Where to wear Fitbit?

[Night Elf]

I've been researching and I'm not finding consistent answers. I can't wear my Fitbit Flex 2 on my wrist because I move my arms too much during the day. Some people are saying they wear it around an ankle using the large band but some say that isn't accurate. Some wear it attached to a shoelace. Some wear it clipped to their pocket but others say the loose material of the pocket makes the count inaccurate. Some clip it to their waistband facing in. Some wear it on their bra although their count is off when they climb stairs probably due to bouncing. 

Would the ankle really be inaccurate? 

I was wearing it on my wrist last night  for sleep. Just going from my bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen recorded 136 steps and I am positive I did not walk that far so I don't like wearing it on my wrist.

[HomeAgain]

They're slightly inaccurate anyway.  Dh wears his on his wrist and was sitting still in the car when it buzzed to say he'd hit his goal. ? 

I have the same trouble as you - things on my wrist don't work.  I've considered getting a pendant one, but I'm still on the fence.

[Night Elf]

35 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

They're slightly inaccurate anyway.  Dh wears his on his wrist and was sitting still in the car when it buzzed to say he'd hit his goal. ? 

I have the same trouble as you - things on my wrist don't work.  I've considered getting a pendant one, but I'm still on the fence.

Slightly is okay. I'm worried this is way off. I'm experimenting. I wore it on my hip when I went to the grocery store. Now I'm wearing it on my ankle. Just now I took 16 steps and it registered as 41. Supposedly I walked 200 steps in the grocery store and that doesn't seem right. I only bought this fitbit to record my steps and sleep. I know I'm no where near the recommended 10,000 steps a day but I'm curious as to just how many I do take. I didn't stop to think this fitbit could be so inaccurate when I bought it.

[freesia]

After your last post, I tried moving my arms a lot like you described and mine didn't record any steps unless I was actually walking.  I find mine pretty accurate.

Did you set it with your height?  I remember some place I had to say how tall I was or something and it adjusted my step count.  I also find that changing how tight it is on my wrist makes a difference.  Looser is more accurate.  Since yours is counting too many, though, maybe try tighter.

The problem in the grocery store is pushing the cart--having your arms extended interferes with the count.  However, when I put it in my pocket, I don't get a much better reading.  Maybe there just isn't as much walking in the grocery store as it seems?  I don't know.

 

[Night Elf]

3 minutes ago, freesia said:

After your last post, I tried moving my arms a lot like you described and mine didn't record any steps unless I was actually walking.  I find mine pretty accurate.

Did you set it with your height?  I remember some place I had to say how tall I was or something and it adjusted my step count.  I also find that changing how tight it is on my wrist makes a difference.  Looser is more accurate.  Since yours is counting too many, though, maybe try tighter.

The problem in the grocery store is pushing the cart--having your arms extended interferes with the count.  However, when I put it in my pocket, I don't get a much better reading.  Maybe there just isn't as much walking in the grocery store as it seems?  I don't know.

 

Yes I put in my height and weight. And I did try just moving the flex around while holding it in my hand, shaking it back and forth and it did record steps. I didn't push a cart in the store. I just carried a hand basket. I was wearing the fitbit on my hip though, not my wrist.

[Night Elf]

2 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

All trackers are slightly inaccurate.  They record some things as steps that aren't, but then they also miss recording some steps.   I have actually, in an effort to judge the accuracy, taken a walk while watching the app and it seems to count pretty accurately during the actual process of walking.  So for me, I figure the times where it gets confused probably all make up for each other.   Ultimately, the goal for me isn't super precise accuracy, but rather a generalized improvement.  A month where I hit 10k steps 15 times is an improvement over a month where I only hit it 5 times.  

Yes, but at the end of the day I can't know if I'm off by a few hundred or a thousand. Oh well. If I wear it in the same spot every day and make the same types of movements every day I guess it will even out.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I think it's worth remembering that the goal is to move *more*.  Assuming the fitbit's accuracy is consistantly inaccurate (let's say, always 15% high or something), then I suggest you just wear it in the same place for a week, then attempt to better whatever the average was.  Here's an article explaining why 10000 is not all it's cracked up to be.  

