Do you need an activity tracker to lose weight?

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2

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  • Alarae21
    Alarae21 Posts: 171 Member
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    You don't need one at all. I lost initially without one using just MFP.

    I bought one just over a month into my journey, and it has been a boost for weight loss in terms of motivating me to be more active. So it has helped weight loss indirectly but it isn't the reason why I'm losing weight. That's the calorie deficit.
  • Vanyahiril
    Vanyahiril Posts: 89 Member
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    Note: I do not own one, so take my words with a grain of salt...

    From what I gather, a fitness tracker should probably be viewed as an accountability "partener," rather than a weigh loss tool. So not essential, but useful!
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I lost 25 lbs without an activity tracker.
    Some people find it to be a useful tool or motivating to use an activity tracker.
  • Annahbananas
    Annahbananas Posts: 284 Member
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    No but it sure as heck helps lol

    It's a awesome thing just purely from a motivational standpoint
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    They're nice to give you an idea of how much your normal activities burn, but they're not necessary (plus they're not accurate anyway!).

    All you need really is to adjust what you eat depending on whether you're losing weight or not.
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
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    I find it helpful for estimating my calorie burns and it motivates me to move more because it increases the number of calories I can eat on MFP.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,980 Member
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    You don't need one, but lots of people find them helpful. I have a fitbit and I find that it does motivate me to be more active. But I have lost 54 pounds so far. I lost the first 29 before I got the Fitbit and the last 25 since then. I think I would have still lost without the Fitbit, but it is fun and I'm kind of a data nerd so the more figures I have to analyse the more interesting I find the whole weight loss journey.
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
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    I lost weight just fine before I got a Fit Bit, although I did kick up my weight loss when I got my very first pedometer last year. Now I have the Fit Bit Charge HR and I love it. It's a great motivational tool to increase the intensity of my walking. It was an eye opener on how little effort I was putting in. I've even added in some jogging here and there. I find mine to be pretty accurate for calorie burns so I can eat back my exercise calories and still lose weight. :) Being able to eat more food is definitely a plus.
  • AidenT94
    AidenT94 Posts: 39 Member
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    I enjoy mine, and I've found it helps me move more in my day (I'm not nearly as active as I used to be). I think the calorie counter on mine is a little off, but I tend to lowball how many I'm burning and highball how many calories I take in.
    I went with the Walgreens Striiv Activity Tracker Touch, since I used to work for Walgreen's and got a fairly hefty discount on it. The only thing I dislike about it is the fact that if I'm holding something in my left arm, it tends to not count the steps I take. I would research a bunch of different activity trackers and maybe even download a couple of free apps if you have a smart phone, to see if it's worth the money to buy one.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    I've never owned one, and probably never will own any 24/7 type device. You don't need a fitness tracker, calorie counting app, fitness app, food scale or anything else other than basic information and a (human) scale to lose weight.

    That being said, any of the above provide data points which make it easier to and more accurate to adjust and hit any weight control goals.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    Nope. Not at all necessary. But I find my Fitbit to be very motivational.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    @shadowfax_c11 the horse in your pic is most beautiful :heart:
  • sadiepie05
    sadiepie05 Posts: 52 Member
    edited June 2016
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    Thank you everyone for the comments! I actually own a Fitbit charge HR. I've had for about a year and half. I've been struggling with it lately...it just isn't doing it for me anymore. I dont feel motivated wearing it at all. I'm debating taking it off, but I've worn it so long I feel naked without it and I'm scared that my calories won't be as accurate. In all that time I've only lost about 10 lbs. I've bounced around the scale quite a bit. I realize that's my fault not my Fitbit :)
  • ChristopherLimoges
    ChristopherLimoges Posts: 298 Member
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    No activity tracker is needed to lose weight, but, an activity tracker alone by itself can inspire and give more reason and reassurance in starting an exercise.
  • michmill98_1
    michmill98_1 Posts: 60 Member
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    It's not essential or required but like others have said, they can be motivating.

    When my husband's small company was acquired by a much larger international company years ago, our insurance plans changed for the better and one of the available incentives to qualify for a lower premium was a million step challenge (company provided pedometers). While it was eye opening to see just how little I walked during the day when I started, my biggest problem was that I wore dresses all the time to work and a lot on the weekends (south TX - a loose fitting dress was usually cooler than a t-shirt and shorts) so the clip on pedometer just didn't really work. The company changed their wellness/healthy living partner a few years ago and we could sync wearable trackers thru the new partner instead of having to manually log steps from a clip on pedometer so we switched to Fitbit (first Flexes, now Charges). I use mine to track steps, sync with MFP for my exercise calories (mainly walking and light jogging), and review my sleep patterns. I usually eat back at least half my exercise calories and I've lost almost 8 pounds in two months.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I lost 87 lbs without one. I recently got one in maintenance just because I'm focusing more on fitness and being active. It's been fun but not accurate with the calorie burn at all.
  • sadiepie05
    sadiepie05 Posts: 52 Member
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    victoria_1024 wrote: »
    I lost 87 lbs without one. I recently got one in maintenance just because I'm focusing more on fitness and being active. It's been fun but not accurate with the calorie burn at all.

    This is what I wonder. I average about 7,000 steps a day, but my main form of exercise is HIIT. I do a 30 minute HIIT 6 days a week.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    it's just a tool.
    i find it motivating and use it to help with my running/training
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
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    No you do not need one. They possibly can help to motivate you though. Good Luck

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