Which gadget should I buy?

jamahsan
jamahsan Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am looking into buying a new gadget that tracks calories burned, steps and sleep. I saw that Groupon has quite a few of them at decent prices. I need something that is easy to use. Do any of you have suggestions?

Replies

  • JQuinnLife
    JQuinnLife Posts: 102 Member
    An iPhone 6s Plus.... yea I got big hands, don't judge me.
  • jamahsan
    jamahsan Posts: 6 Member
    Sorry, to clarify I was looking for a device that I would wear on my wrist. I never carry my phone while I work out.
  • samthepanda
    samthepanda Posts: 569 Member
    I have a misfit. I wouldn't recommend it.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    it all depend on how youre going to use it.

    i have fitbit charge hr. i wear it everyday... but i dont USE it. i dont do challenges or have friends on it, i dont monitor steps or use it for calories or food.... i do everything in mfp.

    i have an overpriced ugly watch.

    LOL

    im sure I'll end up selling it, but for now, for me, its just a data gadget.
  • vansnyder
    vansnyder Posts: 20 Member
    Are you looking for hr monitor or just steps and gps tracking. I am in the market for a wrist band that will give me hr feedback since a lot of what I do is stationary, bowflex weights and elliptical. I would be interested in which ones people here like and for what reasons. Good luck with your shopping, there are so many out there now and they all say they are the best. I think a lot depends on what phone you use because when you return from your run, or walk the gadget should download info to your phone or computer so you can analyse the data or input it here.
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    it all depend on how youre going to use it.

    i have fitbit charge hr. i wear it everyday... but i dont USE it. i dont do challenges or have friends on it, i dont monitor steps or use it for calories or food.... i do everything in mfp.

    i have an overpriced ugly watch.

    LOL

    im sure I'll end up selling it, but for now, for me, its just a data gadget.

    I like my charge HR but my husband won it in a contest. I don't utilize it as well as I could. Not sure if it would have been worth the expense if I had to pay for it.

    vansnyder it does monitor heartrate along with other activity and synchs with device. I have on iPad. and it does link with mfp. There is a fitbit group. I am just coming back to mfp and i don't know how they work together yet
  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
    I wanted a device that would count my steps and estimate my calorie burn based on that, so I got the Fitbit Flex. It does the job! As a bonus I can use it as a silent alarm in the morning.
  • FleaBailey
    FleaBailey Posts: 18 Member
    Hey vansnyder, I use a Polar FT4 hr monitor and it works really well for me. My workouts are elliptical, recumbent or upright stationary bike, or treadmill (occasionally a rowing or climbing machine), with weight machines interspersed. I can pause the hr monitor when I stop the cardio to do the weight work (since I understand an hr monitor is not good for estimating calorie burn for weight work), and I readjust it for my weight with every 5 pound loss. I think it's been pretty accurate, because eating back the calories it says I've burned (plus 1/2 of the calories MFP says are burned for weight training) for the past 2 years I've managed to lose 125 pounds. (I think it would have been a few more, but there was a 2 month "plateau" I hit last summer until I eventually managed to remember that I needed to adjust my weight on the hr monitor!) I've had it for 13 months now and haven't had to change the battery yet. (Watch it die on my now!)
  • jamahsan
    jamahsan Posts: 6 Member
    FleaBailey wrote: »
    Hey vansnyder, I use a Polar FT4 hr monitor and it works really well for me. My workouts are elliptical, recumbent or upright stationary bike, or treadmill (occasionally a rowing or climbing machine), with weight machines interspersed. I can pause the hr monitor when I stop the cardio to do the weight work (since I understand an hr monitor is not good for estimating calorie burn for weight work), and I readjust it for my weight with every 5 pound loss. I think it's been pretty accurate, because eating back the calories it says I've burned (plus 1/2 of the calories MFP says are burned for weight training) for the past 2 years I've managed to lose 125 pounds. (I think it would have been a few more, but there was a 2 month "plateau" I hit last summer until I eventually managed to remember that I needed to adjust my weight on the hr monitor!) I've had it for 13 months now and haven't had to change the battery yet. (Watch it die on my now!)

    Thanks for the info! I I suppose I'm looking for one that does exactly what yours does. I didn't want to go spending a bunch of money on one that I didn't really like well.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Garmin vivosmart here. I use a soft strap HR (chest).. I did use a fitbit charge (non hr) and has ALOT of trouble with the "harware". the band did not hold up really well and while I did get two replacements from fitbit, not worth the trouble..

    I use my garmin device for sleep, calories in/out, running activities and strength training (do not use the estimates for this in calorie burning), phone notifications, steps are not important to me, etc...

    The best advice, make a list of what you want the tracker to "track" and take a look at the prices and see what fits in your price range for what it will do for you, and go read all the reviews you can find before you buy. A lot of stuff out there from many sources and not just MFP...

    IMHO opinion I chose the chest strap over wrist hr's because the mass majority out there complain alot about the inflation or issues of hr data captured from HR's on the wrist.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    gia07 wrote: »
    Garmin vivosmart here. I use a soft strap HR (chest).. I did use a fitbit charge (non hr) and has ALOT of trouble with the "harware". the band did not hold up really well and while I did get two replacements from fitbit, not worth the trouble..