My garmin is very accurate at counting walking steps (I've counted out my steps and it's been right on every time, as long as I'm more or less swinging my arms as normal).  I have never stopped to check if it's also counting steps when I'm washing the dishes, but probably a few.  I'm still active and on my feet, so I figure it's all good.  One annoyance I had was it didn't count my steps when I was pushing a stroller!  I started pushing with my non-watch hand only just to get "credit" for my steps.  ?  Then I realized the goal was the WALKING, not the number on the watch.  The health goal really is to spend less time sitting.  Step counts are one metric that can correlate to time on feet, but not the only one.  

 

TL;DR: You want the number on your fitbit trending up.  Accuracy is less important than trend.

 

 

[Night Elf]

Does this make sense? I just found a post where someone said the count if wearing the fitbit on the ankle will only be half the steps because it would record the foot moving forward only. An arm swings back and forth. Someone said that wasn't true. I'm trying to wrap my brain around why they would say that. It seems to me that each time I move my foot forward it should record a step. Just testing it out earlier I took what I counted was 16 steps and it recorded 41 so I have to think the ankle is as accurate as an arm. Right?

[Lawana]

I think it is the up and down motion that records steps. Wearing a Fitbit on my wrist, I get credit for steps while playing the piano—no back and forth motion, just up and down. And pushing a shopping cart does not record steps—no up and down with the wrist. 

[regentrude]

12 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

Does this make sense? I just found a post where someone said the count if wearing the fitbit on the ankle will only be half the steps because it would record the foot moving forward only. An arm swings back and forth. Someone said that wasn't true. I'm trying to wrap my brain around why they would say that. It seems to me that each time I move my foot forward it should record a step. Just testing it out earlier I took what I counted was 16 steps and it recorded 41 so I have to think the ankle is as accurate as an arm. Right?

The fitbit counts steps using an accelerometer that detect acceleration. You only move that foot forward on every other step, so you would be only counting double steps. I am wondering whether your discrepancy 16 vs 41 is that you are counting double steps and the fitbit, when worn at the wrist, counts single steps since the arm swings back and forth during the two parts of the double step..

Edited July 31, 2018 by regentrude

[Night Elf]

4 minutes ago, regentrude said:

The fitbit counts steps using an accelerometer that detect acceleration. You only move that foot forward on every other step, so you would be only counting double steps. I am wondering whether your discrepancy 16 vs 41 is that you are counting double steps and the fitbit, when worn at the wrist, counts single steps since the arm swings back and forth during the two parts of the double step..

When I counted myself, I counted each time my left foot hit the floor which is the side I'm wearing the fitbit on. 

So would it be better if I wear it clipped to my waistline with the tracker touching my body at the hip? I make lots of arm movements at my job and that's why I don't want to wear it on my wrist.

[regentrude]

6 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

When I counted myself, I counted each time my left foot hit the floor which is the side I'm wearing the fitbit on. 

You are only counting half the steps then. The fitbit is apparently sensitive enough to register the slight ankle movement on the second step and counts every step, i.e. every time any of the feet hits the floor.

You need a larger sample than just 16 steps to gauge accuracy. Walk a few hundred steps and count, so that you get an idea what exactly your fitbit is measuring

Edited July 31, 2018 by regentrude

[Night Elf]

4 minutes ago, regentrude said:

You are only counting half the steps then. The fitbit is apparently sensitive enough to register the slight ankle movement on the second step and counts every step, i.e. every time any of the feet hits the floor.

You need a larger sample than just 16 steps to gauge accuracy. Walk a few hundred steps and count, so that you get an idea what exactly your fitbit is measuring

Ok, then that isn't so bad for a small sample. I walked 32 steps and it recorded 41. 

[Night Elf]

4 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

I have always counted steps as each time EITHER foot hits the floor.  

