Withings Pulse/Fitbit/Body Media - What works for you?

I've had mine for a couple of days and it's really brilliant! I also have the smart body analyser. The sleep monitoring is really good and truly tells me how much deep sleep I'm having. The run keeper was great too and as accurate as endomondo on my iphone.

I've had the Ultra and Zip from Fitbit, both excellent. I passed the Zip along to a friend, so am without tracker.
To save cash, I tried the nike+ footpod with my iPhone, and despite not being faulty, it simply won't sync up to the Nike+ webpage. Infuriating.

So to hell with it the Withings Pulse is out at the middle of month, I've read every review of it, and it's the deserved successor of the pocketable fitbits.

If you use the clip with any pocketable tracker, you're screaming for it to be lost. Thats how I lost my Ultra. These are POCKET trackers. Can't wait to get my hands on this little beauty. I'll pop a review up when I get it, but I suspect I'll love it.

So does the Withings Pulse sync with MFP? I have my Withings scale already linked but need to confirm if the tracker can be linked before I purchase.

I am in the market for an activity tracker. I originally thought I would get a Fitbit 1 but I came across the Withings Pulse. Has anyone tried this? The reviews and ratings are lacking to make a good determination as to if this is a good product. I want something that can indicate heart rate and let me know if I am in the zone I should be when working out, as well as steps, miles, calories, etc.

I use a fitbit and a bluetooth heart rate monitor app and am happy with that combo. Out of curiosity, I looked at the Withings, the thing about the pulse measure is that it looks like it would be really awkward to use while exercising. From the pictures on the Withings site it looks like you would need to hold it on one hand and press a finger from the other hand into the little sensor. Can you see the picture I refer to on this link: http://www.withings.com/en/pulse ? You may need to clock on the tab that says "heart rate".

I purchased the FitBit Flex and it'll be here tomorrow! I will let you all know how it works for me! I'm excited!

I am in the market for an activity tracker. I originally thought I would get a Fitbit 1 but I came across the Withings Pulse. Has anyone tried this? The reviews and ratings are lacking to make a good determination as to if this is a good product. I want something that can indicate heart rate and let me know if I am in the zone I should be when working out, as well as steps, miles, calories, etc.

I use a fitbit and a bluetooth heart rate monitor app and am happy with that combo. Out of curiosity, I looked at the Withings, the thing about the pulse measure is that it looks like it would be really awkward to use while exercising. From the pictures on the Withings site it looks like you would need to hold it on one hand and press a finger from the other hand into the little sensor. Can you see the picture I refer to on this link: http://www.withings.com/en/pulse ? You may need to clock on the tab that says "heart rate".

Kimsied, can I ask what heart rate monitor and app you use?
I was excited by the idea of the Withings Pulse, but I agree it looks like a bit of a pain to use the pulse read feature..
I'll probably hold out on buying a 'wearable fitness tracking device' until the day one of these companies finds a way to incorporate a heart rate monitor and accurate pedometer.
For now I use a basic step-counter, but if I can find an inexpensive heart rate monitor I'll go for it

I've had a fitbit flex for a couple of months now and I just love it. The fact that it's a bracelet means that I never forget the darn thing, and it syncs up with MFP which is brilliant as well. It doesn't track your heartrate but I still think it gives you are really good idea of how active you've been and a fair estimate of how many calories you've burned. I also use the icardio app to track distances when I run, it works with my fitbit account without double counting my burn. I definitely feel that my fitbit has been key to my weightloss. My only complaint is that it doesn't sync with my crappy smartphone.

I have a Bodymedia and I love it. It syncs beautifully with MFP and has been very accurate for me. I like the fact that I can set daily goals and try and beat old personal bests. The cons: not waterproof and not as accurate with stationary cycling. Also it looks like a medical device so if you lose a lot of weight and people see you wearing it, they assume you are sick. :laugh: Still, I wouldn't trade it for anything else that I've seen yet.

New model out probably this month can look less medical and is waterproof as well as much smaller but you still have to wear it on your arm.

The FItbit is pretty much everything I want in an activity tracker. I've done rather well with it since Februrary.

It's so unobtrusive. Nothing to strap on my bicep or wear on my wrist. It just disappears on my body.

I tried the fitbit flex for a couple weeks and sent it back. The lack of ability to sync with my droid was the dealbreaker. I got the pulse instead and have been using it so far.

