is more discreet than the wristband.

The step tracking is not brilliant as it over counts. It has me down for 121 steps today but I haven't yet got out of bed! Tuesday it had me down for 7.5 km which I strongly doubt!

In summary, I like the concept but work needs to be done on the app and firmware.

I've answered the requested questions below, but would like to add...

1. Yesterday it reset and lost data from the morning, and the night before it didn't track sleep.

1. It isn't streaming data at all, I have to manually sync it with my phone each time. I can't seem to get back into any settings to try to fiddle with that.

1. I can't see where to edit goals, or desired weight or anything like that. The weight page on the app isn't even rendering properly.

1. I have been doing 30k+, even 40k+ steps, but it still minuses calories off my daily allowance on MFP - why? It takes forever to sync with MFP too, it doesn't really update til the evening. I think this could be a real problem for people just starting out with tracking their diet, as I'm finding it only allows you about 400 calories until teatime.

1. It doesn't accurately record for cycling or gym classes or anything like that. The shortcut link to add these on the dashboard doesn't work. They have to be added under the activity page of the site. There is no function on the app to add them, so I have to go online to do that. The app really is far too limited in functionality. I can't even view previous days properly.

1. I would really like to be able to view a graph or something of my activity. I really expected more feedback from a £45 device rather than simply a total number of steps which I could get from a far cheaper pedometer.

1. The sleep tracker is quite honestly a waste of time. It simply tracks movement, it doesn't know if you are awake or asleep. Not everyone thrashes around when waking at night, and not everyone lies still all night while asleep.

I'm quite disappointed, but still hoping that some of the issues will get ironed out or further developed as I do think the product is a great idea and still have hope that it can work for me. We were promised 1:1 support? It would be great to get some feedback from fitbug and some assistance with the issues we have all been having, please!

1. I wanted to take part in this product test because the 4 week test period is over a time of year when I always seem to struggle to be active, due to change of routines (and health reasons) and this year I have some temporary part time work stopping me from exercising in the mornings. It also means I have less time to fit everything in at this busy time. I also have some health issues which means changes of routines are hard to adjust to quickly (doing anything quickly can be impossible some days) but isn't related to cholesterol/heart rate, which are fine for me, so no need to track that. Yes, I'd like to lose a bit of weight but it is a side issue for me really.

1. The box is nice and well packed. I liked the look of the beltclip best as it is small, and I wouldn't have to have it next to my skin, but I often wear skirts without pockets or belt hooks. So I chose to use the wristband, which I have to swap from one wrist to the other to stop it annoying my skin.

I've posted about set up on the other thread. It took far too long and it wasn't clear how to sync things. It is annoying that I couldn't download the app from the app store but had to get it somewhere else (with a pop up message telling me I was taking a risk here, did I really want to?).
Once up and running, the orb doesnt sync automatically with the app. Even when it does sync, there is little information stored. Just a line per day, with the number of steps taken. If you go to the trouble of inputting all the food, drinks and snacks you eat, (plus all other forms of exercise) you get a coloured line suggesting whether fitbug thinks your energy (food/exercise) is balanced. Not much detailed reward for inputting all that data. I had hoped for more.
I tried every night to input sleep, and it has worked 3 nights out of 5. (I did exactly the same thing every night, the difference seems to be the light didn't flash 5 times on turning off on 3 of the mornings.) I am not sure how useful the sleep mode would be for those who need it. I am curious to see how my sleep pattern changes over time, especially weekdays compared to weekends, but I need it to work reliably every night for that.

Forgot to add: my first impression of the lanyard was that it is too small to go over my head/around my neck. What am I supposed to do with that, and the clip is plastic, flimsy, and such an odd shape I couldn't open it.

I'm not a tester. Not having a car forces me to fit exercise into my day as I have to walk places, I get the bus to work but still have to walk 30 minutes afterwards as the bus doesn't take me right there. I also find yoga good for fitting into my day, as I can do it right before bed, by the end of practice I feel calm and can go straight to bed if I like. Doing more vigorous exercise requires a bit more planning - I've never been good at getting up in the morning so tend to do it in the evening.

