Which activity tracker works best with MFP?
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kiela64
Posts: 1,447 Member
I think I’ve lost my tracker. I went on a walk yesterday, got coffee, bought groceries, and by the time I got home it was gone. I’m going to check the coffee shop lost & found but I’m fairly sure it’s gone. I’ve worn it in my pocket because I’d read that was more accurate (but perhaps less safe).
I had an old Misfit Flash from 2015, I’m not sure they even make them anymore. But before I lost it, I was having issues syncing. It would skip days, give me a drastically high number of calories & just be really vague & weird about it. I would barely move and it would already sync and give me 100+ calories “from exercise” for no reason I could discern. Then it wouldn’t finish logging my steps until the next day, after I’d already completed my diary.
What I liked about it was: I didn’t have to wear it on my wrist (although I might have to reconsider that because of the getting lost bit), it was waterproof/had swim tracking, no charging (just a battery replacement every 6+ months) & inexpensive (like $30 on sale).
What I didn’t like: claimed to have a readable watch with dots but in reality I couldn’t tell time on it, accessories (band & clip) broke easily, not much information other than steps/time of a dedicated exercise (if I walked too slowly it didn’t count). But mainly the syncing issue.
I was wondering if there is a kind of tracker that doesn’t have the MFP syncing issue?
And if there is and there’s one that his enough of my interest points I’ll probably look there to replace it.
I had an old Misfit Flash from 2015, I’m not sure they even make them anymore. But before I lost it, I was having issues syncing. It would skip days, give me a drastically high number of calories & just be really vague & weird about it. I would barely move and it would already sync and give me 100+ calories “from exercise” for no reason I could discern. Then it wouldn’t finish logging my steps until the next day, after I’d already completed my diary.
What I liked about it was: I didn’t have to wear it on my wrist (although I might have to reconsider that because of the getting lost bit), it was waterproof/had swim tracking, no charging (just a battery replacement every 6+ months) & inexpensive (like $30 on sale).
What I didn’t like: claimed to have a readable watch with dots but in reality I couldn’t tell time on it, accessories (band & clip) broke easily, not much information other than steps/time of a dedicated exercise (if I walked too slowly it didn’t count). But mainly the syncing issue.
I was wondering if there is a kind of tracker that doesn’t have the MFP syncing issue?
And if there is and there’s one that his enough of my interest points I’ll probably look there to replace it.
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Replies
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I current have a Samsung Gear Sport. I have had it for about a month and a half now. I do not have any issues syncing it with MFP. It is waterproof up to 50 meters. You can track detailed information from workouts. It tracks and displays real time steps, calories, floors climbed (up and down stairs), heart rate. From personal experience, the samsung app tracks calories burned better than the UA apps (UA apps tend to overestimate). It also tracks sleeping automatically. It seems pretty sturdy. I have not noticed any stretching of the band. It doesn't feel like anything will break any time soon.
Downsides: it requires charging every couple of days. It is a smart watch, so you do have to wear it on your wrist. It is also a little spendy (typically runs around ($250-$280)
I have really enjoyed having it though. I think it was worth the purchase. Below is a screen shot of data recorded from a crossfit workout.
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I would also like to add that included with the watch is 1 year of MFP premium. So that has been pretty nice too.0
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Cassandraw3 wrote: »I current have a Samsung Gear Sport. I have had it for about a month and a half now. I do not have any issues syncing it with MFP. It is waterproof up to 50 meters. You can track detailed information from workouts. It tracks and displays real time steps, calories, floors climbed (up and down stairs), heart rate. From personal experience, the samsung app tracks calories burned better than the UA apps (UA apps tend to overestimate). It also tracks sleeping automatically. It seems pretty sturdy. I have not noticed any stretching of the band. It doesn't feel like anything will break any time soon.
Downsides: it requires charging every couple of days. It is a smart watch, so you do have to wear it on your wrist. It is also a little spendy (typically runs around ($250-$280)
I have really enjoyed having it though. I think it was worth the purchase. Below is a screen shot of data recorded from a crossfit workout.
