Fitness Trackers. Are they worth the hype?
jalarson23
Posts: 62 Member
What do you guys think of Fitness Trackers. What separates them from using your smartphone alone? Most of them monitor your sleep, but how useful is that feature? I have read that many of them aren't as accurate as they should be and often misinterpret something like typing on the computer as exercise. The common problem seems to be where the device is located and recording activity. In other words, if on your shoe, it won't count upper body movements. Is there a three point fitness tracker that would solve this problem? What are your thoughts?
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Yes! I have the UP24, love it!0
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This is my personal opinion and probably differs from a lot of people. With that said, I don't think that they are as accurate as everyone wishes they should be and they only track certain movements. I would't rely on one to determine accurate calorie burns. IMO, they aren't much more than an overpriced pedometer. The sleep feature sounds interesting but there's not a good way to tell how accurate it is.0
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I have a Fitbit One - have worn it for about 14 months now. Have found it very useful as a way to measure my activity level & motivate myself to move more. Its worn on the body - clipped to my pocket usually. Does not count arm movement. Does not count 'steps' while I'm driving. Is it 100% accurate? I doubt it. But if inaccurate I imagine it would be consistently so. In other words its not going to give me inflated #s today and deflated #s tomorrow. To measure me over time, its consistent. Much like using the same scale...
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Ive had my Fitbit Charge HR for a couple weeks or so. I was debating even getting one but now i cant imagine not having it! My Iphones health app was decent, but i never realized how off the steps would be. I used to get like 8,000 steps a day and think how the heck do people do 10,000? With my Fitbit, i can see now that i take 12,000-16,000! Such a difference! As far as accuracy, it matches my treadmill EXACTLY in calories and heart rate, slightly off in distance (although we all know the treadmills probably not the most accurate anyways). My step count seems exact when i try to test it. Never gives false steps for driving, shoveling, etc. When i measure my heart rate myself (counting radial pulse), its pretty darn accurate. I enjoy the sleep function, but its really not necessary. Lol but i am obsessed with checking how i slept amd tracking hours.
If you want one, get it! If not, dont. Im the type of person who loves any tool i can add to my diet/exercise lifestyle, as it helps keep me motivated. I assume the calories are probably overrated, so i just never eat more than 1/2 back from fitbits step adjustment, sometimes even none. Its a great motivator!0 -
ruggedshutter wrote: »This is my personal opinion and probably differs from a lot of people. With that said, I don't think that they are as accurate as everyone wishes they should be and they only track certain movements. I would't rely on one to determine accurate calorie burns. IMO, they aren't much more than an overpriced pedometer. The sleep feature sounds interesting but there's not a good way to tell how accurate it is.
I kind of have the feeling that they are over priced pedometers too. I like gadgets though, so I am still considering one. I don't know, we'll have to see what people say I guess. Thank you for your input.
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StaciMarie1974 wrote: »I have a Fitbit One - have worn it for about 14 months now. Have found it very useful as a way to measure my activity level & motivate myself to move more. Its worn on the body - clipped to my pocket usually. Does not count arm movement. Does not count 'steps' while I'm driving. Is it 100% accurate? I doubt it. But if inaccurate I imagine it would be consistently so. In other words its not going to give me inflated #s today and deflated #s tomorrow. To measure me over time, its consistent. Much like using the same scale...
That's an interesting analogy with the scale. Thanks for the input.0 -
I am not a fan.0
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I love my fitbit one!!!
Nothing will be perfectly accurate, but it's about big picture and the fitbit One gives you a great idea of the big picture. Since then I have been able to be more accurate with my workouts because previously I was over-estimating my burn by several hundred calories at some points!
The sleep feature is fine. Nothing too special, and I wouldn't pay extra for it, but the pedometer part is really all I wanted so I could track my movement and honestly, with the one there is very little mistaking of other movements for steps. The only problem I have is when I drive but it's so minimal, I just ignore it.0 -
Anything that increases your motivation to stay healthy is worth it.