Non tester.

I get off the tube one stop earlier than the stop nearest to my office when I commute into work, and do the same on my commute home (i.e. I get off at Kings Cross when the stop nearest to my office is Farringdon). It adds 15 minutes to my commute time each way.

I walk to meetings elsewhere in London rather than take a cab (always quicker than a cab, often quicker than public transport).

Tester

1. I wanted to take part because I've lost almost 2 stone in the last 6mths to 1yr but don't feel especially fit. I do a lot of walking and that is my main exercise. I've used a pedometer in the past and myfitnesspal but not kept it up. Thought having this to test would keep me motivated.

1. First impressions were that it looked good, like the shape of the orb itself and the wristband is what I've been wearing. But, its a bit chunky IMO, like wearing a 2nd watch. And met a friend yesterday with a fitbit and that is a thin little band, much more discrete and unobtrusive (sorry Fitbug )

The setup has been a real problem, I have a Nexus 7 and when I initially filled in the questionnaire this was listed as compatible but I've later found its only with certain versions. I had hoped anyway that I could use my laptop and disappointed that it didn't come with a dongle for the laptop. I have been sent one (would normally cost £9.99 extra) but I still can't get it to work. Message that "Missing Dongle, please connect the dongle" etc, tried several times to disconnect & connect.

But, I have fortunately managed to borrow a friends compatible android phone and downloaded the app on that, setup was fine after this. I have used it yesterday and tracked steps, food (also think its annoying that this can't be done on the app), sleep. Seems good so far.

Nydj i did this yesterday (putting the wrong height etc settings in) and if I remember correctly I think I went to devices on the app, clicked my on my orb and did 'device setup' again, it allows you to re-enter the data (height etc). Doing this doesn't lose your previous steps etc (it didn't for me anyway).

I work from home. The upside is having more control over my time. The downside used to be zero exercise - kitchen to first floor office, and a sense of guilt if I did anything during the day that wasn't work related.

Now I make a date to go running with a friend 3-4 times a week, and walk another friend's dog with her 2 times a week. We run or walk between 3k-8k each time.

At weekends and in the holidays I make sure the DC and I are out doing something physical nearly every day. Not always possible (had some endless car journeys this summer.) But a lot of cycling, swimming, horse riding, climbing etc with DC keeps us fit and having fun together in the holidays and the running is straight after DC leave for school so it doesn't interrupt the flow of the day or mean I lose out on family time when they get home.

Non tester! I've found the 30 Day Shred type exercises the most effective for squeezing into a day. Just 20 minutes long, it's easy enough to find the time.

Before that, I forced myself to walk to school whilst DD scooted. On the uphill journey back, I made sure I walked briskly rather than ambled and I did find it made a difference to my general fitness level. Of course, that's all gone to pot during the school holidays!

Non tester

I fit running in my day. Can do it when DCs are in bed / DH is at home. I have even managed to get a bit addicted.......

Also joined the gym near work to go at lunch time.

Q1. A year ago I was diagnosed with cancer - had mastectomy, chemo, rads - the works and came through that. So I decided that I ought to be very appreciative of the life I have and whilst I was in hospital unable to walk to the bathroom, drips and drains everywhere I imagined how it would feel to walk and run about and be in the fresh air - basically fit and healthy.

My oncologist said there were three things he would recommend to prevent re-occurence - 1. exercise 2. getting BMI into normal range and 3. cut out alcohol as much as possible.
So as part of the 'new me' I now do something (swimming, rowing, shred) every day - even if it's just a 20 minute walk. Took up running and although I couldn't run for 30 seconds to start with I can do a 10km non stop. I have lost almost 2 and a half stone - and almost within reach of a BMI of 25. I had been considering buying a gadget which would help track what I was doing but no idea what to choose - and saw this and thought it would be a great way to start!

