Activity Trackers??
amyr271
Posts: 343 Member
Hey guys, I was just wondering if a FitBit is worth it as they are a bit expensive and aren't the prettiest of things to wear everyday.
Would you guys recommend one? And if so which one?
Would you guys recommend one? And if so which one?
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Replies
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I have a Jawbone...I prefer it due to Fitbit looking like a cheap plastic watch...
Both have their pro's and con's...they are pretty much the same just depends on which one you want.0 -
I have a fitbit zip. They are much cheaper than the wristband style and works great. I just clip it onto my bra so nobody knows I am wearing it.0
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I have a Fitbit One which clips onto my clothes. I didn't want to wear something on my wrist all the time.0
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I have a One and I love it. I prefer one that clips to my clothes as I use my hands a lot and I have heard the wrist ones can interpret hand movement as steps. I have the FitBit and MFP apps linked and it's a BIG help in monitoring my activity so I don't overeat.0
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I've been using a Fitbit for 3 years. It's gotten me to get off my butt instead of sitting at the computer gaming all day. I went with Fitbit over others because of pricing, tracking what I want, and customer reviews. If I could afford $300, I would go with something else.
I started with the Ultra (discontinued), now use a Zip (I have a bad one, so my judgement is colored), and will get a One in October.0 -
I have a Fitbit Charge HR and love it! I especially enjoy the automatic heart rate monitoring. It really helped me to understand what kind of exercise is missing from my regime. I also like that it shows incoming calls and the name/number of the caller even if my phone is in another room or in my purse. I don't wear it to parties as it's not very pretty but even then I still might carry it in my purse and it can calculate steps fine even there.0
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I wear a Fitbit Zip daily. It's only $60.
Unless you are living below the poverty line, money spent on fitness equipment is well worth it if you use it.0 -
I have a Fitbit Zip and wear it on my belt, I don't care if others see it or not.0
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I have a fit bit charge HR, I like it as it gives me a pretty accurate TDEE.
I do wish it was prettier though, I was looking at my friends jawbone over the weekend and it was much more stylish. The fitbit does look pretty cheap even though it isn;t0 -
I have a Charge HR and it's perfect for me. You need to consider what you want it for before purchasing one. It's great for tracking steps and for running etc. If you do a lot of lifting or strength training it isn't designed for that kind of thing.
Swimming is another thing to consider - only the flex is waterproof.0 -
I use Garmin Vivofit and only rely on its readings if during workouts I pair it with HRM. Without HRM any activity tracker is nothing more but an overpriced pedometer.0
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I should say as well I have a fitbit zip...I didn't find it as accurate as my jawbone.
I wore them both for a month and the zip was always lower than my jawbone..
The final straw was when I was shovelling snow for 90mins and using a scoop to push the snow...so my jawbone wouldn't have recorded some of it...it still showed a high count than the zip.
And the zip only gave me 6 active minutes...*smh*0 -
I have a Garmin Vivosmart and love it. I use a HRM when I run and it seems to be pretty accurate as far as calorie burn.
How do you plan to use it? Are you wanting something just to keep track of your normal activity throughout the day or something to actually record workouts, or both? The reason I ask is I wouldn't put too much faith in the wrist based HRM for exercise. They will be pretty good for 23 hours a day but the 1 hour you are actually exercising the info is going to be pretty much useless. I know that may sound strange but the wrist HRM are still not as accurate as they need to be to get an accurate reading of elevated heart rate during exercise. Even the chest straps, like I pair with the Vivosmart during exercise, are still not 100% but they are closer.0 -
I have a misfit flash, because I found it on a good sale (just over $30 after tax) and it's the only one I could find that was waterproof for swimming. Though I have a suspicion it's widely overestimating my calorie burn. When I wake up in the morning it generally tells me I've burned 260 calories already, so I try not to eat those because I don't think that's real. But I do like getting real-time data about my activity, though if you want something really accurate I'd definitely suggest the heart rate monitor other people have mentioned. I don't know of one that's waterproof for swimming though, so I haven't used one.0
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I've ordered swimmo as I am interested only in swimming and it can measure my heart rate zone. I ma swimming in special zone to lost weight.... hopefully
But I wouldn't recommend any smart watch that doesn't have a screen, in my experience I need to be inform about my progress immediately.
have you use any device or pedometer previously?0 -
I have a misfit flash, because I found it on a good sale (just over $30 after tax) and it's the only one I could find that was waterproof for swimming. Though I have a suspicion it's widely overestimating my calorie burn. When I wake up in the morning it generally tells me I've burned 260 calories already, so I try not to eat those because I don't think that's real. But I do like getting real-time data about my activity, though if you want something really accurate I'd definitely suggest the heart rate monitor other people have mentioned. I don't know of one that's waterproof for swimming though, so I haven't used one.
