Gadgets? Yes/No - Debate

The statistics are that people use gadgets for about 6 months. I hope I don't become that statistic because I just paid an arm and a leg for my Apple Watch.

You know your Edge has a workouts feature where you can have it guide you through a warm up, then do intervals or a long Z2 ride or whatever, and then a cool down. You can have it just record, or tell you to go faster or slower or have it yell at you when your heart rate is too high. Newer ones are programmed to do a "fitness test" if you have an HRM and PM. It's definitely a fitness device, it just sounds like those features aren't especially useful to you.

I'm a techy person who likes data and likes to do things with it, so more data = happier me. Fitbit can be pretty darn accurate if you know how to tweak it and personalize it. My fitbit burn is 95% true to my weight loss and I eat 100% of my step calories back. I resisted purchasing one at first because I didn't think I would benefit from it, but once I found one on deep discount and decided to try it I was hooked.

These gadgets are pretty useful for various reasons, like gauging activity, spotting trends, and providing handy data all in one place. The aren't 100% necessary for weight control, but they can give the user more control over the weight loss process. Just like a digital artist can draw without a tablet, but a Wacom can provide more control over certain aspects of the process.

There is also the motivation, social interaction, challenges...etc. People often buy these devices because they believe what they get out of them is worth the price. Even if the user doesn't care about all of that and just wants to be trendy, so what? I don't usually do expensive jewelry because it serves no practical purpose to me, but that doesn't mean everyone should find it as pointless as I do. Some feel the purchase is worth it.

Now granted, there are some common issues like users expecting the tracker will directly cause weight loss or that the steps they take to the water cooler will make them fit, but this doesn't mean the tracker itself is snake oil, it only means that some users may have some false beliefs around it.

I've been debating on getting one now that I am actually much more active. I moved to a major city last year and now walk everywhere. I actually think my calorie estimates might be too low some days and maybe a FitBit might help me see how the activity for each day (sometimes I walk 5 miles, sometimes up to 12 miles without really trying). I'm struggling with eating enough, too little, or too much and find that just sort of adjusting for this in my head is getting a wee bit frustrating.

Fit Bit has got me moving from 1000 previously to 10,000 steps per day now. It helps keep me honest on my activity level. Nothing wrong with that.

xDesertxRatx wrote: »

The hinderance part i refer to is for some and talking about my ex here..they were her life and the tantrums when she couldn't find it or left it somewhre was unbelievable. It detracted from what she was trying to achieve..that's what i meant by that comment.

They can lead to some odd behaviour, I give you that. If you are competing with friends and can't use it for some reason I can see how it would stress you out. Maybe even if you are just competing with yourself. Maybe. But tantrums? I don't think you can blame a Fitbit for that.

KombuchaKat wrote: »

I've been debating on getting one now that I am actually much more active. I moved to a major city last year and now walk everywhere. I actually think my calorie estimates might be too low some days and maybe a FitBit might help me see how the activity for each day (sometimes I walk 5 miles, sometimes up to 12 miles without really trying). I'm struggling with eating enough, too little, or too much and find that just sort of adjusting for this in my head is getting a wee bit frustrating.

That's a pretty good reason to have one.

xDesertxRatx wrote: »

I see lots of people with wrist bands on or looking at watches or checking pedometers. You get the drift. But are they more of a hindrance than be of any use?

I am from the camp that does not use any gadgets for fitness. Apart from the Garmin (basic one) on my bike for logging rides i do not own or use any gadgets.

Now i am not talking about apps for phones as we already know they can be pretty useful. But the Fitbit craze we have here in the UK for instance. I am not convinced they can be accurate and for me can give you a false idea of your fitness.

So community, what do we think?

I'm several years into successful maintenance and I don't use any gadgets. unless you count my digital food scale The only app I use is a weight tracker, that I input my daily weigh-ins.

I also don't have a tv or any social media accounts like fb, twitter etc etc. I like to live on the wild side

I just got a Jawbone and am loving it so far. I don't have it synced to MFP because I'm not relying on it to earn extra exercise calories. For me it's just a great tool to make sure I'm not sitting on my bum doing nothing for too long. I have a desk job and it's nice to have a reminder to get up and move around a bit every 30 minutes.

Really, it's the same as MFP...if it motivates you to exercise more, eat less, be healthier in general, what's the harm?

Here's an open-access systematic review (from a peer-reviewed journal too) about the reliability of fitness trackers.

I think it can be good for a lot of people who do much better if they see every step they take all day. It challenges them to walk more and even walking a little bit more than the day before can help. I am for anything that gets people moving. I don't care if they do conventional work outs. If they move, if they play just dance, if they go on walks because of Pokemon Go, then that is great. It should be fun anyways. It should be something they enjoy and not something they feel is a daily chore.

I am a big fan of gadgets and feel that I get a lot from them but I think they can fool you into thinking that you are exercising seriously rather than just walking more. I bought a basic Garmin tracker last year and got pretty obsessed by doing 10,000 steps a day. This did give some benefits but some of the time I spent walking would have been better spent on doing higher intensity exercise that works my muscles and gets my heart racing.

I have upgraded to a Garmin Vivoactive HR recently and think that it is a far better option as it monitors heart rate as well as steps. This allows you to set "intensity minutes" goals where your heart rate has to be in a certain zone for a certain time each week. It also sets a step climbing target each day. Overall it has pushed me to start regular HIIT exercise using kettlebells which do not take too long but seem more beneficial than chasing a step total.

Overall even the most basic trackers are a good thing if they get people moving.