Fitness trackers.

youngmomtaz

I just spent a day and a half researching them again. Fitbit HR vs Jawbone UP3 vs a traditional chest strap monitor. And a few others. Decided none of them would make me happy. I really love the idea of a tracker on my wrist but feel after all the reading and chart comparing that the tec is too new, not accurate, mostly guessing, or could be tracked just as well by typing stats and activity into my smartphone. The chest strap seems more accurate but I would Most likely be annoyed by it and not use. So I am out. I don't care about my sleep stats, nor do I need a vibration to motivate me. Am I missing something? Because I hear so much love but if they are not acurate I don't see the point in trying to trick myself with it.

Who loves theirs? Have you tested them against chest straps? Do they really tell you any more than tracking on MFP would? Should I spend my pennies or should I just go buy some jeans that actually fit(all mine fall down ATM) and be happy?

intangiblemango

I love my Fitbit Charge HR. I have a Polar FT4 as well with a chest strap and they are pretty close for heart rate, although obviously the chest strap is going to be more accurate. For me, it confirmed that what I thought was my TDEE wasn't crazy (much higher than MFP predicts) and it's helped me get way better sleep.

I think the biggest thing you are "missing" (if anything) is the motivation aspect. When I got it, I thought, "Hey, I'm already really active, I'll just use it to get a better handle on what I am doing throughout the day." WRONG. My fitbit has changed my behavior way more than I would have ever anticipated. I really, really care not only that I hit my 10,000 step goal every day, but that I double it or triple it. I will go out of my way to walk places or take the stairs when I wouldn't have done so previously. I want to beat people in the challenges. I go for more and longer runs. As someone who both lives and works on the first floor, I have been known to find stairs and run up and down them to hit my stair count for the day. That kind of thing.

I can't speak to the extent that fitbit contributes to weight loss, as I got mine long after I finished that particular part of my journey.

I love my fitbit a lot more than I expected to. With that said, it's also the kind of thing that appeals to me. If it sounds like something you wouldn't like, no need to buy one just because they are popular!

youngmomtaz

Interesting! Thank you for your input, I do love the idea, just mostly I wonder how often I will be frustrated at it, second guess it, or otherwise use it to possibly sabotage me. It sounds as if the complete opposite is true for you. I almost think I should just get one so that I get it out of my system. I talk myself out of it yearly. Lol.

mountaingirl1961

I'm on my third one, and used a Polar chest strap HRM before that.

Ranked in order of usefulness-
Fitbit Surge - newest and I love it more daily. It is a great motivator. And I thought the whole wrist vibration thing would be a very silly thing. I was wrong, it's very cool.

Bodymedia Fit- discontinued and no longer supported. Too bad, otherwise I'd still be using it. Although I admit to liking the Surge better as it tracks HR without the separate strap.

Polar HRM- down and dirty and does what I needed it to do.

Fitbit pocket gizmo - I know people swear by them but I found it to be the outlier as compared to readings from the HRM and Bodymedia Fit. And I could never remember to put the silly thing in my pocket. I like the full-time wearables. I don't have to think about bringing it with me, it's already there.

OldAssDude

Here is my experience...

Started with the Jawbone UP24. It was just a regular activity tracker but was enough to motivate me enough to start doing something about my weight.

Started wanting to do actual workouts so I tried a few of the other more advanced devices. Garmin Vivoactive, Fitbit Surge & Charge HR, and Basis Peak. The ones with the build in heart rate monitors are not accurate enough during workouts, but the chest strap heart rate monitor ones are extremely accurate. Also, they are limited to a handful of activity types like walking, running, biking, and are not customizable for certain workouts.

I wanted something that was customizable enough to grow as I did more workouts so I started doing some research and found the Polar M400, Polar V800, and the Garmin Fenix3.

With these devices you can customize any type of workout you can think of, load it into the device, and just start using it. They also figure out your VO2max, which is important for accurately calculating calories burned, and tracking your fitness level. They also have built in GPS so they can track you distance, speed, pace, and will display the route you travelled on a map with all your stats. They all sync to chest strap heart rate monitors, and their not that much of a pain to use. You just strap it on, wet the pads, do your workout, and take it off.

