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How reliant have you become on fitness tech?
Replies
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LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »I was so 'hooked' on my Fitbit and achieving the numbers every single day - was pretty obsessed for close on 4 years until it broke....I decided to go cold turkey and not replace it - best thing I ever did! I now don't focus on step related workouts for one thing and I'm maintaining my weight just as I did when I was wearing a tracker. It turns out I don't need some gadget to motivate me to keep moving, I do it out of habit and enjoyment.
Thanks..neither do I0 -
Just to amplify on earlier comment: I've found the chest belt (Ant+) absolutely essential for rowing, on-water or machine. There's just too much arm flexing and overall movement for the Vivoactive 3 to maintain any reasonable wrist connection. (I'm sure the same would be true for most wrist-based HRM.)
Also, the all-day calorie burn estimation, for me, is a lying liar that lies*. Since it lies by about the same amount as MFP and other NEAT/TDEE "calculators", I'm speculating that it would be reasonable to assume that if the "calculator" estimates work for a person, the devices might be likely to work, too; but if you're out in the weeds compared to those other estimates, the device might be equally off (depending on why the difference exists, of course: If a person underestimates steps or something, but the device picks it up, it could be better).
Since I use my fitness tracker primarily for, well, fitness tracking, this discrepancy doesn't make me dislike the device. It gives me what I want, and expect. The occasional laugh (all-day calories, sleep tracking) is fun, too. (One day when I was bailing out a rowing barge, Connect IQ thought I was swimming. LOL!)
* Yeah, I know poor estimation isn't actually a lie. Give a li'l ol' lady some room for hyperbole, OK?
@AnnPT77 "ol" lady? I sincerely doubt that 🙂
I've been through 1 apple watch and 2 Fitbit's so far, and while the Fitbit is worse by a bit, all have troubles with wrist motion.
I've been digging into the app for stats and trends the past few days though, and there's a wealth of info I can use.
Good stuff for this "ol" man 😉
Thanks for the implication . . . but I'm proud of it: Present in my advancing years, grateful as all get-out, and enjoying every *baby-feline* minute.
In Ann-world, "old" is a compliment, not an insult. Rock the "ol'" - reclaim it for Good Stuff!
I'm glad you said that because every time I see it, I roll my eyes and that can't be good for them because you play that card a lot!
As for wearables, I definitely rely on my fitbit One even tho it over estimates my exercise calories (not as much as the altahr and chargehr and even zip tho....geez). I also have an older model garmin forerunner I bought specifically for the gps and I wanted to compare tdee with something other than a fitbit.
It helped me lose the weight I ended up gaining after moving from weight watchers to calorie counting so my wearable tech isn't going anywhere.2 -
I started using MFP seriously in June 2015. My starting weight was 139 pounds at 5'3" which was still within a healthy range but not right for my body type. I bought the Charge HR in July 2015 to motivate me even more. At first I didn't believe the calories I was getting from it so I would stick to my calorie goal of 1200, going no higher than 1400. It was easy because of my excess body fat but I was losing around 2.2 pounds per week which was too much when I look back on it.
Two months later I was 119 pounds and one day I just I could not get out of bed. I realized it was because I needed to eat more food. Without my Fitbit, I probably would not have figured out that I actually can eat that much food. Everywhere I turned, the recommended calories for someone my height was 1200 to 1400, citing maintenance as 1400 to 1700. Years later, because of my Fitbit and accurate food logging, I know that I actually maintain 113 pounds on 2000 to 2300 calories per day which is awesome!
I've had times where I took off the Fitbit for a while to see how I felt. I went months with it off and now it's back on. I guess I do feel like it's a part of me, as it really helped me reach my goals and I'm at a level of fitness I never thought would be possible for me. However, if my Fitbit broke today I would not rush out and buy another one. I know my maintenance calories so I'm not reliant on it but I like having it because tracking my activities, sleep, etc is a hobby that I enjoy.5 -
Maxematics wrote: »I started using MFP seriously in June 2015. My starting weight was 139 pounds at 5'3" which was still within a healthy range but not right for my body type. I bought the Charge HR in July 2015 to motivate me even more. At first I didn't believe the calories I was getting from it so I would stick to my calorie goal of 1200, going no higher than 1400. It was easy because of my excess body fat but I was losing around 2.2 pounds per week which was too much when I look back on it.