If you think it will help, get one. They aren't perfectly accurate but who cares when they encourage or remind you to work out.0 -
like my fitbit charge HR0
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I have a Vivosmart made by Garmin, What I have noticed, it will change my goal as I become more or less active. Also it seems to measure your gate, So I counted 20 paces and it reported accurately 20 steps. I do Weightlifting, it does not measure any of my weight training as in Bench press, but will measure the steps I am doing in between sets, etc. You can connect it to a heart monitor and use Garmin connect to map your running. I am quite happy with it and so is my wife.0
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JenniferInCt wrote: »Ive had my Fitbit Charge HR for a couple weeks or so. I was debating even getting one but now i cant imagine not having it! My Iphones health app was decent, but i never realized how off the steps would be. I used to get like 8,000 steps a day and think how the heck do people do 10,000? With my Fitbit, i can see now that i take 12,000-16,000! Such a difference! As far as accuracy, it matches my treadmill EXACTLY in calories and heart rate, slightly off in distance (although we all know the treadmills probably not the most accurate anyways). My step count seems exact when i try to test it. Never gives false steps for driving, shoveling, etc. When i measure my heart rate myself (counting radial pulse), its pretty darn accurate. I enjoy the sleep function, but its really not necessary. Lol but i am obsessed with checking how i slept amd tracking hours.
If you want one, get it! If not, dont. Im the type of person who loves any tool i can add to my diet/exercise lifestyle, as it helps keep me motivated. I assume the calories are probably overrated, so i just never eat more than 1/2 back from fitbits step adjustment, sometimes even none. Its a great motivator!
I love getting the stats. I like to obsess a bit over these things. What does it show for sleep? Does it show if you wake up in the night or something or just overall hours slept? I love gadgets, so that alone peaks my interests. I don't want to buy one just because it is a gadget though and regret my decision later. Especially since they are typically priced 100+ dollars.
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I have the fitbit flex and it has motivated me to be more active on a daily basis. There were many nights after I first got it where I'd be up and walking around at 11:30 PM because I was close to getting my 10,000 steps for the day. Having something tracking my daily movement has been a huge motivational tool for me.
Am I concerned with the accuracy of my device? Not really. If the count is off by 100-200 steps because of driving or typing on my computer, it's not a big deal to me. If you're already active and don't care about tracking your steps then it's not going to be a good fit for you. If you're like me when I got mine and less active, then it can be a great motivational tool. In the end you get out of it what you put into it.
I bought my tracker on ebay for half the price of a new one. If you're on the fence about getting one, do your research as there are many devices to choose from, and buy a used one from ebay. That way you're not out a ton of cash if you end up throwing it in a drawer and never using it again.0 -
I found it useful and motivating. I get a generally good idea regarding my sleep patterns which help me decide how hard I work out the next day. The reason I don't use a smart phone is because I don't want it dying on me when I need it most (as they generally use GPS). Also, I don't want to think about my phone getting soaked when it starts raining on a walk/run. I don't have to think about charging my activity tracker. Is it 100% accurate. No. However, it's accurate enough for it to serve my purposes.0
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GuitarJerry wrote: »One guy wore 5 different brands at the same time. The range of numbers he got over a month was enough to prove how ridiculous these things are. Totally useless.
I've read something similar somewhere and, iirc, it said that they all calculated the same amount of steps, bpm, etc, but interpreted them differently. Is that the same article?
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For sleep it tells the total hours, how many times you woke up, how many times you were restless. And you can always see your heart rate. When i wake up, i check it and sometimes while sleeping my HR can jump as high as 120! Lol bad dreams maybe?jalarson23 wrote: »JenniferInCt wrote: »Ive had my Fitbit Charge HR for a couple weeks or so. I was debating even getting one but now i cant imagine not having it! My Iphones health app was decent, but i never realized how off the steps would be. I used to get like 8,000 steps a day and think how the heck do people do 10,000? With my Fitbit, i can see now that i take 12,000-16,000! Such a difference! As far as accuracy, it matches my treadmill EXACTLY in calories and heart rate, slightly off in distance (although we all know the treadmills probably not the most accurate anyways). My step count seems exact when i try to test it. Never gives false steps for driving, shoveling, etc. When i measure my heart rate myself (counting radial pulse), its pretty darn accurate. I enjoy the sleep function, but its really not necessary. Lol but i am obsessed with checking how i slept amd tracking hours.