The Polar M400 is the least expensive ($117.99 (with a heart rate monitor) on Amazon), and is a great device.
The Polar V800 is a little more expensive ($299.93(with heart rate monitor) on Amazon) and has more features than the M400, and is built better with a gorilla glass display.
The Garmin Fenix3 is the most expensive ($549.99 (with heart rate monitor) on Amazon), and has the most features of them all.

I own the Garmin Fenix3, and the Polar V800, and have been comparing them side by side. So far, I am leaning more toward the Polar V800 because it is very consistent, and very accurate. The Garmin Fenix3 has more features, but it is very complicated to use, and is kind of buggy and does not seem to be as accurate and consistent as the Polar.

The Polar devices only sync with MFP on iPhones, but the Garmin syncs with iPhone and Android phones. That is not a problem for me as I stopped logging my food in MFP because I am training myself to eat right without logging, but I do enter my workouts manually in MFP using the data from my V800.

Another thing that sets the Polar devices apart from all other is the fact that they count all activity towards you daily goal and not just steps. For example, I ride a bike in the summer, and if I do a 10 mile ride, I would still have to get my 10,000 steps in to make my goal on the other devices because they don't count steps during a bike ride. With the Polar devices, that 10 mile bike ride will count towards my daily goal.

You can download the users guides for these devices, and there are a ton of YouTube videos on them as well.

Hope this helps.

youngmomtaz

Wow! Thank you! More to read about I think!

ScubaSteve1962

youngmomtaz wrote: »

I just spent a day and a half researching them again. Fitbit HR vs Jawbone UP3 vs a traditional chest strap monitor. And a few others. Decided none of them would make me happy. I really love the idea of a tracker on my wrist but feel after all the reading and chart comparing that the tec is too new, not accurate, mostly guessing, or could be tracked just as well by typing stats and activity into my smartphone. The chest strap seems more accurate but I would Most likely be annoyed by it and not use. So I am out. I don't care about my sleep stats, nor do I need a vibration to motivate me. Am I missing something? Because I hear so much love but if they are not acurate I don't see the point in trying to trick myself with it.

Who loves theirs? Have you tested them against chest straps? Do they really tell you any more than tracking on MFP would? Should I spend my pennies or should I just go buy some jeans that actually fit(all mine fall down ATM) and be happy?

I have the V800 takes care of all my needs,(what bcalvanese said) only take it off to charge it. Why would the chest strap bother you, you should only wear it when exercising. Everyone is so caught up on getting 10000 steps as being active. You can also achieve this with other activities. With my V800 10000 steps does not give you a 100% daily goal, it counts how active you are when achieving those steps to give you your daily goal. Also works when swimming.

indianwin2001

I've had numerous chest strap monitors along with the garmin 15,garmin 220 and fitbit Charge HR. BY FAR the most accurate HR I have found is the new Garmin 235----works flawlessly(so far)

kshama2001

I wanted a wrist FitBit but after reading all the reviews on Amazon that talked about problems with the straps, I went with the One. Today is its first day I had a cheaper pedometer which I knew was undercounting steps, and I was right.

rainbowbow

Honestly I was stumped as well so I've decided on the Polar A300. (If you need GPS the m400 is the same but with this feature added).

It's an activity tracker just like the others, but it also pairs with the Polar HR strap for when you exercise. I'd say it's like a hybrid. I also think it looks pretty damn nice.

I'm excited to get one because i just can't trust the trackers with wrist hr trackers, and it's the same size as my FT4.

youngmomtaz

I ended up looking at them today in best buy. The cheat straps all seem like they would rub or slide down, I can't even get my bra to stop irritating me so I am going to continue to be uncertain about chest strap monitors. The fit bits in the display all showed wear or were cracked right through the band and that is not even in use. Pass. The jawbones still pull me but from what I can read they have underutilized aspects. I guess I will just wait. Read about all of you with awesome trackers and guess my cal in and out. Seems to be working so far. Thanks again everyone for the info!

rainbowbow

youngmomtaz wrote: »

I ended up looking at them today in best buy. The cheat straps all seem like they would rub or slide down, I can't even get my bra to stop irritating me so I am going to continue to be uncertain about chest strap monitors. The fit bits in the display all showed wear or were cracked right through the band and that is not even in use. Pass. The jawbones still pull me but from what I can read they have underutilized aspects. I guess I will just wait. Read about all of you with awesome trackers and guess my cal in and out. Seems to be working so far. Thanks again everyone for the info!