Two months later I was 119 pounds and one day I just I could not get out of bed. I realized it was because I needed to eat more food. Without my Fitbit, I probably would not have figured out that I actually can eat that much food. Everywhere I turned, the recommended calories for someone my height was 1200 to 1400, citing maintenance as 1400 to 1700. Years later, because of my Fitbit and accurate food logging, I know that I actually maintain 113 pounds on 2000 to 2300 calories per day which is awesome!
I've had times where I took off the Fitbit for a while to see how I felt. I went months with it off and now it's back on. I guess I do feel like it's a part of me, as it really helped me reach my goals and I'm at a level of fitness I never thought would be possible for me. However, if my Fitbit broke today I would not rush out and buy another one. I know my maintenance calories so I'm not reliant on it but I like having it because tracking my activities, sleep, etc is a hobby that I enjoy.
That's quite a turn around! I honestly hope some of the people posting that are determined to stick to 1200 diets read this. Glad I did too. I'm just getting to that place figuring out the best way to use it. Thanks 🙂1 -
No tech, unless you count the fact that my.phone timer ticks off 45 seconds between weight lifting sets. Oh, and Google maps tells me how far I'm about to ride my bike.
I actually think more ppl strung out on devices than will admit it. And while I haven't counted it looks like around here the boys may be worse than the girls. You know, grab a bench, bar, half a dozen dumbbells, tie up all that equipment then sit there on the bench going thru their.playlist ...
I'm far too cheap to pay for a gym membership so i can watch somebody check email, and I am not going to be strung out on your device. I'll say something -- either you are going to use the equipment or I am. Plenty of time for your photo shoot after I play through 😏
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jls1leather9497 wrote: »No tech, unless you count the fact that my.phone timer ticks off 45 seconds between weight lifting sets. Oh, and Google maps tells me how far I'm about to ride my bike.
I actually think more ppl strung out on devices than will admit it. And while I haven't counted it looks like around here the boys may be worse than the girls. You know, grab a bench, bar, half a dozen dumbbells, tie up all that equipment then sit there on the bench going thru their.playlist ...
I'm far too cheap to pay for a gym membership so i can watch somebody check email, and I am not going to be strung out on your device. I'll say something -- either you are going to use the equipment or I am. Plenty of time for your photo shoot after I play through 😏
Home gym homie lol. For exactly the reason you state. I hate waiting, oh and I'm not giving my bank account info to get a membership. That's a thing around here now. Nope.0 -
I just got a Fitbit Alta for Christmas and I use it, but I don't obsess about it. I work a desk job so I like the reminder every hour to get up and move (if I haven't already) and yes I get motivated to complete the goals I have logged in. So as I think it has helped to motivate me for sure I am on board with it.
This tends to be me as well - got a Versa for Christmas and like the functions, especially for swimming. But could I go back and not miss it...yes.1 -
My "smartwatch" has a stopwatch function and counts steps, and that's it. It'll estimate distance based on number of steps, but I've noticed that a "mile" can be anything from 1750 to 2200 steps. I'm curious how it figures that. It does seem to be pretty consistent when I've compared it to the readout on a treadmill.
The park near my house claims that 3 times around its perimeter is one mile, but my stepcounter claims that it takes nearly 4 laps to get to a mile. I'm not sure which to believe!1 -
Not very. I wear my Fitbit for workouts only, not all day long. And I have done workouts without it when I (inevitably) forget to charge it. Not really a big deal, but kind of annoying as I like to see the data.1
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Depending on what brand you have wrist motion error is an issue at times. With my fitbit, I can sit still and shake my wrist and see steps added. Stride length also plays a roll.clicketykeys wrote: »My "smartwatch" has a stopwatch function and counts steps, and that's it. It'll estimate distance based on number of steps, but I've noticed that a "mile" can be anything from 1750 to 2200 steps. I'm curious how it figures that. It does seem to be pretty consistent when I've compared it to the readout on a treadmill.
The park near my house claims that 3 times around its perimeter is one mile, but my stepcounter claims that it takes nearly 4 laps to get to a mile. I'm not sure which to believe!
I'm learning to lol.whatalazyidiot wrote: »Not very. I wear my Fitbit for workouts only, not all day long. And I have done workouts without it when I (inevitably) forget to charge it. Not really a big deal, but kind of annoying as I like to see the data.
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jls1leather9497 wrote: »No tech, unless you count the fact that my.phone timer ticks off 45 seconds between weight lifting sets. Oh, and Google maps tells me how far I'm about to ride my bike.