The fitbit registered more steps than the pulse, probably due to being a bracelet. One day I even stood there and just swung my arm back and forth a bunch of times to see how the "step" count would change and was disappointed. Also the flex wouldn't count steps if I was pushing a cart around at work (arms not moving), so the app on my phone that counted steps would catch way more than it did.

So far the main annoyance with the pulse is the lack of syncing with MFP, which they're working on and hopefully will fix soon.

What I'd really like is the amiigo, but they're not even available yet, and I don't know if they would sync with my phone anyway.

Hi All,

I have had nothing but horror with the Fitbit Flex. I am awaiting my third replacement unit due to the battery contacts which charge the device not working after 3-4 months of daily use.

I am leaning towards replacing it with the Withings Pulse, but I am confused by the answers I am finding regarding its sync capability. I know MFP does not have an 'official' linkage with the WP at this time, however it sounds like all I would need to do is sync with the Withings app, which *does* sync to MFP.

It doesn't matter to me if the data is not exactly real-time.

Thanks in advance,
D

So far I have not personally seen any method to transfer steps to MFP. I imagine when they integrate it properly, it will just be an additional data to MFP from the withings app.

I'm hoping for soon. I love my pulse personally, but I have never owned any other activity tracker outside phone apps. I like that it doesn't require network access, so as long as I have my phone, I can be camping in the boonies without signal and sync the steps via blutooth. Battery life is very good and it will let you know via phone notification when it's time to charge it. It doesn't take long to charge either.

One major danger point is there is no clear way to track it down if you misplace it. It would be great if it could beep, or if you could initiate blutooth sync from the phone (you do it from the pulse) in case you misplace it. (Because then you would at least know if it was in your apartment.)

I actually have broken one. I ran a very heavy car over it. It was trashed, but I had to take it apart to tell. It's got some interesting inner organs. A word of warning, the clip is very strong, but it can be knocked out of your pocket without you feeling it. Diagonal pockets I imagine could be a higher threat. (This is how mine ended up under my wheel.) I now clip it to my bra strap with no problem, I don't know where the best place for men would be to clip it. Maybe a waistband would be better?

These of course are probably shared problems with any small device.

I just picked up a bodymedia fit link. My 24 hour fitness has the bodybugg link (bodymedia fit link clone) on sale for $49.99. So far I've been very happy with it. I like that it records all of my activity (not just step related) without having to manually input anything. Once I linked mfp to the bmf activity tracker site it automatically pulls my food info so the only thing I manually input is my food intake. I considered the withings pulse but the hrm seemed a bit inconvenient and like most of the competition, it lacks the ability to accurately track non step related activity. I also read somewhere that the pulse's hrm doesn't affect the caloric burn calculation so it's of no use (for me).

Supposedly the only thing I have to manually log is off body exercise (pretty much anything involving water). As long as its on me and my METS thresholds are configured properly it's supposed to be at least 90% accurate without manual intervention. Going by the first couple of days of use, my total daily caloric burn is close enough to where I think it should be to not feel that need to mess with it.

All that happens when you mess with your MET thresholds is that is changes the credit you get for moderate or intense exercise (brown or Yellow lines in the app), it does not enter into any calorie calculations. Steps don't either, all of you calories burn come from the sensors used to estimate your Heart rate and your own MET, This is the main reason I love my BodyMedia link. How much you burn for any given number of steps is affected by your fitness level and the speed and incline you are doing the steps at. Calories for "10,000" steps can vary significantly, it was only meant as a general activity goal.

Good to know that the METS threshold does not change the caloric burn. I increased my moderate threshold so I wouldn't get credit for non workout activities and decreased my intense threshold so I would get credit for what I know (based on HR) to be intense workout (running, biking, rowing, etc.) that I was not getting credit for previously. I was worried that I might skew my caloric burn numbers.

I'm really liking the hassle free aspect of using the BMF. Tracking calorie intake is enough of a chore without having to track calories burned too.

I increased my moderate threshold so I wouldn't get credit for non workout activities and decreased my intense threshold so I would get credit for what I know (based on HR) to be intense workout (running, biking, rowing, etc.) that I was not getting credit for previously.

Exactly what I did. I exercise in zones so as I get more fit I keep tweaking it to match my heart rate I was in.