My Fitbit is generally on about 500 calories when I get up. It is estimating your TDEE - you DO burn calories whilst sleeping. Been using mine to work out my TDEE and deficit for nearly 3 months now and am losing consistently so confident it's relatively accurate.
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What activities do you do? What data points do you want to track?0
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The reason that I want it is to measure my daily exercise and so that I can make sure I'm moving enough!0
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brianpperkins wrote: »
Yes it does.
My jawbone allows me to track all of those...not just steps...
my zip did not.0 -
Sorry, I meant just walking around at work, cleaning - day to day tasks, shouldn't have used the term exercise0
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brianpperkins wrote: »
This, completely.
I bought the Polar Loop after doing a lot of research into various fitness trackers. I suggest you make a list of the features and requirements you have for your watch.
Mine looked like this:- Must be able to measure HRs of 160+ (I'm young and my cardio HR gets pretty high at top intensity) - this ruled out most wrist-based HR watches at the time.
- Must be able to be worn during karate and taiko (Japanese drumming involving much arm flailing) - this also ruled out a lot of wrist-based HR watches, as I needed an HR strap that could sync to a watch I left in my bag or pocket so it wouldn't be damaged or hurt someone during activity.
- Had to have time, HR and calories (TDEE) displayed - a grand majority of fitness trackers don't track anything other than steps, which makes them useless for activities like lifting, sprinting and martial arts.
- Must look good - surprisingly, many don't look good to me.
- Must be semi-affordable.
- Must be durable.
Do up a list of "must have", "would like to have" and "can't have"s, then do your research.
You could be spending $200+, make it a smart choice and a researched buy.
Consider other factors, too, such as app integration (Polar doesn't integrate with MFP, unfortunately - it'd be great if it did) or social media integration (Polar has a nice community you can share your workouts with).0 -
I have had the Jawbone, and a couple of the Fitbits. I have a Garmin now, and IMO they are the best. I have the Vivoactive and the chest strap heart rate monitor.
It's worth at least checking out before making a decision.0 -
Sorry, I meant just walking around at work, cleaning - day to day tasks, shouldn't have used the term exercise
I think once you get one, it will motivate you a lot.
I thought they were a fad when I first got one, but you would not believe how much they motivate, and make activity and calorie tracking sooooooooooooo easy.0 -
Sorry, I meant just walking around at work, cleaning - day to day tasks, shouldn't have used the term exercise
If all you're looking to track is step based activity, any pedometer will work for establishing trends. For all of the media hype, a Fitbit is only a pedometer with integration features. Expect about a +/- 10% error rate on step counting.
If you bike or run outdoors, a device with GPS might be beneficial. If you swim and want to count laps, that narrows the list of devices for you.0 -
I have the newest Jawbone - the UP3 and so far so good. I had the older model (original) that I wore on my ankle and I felt it was very accurate for step counting. The UP app is awesome - the app will ask you if you did an activity based on your steps... so after I go for a walk or run it will ask me "Did you do an activity for x minutes?", then you can click "Yes" and enter type of exercise and intensity. You can also manually enter an activity in.
I'm not confident this new Jawbone is as accurate with step counts as my old one - I wear it on my wrist and I'm pretty sure it logs steps when I'm moving my arms (sitting or driving), but then it doesn't log steps when I'm pushing a stroller or shopping cart or doing housework (when I'm carrying stuff around). Maybe it all evens out in the end though.
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If you have the money and like tech stuff, get it!
It's really not necessary, though. I've lost a lot of weight and don't use any of them. I don't even take my pulse. I just swim and walk. When I've pushed too hard, I know it.
I got a fitbit for Christmas and sold it on eBay.0 -
I have the newest Jawbone - the UP3 and so far so good. I had the older model (original) that I wore on my ankle and I felt it was very accurate for step counting. The UP app is awesome - the app will ask you if you did an activity based on your steps... so after I go for a walk or run it will ask me "Did you do an activity for x minutes?", then you can click "Yes" and enter type of exercise and intensity. You can also manually enter an activity in.
I'm not confident this new Jawbone is as accurate with step counts as my old one - I wear it on my wrist and I'm pretty sure it logs steps when I'm moving my arms (sitting or driving), but then it doesn't log steps when I'm pushing a stroller or shopping cart or doing housework (when I'm carrying stuff around). Maybe it all evens out in the end though.
pull the shopping cart...I have an older jawbone on my wrist and that's what I do.
As for it logging arm movements when driving or working check and see...
I love the app too...I set the timer for activities that are not step based and keep track that way too.
I have Mapmyfitness linked in as well so for biking it works great.
OP they are motivating...I was on the fence too but my husband sort of made me and I am so glad he did...
I went from averaging 4k steps a day to 8k before exercise...0
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