I actually think more ppl strung out on devices than will admit it. And while I haven't counted it looks like around here the boys may be worse than the girls. You know, grab a bench, bar, half a dozen dumbbells, tie up all that equipment then sit there on the bench going thru their.playlist ...
I'm far too cheap to pay for a gym membership so i can watch somebody check email, and I am not going to be strung out on your device. I'll say something -- either you are going to use the equipment or I am. Plenty of time for your photo shoot after I play through 😏
Home gym homie lol. For exactly the reason you state. I hate waiting, oh and I'm not giving my bank account info to get a membership. That's a thing around here now. Nope.
Holy crap. Really? That would be a nope for me too. Luckily, my second job (part-time) is at a university so I get my membership for dirt cheap right now. I WISH our tiny house had room for a home gym. Not only is it small, but the basement is one of those old stone ones with no heat or insulation. I don’t think it’s high enough for me to do an OHP with a bar!1 -
jls1leather9497 wrote: »No tech, unless you count the fact that my.phone timer ticks off 45 seconds between weight lifting sets. Oh, and Google maps tells me how far I'm about to ride my bike.
I actually think more ppl strung out on devices than will admit it. And while I haven't counted it looks like around here the boys may be worse than the girls. You know, grab a bench, bar, half a dozen dumbbells, tie up all that equipment then sit there on the bench going thru their.playlist ...
I'm far too cheap to pay for a gym membership so i can watch somebody check email, and I am not going to be strung out on your device. I'll say something -- either you are going to use the equipment or I am. Plenty of time for your photo shoot after I play through 😏
Home gym homie lol. For exactly the reason you state. I hate waiting, oh and I'm not giving my bank account info to get a membership. [bold]That's a thing around here now[/bold]. Nope.
Holy crap. Really? Hat would be a nope for me too. Luckily, my second job (part-time) is at a university so I get my membership for dirt cheap right now. I WISH our tiny house had room for a home gym. Not only is it small, but the basement is one of those old stone ones with no heat or insulation. I don’t think it’s high enough for me to do an OHP with a bar!
I couldn't believe it when they asked for my info - not PF by the way, they've been doing it for years. I just smile and "Nope" lol.
I have to make sure the weights are in between the basement rafters or I get a rude jolt
but that dirt cheap membership you have would be awesome if I could stumble across one.
We see deals advertised now and then, but, you know, bank info I can't believe that's even a thing these days. 1 -
clicketykeys wrote: »My "smartwatch" has a stopwatch function and counts steps, and that's it. It'll estimate distance based on number of steps, but I've noticed that a "mile" can be anything from 1750 to 2200 steps. I'm curious how it figures that. It does seem to be pretty consistent when I've compared it to the readout on a treadmill.
The park near my house claims that 3 times around its perimeter is one mile, but my stepcounter claims that it takes nearly 4 laps to get to a mile. I'm not sure which to believe!
If it's like the activity trackers (and the chipset that is cheap and used has this as built in function), it's using accelerometer to read impact and hang time of each step, compared to a set stride length and mass - to calculate what that step distance must have been.
That's why people that see some false steps from arm motion (not required but can appear as a soft impact) will discover that the resulting distance and calorie burn is meaningless in the scheme of say nutrition labels being allowed to be upwards of 20% off.
Now on wrist pushing a cart missing the impact - that could be missing out on some distance/calorie burn.
To your park path - got hills?
Because that will foul up the estimate - it sees shorter stride and lighter impact going up hill and figures less distance. Even though down could balance it out - different inclines can make it not match too.
Try walking the other direction and see.
Treadmills need to be calibrated - I've never found a gym that said they did it at required intervals, maybe when a belt got replaced, but even then sometimes not. So comparison to treadmill isn't as good as say a school track of known distance, if you figure out which marks to use for say a mile on a metric track.3 -
Home gym homie lol. For exactly the reason you state. I hate waiting, oh and I'm not giving my bank account info to get a membership. That's a thing around here now. Nope.
Yup, that data collection stuff is out of control. My sons hair cutting place was full one day so I called some others
Found one that claimed they took 'walk ins' AND had an opening right now. So I said we be there in 10. AFTER we got there the girl is right there, the empty chair is right there, but they wanted name, address, and phone # "for the computer".