Thank you!! This sounds/looks awesome, and thank you for showing the details.
But yes, it is a little pricey and out of my expected realm (under $100). I may have to wait a couple months and save up for something good though.
I've found it truly is necessary to track my activity because it's so varied with my active job and non-active and necessary rest days (it's going to go down now my hours are reducing in the fall for school, but I'm hoping this means I can start incorporating exercise again, such as swimming which is more knee-friendly than work).
I like the stairs climbed feature, because I'm trying to take care of my knees and I find stairs to be a tad dangerous for them. So if I'm thinking "wow my knees hurt a ton but I didn't even walk as much as I did the other day" I might see "oh I actually did more stairs" etc. idk. It seems useful.
My concern about wrist wearing is that my arms are heavily involved in my job. I am picking things up and carrying them while walking and standing still while shifting things. I worry either a wrist-worn tracker will think I am standing still and waving my arms around to try to fake movement and not count steps, or will overestimate my steps massively.
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Since it has a built in gps, I have not had an issue with it counting arm movements as steps. The only time is did something crazy for me was when I was digging in my purse for something, it thought I was working out. If you are looking for something a little more "budget friendly", I know a lot of people do tend to like fitbits and they seem to sync pretty well to MFP. The fitbit flex 2 also works for tracking swimming and other activities. It doesn't have a standard watch face. It usually runs around $60. I have heard of people having issues with bands breaking on fitbits, but I do not have any experience personally to let you know on that.
ETA: Also, since it tracks heart rate, it is much less likely to overestimate exertion and calories burned. At least from my experience. I know the heart rate tracking is not 100% accurate, but it can give a decent approximation.1 -
Cassandraw3 wrote: »Since it has a built in gps, I have not had an issue with it counting arm movements as steps. The only time is did something crazy for me was when I was digging in my purse for something, it thought I was working out. If you are looking for something a little more "budget friendly", I know a lot of people do tend to like fitbits and they seem to sync pretty well to MFP. The fitbit flex 2 also works for tracking swimming and other activities. It doesn't have a standard watch face. It usually runs around $60. I have heard of people having issues with bands breaking on fitbits, but I do not have any experience personally to let you know on that.
ETA: Also, since it tracks heart rate, it is much less likely to overestimate exertion and calories burned. At least from my experience. I know the heart rate tracking is not 100% accurate, but it can give a decent approximation.
Thank you! Oh I didn't know that about the HR tracking, I thought it was more for steady-state cardio a-la running/cycling. That's good to know! I might be more likely to get something with that, then.
Thank you! That does look more in my price range for something I could get now without feeling like I was spending too much. But I did see there were some syncing issues with fitbit around the forums, I'd have to do a little more research & maybe talk to a few people who have them and see how it goes.0 -
I have the Fitbit Flex 2. It’s not horribly ugly which is my issue with most fitness trackers. It’s also waterproof if that is something you are looking for. I loved Jawbone UP Move bc it was a clip on, but their app has gone offline since May.
Ps. You can get it on Amazon for $58.1 -
I have the Fitbit Flex 2. It’s not horribly ugly which is my issue with most fitness trackers. It’s also waterproof if that is something you are looking for. I loved Jawbone UP Move bc it was a clip on, but their app has gone offline since May.
Ps. You can get it on Amazon for $58.
Thank you!! It seems to be my top contender at the moment. So few seem to be waterproof, which seems strange to me. I believe it may be a little more pricey in Canada, but if it's around $60 USD it's probably still under $100 CAD.
