Activity trackers, yay or nay?

megbee617

Hi all -

I've been looking into getting an activity tracker like a fitbit or jawbone, but they're fairly expensive. For those of you who have them, are they worth it, or would a simple pedometer work fine too? Thanks in advance!

Sued0nim

Yes a simple pedometer would work

But I love my fitbit ...you'd have to prise it off me

I also love my polar HRM

Gadget girl

StaciMarie1974

IMO a simple pedometer would work fine. Certainly its easy to try one out for $10-20 and see what you think.

I have a Fitbit One, and my husband recently got a Polar Loop. Very useful tools for measuring activity. And the challenge w/ friends bit is a nice feature if you have a competitive personality. I do make use of how Fitbit estimates my total daily burn, but that's not necessary for weight loss. I got my One for Christmas last year. Its been a big part of my progress. Though its not a magic weight loss badge. It just helped me to see how inactive I was, and I made a conscious decision to change that tendency.

phillyETLgal

I just got a Misfit Shine this week and I really like it. It is very sleek looking, it is easily adaptable to tracking sports beyond running and walking (I swim, and it is both swimming-ready and water resistant), and unlike many wristbands, it can also be used as a watch. I didn't really get the point of these, but given that I sit in front of a computer all day, it is a good reminder that I need to move around a bit more - I am far more conscious of it now. It is actually cheaper than a lot of the market leaders (Jawbone, Flex), and I think the hardware is better (My husband has a Jawbone Up, and it is more bulky and fragile than the Shine). The app isn't as nice (especially for Andriod), but Misfit seems very responsive and it looks like they upgrade it and add new features frequently (the ability to link it to MFP is fairly recent), so we'll see.

LoraKay131

i just simply walk around.

SezxyStef

At first I was in agreement..pedometer works fine and the expense.

But I got a bonus at work and did some research and bought a jawbone (at the insistence of my husband) and I love it..

What can it do that a pedometer doesn't...

Track my sleep
Track my food (sync'd with MFP)
I can add in extra exercise and it be counted
buzz my arm to remind me to move (I have it set for every 15mins)
It wakes me up at the optimal time during my sleep patterns so I don't ever feel groggy in the morning and it does it silently...no freakin' buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz now.
People on my team motivate me
Gives me insights into my habits and how they compare
Gives me tidbits of information on nutrition and health and exercise
Links me to other activity sites like FITT which has challenages
Challenages me to walk more if I am not averaging enough and sleep more it I am not getting enough

I have a pedometer it sits in a bowl...this thing does not come off my wrist.

Weightwatcher72

Tbh I've had a £5 pedometer, a £15 Weightwatchers pedometer, my phone and a fitbit and have found the Fitbit to be the most reliable
The £5 pedometer started getting inventive with its numbers and forgetting others, the WW pedometer broke right out of the box, and my phone won't track when I enter some buildings (lead roofing? I don't know) but either way it's read out was very inaccurate

The fitbit doesn't care about all those things and tracks regardless, yes it's an expensive bit of kit but it's worth every penny imo, it also monitors sleep patterns and calories. Also the Fitbit unlike the jawbone is waterproof up to 10m

SLLRunner

megbee617 wrote: »

Hi all -

I've been looking into getting an activity tracker like a fitbit or jawbone, but they're fairly expensive. For those of you who have them, are they worth it, or would a simple pedometer work fine too? Thanks in advance!

I have a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor, which I love. I have heard wonderful things about both fitbit and jawbone.

engodwin

Love my arm band (Body Media)
Depends on your goals. Can you meet them without an activity tracker? Sure! Will it motivate you and help you see numbers (I'm a numbers gal myself)? Possibly!
To each their own.

anotherwarriorgirl

I have a Fitbit Flex and while I love it, I really only use the pedometer aspect.

I do really like the dashboard of information that is provided, as well as the syncing to MyFitnessPal and vice versa.

However, if you are looking for something on the cheaper end, a pedometer will do the same thing with less perks. If you're not sure if you're going to use it daily, that would be a good way to figure it out.

I have friends who got a Fitbit or something similar and they stopped using it because they went over 10,000 steps easily, so it wasn't necessary for them. Personally, I have a sedentary job at an office where I'm sitting at my computer, so I use it daily. It motivates me to hit the gym or go for a walk to meet my 10,000 step goal.

CindyB97

I agree with Sezxy Stef above. I have the Jawbone UP24 and I love the things it does beyond just counting your steps. My favorite is the alarm, much better for me than an alarm clock. In fact, I rarely need to set an alarm because I don't have to get up early for anything most days, but I still have my Jawbone set for 7am just to keep me on a regular sleeping/waking schedule, which has been nice.