Uh... no, you dont need ANY of that to cut the boys hair. When they saw we REALLY ARE going to leave, some other gal ran.over, said she'd do it. She got a nice tip too ... but not a phone number.1 -
After several Fitbits, I was talked into an Apple Watch that came with almost 15 lbs
I am currently . . . wearing both
For me, my Fitbit keeps me active, I sit all day so even getting in those few steps each hour is tough at times I need the motivation/accountability. I love doing Fitbit challenges, I can get really competitive but in a good way. With the Fitbit I can choose to take a walk and see some immediate gratification from doing so. Apple Watch is different, I appreciate the way it counts 'Move' burn and the other things it does but I also think I could have updated my Fitbit and been just as happy. I think for me and my life, without something I could spend a whole day if not several doing much of nothing.2 -
jls1leather9497 wrote: »
Home gym homie lol. For exactly the reason you state. I hate waiting, oh and I'm not giving my bank account info to get a membership. That's a thing around here now. Nope.
Yup, that data collection stuff is out of control. My sons hair cutting place was full one day so I called some others
Found one that claimed they took 'walk ins' AND had an opening right now. So I said we be there in 10. AFTER we got there the girl is right there, the empty chair is right there, but they wanted name, address, and phone # "for the computer".
Uh... no, you dont need ANY of that to cut the boys hair. When they saw we REALLY ARE going to leave, some other gal ran.over, said she'd do it. She got a nice tip too ... but not a phone number.
Oh it's ridiculous. I bought a pair of shoes the other day and the cashier all but argued for a phone number to plug in. Not going to happen lol.0 -
After several Fitbits, I was talked into an Apple Watch that came with almost 15 lbs
I am currently . . . wearing both
For me, my Fitbit keeps me active, I sit all day so even getting in those few steps each hour is tough at times I need the motivation/accountability. I love doing Fitbit challenges, I can get really competitive but in a good way. With the Fitbit I can choose to take a walk and see some immediate gratification from doing so. Apple Watch is different, I appreciate the way it counts 'Move' burn and the other things it does but I also think I could have updated my Fitbit and been just as happy. I think for me and my life, without something I could spend a whole day if not several doing much of nothing.
That's interesting as my buddy and I were comparing notes this morning on that. He has an Apple, I have a Fitbit. We're the same weight and height and our workouts are very similar.
Both watches seem to calculate active calories very differently, but our total daily calories burned were within 150 to 200 calories of each other across a range of days.
Overall we're both happy with the watches, and the data is nice 🙂1 -
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Not even close to reliant. I have a Fitbit Charge II and I basically use it to remind me to move more in my day to day, but if it broke it wouldn't be some huge loss either. I have a Garmin bike computer that gives me all kinds of data, but I'm pretty much looking at my speed, cadence, and HR.0
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jls1leather9497 wrote: »
Home gym homie lol. For exactly the reason you state. I hate waiting, oh and I'm not giving my bank account info to get a membership. That's a thing around here now. Nope.
Yup, that data collection stuff is out of control. My sons hair cutting place was full one day so I called some others
Found one that claimed they took 'walk ins' AND had an opening right now. So I said we be there in 10. AFTER we got there the girl is right there, the empty chair is right there, but they wanted name, address, and phone # "for the computer".
Uh... no, you dont need ANY of that to cut the boys hair. When they saw we REALLY ARE going to leave, some other gal ran.over, said she'd do it. She got a nice tip too ... but not a phone number.
Oh it's ridiculous. I bought a pair of shoes the other day and the cashier all but argued for a phone number to plug in. Not going to happen lol.
867-53096 -
HINT: If you are responding to this thread from a treadmill or a gym, you are more dependent than you.wanted to admit. 🤔2
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tbright1965 wrote: »jls1leather9497 wrote: »
Home gym homie lol. For exactly the reason you state. I hate waiting, oh and I'm not giving my bank account info to get a membership. That's a thing around here now. Nope.
Yup, that data collection stuff is out of control. My sons hair cutting place was full one day so I called some others
Found one that claimed they took 'walk ins' AND had an opening right now. So I said we be there in 10. AFTER we got there the girl is right there, the empty chair is right there, but they wanted name, address, and phone # "for the computer".
Uh... no, you dont need ANY of that to cut the boys hair. When they saw we REALLY ARE going to leave, some other gal ran.over, said she'd do it. She got a nice tip too ... but not a phone number.
Oh it's ridiculous. I bought a pair of shoes the other day and the cashier all but argued for a phone number to plug in. Not going to happen lol.
