The plan is simply to log how much you move and by doing that to motivate you to move more. I think people can lack awareness about how much (or little) they move during the day, so a Fitbit provides a measurement. Similarly, if you’re logging your calories, you’re aware of the energy you’ve consumed compared to the energy you’ve used. Obviously, you want to expend more energy than you consume.

I think they can work as a motivator. I used to have one until it stopped working and it did encourage me to park farther away from my office, or to take the stairs, to ensure I reached my step goal. I don’t think it helps beyond motivating you through greater awareness.

It can’t. It just provides data.

Au contraire, @ARE_you_kidding_me, a Fitbit certainly can be motivating. One of their wearable models got me back to the gym and on a regular walking/running regimen. It wasn’t my only motivator but it certainly contributed to my goal-setting.

You need to set goals for yourself about the weight you want to lose and you need a plan for how you are going to lose it. The Fitbit can be a tool to help you with this plan but unless you organise yourself and find the best regime for you, you won’t achieve much and will give up soon enough.

I read a short article recently that might help

You could go to a slimming club or look at some of the online weightloss sights such as MyFitnessPal.

Try taking the BBC test to see what kind of eater you are and therefore which diet could be better for you

If you couple the FitBit data with honest diet information (everything that goes into your mouth) you can better understand how you collected the extra weight.
You will learn that a brisk walk for an hour is 400 calories, and that can easily be more than negated by just one doughnut.
For $20 you can get a good, small, digital scale with a range up to 2 kg, a few pounds. Weigh your food so you honestly know the portion size.
Also keep track of your alcohol consumption. There are a lot of calories in those drinks.
The Fitbit will help you be honest – with yourself.

It is a tool. Like any tool, it works only as well as it is used.

To lose weight one must burn more calories than one consumes, and do so for a long period of time. A reduction in calories consumed, by altering your way of eating, coupled with burning more calories, by exercising frequently, will help you get fit. And the fit bit is one way to monitor yourself to make sure you exercise each day, and moderate what you eat.

My neighbor lost 30 lbs with an app called “My Fitness Pal.” She is very enthused about it. After entering your data, goals, etc. it gives you a minimum number of calories that you MUST eat each day. It also gives the amount of walking that you need to do and it keeps track of that. She said when she’s looked at it at night, if she’s eaten less than the minimum, she must find something to eat to bring up the calorie count. Of course, there have been times when she has cheated, but she achieved her first goal of 30 lbs and is now giving herself a break and then will start on the second goal, which is maybe 20 more or something like that. It’s a very popular app and I see you can log in with FB if you want to.

^^^^^^ Fitbit doesn’t track how many times one flags SPAM!

Flaggged