Striiv users unite! (and why the Striiv rocks)

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tamarwe
tamarwe Posts: 23 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey there,

I am addicted to my Striiv. Great product, and while I can't say I have anything to compare it to (I'd very much like to get a Fitbit or Jawbone Up or Nike+ FuelBand just for kicks), I think it's the best.

Why?
1) you see everything throughout the day. Your device shows you every movement, whereas the other devices are worn and don't have any physical displays.
2) you are thrown challenges that get you moving throughout the day. Does any other device do that?! Wait, they can't :)
3) It has some nice little perks, like MyLand (your own little island - it's cute - you get money based on time and can build fixtures based on your "energy" you've accumulated through activity) and it donates to causes based on your activity as well.

I'm curious, though, about accuracy. It took me awhile to realize that while working a sedentary lifestyle from home, I was actually walking over a mile inside! Crazy thought. Having the device motivates me now to get out of my chair and take extra steps. I now pace when I'm on business calls :)

I realize that it does a pretty decent job on estimating how many steps I take. When I hold it, I can see it's usually doing a good job. But I have a round staircase at home, and there are 13 consecutive steps, a platform, and then 5 more steps. It never calculates those 5 steps. :(

My big question is calorie estimates. It already tells me today that I burned 632 calories (I did a bit of walking this morning, nothing major). Where does this number come from? I don't feel like I burned 632 calories. If I actually eat 1200 calories, does that mean that my net intake was 568? Then why do I sometimes gain weight with similar numbers considering such a huge burn?

Maybe this isn't a specific issue with the Striiv. I am trying to understand how any fitness tracker can estimate calorie burn. I assume they get it through your weight + what the accelerometer measures, though I always hover near 1200 calories of food intake and burn close to 1000 according to these devices, and yet, sometimes I am heavier than the day before! It's not muscle, folks :) Maybe water, but I doubt it.

I'd love to get your insights if you are in the same boat. Thanks. :)

Replies

  • tamarwe
    tamarwe Posts: 23 Member
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    No Striiv users? You're missing out, folks! :)
  • codewienie
    codewienie Posts: 2
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    Hello Tamarwe,

    I too am a Striiv addict. I just got the Play device but I've been using the iOS app for about 6 months. The way the pedometer is integrated with the MyLand game is what hooked me. I've had a Fitbit for 2 years but it is what it is. it does a great job of capturing steps, floors climbed, and calories burned but the only game feature is a flower that grows as you become more active, It has a built-in display that includes the time and time setting for vibrating "wake-up" feature. It will also capture activity a la a stopwatch, including sleep and sleep quality. When I started using the Striiv app, I was compelled to walk a little further each day due in large part to its challenge/reward system, which resulted in an increase in my daily step goal from 15,000 to 20,000. That's why I decided to buy the Play device. More to incent the company to continue improving the app.

    As to your concern regarding calorie burn; LoseIt has a pretty good explanation of how your body burns calories throughout the day, which I assume Striiv is doing as well. You can read their explanation here http://www.loseit.com/support/fitbit/index.jsp, which references the Mifflin Equation found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_animal_metabolic_rate.

    I'm a bit of a data junkie so I use FitBit.com, Earndit.com, Keas.com, LoseIt.com, Runkeeper.com, Fitocracy.com, Fleetly.com, Everymove.org, Neufit.com, MyFitnessPal.com, Endomondo, and Sparkpeople.com. Mainly because I can link my Fitbit to them, and they turn the data into graphs over time and games.

    Have fun!

    - Mike

    http://www.fitbit.com/user/222VDW
    http://earndit.com/human/386nfgwj
    https://play.keas.com/users/6475
    http://www.loseit.com/#Community:Profile!id=1173803|name=MichaelBaker
    http://runkeeper.com/user/codewienie
    https://www.fitocracy.com/profile/codewienie/?feed
    http://www.fleetly.com/people/3372/
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/codewienie
    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/2982880
    https://play.neufit.com/player/2650/profile
    http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=CODEWIENIE
  • tamarwe
    tamarwe Posts: 23 Member
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    wow that's great, thanks for all those resources, Mike! And I appreciate the URL as well :)

    It's too bad Striiv is the smallest player in the fitness tracker market; once you go Striiv, I hardly see a reason to go Fitbit/Jawbone/etc.
  • mrsowen2012
    mrsowen2012 Posts: 19 Member
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    Hi all

    I started using it today - However, I don't think it's working properly for me.....

    I just tested it I tried walking 10 normal steps twice with my phone in different pockets and it didn't seem to log all the steps....

    I then walked around again doing 10 steps (felt a bit like morph) and it logged more than the previous steps....

    Is there something I'm doing wrong or that I could do to help it logg it.... ?

    Let me know.... I thought you guys would be best to ask as you seem to use it....

    Thanks
    Emma-Joy
  • BohemianCoast
    BohemianCoast Posts: 349 Member
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    I have a Striiv but found I wasn't remembering to use it; having to sync manually was a bit of a pain and the battery life wasn't so good. And then I got a Fitbit Ultra on a super-cheap Amazon special -- it solves both those problems. I liked the games for about a month but then I got tired of them. So I guess I'm an ex Striiv user.

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