867-5309
I like that song lol0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »
I have it set for the 4 minute run and 1 minute walk. Sometimes it turns into a 5 minute walk
I found out you can set it for a lot more than the simple run/walk program with a downloadable .fit file.
http://8020endurance.com/8020-workout-library/
I actually have the old obsoleted Garmin software on my computer, because they overly simplified the workout creator on the web-based software. The interval repeats can be programmed not just for a certain number of times, but to loop to a total distance or time (which is something I often use, partially in case I accidentally hit the lap button) - the connect website doesn't have that option, but the watches support it and the old software has it.
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I hate street running without music, so my phone (Pandora or Spotify) is always with me (along with my training watch).
Also-
Definitely have to put in the + category: Not crashing because Garmin cued you to the sharp right turn coming up at the bottom of the hill in a large group of riders.
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Tacklewasher wrote: »
I have it set for the 4 minute run and 1 minute walk. Sometimes it turns into a 5 minute walk
I found out you can set it for a lot more than the simple run/walk program with a downloadable .fit file.
http://8020endurance.com/8020-workout-library/
I actually have the old obsoleted Garmin software on my computer, because they overly simplified the workout creator on the web-based software. The interval repeats can be programmed not just for a certain number of times, but to loop to a total distance or time (which is something I often use, partially in case I accidentally hit the lap button) - the connect website doesn't have that option, but the watches support it and the old software has it.
I've used the Sportstrack software with the Garmin plugin to do the same thing, get all those options.
Though I do think the old Garmin program still allowed a few additional things.
But mine kept getting into a fit and not connecting to the device, with the required response to hard-reset it. Uh no, not with all the tweaked settings.0 -
I need my phone. I use it to track my workouts using ''REP COUNT'' the timer for rest period, spotify for music, Netflix for cardio,and all the other stuff. Do not use it to track calories. I do what I do.0
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clicketykeys wrote: »My "smartwatch" has a stopwatch function and counts steps, and that's it. It'll estimate distance based on number of steps, but I've noticed that a "mile" can be anything from 1750 to 2200 steps. I'm curious how it figures that. It does seem to be pretty consistent when I've compared it to the readout on a treadmill.
The park near my house claims that 3 times around its perimeter is one mile, but my stepcounter claims that it takes nearly 4 laps to get to a mile. I'm not sure which to believe!
If it's like the activity trackers (and the chipset that is cheap and used has this as built in function), it's using accelerometer to read impact and hang time of each step, compared to a set stride length and mass - to calculate what that step distance must have been.
Thanks, that's super helpful! I've been curious about it for some time.To your park path - got hills?
Because that will foul up the estimate - it sees shorter stride and lighter impact going up hill and figures less distance. Even though down could balance it out - different inclines can make it not match too.
Try walking the other direction and see.
If there's an "uphill," it's VERY mild.Treadmills need to be calibrated - I've never found a gym that said they did it at required intervals, maybe when a belt got replaced, but even then sometimes not. So comparison to treadmill isn't as good as say a school track of known distance, if you figure out which marks to use for say a mile on a metric track.
True, but I've been to different locations and gotten consistent results. I may have to try out the track, though, and see what results I get!0 -
I'm addicted to all the data my Garmin gives, however I would certainly still exercise without it.0
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Well, it could also be that when the device is adjusting for each step, calculating it's distance, it's ability to remain accurate within the range falls off near the edges of the range.
Meaning, you'd hopefully have the stride length set for the midpoint pace for the majority of the day (maybe 1.5 to 1.8 mph) - not the grocery store shuffle stride, not the serious exercise stride.
That way the vast majority of the day has best chance of best accuracy - and it may lose accuracy a bit the further you move away from that mid-point pace, like at grocery store or when walking the path. But the % wrong and the small amount of time in the scheme of a day isn't any big deal. (unless trying to get accurate distance at exercise pace)
Now - does it actually have a setting for stride length for you to change?
All the trackers have a stride length, most start with a default based on gender and height - and most allow you to change it, even if you can't view what it is currently.
But some don't allow you to change it.
So when you do a track walk - attempt that slow pace that will seem awkward probably, and see how the distance compares then.
The treadmill being right for comparison to path could be difference between treadmill walking and outdoor too.1 -
I wear a Garmin watch because I enjoy looking at the graphs and getting a green tick when I surpass my goals. Also useful to have a watch instead of having to bring my phone with me on every walk.0
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