I have a Galaxy S6 (android), should I buy a FitBit too?

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I just bought this Galaxy S6 Edge and to be honest, I don't know much about the new fitness features besides being able to monitor your heart rate. Does it have anything like what FitBit has to offer. I've looked around for apps but couldn't find anything so I'm assuming they have to work simultaneously with each other. I have 100+ to lose, and I haven't started exercising yet. Would this product be a practical investment for me?

Thanks!

CurlyCockney

You can log calories in S Health too, but it doesn't integrate with MFP unfortunately. I use the Withings Pulse Ox, which I've found to be most accurate for my needs. It has a wrist strap or you can clip it onto clothing, and it sends the data to MFP. Fitbit has more users, but I'm not sure if that's because it has a bigger advertising budget than Withings!

If MFP integration is important, choose from these http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps?app_category=activity_trackers

Hopefully some more people will come along with their recommendations, and give you more choices.

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Thanks!

DavPul

Fitbit is easier and more reliable. You won't always have your phone on you for all activities throughout the day

caroldavison332

my galaxy4's shealth logs my steps and calories. I get to add calisthenics. I don't see a reason to purchase a fitbit and am open to explanation.

krazynic

I have the galaxy gear Fit... and I love it WAY more than my fitbit! The galaxy S. Health is so amazing, and it doesn't not link to the fitbit, but the gear does!

mbaker566

my s5 is not always accurate because i'll run the same path and sometimes has a different distance. twice this week the health app has not picked up all my active min. I know I ran for 64 and it only picked up 48 min

I will be getting an activity tracker soon

DoreenaV1975

I have the S6 and, like @DavPul said, you wont always have your phone on you. As a woman I don't always have pockets or deep pockets so I don't always have a place to put my phone...a lot of times I have to carry it or place it in my bra (LOL). As an S6 owner you know those phones are big, so in my bra is VERY cumbersome so I generally would just leave it... most of the time though I would simply just forget. I bought the Fit Bit Zip, it's the smallest (I believe) and cheapest (for sure) of the Fit Bit family and I strap it to my bra in the morning and it's there until I go to bed at night. I don't even think about it! Yesterday was my first full day of wearing it and it logged almost 6500 steps! I have a desk job so I was impressed that I actually had that many steps. Part of them was from all the running around (as in chores not exercise) I do at home at night. I never got that much on my S6 because, again, half the time I would forget it! I also love that it syncs automatically to your MFP account, no more manual logging. And when it meets the threshold where you are burning more calories than you are taking in, depending on your calorie goal and activity setting, it will add calories. Mine added an extra 97. It's not a lot, but you have to remember I earned those from just steps during my daily routine. If I had actually set time aside to exercise I would have earned more. I generally don't eat back my exercise cals, but I still like to see how many it gives me..
After only 1 day I absolutely love mine!
Good Luck w/ your decision!


EDITED: I just synced my Fit Bit and I already have 4,439 steps (had to do some extra walking today for work, deliveries) and have already earned 92 extra calories... see? fun?! LOL! Yes, I'm a nerd...

rsclause

I have the Fitbit Force and S6 use both everyday. I pretty much ignore S health since I realized how inaccurate it was when I had my S4. I use fitbit to track general activity level and Runtastic app on my phone to track specific activity like a run, walk or bike ride. The nice thing is they both sync to MFP so I can get what I call my bonus calories. That motivates me to exercise more so I can eat more. At one point I would run up to ten miles and walk a mile later in the evening and the weight came off fast. MFP somehow knows not to count both devices for the same activity period. I also recommend the Aria WiFi scale from fitbit. It also Syncs to MFP so that each pound I lose shows up in my stats and feed (doesn't show the gains). The fitbit app graphs the weight so I can go back a year to see what I weighed. Its also fun to see how many steps you can get in a day. I set mine to vibrate at 10k and love to feel it before the sun comes up. When the fitbit I have quits working I will likely get one with a heart rate sensor but I will research whats out there when I get to that point.

mwyvr

drk_88 wrote: »

I have 100+ to lose, and I haven't started exercising yet. Would this product be a practical investment for me?

The better question to ask is why haven't you started exercising yet? Don't get lost dwelling on some new bit of fun technology. You don't *need* that to be successful.