    I use my garmin device for sleep, calories in/out, running activities and strength training (do not use the estimates for this in calorie burning), phone notifications, steps are not important to me, etc...

    The best advice, make a list of what you want the tracker to "track" and take a look at the prices and see what fits in your price range for what it will do for you, and go read all the reviews you can find before you buy. A lot of stuff out there from many sources and not just MFP...

    IMHO opinion I chose the chest strap over wrist hr's because the mass majority out there complain alot about the inflation or issues of hr data captured from HR's on the wrist.

    Agreed, agreed, and agreed.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    I've been debating between the FitBit Charge HR and the Garmin Vivosmart HR. I'm getting one for me and the hubs. Actually I finally today decided on the Garmin and I'm stopping by Best Buy on my way home from work. They both count steps, monitor sleep, measure your heart rate, remind you to get up and move if you've been sitting for too long, vibrate with phone calls, vibrate as wake up alarm, lots of other things. Hubs likes the display and look of the Garmin and I like it because it's water resistant. They're both $150. The plus side of the FitBit is that tons of people we know have them and you can all connect on it but that's just not that big of a deal. Do some research in to what you want it for. If you want a more accurate HR monitor during exercise, you may want to get one that has a chest strap. The wrist based hr monitor, from what I hear/read, is not entirely accurate on any device.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    I've gotten along just fine all my life without some latest fad fitness tracker. The best thing to buy just may be a food scale if trying to lose weight and/or a digital wrist watch for exercising.

    Don't expect some fad gadget to actually do much unless you really need an electronic device nagging you to move.
  • marlies1964
    marlies1964 Posts: 3 Member
    I have a UP band - and the UP app on my phone and ipad - it works great . keeps track of steps, workouts, sleeping patterns, resting heart rate, syncs PERFECTLY with the myfitnesspal app - easy to use, easy to read , fairly affordable
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    I've gotten along just fine all my life without some latest fad fitness tracker. The best thing to buy just may be a food scale if trying to lose weight and/or a digital wrist watch for exercising.

    Don't expect some fad gadget to actually do much unless you really need an electronic device nagging you to move.

    My husband is one of those. These wouldn't be so popular if there weren't so many people that utilized them! I do agree with you, I don't NEED any gadgets but they are fun to have and if you actually use them they can be great motivators!
  • krysmuree
    krysmuree Posts: 326 Member
    I just recently bought the Polar A300 and love it. I used to have the Polar FT4 and it was wonderful for the price and worked very well - but I love the fine tuning that comes with the A300, hence why I upgraded. It comes with a Bluetooth chest strap that connects to my phone, which syncs to my computer for tracking. It also tracks my sleep if I remember to wear it at night, which isn't often, but also isn't the reason I bought it. It's also water resistant and tracks steps. I got it from Amazon for $129.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
    I might be the only lame-o who doesn't give a rat's about gadgets. I've owned a chest strap HRM that also counts steps... it's done nothing for me or my motivation to work out or eat less or eat more. If it also told me I slept poorly, I doubt I'd do much different, as I'm already trying to sleep as much as possible with a job, a child, a home, and trying to exercise twice a day (which isn't working out). I'm sure there's more to it than my simple breakdown above, but I'd say use your imagination and your motivation and, if all else fails, work more and eat slightly less. I also think FitBits are highly masturbatory, unless you're cliff diving, base jumping, mountain biking down some incredible slope, free falling from outer space, being cast in a Mountain Dew commercial, etc.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    edited January 2016
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    it all depend on how youre going to use it.

    i have fitbit charge hr. i wear it everyday... but i dont USE it. i dont do challenges or have friends on it, i dont monitor steps or use it for calories or food.... i do everything in mfp.

    i have an overpriced ugly watch.

    LOL

    im sure I'll end up selling it, but for now, for me, its just a data gadget.

    Same here. I bought it last March, and I used it during some workouts along with my trusty Polar HRM. The HR readings were so far off, it was ridiculous! (Think reading 50BPM then 180BPM a few seconds later when I was clearly not close to either.) So I did a little research and found that it's a major flaw in the FitBit Charge HR, that it is wildly inaccurate at high heart rates. I don't know if it has to do with positioning or what, but it could not replace my HRM, which I found mildly disappointing.

    In August I bought the Apple Watch and sold my FitBit to a neighbor who really wanted one but didn't like the $150 price tag. I hemmed and hawed over the Apple Watch for a few months and eventually gave in for the fitness purposes and some others. I haven't regretted it. Yeah, it's pricey, but it's not just a fitness device. The HR readings during workouts have more or less matched my Polar HRM's, leading me to put the Polar away, which is kind of nice. The only downside is that it does not have GPS, so you can use it to estimate distance and speed for running/biking, or you can bring your phone with you to get GPS. I run with my phone for safety purposes anyway, so that was not a deal-killer for me.

    If you're just looking for something to get good HR readings, just buy a $45 Polar FT4 if you don't want to deal with your phone or, if you want to use your phone as the receiver and bypass the watch entirely, a $50 Polar Bluetooth strap that connects to your smartphone (they make specific ones for iPhone and Android phones, so don't just pick one and assume it'll work with whatever phone - e.g., the Polar H7 is for specific Android phones).

Categories