If I may ask some questions - Do you sync yours with MFP and have you had any issues? Also, how comfortable is it on your wrist? The Misfit had a round watch face and I found it mildly irritating. I've seen the design of the Flex 2 is more long and thin. I understand there is no time-telling feature at all? Any other thoughts/review points with using it with MFP?0 -
I’ve had mine for about one week, so I’m a new user. I do have it synced to MFP, I haven’t had any issues. I find it very comfortable and haven’t experienced any issues. I have a small wrist and it fits perfectly. The band is very soft and flexible & wraps perfectly around. There is no screen, so you’d have to open the app to see steps. You can set an alarm so that it vibrates to wake you up.1
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I’ve had mine for about one week, so I’m a new user. I do have it synced to MFP, I haven’t had any issues. I find it very comfortable and haven’t experienced any issues. I have a small wrist and it fits perfectly. The band is very soft and flexible & wraps perfectly around. There is no screen, so you’d have to open the app to see steps. You can set an alarm so that it vibrates to wake you up.
Thank you! The no screen is fine, I don't mind checking the app for steps. The only think I noticed when I wore my Misfit on my wrist at work was people kept asking me for the time and it was hecka embarrassing to have to say it wasn't a watch XD So I was hoping the next thing I got might have the time. The alarm sounds cool. I'll look into it more, thank you again!0 -
I've had several Fitbits and they reliably synced with MFP. Now I have an Apple Watch, the syncing leaves much to be desired. It's like the activity app talks to the health app which talks to MFP. Not so great.0
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mrowrmeowmrowr wrote: »I've had several Fitbits and they reliably synced with MFP. Now I have an Apple Watch, the syncing leaves much to be desired. It's like the activity app talks to the health app which talks to MFP. Not so great.
Thank you! That’s a strong vote for Fitbit functioning with MFP. I have no interest in an Apple Watch. I really don’t want to feel connected to my phone with text alerts and email, etc. Fitbit only has 2 waterproof trackers I think, the Flex2 & the Iconic/Versa (similar & pricey). I’m hesitant with the Flex2 just because of the charging, but that seems to be hard to avoid. I kind of feel like if I have to charge it I should get a little more of an interesting device but idk. Maybe making the switch to Fitbit is enough I should probably investigate the app to learn more about how their data functions...
Last night my dad and I were looking up consumer reports at the Library on these, and these 4 were sort of the top rated ones. I’d be interested in knowing anyone’s experience with using any of these with MFP: Garmin Vivofit3,
Garmin Forerunner 35, Fitbit Flex 2, Misfit Shine 2
I really appreciate your help ❤️❤️0 -
IMO, you get what your pay for with these things. Based on what you've said you want, go with a fitbit.2
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So I read this article: https://www.digitaltrends.com/health-fitness/best-cheap-fitness-trackers/
And it was also a good vote for the Fitbit Flex 2, so that remains in my list. But it also made me very curious about the Moov Now and Huawei Pro & Garmin Vivofit 4 & whether they work well with MFP or not really. Maybe a more unknown brand is more of a risk?0 -
So I read this article: https://www.digitaltrends.com/health-fitness/best-cheap-fitness-trackers/
And it was also a good vote for the Fitbit Flex 2, so that remains in my list. But it also made me very curious about the Moov Now and Huawei Pro & Garmin Vivofit 4 & whether they work well with MFP or not really. Maybe a more unknown brand is more of a risk?
Be aware that indeed the cheaper brands don't sync with MFP through their app, but there may be a 3rd party app that does, so round-about can get there.
Also be aware that some less-known brands report their info differently, some take the Apple approach and you have a daily calorie burn, and an exercise calorie burn that is not included in the daily figure.
Or sometimes a base calorie burn (like their math for sedentary that may or may not match MFP sedentary), and then an Active calorie burn for anything above that.
Problem with those methods if reported in the sync - MFP is only going to do math correctly if it receives a TDEE calorie burn, and as the term implies, that would include any exercise calories received.
Even if the optional method of sending workouts over is used, like Garmin correctly does.
So if the desire to sync with MFP is for MFP to correct itself to potentially better estimates of activity level and therefore daily eating goal - some of those won't work even if they do sync.
