are fitness trackers all they're hyped up to be?

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Replies

  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
    I think it depends on the person wearing it...

    I love my charge 2 bc I work in a cubicle sitting down all day.
    I have it set to remind me that I need to move more.
    It also has little challenges you can do with other fitbit users to help motivate me to get more steps in for the day.
    My siblings and I are pretty competitive, so when we have a challenge going... I get a lot more steps in than I would normally get.

    I also love the "silent alarm" my fitbit has! I'm not a morning person at all. The slightest thing can set me off until I have had my coffee LOL. I don't have to wake up to beeping, radio or random noise anymore. It vibrates on my arm and gently wakes me up. I have a couple set at different times in the morning as I'm a pretty sound sleeper lol
  • Lift_Run_Eat
    Lift_Run_Eat Posts: 986 Member
    I have the Polar A360 and love it. It is a bit more accurate than the fitbit for calories burned. I do not eat back my calories, so I don't care for it to be exactly accurate, just somewhat close. I do not use the pedometer part of it. Just the HRM, activity tracker (for cals burned during workout) and as a general watch.

    *The polar A360 is waterproof and can be worn swimming.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited January 2018
    i really agree that it's about what motivates you. my own 'thing' is on about the level of a little kid's sticker chart on the fridge. i don't do stickers; i just keep a container on the counter and scoop one tablespoon full of rice into it every day that i commute by bike.

    but it's the same principle. what charges me isn't watching the cumulation or admiring thet totals. what i like personally is the ritual. marking completion. ticking it off. when i'm lifting on a consistent schedule i build my own spreadsheets and it's all about getting to come home and fill in that day's worth of detail myself. i get a little satisfaction/triumph/'good-that's-done' surge every time. so my inner child is still three, but why argue with it if it is :p

    so for me, a fitbit-type thing would not only be sort of inert motivationally; it would actually deprive me of one of my own most satisfying things. i don't want an object to do it for me. what i like to do is to do it myself.

    ymmv, but two cents.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,186 Member
    Go_Deskercise wrote: »
    I think it depends on the person wearing it...

    I love my charge 2 bc I work in a cubicle sitting down all day.
    I have it set to remind me that I need to move more.
    It also has little challenges you can do with other fitbit users to help motivate me to get more steps in for the day.
    My siblings and I are pretty competitive, so when we have a challenge going... I get a lot more steps in than I would normally get.

    I also love the "silent alarm" my fitbit has! I'm not a morning person at all. The slightest thing can set me off until I have had my coffee LOL. I don't have to wake up to beeping, radio or random noise anymore. It vibrates on my arm and gently wakes me up. I have a couple set at different times in the morning as I'm a pretty sound sleeper lol

    You sleep with that thing in your arm all night?
  • misskitty2018
    misskitty2018 Posts: 68 Member
    Go_Deskercise wrote: »
    I think it depends on the person wearing it...

    I love my charge 2 bc I work in a cubicle sitting down all day.
    I have it set to remind me that I need to move more.
    It also has little challenges you can do with other fitbit users to help motivate me to get more steps in for the day.
    My siblings and I are pretty competitive, so when we have a challenge going... I get a lot more steps in than I would normally get.

    I also love the "silent alarm" my fitbit has! I'm not a morning person at all. The slightest thing can set me off until I have had my coffee LOL. I don't have to wake up to beeping, radio or random noise anymore. It vibrates on my arm and gently wakes me up. I have a couple set at different times in the morning as I'm a pretty sound sleeper lol

    same here...sitting at a cubicle as I type this ;) thanks for the info
  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    Go_Deskercise wrote: »
    I think it depends on the person wearing it...

    I love my charge 2 bc I work in a cubicle sitting down all day.
    I have it set to remind me that I need to move more.
    It also has little challenges you can do with other fitbit users to help motivate me to get more steps in for the day.
    My siblings and I are pretty competitive, so when we have a challenge going... I get a lot more steps in than I would normally get.

    I also love the "silent alarm" my fitbit has! I'm not a morning person at all. The slightest thing can set me off until I have had my coffee LOL. I don't have to wake up to beeping, radio or random noise anymore. It vibrates on my arm and gently wakes me up. I have a couple set at different times in the morning as I'm a pretty sound sleeper lol

    You sleep with that thing in your arm all night?

    I mean it's not that big on my wrist so yeah lol. Only time I take it off is to shower, swim and to charge it ;)
  • astronaught
    astronaught Posts: 103 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    I have a Garmin, but you get the idea :smiley:

    thxflqli6ugk.jpeg

    I just walked down to the breakroom and realized that my fitbit is currently charging. I had one of the warehouse guys take me back up to my office on a hand truck.
  • Jushere018
    Jushere018 Posts: 23 Member
    astronaught wrote: »
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    I have a Garmin, but you get the idea :smiley:

    thxflqli6ugk.jpeg

    I just walked down to the breakroom and realized that my fitbit is currently charging. I had one of the warehouse guys take me back up to my office on a hand truck.
    Hahahaha!!! This made me laugh pretty hard, actually! I can definitely relate!

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    How did we come to call step counters fitness trackers?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    It really depends on you as an individual. I have been using a Fitbit since 2013. The data I get from it has helped me lose weight. For other people, they are meaningless step counters and aren't worth it. I wasn't sure if I would love it or not when I first was looking into them. After weeks of talking about it my husband gave me a pink Fitbit Zip. It wasn't the one I had been looking at, but it was wise on his part. I loved it. However, if I hadn't than at least it wasn't the most expensive model.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited January 2018
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    How did we come to call step counters fitness trackers?

    Maybe because the vast majority of them also track workouts of various types, and workouts are commonly associated with fitness?
  • misskitty2018
    misskitty2018 Posts: 68 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    How did we come to call step counters fitness trackers?

    ever since they don't only count steps ;)
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited January 2018
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    How did we come to call step counters fitness trackers?

    For the same reason we don't call them altimeters, ya grump.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    I've never felt the urge to get one. But then I'm not the sort to be swayed by peer pressure.
  • jargroves
    jargroves Posts: 3 Member
    I have a scale that sends results to my phone, plots and tracks. But I also log my results on my computer and I keep track there also plus am able to print reports for the doctor. It is like accounting you have to enter in order to see results. I did not pay for nothing but the computer, phone, and scale then I found the free stuff to track with.
  • potatowhoruns
    potatowhoruns Posts: 87 Member
    I had been tempted for a while by a fitbit or similar, but didn’t think I could justify the cost. I kept an eye out on eBay and bought one for £20, to see whether it made a difference.
    For me, it really helped motivate me to walk more to reach my step goal. I love the feeling of getting 10,000 steps by 9:30 on a Saturday morning at parkrun. However, I know a few people who don’t find it useful at all.
    When my second hand one broke, I bought a new charge 2 and I have never regretted it.
  • Jhillian
    Jhillian Posts: 185 Member
    Love mine. Had it for 3 years almost. I love challenges. Keeps me motivated. I have lots of so that helps. Example I did 25000 steps yesterday just so I could win haha

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