By the way, the chest straps really do not fall down. They are usually moistened or if not they will be when you start sweating. Either way, they are adjusted to your size and stick on you. You can slip them right under your sports bra and they just stay there no big deal.

I do agree with the other things though. I have a friend who got the Fitbit Charge HR and the band was cracking and falling apart within a month. It was replaced by fitbit for free, but still.

youngmomtaz

So, my husband gifted me the jawbone up3 the eve of the 28th. He must have been creeping on my phone.

20yearsyounger

youngmomtaz wrote: »

So, my husband gifted me the jawbone up3 the eve of the 28th. He must have been creeping on my phone.

Well congratulations. You didn't mention your goals. Don't stress yourself out over the numbers etc and 99% accuracy. I rarely use a HR monitor anymore. I use mine as a motivational tool that gives me enough data to adjust my eating to maintain a caloric balance. Quite happy with using it that way.

youngmomtaz

That is just how I plan to use it!! It was interesting to first two days though. I noticed my RHR was way higher than I expected and then got sick. Now that I am better, RHR has gone down to what I expected. It tracks movement acuratly, and even though sleep tracking did not interest me, I like data so the charts are pretty cool!

20yearsyounger

youngmomtaz wrote: »

That is just how I plan to use it!! It was interesting to first two days though. I noticed my RHR was way higher than I expected and then got sick. Now that I am better, RHR has gone down to what I expected. It tracks movement acuratly, and even though sleep tracking did not interest me, I like data so the charts are pretty cool!

Sounds like you are going to love it. When my RHR starts going up, I know something isn't quite right. Then I don't beat myself up to bad if I really don't feel like exercising because there is a reason for it. If I don't sleep enough, then it could mean that I exercised too much the day before as well. There is value in the information, just don't look for 100% or even 95% accuracy. Adjust based on your weight loss progress. The experience will be more enjoyable.

lucyricky2

Has anyone heard about the Crane Wireless Activity Tracker. I use the Runtastic App on my iPhone and it automatically transfers to MFP and works great. would like to get a activity tracker to c how far i go in 1 full day. But I would like it to transfer to MFP

Ctrum69

I have the Basis Peak, and have been using it for over a year now. I love it. That said, it is just a fitness tracker, calorie tracker, and sleep tracker. It's not accurate enough to use as a dedicated monitor for workouts where I'm trying to stay in "my zone", I have found, as it's a sampling HRM, rather than a streaming HRM. So, for runs/workouts, I use a Polar chest strap and an app on my phone to get exact metrics.

Just my experiences with what I have. I have heard fabulous things about the Mio wrist unit, with the exception that it is not a full time HRM, and only has about 4 hours of HRM time before it needs to be charged. It will track steps all day though.

MemFox

I had been wanting a fitbit or something similar for the past 2 years. I didnt get one as i couldnt decide which brand but also what colour... Hubby bought me one for xmas- Polar loop and I love it! It motivates me to get moving as like others i want to smash my goal for each day. I didnt realise how lazy I had gotten.

Now I've worked out the sync properly to MFP I'm back sing my food diary again too so eating better as well!I'
What confuses me though, if its tracking all m movement do i still need to any exercise into MFP at all? For example i enter lawn mowing right as an exercise. My polar tracks the steps and therefore the exercise is already accounted for right?

malanvdw

After a really long time of researching, my partner generously got me a Fitbit Charge HR.

I was very disappointed.

First morning I wore it, I played with the dogs on the bed. Then I logged about 200 'steps'. Walked around the house casually for a bit and suddenly I'm up to 1200 (I'm talking about doing the dishes and a bathroom break). Are you kidding me?

Somebody on the Fitbit site suggest I view it as a motion tracker and not a step counter. I call BS on that. I expect to get what I pay for - which is a mostly accurate step counter, HR monitor, sleep tracker, calorie burner, etc.

For a device that is so expensive (and it's ludicrously priced here in South Africa due to our suffering currency), I expect a premium product. I don't want guesstimates and ifs and maybes. I think these wrist-based wearable devices need a good 2 more years where they're where I want them to be.

I returned mine, and by being a bit assertive and bossy and insistent, I got a full refund.

FitPhillygirl

I found that I couldn't stick with the wrist type trackers longer than 2 or 3 weeks and would constantly take them off during the day. I got the clip-on style Fitbit One last month and never take it off! It's perfect for my needs. I hope Fitbit comes out with another One just like it when this gets outdated.