If it's to merely sync over a workout so your friend's list can see it and you don't manually post about it - some don't even do that optional transfer like Fitbit doesn't.2 -
I had the Garmin the battery laster forever and it tracked my steps and synced with MFP but that's about it.
I now have the Fitbit Ionic and it auto tracks my most popular activities (Running, Biking & Swimming) You can set it to not send you alerts for texts and emails ect. Yes I have to charge it twice a week but I just charge it at work. The only downfall for me was it tracks everything and once you sync with the app I can never eat enough calories to complete my food entry on MFP. So maybe it over tracks my exercise. Plus having other fitness friends on the fitbit tends to give me incentive to do more!2 -
So I read this article: https://www.digitaltrends.com/health-fitness/best-cheap-fitness-trackers/
And it was also a good vote for the Fitbit Flex 2, so that remains in my list. But it also made me very curious about the Moov Now and Huawei Pro & Garmin Vivofit 4 & whether they work well with MFP or not really. Maybe a more unknown brand is more of a risk?
Be aware that indeed the cheaper brands don't sync with MFP through their app, but there may be a 3rd party app that does, so round-about can get there.
Also be aware that some less-known brands report their info differently, some take the Apple approach and you have a daily calorie burn, and an exercise calorie burn that is not included in the daily figure.
Or sometimes a base calorie burn (like their math for sedentary that may or may not match MFP sedentary), and then an Active calorie burn for anything above that.
Problem with those methods if reported in the sync - MFP is only going to do math correctly if it receives a TDEE calorie burn, and as the term implies, that would include any exercise calories received.
Even if the optional method of sending workouts over is used, like Garmin correctly does.
So if the desire to sync with MFP is for MFP to correct itself to potentially better estimates of activity level and therefore daily eating goal - some of those won't work even if they do sync.
If it's to merely sync over a workout so your friend's list can see it and you don't manually post about it - some don't even do that optional transfer like Fitbit doesn't.
Oh geez. Thank you so much!!! ❤️ I didn’t even consider this. Yeah my goal is absolutely to make MFP’s eating goal more accurate. Which trackers would do that? Maybe then not the Moov or Huawei - but also not the Fitbit or Garmin?
I don’t care about posting anything about my activity. I’m capable of posting a status to MFP if I think the thing needs to be Known lol.0 -
I have a Garmin and it links/syncs flawlessly with MFP. Fitbit has had intermittent connection/syncing problems (as can be seen by many threads in the Suggestions forum). I haven't seen any issues with my Garmin, and I've been using it with MFP for over a year now.1
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I had the Garmin the battery laster forever and it tracked my steps and synced with MFP but that's about it.
I now have the Fitbit Ionic and it auto tracks my most popular activities (Running, Biking & Swimming) You can set it to not send you alerts for texts and emails ect. Yes I have to charge it twice a week but I just charge it at work. The only downfall for me was it tracks everything and once you sync with the app I can never eat enough calories to complete my food entry on MFP. So maybe it over tracks my exercise. Plus having other fitness friends on the fitbit tends to give me incentive to do more!
Hm, over-tracking doesn’t seem good. I had thought the Misfit was over tracking me, but when @heybales helped me do the math to understand how it was actually tracking my steps it accounted for my rate of loss fairly closely.
Maybe I should just get one of their other products 😐 although I don’t really like the idea of spending $100 for the same technology I had for $30 already, if it’s the most accurate option it’s still the best bet.
Also I thought as a piece of tech the Ionic seemed like overkill for me. I don’t run (I can’t currently, and may never be able to) and I don’t want those text, music, paying from it, etc.2 -
I have a Garmin and it links/syncs flawlessly with MFP. Fitbit has had intermittent connection/syncing problems (as can be seen by many threads in the Suggestions forum). I haven't seen any issues with my Garmin, and I've been using it with MFP for over a year now.
Thank you! I didn’t even know there was a suggestions forum oops, that’s really helpful to know. Which Garmin do you have & do you feel like it accurately predicts your calories with MFP?0
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