I'm rather glad I didn't get a Fitbit or Jawbone because it would not have helped me much... and it was better to save those dollars for a device more useful to me (see below).

I started last September 105 pounds over goal weight with nothing but my Android phone capturing my runs and walks, with Google Fit being a useful reminder that I hadn't moved enough, prompting me to get out there. My primary exercise then and now was running with walking and hiking and some cycling filling in the gaps.

I dropped 30 pounds by Christmas; by April when I joined MFP I was down 50; I'm now down 78.

For most of that time the only weight loss "tech" I owned was my phone, and the 30$ digital scale I bought in April.

Just get out there and do it.

But one word of advice about your phone: if you are a runner / walker / hiker, don't carry it in your hand. One fall and poof. Secondly if you carry it in a belt like a SPI Belt (great for running) put it in a zip lock bag unless it is waterproof. Mine isn't - killed one screen.

Since running is very clearly my thing (I now run between 200 and 350km a month) in May this year I finally justified buying a Garmin running/cycling GPS watch. A Fitbit would not have satisfied my requirements and would have been a wasted expenditure.

rsclause

mwyvr wrote: »

drk_88 wrote: »

I have 100+ to lose, and I haven't started exercising yet. Would this product be a practical investment for me?

The better question to ask is why haven't you started exercising yet? Don't get lost dwelling on some new bit of fun technology. You don't *need* that to be successful.

I'm rather glad I didn't get a Fitbit or Jawbone because it would not have helped me much... and it was better to save those dollars for a device more useful to me (see below).

I started last September 105 pounds over goal weight with nothing but my Android phone capturing my runs and walks, with Google Fit being a useful reminder that I hadn't moved enough, prompting me to get out there. My primary exercise then and now was running with walking and hiking and some cycling filling in the gaps.

I dropped 30 pounds by Christmas; by April when I joined MFP I was down 50; I'm now down 78.

For most of that time the only weight loss "tech" I owned was my phone, and the 30$ digital scale I bought in April.

Just get out there and do it.

But one word of advice about your phone: if you are a runner / walker / hiker, don't carry it in your hand. One fall and poof. Secondly if you carry it in a belt like a SPI Belt (great for running) put it in a zip lock bag unless it is waterproof. Mine isn't - killed one screen.

Since running is very clearly my thing (I now run between 200 and 350km a month) in May this year I finally justified buying a Garmin running/cycling GPS watch. A Fitbit would not have satisfied my requirements and would have been a wasted expenditure.

I agree, I like my fitbit but it is fluff compared to my smart phone. I also recommend the arm band for the phone. It keeps it dry and holds it closer to my head which helps keep the connection going to my bluetooth headphones for my music and pace readout.

DoreenaV1975

DoreenaV1975 wrote: »

I have the S6 and, like @DavPul said, you wont always have your phone on you. As a woman I don't always have pockets or deep pockets so I don't always have a place to put my phone...a lot of times I have to carry it or place it in my bra (LOL). As an S6 owner you know those phones are big, so in my bra is VERY cumbersome so I generally would just leave it... most of the time though I would simply just forget. I bought the Fit Bit Zip, it's the smallest (I believe) and cheapest (for sure) of the Fit Bit family and I strap it to my bra in the morning and it's there until I go to bed at night. I don't even think about it! Yesterday was my first full day of wearing it and it logged almost 6500 steps! I have a desk job so I was impressed that I actually had that many steps. Part of them was from all the running around (as in chores not exercise) I do at home at night. I never got that much on my S6 because, again, half the time I would forget it! I also love that it syncs automatically to your MFP account, no more manual logging. And when it meets the threshold where you are burning more calories than you are taking in, depending on your calorie goal and activity setting, it will add calories. Mine added an extra 97. It's not a lot, but you have to remember I earned those from just steps during my daily routine. If I had actually set time aside to exercise I would have earned more. I generally don't eat back my exercise cals, but I still like to see how many it gives me..
After only 1 day I absolutely love mine!
Good Luck w/ your decision!


EDITED: I just synced my Fit Bit and I already have 4,439 steps (had to do some extra walking today for work, deliveries) and have already earned 92 extra calories... see? fun?! LOL! Yes, I'm a nerd...

I just realized... for my edited comment to make any impact I should mention I'm only halfway through my day (and already almost at the same amount of steps I was yesterday at day end)....I forget we aren't all in the same country/time zone!!