Tag Archives: technology

Losing Weight The Techie Way (or My FitBit Fail)

I like techie things. I love my computer, I might love my iPhone too much (I sleep with it next to me), and my brother just got me an AppleTV for my birthday. Ok, so maybe I don’t just like techie things, I love them.

So when I heard about the FitBit, it sounded awesome. It counts your steps, it keeps track of how active you are, and it’s so tiny, that even I can clip it on my bra without it being seen.

So I bought one yesterday, and it’s been nothing but trouble. Sorry to any FitBit people who read this, but it’s true.

It took me 2 hours to get it set up. For some reason, the dock would not recognize the device. And it’s never been able to sync. I try to force sync it, and nothing happens. I’ve done everything in the troubleshooting to fix it, but it still doesn’t work. And their customer service is only available by email, no phone calls or online chats.

I decided even with all those fails, I’d still try it today. Maybe I got a defective device and then I’d exchange it instead of returning it.

Nope.

When I rode my bike (inside on a stationary bike), somehow the FitBit thought that I had walked over 7,000 steps. Maybe you can’t wear it when you are working out? Seems weird. It still won’t sync. And the iPhone app only works if you can get the device to sync.

The only positive it had was that I could use MyFitnessPal to track food. But honestly, that’s not enough to want to keep it.

So I’ll be taking it back to the store tomorrow. If any of you have techie weight loss/workout things you love, please let me know. I love competing against myself and others and a plain pedometer just isn’t enough (plus, since I ride my bike as my main workout, the pedometer doesn’t register it).