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Living the Fitbit life

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Re: Living the Fitbit life

#51

Post by srik »

jamesRaybould wrote: post #25

I love my fitbit and wear it pretty much religiously, it tracks how much I move in a day and how much I sleep, but 2 things irk me about it. It is constantly broadcasting my location via bluetooth LE. You have to have an internet connection to retrieve any data from it. As a software dev I'd love to get my raw data out just to see what fun an interesting things I could do/see with it. When I have asked in the past th…

> saying that they don't provide access to the raw data

This was exactly why I'm awaiting Misfit to fulfill on their promise to open up Shine's data. I will trade my fitbit in right away.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#52

Post by craigching »

I had heard about "10,000 steps/day", was curious, so asked for one for Father's Day (just over a week ago).

After one week, being a software engineer for over 20 years now, it gets me out of my chair once in the morning and once in the afternoon for 10 minutes each, just a walk around the block + some change if I walk for lunch. I don't quite get 10,000 steps with that and I have two young children so it's hit or miss if I can get out after work with them, but I do get 20 to 30 minutes of activity per day that I didn't before. Totally, 100% worth it so far.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#53

Post by varelse »

foobarqux wrote: post #40
varelse wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've exercised regularly since the age of 22 when my ballerina girlfriend dumped me for someone effectively identical to me in every major way except that he was ripped and he could dance (and oh yeah, Atari ST versus Amiga). He and I have even indirectly intersected over the years. That event was both heartbreaking and catalytic for me. I have been a fitness freak ever since. "Big things have small beginnings" to qu…

To be clear, you lost 35 lbs after getting and as a result of the fitbit?

In my case, 13 pounds, and yes 100% directly attributable to the mindful state induced by wearing the fitbit. But as I've said in my other two posts in this thread, my response to the information it provided does not seem to be the norm.

Or as the old joke goes: How many psychoanalysts does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb has to want to change. Devices like the fitbit offer you either the blue pill or the red pill. Which one you take is up to you.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#54

Post by seacious »

rasz_pl wrote: post #37
varelse wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In late 2011, when I won a fitbit in a white elephant party, I came to the awful realization I only walked 4,000 steps per day. Over the next 2 months, I gradually upped my steps to 20,000 steps a day and lost 13 pounds. I am now known as the fitbit fascist by my friends because whenever someone kvetches about their weight, I offer to buy them a fitbit. I have followed through on this twice. In both cases, the victim…

>Figure out why that happens fat people are lazy. You need a pill, or a cap full of electrodes that would make them shiver in their sleep . http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/shivering-as-a-form...

I have been both fat and slim. I don't think the change was caused by a change in my moral turpitude.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#55

Post by JeremyNT »

jgrahamc wrote: post #3
kator wrote: post #2

My wife and I are avid fitbit'ers. We used to walk about an hour every day before we got them so it wasn't like we became fanatics when we got them but things have changed in some very subtle ways: We can get the same amount of walking in even when we travel to a new city, we used to slack off sometimes when we travelled because we didn’t have a “route” to follow. Now we just go and often walk until we get to 1/2 our…

Great story about the tech. Now... What actual benefits have you seen? For example, weight loss, increased muscle strength, blood pressure, heart rate?

My anecdote: it allows much better estimate of calorie expenditure for use in weight management.

I've lost almost 60 pounds over the last two years, a bit over half with the use of Fitbit. I find the data from Fitbit let me know how active I really was which enables me to more consistently hit my weight loss goals. This generally meant either eating less or going out and exercising more to hit my daily budget.

My wife uses Fitbit in the same manner.

Fitbit isn't a panacea, but it is a piece of the puzzle. On its own the benefits are small, but it is very helpful as a component in a larger health strategy.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#56

Post by joelrunyon »

bluedino wrote: post #9
eroo wrote: post #5

Once we start seeing reliable metrics for other common vitals, I'm optimistic we'll see massive benefits from data insights. With a large enough sample size and the right vitals, I'm hopeful we can find highly correlated early predictors of some massive events: e.g., does 20 minutes before a heart attack have a reliable signature? Is there any boilerplate legalese for open sourcing that kind of data?

I can't wait for a device that can measure how many calories you've eaten. The possibilities for that would be endless. Beeping after you've hit your goal/limit for the day?

A better approach is to stop counting calories altogether and realize that by simply focusing on calories rather than how your body processes & utilizes food is a completely outdated way of looking at nutrition.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#57

Post by charlieflowers »

varelse wrote: post #39
foobarqux wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since you got the fitbit or since you decided to start exercising?

I've exercised regularly since the age of 22 when my ballerina girlfriend dumped me for someone effectively identical to me in every major way except that he was ripped and he could dance (and oh yeah, Atari ST versus Amiga). He and I have even indirectly intersected over the years. That event was both heartbreaking and catalytic for me. I have been a fitness freak ever since. "Big things have small beginnings" to qu…

Well, you probably had the Amiga 1000, as I did. We jumped in early and suffered for it. They shitcanned the 1000, and it cost you a ballerina.

Somehow you overcame the bitterness and turned it into a positive.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#58

Post by arrrg »

_archon_ wrote: post #19
whence wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does the scale measure BF%? My impression was that calipers were really the only way to do it accurately without expensive equipment.

A number of consumer scales use some form of electrical pulse timing to determine the composition of tissue in the feet, which is extrapolated for the body. For these results to be meaningful, you have to be very consistent with your hydration before you use the scale.

After measuring daily for about two months with such a scale (in the mornings after going to the toilet and before drinking anything, so I assume my hydration should be somewhat consistent) I see a clear downward trend (in line with my weight loss), but the actual values that are measured don’t seem to be very exact, probably about ±3% around the imaginary trend line.

Those measurements seem to be good for finding a trend, but not for finding the absolute value.

Re: Living the Fitbit life

#60

Post by unsigner »

Wonderful article, but it's major effect on me is more curiosity about the iWatch. I hope it does cycling and weightlifting better than the current crop of devices - I'm definitely NOT going to drop my 30 km/day of cycling to walk more.
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