If you want one, get it! If not, dont. Im the type of person who loves any tool i can add to my diet/exercise lifestyle, as it helps keep me motivated. I assume the calories are probably overrated, so i just never eat more than 1/2 back from fitbits step adjustment, sometimes even none. Its a great motivator!
I love getting the stats. I like to obsess a bit over these things. What does it show for sleep? Does it show if you wake up in the night or something or just overall hours slept? I love gadgets, so that alone peaks my interests. I don't want to buy one just because it is a gadget though and regret my decision later. Especially since they are typically priced 100+ dollars.
Im a stat person too. And i just decided to treat myself and i dont regret it at all. I got the hr because it was only like $20 more than the charge. I love working out with it! And seeing how active i am at work was mind blowing!
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I have the Fitbit Flex and part of the motivation in it for me is that I get paid for being active through my company's partner - Virgin HealthMiles. I like wearing it on my wrist and that it's waterproof, so I don't forget it all the time like I did a regular pedometer or the One (which I returned after a week or so). As far as the sleep, it says you were either restless or awake. I find that part interesting, as I knew I didn't sleep well (which is why I take sleeping pills). If you think it will help you, I encourage you to look on Ebay. A friend of mine just got one for $53!0
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I have a Vivosmart made by Garmin, What I have noticed, it will change my goal as I become more or less active. Also it seems to measure your gate, So I counted 20 paces and it reported accurately 20 steps. I do Weightlifting, it does not measure any of my weight training as in Bench press, but will measure the steps I am doing in between sets, etc. You can connect it to a heart monitor and use Garmin connect to map your running. I am quite happy with it and so is my wife.
So you have to get two different devices for activity and heart rate with Garmin?0 -
A tracker is good in that many people find motivation in getting fit due to the nagging of the tracker.
In reality, the tracker doesn't do anything you can't do without one.
I personally don't have or want one and millions of people for centuries have done fine without them.0 -
I used to wear a fitbit one. I liked it, but once I got several months of the same data I stopped wearing it. It actually made me a little neurotic checking it all the time.0
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JenniferInCt wrote: »Ive had my Fitbit Charge HR for a couple weeks or so. I was debating even getting one but now i cant imagine not having it! My Iphones health app was decent, but i never realized how off the steps would be. I used to get like 8,000 steps a day and think how the heck do people do 10,000? With my Fitbit, i can see now that i take 12,000-16,000! Such a difference! As far as accuracy, it matches my treadmill EXACTLY in calories and heart rate, slightly off in distance (although we all know the treadmills probably not the most accurate anyways). My step count seems exact when i try to test it. Never gives false steps for driving, shoveling, etc. When i measure my heart rate myself (counting radial pulse), its pretty darn accurate. I enjoy the sleep function, but its really not necessary. Lol but i am obsessed with checking how i slept amd tracking hours.
If you want one, get it! If not, dont. Im the type of person who loves any tool i can add to my diet/exercise lifestyle, as it helps keep me motivated. I assume the calories are probably overrated, so i just never eat more than 1/2 back from fitbits step adjustment, sometimes even none. Its a great motivator!
^^ This.
I love my fitbit. It may not be 100% accurate. But it motivates me to get off my bum, reach my targets and walk further than last time.
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And alot of people who say theirs isnt accurate are sometimes wearing it wrong or the settings are wrong. Im not swearing its accurate, but i was surprised its more accurate than i thought.0
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I have had two UP originals over the last two years, but both wore out and now I'm using Fitbit Charge. I like Fitbit more but they are both good at keeping me motivated to move at my minimum goals of walking. I think both exaggerate the calories burned so I don't pay much attention to those numbers. It is very valuable though for figuring out my walking speed and distance covered which I enter into the MFP exercise tab. I find the MFP calorie burned count very accurate based on my outcomes. Whatever motivates you to keep moving, I say go for it but I highly recommend these high tech pedometers.0
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20yearsyounger wrote: »I found it useful and motivating. I get a generally good idea regarding my sleep patterns which help me decide how hard I work out the next day. The reason I don't use a smart phone is because I don't want it dying on me when I need it most (as they generally use GPS). Also, I don't want to think about my phone getting soaked when it starts raining on a walk/run. I don't have to think about charging my activity tracker. Is it 100% accurate. No. However, it's accurate enough for it to serve my purposes.