These sorts of gadgets are obviously not the elusive magic pill people are looking for. But mine motivates me not only because of the constantly updated stats I can see throughout the day, and the challenges it periodically gives me, but just seeing it on my wrist is a constant reminder of how far I've come as well as motivation to keep going. Sort of like a touchstone, I suppose. Mine never comes off my wrist except to shower or swim.

kar328

I've had the Fitbit flex for almost a year and a half and love it. When I first got it, my steps were 3-4K a day, I think I hit 6K once. Now I reach my 10K goal most days of the week (except when I work two or more 12 hour shifts in a row and don't have a chance to get out and move). That alone is worth the price to me. All the other features are great and between it and this site, I'm down 71 lbs. That's priceless.

LazyFoodie

I use a Jawbone 24 so I can only speak to it. Whether it is "worth it" depends on if you have the money to spend on such a thing.

It certainly motivates me and the app allows me to see all my info/ history. However most of the motivation value comes in tracking my steps, which a simple pedometer would do. A fancy activity tracker just makes it easier by giving you all the info in your phone rather than you having to keep records yourself as far as trends etc. Wearing on the wrist is a little uncomfortable/ ugly sometimes but the pro is that I never forget it since I don't take it off.

Jawbone 24 also lets you set it to vibrate after a certain time of idleness. This really helps in reminding me to get up once in a while when I'm sitting all day at work. But if you didn't want to shell out $120, I imagine you could set some sort of alarm clock on your computer/phone that would remind you to do the same thing.

Jawbone 24 also track sleep. Here, while fun to look at, I don't think it adds much value. It simply gives you information on how long you slept, how long of that was "light" vs "deep" sleep based on how much movement it detected. The light/deep sleep does not correlate to any scientific sleep cycle periods. So while I would like to know how long of my sleep is in the REM cycle, there's no way Jawbone can track this. Does sleep while you move less really benefit you more? Not sure. How does this information really help? If I tossed and turned all night, I feel it in the morning, I do not really need Jawbone to tell me I did. I have no sleep issues though so maybe someone who does have sleep problems might like this part of the app more. I do like that I can go back and see how long each day I have been sleeping though so I know my habits better (but you can record this yourself if you want to save money).

Jawbone 24 can also be set to wake you up at a time where you are in "light" sleep so you feel less tired when you wake up. I have not tried this yet as if I need an alarm to wake up then I'd want as much sleep as possible and do not want to be waken up early. I do really like the silent alarm function (it vibrates you to wake you up) so you don't wake your bed partner up. I am thinking of getting my husband a Jawbone just for this function.

I like the Jawbone and the convenience factor makes it "worth it" for me based only on current financial situation. But if I did not have $120 in play money to spend then I would just get a simple pedometer.

Psychgrrl

But really, it made a huge difference for me. It really helped me see the calories in and out. And keeps me honest. The calories burned are based on my current weight and activity level and are always so much lower than MFP exercise estimates. I don't think my weight-loss would have been as effective without it. I use BodyMedia. If you use a Garmin HRM, it also imports that data, too.

I love the sleep cycle measurements and steps and it imports my food diary. I'm a numbers nerd, so the data is fascinating.

SezxyStef

nancy274 wrote: »

<SNIP>
I am thinking of getting my husband a Jawbone just for this function.

I like the Jawbone and the convenience factor makes it "worth it" for me based only on current financial situation. But if I did not have $120 in play money to spend then I would just get a simple pedometer.

Bolded part good idea I am about to kill mine...

As well the up24 is 120..not the up...I paid 86$ + taxes and delivery for mine and when the app was acting screwy just in case it was the band they sent me a new band...

So another added feature great customer service...

As for the alarm function...I love it...this morning I was somewhat awake when it buzzed my arm...

LazyFoodie

Haha yes. We go to bed at the same time but my husband has to wake up about 15-30 minutes before I get "enough" sleep and my body normally wakes me up (I do not have to get to work as early as he does). I can't fall back asleep since I am so close to waking up anyway so he robs me of at least 15 mins of sleep each day. If I go to bed much later then him then his alarm either does not wake me up at all or I fall back asleep easily and its no problem.

Weightwatcher72

Should add, the Fitbit also has the alarm function .......:-P

Kalikel

If you love gadgets, go for it!

A pedometer will count your steps.

Map My Walk will count your steps, keep a record of your workouts and it's FREE. I got it for the little maps with the lines drawn on them of where I walked, lol, but it counts steps. Since I don't count my steps, I can't swear to it's accuracy, but I don't think any of them are all that accurate.

50sFit

megbee617 wrote: »

Hi all -

I've been looking into getting an activity tracker like a fitbit or jawbone, but they're fairly expensive. For those of you who have them, are they worth it, or would a simple pedometer work fine too? Thanks in advance!

There are plenty of people who use and love such devices. I just found my zone and never needed one.