I've had a Fitbit now for about 4 years. I started out with a Flex and last year, I switched over to the Blaze.
Fitbit does have its problems: 1) Inaccurate step-counting, 2) Inaccurate heart beat, etc. I figured out the best way to swing my arms when walking to get a more accurate step count. For some people, swinging the arms and keeping the arm straight work. For me, I keep my arm crooked at the elbow and swing that way; it helps me keep the Blaze more accurate. I don't know why, but it does.
But overall, it's a good device. I have my Blaze set to remind me to take at least 250 steps every hour from 5:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon. 12 hours of being "active" every hour. I also hit the treadmill every morning for 3.5 miles. And since we live in a bi-level, I can also keep track of the floors I walk every day. I think a ten-foot elevation is considered a floor. And I keep track of my Active Minutes.
If you are left-handed, the FitBit should be worn on your right wrist. It is always worn on the non-dominant wrist. You can set up your FitBit to not light up when you raise your hand by going into the Settings on your FitBit. It doesn't bother me at night anymore, nor do the green lights. I prefer to wear my Blaze at night while sleeping simply because it keeps better track of my resting heart beat that way. I like my resting heart rate to stay in the low-to-mid 50s, because of blood pressure.
You can go to your desktop and go into Settings to check your stride, etc. for your personal settings. You can adjust your stride by walking outside for about ten feet and having your husband or somebody measure it out.
I also have my Blaze synced into my cell phone so that I can see what's going on for resting heart rate and heart rates during the day. It also goes back about a year for steps, mileage, heart rates, etc. on the cell phone. Because I'm on blood pressure meds, I tend to keep track of things on my phone.
The FitBit Dashboard is interesting. It keeps track of what you're doing throughout the day as well as throughout the week. I can track my steps throughout the week and by Saturday morning, I can figure out how many steps I need to reach 100,000 steps for the week; I always shoot for about 100,000 steps in a week. From the Dashboard, you can go into the Help Communities for your specific FitBit and ask for help, tips, suggestions, etc. Most of the time, you can get some good help from other FitBit users. I don't think FitBit itself answers questions there, but most of the users are quite knowledgeable.
I hope that helps you.
ETA: Most people probably don't realize how much they do walk in a day. Doing household chores, putting laundry away, going up and down stairs, doing grocery shopping, etc. I think they say that you should shoot for at least 10,000 steps a day, which is not difficult for most people to do. I purposely will add to my step count, simply by being less efficient, meaning that I'll walk back to the bedroom to put my laundry away, then walk back again to put DH's laundry. A trip to the bathroom to put towels and linens away. When I mow yard in the summer, I'll walk instead of riding a lawn mower, just to get the steps. If I'm close to 23,000 steps for the day (say around 22,600) then I'll walk around the house or walk outside enough to get those extra 400 steps. I have found that the Blaze encourages me to get extra steps in. And that's not a bad thing at all.
Also, if you're using an elliptical? You might need to put your FitBit in your pocket instead of on your wrist. I found that out with my Flex. For some reason, it didn't register well because I wore it on my wrist. Somebody from the Help boards suggested putting it in the pocket of my shorts.....and believe it or not, that worked better. I don't know why.
Like I said, I'm using a Blaze now. I really do like it. It has its quirks, but overall, it's not a bad device. And since it encourages me to get extra steps in every day, how bad can that be?
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