Yeah, I didn't think of that. I was thinking the arm movement was back and forth was one step so counting my steps, I'd only count one foot hitting the floor. I'm not a rocket scientist by any means. LOL

[Night Elf]

Ok I got on my treadmill and walked 300 steps and compared it to my Fitbit. It was only off by 11 steps. I don't think that's bad. I think wearing it on my ankle is fine.

[freesia]

1 hour ago, happysmileylady said:

All trackers are slightly inaccurate.  They record some things as steps that aren't, but then they also miss recording some steps.   I have actually, in an effort to judge the accuracy, taken a walk while watching the app and it seems to count pretty accurately during the actual process of walking.  So for me, I figure the times where it gets confused probably all make up for each other.   Ultimately, the goal for me isn't super precise accuracy, but rather a generalized improvement.  A month where I hit 10k steps 15 times is an improvement over a month where I only hit it 5 times.  

Yes, I meant to write this, too.  It helps me up my game.  I was shocked that a "normal" at home day was only 3000 steps or so. Knowing that helps me be more intentional about getting more steps.  So whether 8000 steps is 100% accurate doesn't totally matter bc it is far better than 3000.  And, as dh reminds me when the battery runs out and my steps weren't recorded--they still count whether the fitbit knows it or not.  Try not to get too carried away by the exact number.

[freesia]

1 hour ago, Night Elf said:

Yes I put in my height and weight. And I did try just moving the flex around while holding it in my hand, shaking it back and forth and it did record steps. I didn't push a cart in the store. I just carried a hand basket. I was wearing the fitbit on my hip though, not my wrist.

But did you strap it to your wrist and move your hands the way you do at your work?  I would think shaking  it in your hand is different than wearing it on your wrist.

[Night Elf]

Well, something really weird happened. When I got off work, I checked my steps and I was at 3,700. I can believe that because I do a lot of walking and I was almost at 1,000 when I left for work. But I got home, puttered around the kitchen, sat on the sofa to eat and just now checked my total and it's at 8,300. There is no way I walked that many steps. What happened? I sat on my leg and I guess pressing on the fitbit may have done that? I can't think of what else it could be. I wish it would let me erase some of it so I can get back to where I feel I should be at. I feel like my experiment today is shot. OH well. Tomorrow is another day.

[Night Elf]

5 hours ago, freesia said:

But did you strap it to your wrist and move your hands the way you do at your work?  I would think shaking  it in your hand is different than wearing it on your wrist.

I just tried moving my arms up and down and nothing happened. However, when I walk in the store, I'm usually pushing a cart or holding things in my arms. I'm not getting the swinging movement of my arms for the majority of my walking.

[freesia]

I was talking about why I thought you could wear it on your wrist at work and not worry about having it record your arm movements as steps. Sorry I wasn't clear. 

[Ravin]

I second the PP who said you need to call customer service. It sounds like your fitbit isn't working the way it's supposed to.

[freesia]

16 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

Well, something really weird happened. When I got off work, I checked my steps and I was at 3,700. I can believe that because I do a lot of walking and I was almost at 1,000 when I left for work. But I got home, puttered around the kitchen, sat on the sofa to eat and just now checked my total and it's at 8,300. There is no way I walked that many steps. What happened? I sat on my leg and I guess pressing on the fitbit may have done that? I can't think of what else it could be. I wish it would let me erase some of it so I can get back to where I feel I should be at. I feel like my experiment today is shot. OH well. Tomorrow is another day.

That is very odd. Pressing shouldn't have done that. 

