Activity Trackers??

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amyr271
amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
edited July 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, I was just wondering if a FitBit is worth it as they are a bit expensive and aren't the prettiest of things to wear everyday.

Would you guys recommend one? And if so which one?
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Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I have a Jawbone...I prefer it due to Fitbit looking like a cheap plastic watch...

    Both have their pro's and con's...they are pretty much the same just depends on which one you want.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
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    I have a fitbit zip. They are much cheaper than the wristband style and works great. I just clip it onto my bra so nobody knows I am wearing it.
  • North44
    North44 Posts: 359 Member
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    I have a Fitbit One which clips onto my clothes. I didn't want to wear something on my wrist all the time.
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
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    I have a One and I love it. I prefer one that clips to my clothes as I use my hands a lot and I have heard the wrist ones can interpret hand movement as steps. I have the FitBit and MFP apps linked and it's a BIG help in monitoring my activity so I don't overeat.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I've been using a Fitbit for 3 years. It's gotten me to get off my butt instead of sitting at the computer gaming all day. I went with Fitbit over others because of pricing, tracking what I want, and customer reviews. If I could afford $300, I would go with something else.

    I started with the Ultra (discontinued), now use a Zip (I have a bad one, so my judgement is colored), and will get a One in October.
  • annu1979
    annu1979 Posts: 1 Member
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    I have a Fitbit Charge HR and love it! I especially enjoy the automatic heart rate monitoring. It really helped me to understand what kind of exercise is missing from my regime. I also like that it shows incoming calls and the name/number of the caller even if my phone is in another room or in my purse. I don't wear it to parties as it's not very pretty but even then I still might carry it in my purse and it can calculate steps fine even there.
  • FitnessTim
    FitnessTim Posts: 234 Member
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    I wear a Fitbit Zip daily. It's only $60.

    Unless you are living below the poverty line, money spent on fitness equipment is well worth it if you use it.
  • breeze_brat
    breeze_brat Posts: 65 Member
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    I have a Fitbit Zip and wear it on my belt, I don't care if others see it or not.
  • Bacchants
    Bacchants Posts: 92 Member
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    I have a fit bit charge HR, I like it as it gives me a pretty accurate TDEE.

    I do wish it was prettier though, I was looking at my friends jawbone over the weekend and it was much more stylish. The fitbit does look pretty cheap even though it isn;t
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
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    I have a Charge HR and it's perfect for me. You need to consider what you want it for before purchasing one. It's great for tracking steps and for running etc. If you do a lot of lifting or strength training it isn't designed for that kind of thing.

    Swimming is another thing to consider - only the flex is waterproof.
  • SadFaerie
    SadFaerie Posts: 243 Member
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    I use Garmin Vivofit and only rely on its readings if during workouts I pair it with HRM. Without HRM any activity tracker is nothing more but an overpriced pedometer.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I should say as well I have a fitbit zip...I didn't find it as accurate as my jawbone.

    I wore them both for a month and the zip was always lower than my jawbone..

    The final straw was when I was shovelling snow for 90mins and using a scoop to push the snow...so my jawbone wouldn't have recorded some of it...it still showed a high count than the zip.

    And the zip only gave me 6 active minutes...*smh*
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
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    I have a Garmin Vivosmart and love it. I use a HRM when I run and it seems to be pretty accurate as far as calorie burn.

    How do you plan to use it? Are you wanting something just to keep track of your normal activity throughout the day or something to actually record workouts, or both? The reason I ask is I wouldn't put too much faith in the wrist based HRM for exercise. They will be pretty good for 23 hours a day but the 1 hour you are actually exercising the info is going to be pretty much useless. I know that may sound strange but the wrist HRM are still not as accurate as they need to be to get an accurate reading of elevated heart rate during exercise. Even the chest straps, like I pair with the Vivosmart during exercise, are still not 100% but they are closer.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I have a misfit flash, because I found it on a good sale (just over $30 after tax) and it's the only one I could find that was waterproof for swimming. Though I have a suspicion it's widely overestimating my calorie burn. When I wake up in the morning it generally tells me I've burned 260 calories already, so I try not to eat those because I don't think that's real. But I do like getting real-time data about my activity, though if you want something really accurate I'd definitely suggest the heart rate monitor other people have mentioned. I don't know of one that's waterproof for swimming though, so I haven't used one.
  • KateSm33
    KateSm33 Posts: 12 Member
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    I've ordered swimmo as I am interested only in swimming and it can measure my heart rate zone. I ma swimming in special zone to lost weight.... hopefully

    But I wouldn't recommend any smart watch that doesn't have a screen, in my experience I need to be inform about my progress immediately.

    have you use any device or pedometer previously?
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
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    kae612 wrote: »
    I have a misfit flash, because I found it on a good sale (just over $30 after tax) and it's the only one I could find that was waterproof for swimming. Though I have a suspicion it's widely overestimating my calorie burn. When I wake up in the morning it generally tells me I've burned 260 calories already, so I try not to eat those because I don't think that's real. But I do like getting real-time data about my activity, though if you want something really accurate I'd definitely suggest the heart rate monitor other people have mentioned. I don't know of one that's waterproof for swimming though, so I haven't used one.

    My Fitbit is generally on about 500 calories when I get up. It is estimating your TDEE - you DO burn calories whilst sleeping. Been using mine to work out my TDEE and deficit for nearly 3 months now and am losing consistently so confident it's relatively accurate. :)
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    What activities do you do? What data points do you want to track?
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    The reason that I want it is to measure my daily exercise and so that I can make sure I'm moving enough!
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    amyr271 wrote: »
    The reason that I want it is to measure my daily exercise and so that I can make sure I'm moving enough!

    Step based movement? Cycling? Swimming? Lifting? It matters.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    brianpperkins wrote: »
    amyr271 wrote: »
    The reason that I want it is to measure my daily exercise and so that I can make sure I'm moving enough!

    Step based movement? Cycling? Swimming? Lifting? It matters.

    Yes it does.

    My jawbone allows me to track all of those...not just steps...

    my zip did not.

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