That's a good point about the rain. Part of my logic is how much I would expect to use it. With the cold weather, I would rather work out indoors than outdoors. I guess it would be a lot more useful to me when I am outside on the warmer days.0 -
There is no possible way for a fitness tracker to accurately calculate how much work you've done (which is equivalent to how much energy you've expended) over the course of a day (or any time period). As such, I find them to be not worth the expense.0
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kenmiller75 wrote: »I have the fitbit flex and it has motivated me to be more active on a daily basis. There were many nights after I first got it where I'd be up and walking around at 11:30 PM because I was close to getting my 10,000 steps for the day. Having something tracking my daily movement has been a huge motivational tool for me.
Am I concerned with the accuracy of my device? Not really. If the count is off by 100-200 steps because of driving or typing on my computer, it's not a big deal to me. If you're already active and don't care about tracking your steps then it's not going to be a good fit for you. If you're like me when I got mine and less active, then it can be a great motivational tool. In the end you get out of it what you put into it.
I bought my tracker on ebay for half the price of a new one. If you're on the fence about getting one, do your research as there are many devices to choose from, and buy a used one from ebay. That way you're not out a ton of cash if you end up throwing it in a drawer and never using it again.
When I say accuracy, I meant how it may or may not misinterpret activity. I have read that it is a problem with some, but I was curious to see what actual, regular users had to say about it. There are a ton of them and it is a bit daunting.![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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jalarson23 wrote: »20yearsyounger wrote: »I found it useful and motivating. I get a generally good idea regarding my sleep patterns which help me decide how hard I work out the next day. The reason I don't use a smart phone is because I don't want it dying on me when I need it most (as they generally use GPS). Also, I don't want to think about my phone getting soaked when it starts raining on a walk/run. I don't have to think about charging my activity tracker. Is it 100% accurate. No. However, it's accurate enough for it to serve my purposes.
That's a good point about the rain. Part of my logic is how much I would expect to use it. With the cold weather, I would rather work out indoors than outdoors. I guess it would be a lot more useful to me when I am outside on the warmer days.
Warmer days will help. In addition, I will be travelling a lot pretty soon. I have no idea what machines will be available to me. However, I can always get a good approximation of my burn by just walking or running somewhere. I also have a Garmin and if I run for more than 10 minutes, it automatically logs the date, time, and calories burned for me.
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There is no possible way for a fitness tracker to accurately calculate how much work you've done (which is equivalent to how much energy you've expended) over the course of a day (or any time period). As such, I find them to be not worth the expense.
Why not? When it's measuring your HR and activity levels it can be pretty close.
I have a Fitbit Charge HR and I love it. I compared it to my chest HR monitor for both runs and spin class and they were within 5% of each other. Close enough.
It measures my activity level through out the day, if I'm up and moving around more it gives me more calories, if I'm a lazy bum it takes them away.
I don't have a problem with it not accurately counting steps. It does not do it when I am driving, typing or stuff of that nature.
I have also calibrated it to my stride lengths.
It can measure non step based activities fine, it records my spin sessions or bike trainer sessions just fine.
I love it, looking at the HR data especially if I am doing interval work is very interesting. It is also a lot more comfortable then a chest HR monitor.
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Another FitBit One lover here. Unless your mobile is in your pocket at all times it's not going to be as accurate. Sleep function isn't much use. It can't know whether you are asleep or just laying still for 8 hours. From a motivational point of view it's excellent and having it synced here it automatically adjusts your activity level for you so you eat more or less as required. I love mine and have lost 97lbs since I got it (for my 20lbs lost reward). I would definitely replace it with the same model if I needed to as I see it as more reliable and discreet than the wrist worn devices.0
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