[Night Elf]

Ok, now I'm not sure. I'm looking at the graph of today and it if I click on each vertical line it shows me how many steps I walked in a 15 minute period. It has my steps up and down from 10:00 to 2:00 which is my work hours. So maybe I really did walk 8000 steps? I move around a lot in a small area in addition to walking back and forth between the back room and my department on the other side of the store. When I got off work, I could have sworn it said 3,000 steps. My husband is wondering if it really said 8,000 and I just didn't see it properly. I just don't feel I move that much. I can't wait to see what tomorrow does. If it's way lower tomorrow than today, I'll call customer support and ask their opinion. For now I took it off my ankle and put it back on my wrist. I don't swing my arms when I walk in my house though. I'm always carrying things. So if it's recording my arms swinging, I guess I'll get few steps. I"m going to try it out right now.

[Night Elf]

Ok. It's recording steps whether or not I'm moving my arms. I made up and down motions like I do at work when hanging blankets and stuff on hangers while wearing it on my wrist and it recorded steps. I put it on my ankle and moved my arms and it did not record steps.

[kbutton]

7 hours ago, happysmileylady said:

Also though, in order to take all 50 steps I had to turn a 180 to walk back the way I came and that always messes up the count as it readjusts to the movement.  

1

How big of a problem is this? 

I used an ipod to track steps for a while, and it was terrible. It basically detected NO movement inside my house. None. It did detect movement at the store. It detected my husband's movement at work (which is a lot of little moving all day long but in a space the size of a grocery store). 

I upgraded to a non-fitbit that is regarded as a good brand because I was going for increased steps, and I was going for being able to challenge myself--it records better than the ipod, but it doesn't pick up extra movements I am adding in on purpose--I have limited time and tolerance for outside (heat, allergies), and I hate exercising on a machine, so I was adding in a LOT of steps by purposefully taking extra trips up and down stairs, carrying laundry an armload at a time to put it away so that it would be more trips and more work. It's been demoralizing because the extra movement didn't count at all over time. It does pick up extra steps if I leave the house, so I am wondering it turning around eats up all my steps (I do a lot of that), and having my arms full eats up steps. I know that I will sometimes go someplace and be shocked at how many steps I get when I know I've actually taken more steps in my home than I did for that particular activity!

And it does matter--some of us are stuck with tracking fitness for employer wellness programs. 

It's frustrating enough that the kind of exercise that helps me get things done and that I actually like doesn't "count" on a fitbit (gardening), but to then have extra steps I take on purpose during my housework be ignored just adds insult to injury! 

[kbutton]

1 minute ago, happysmileylady said:

A question about the tracking for employer wellness programs?  Are they actually taking the info right from your tracker?  Or just self reporting?  Are they wanting specific step counts?  I ask because that sort of stuff isn't what DH's employer wellness program is doing at all and it would kind of weird me out to have an employer wanting specific data from a fitness tracker.  

2

It's self-reported, but I am not going to literally count steps. They offer a "variety" of things to report, but it changes a lot. I think one of the things that doesn't change is being able to report steps, and I assume no one actually counts their steps--they use a tracker. If someone doesn't count steps, then the things you can report are usually time or mileage-based, and they CHANGE. Like, if I bother to get into a routine with one of their "challenges," there is no guarantee they will continue to offer that as a valid way to meet their requirements! But the steps thing seems to be consistent, which is one reason my DH got a tracker for himself. 

The rest is a vent, just in case everyone wants to ignore it, lol!...

I also just find it really, really a downer to make significant changes and not be able to see the results or accurately compare a before and after. I have tried a lot of things to be able to exercise more regularly, and it never works, but I can make my regular work a little more complicated in order to get more steps in. 

But that's not about the fitbit/steps except to the extent that DH's wellness program and the lack of fitbit feedback makes it all the more galling when I do something for my own benefit and health and can't get an $800 "credit" toward our healthcare each year for all my efforts (or I can get a few points before having to reinvent my entire routine in order to try a new "challenge"). It's like having someone kick me when I'm down and trying to crawl out of the hole. And don't get me started on how the insurance company sends us paperwork about our health issues assuming a lot of untrue information (like that a certain RX must mean my son is obese and a couch potato when he actually needs the meds for a genetic condition and is actually underweight), but they can't be bothered to send paperwork telling us what we need to know in order to get the ^&(* Rx filled!