Q2. I was very impressed when I opened the packaging. Looked very modern and sleek. Loved the shape of the device - small, smooth pebble. At first wore it on wrist band but didn't like it there plus issues with maybe not working effectively there (but that's a whole new post!). Currently attached to the other wrist thingy (!), put onto my belt and the orb is in the pocket. Have also attached to my bra when I didn't have pocket to put in.
Realised that there was no instruction sheet as such - you had to go online to see how to set up etc.
So yes first impressions were very good. As that's what I was asked about I'll leave it there before I get started about the issues of actually using it effectively.

Non-tester here. Walking is the easiest way to bring exercise into my day (as DS3 wakes at 5 and there is no way I'm getting up at 4 to exercise) so building in a mile walk to and from the station on the way to work is a good start. When in the office I also go to the gym at lunchtime 3 x a week (work permitting) and do one of their 45 min express classes - variety is a good idea - and have a personal trainer come to the house one evening a week when the kids are in bed asleep to do a training session.

Non Tester here, during the school holidays , I have been having a 40 - 64 length swim every morning at 7am (a lovely adult length swimming only session at the local pool). When I get home around 8am the children are only just stirring so it doesn't go into our day. (DH is a teacher, so he is at home with the DC)

During term time, the school run is 3.5 miles in total before I start doing extra walking, I try extend it on the way home in the morning and go for a couple of extra miles through the forest, to be honest it doesn't take any longer than the normal school run as otherwise I would walk slowly chatting with friends on the way back.

I should really do more, but I don't really have the motivation for exercise classes.

Non tester a really quick dog walk, I don't dawdle i really stomp it out

Q1. Why did you want to take part in this product test?
I am always looking for ways of adding more exercise into my day. This fitbug seemed like a good idea to me.

Q2. What were your first impressions of the Fitbug Orb when you opened it?
When I opened the box I thought how nice it looked. I loved the way it could be worn in 4 different ways.

Did you like the look of it? If so, why? If not, why not?
I did like the look of it. The pink against the black looked really stylish.
I thought the instructions were complicated. The links that you had to type into the bar were far too long and tricky to input.

Q1.
I wanted to participate in this trial in the hope it will motivate me to look after my health a bit more. Luckily for me, I think i'm think very fortunate to not have to worry about my weight, however, the downside to that is I never thought about the need to do any exercise. Anyway, I've been having a few health issues of late and despite having quite a busy, hectic life, I've realised how unfit I actually am and how little exercise I actually do.

I'm hoping the Fitbug will be a positive step towards a healthier me.
Q2.
First impressions of the Fitbug were...'Interesting...'. Its tiny, pebble size and looks smart. I got the black colour with the pink stripe and it has one button (to sync information to your device). I've never used anything like this before so am rather interested to know how this tiny orb will help to improve my lifestyle.

To insert the battery in the orb, the back cover had to be unscrewed with a coin. This took me a while until I realised that I had been turning my coin in the wrong direction as there were no clear directions for that. Once in, I viewed the tutorials that were listed on a piece of paper that came with the fitbug. These were easy to follow.

I have to note here that when I applied for the trial, I specified I would be using a nexus 7 tablet. However, when I tried downloading the app, my nexus wasn't compatible as it was the 2012 version, (it is compatible with the 2013 version). Luckily I also had a Samsung Galaxy S4 which it worked with otherwise I would have been sending it back.
I like the way I can choose how to wear it, as a watch or clip on to my clothes etc.
The whole set up process took a while for me to get my head round and to be honest, the first time I sat down to it, I didn't do the full set up completely, only what I understood and thought I'm going to have to sit with it again. However, the very next morning an email came, with some very helpful info on using the Fitbug. I have been receiving these emails regularly since and they do help in making the most out of it but I would also have preferred a hard copy too with the Fitbug for easier reference. Having said that, maybe the emails are meant to form the assistant Kik, which other than the name Kik printed on the box, I'm seeing very little mention of?