are fitness trackers all they're hyped up to be?
Replies
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thereshegoesagain wrote: »I have a Garmin and it definately helps motivate me. I started off a year ago with a goal.of 10k steps, now my average for the last month is over 19,000 steps and I haven't had a day under 12,000 steps for over 6 months. I dont want to lose my streak, so keep going.
omg! so dedicated
thanks for sharing 0 -
I had one for about five years, and I've recently upgraded to the Apple Watch. I'm more motivated by the Apple Watch and the little digital badges they offer over the FitBit. I also like that I can track different types of activities because I'm mostly a swimmer when it comes to my physical activity, so tracking laps is important to me. Another brand I tried for tracking laps, which is less expensive than FitBit is Misfit, which offers a number of step trackers for a variety of price points down to $9.99.
I've been reading about that misfit...sounds like my price range thanks! 0 -
It has been worth far more than the price I paid for my FB One, to keep me moving. I just hit 20 million steps for about 3 1/2 years. I estimated that previously it would have taken me 15-20 years to get that amount of steps. It is a big motivator/accountability tool. Certainly this is not the only thing I've done to improve my health, but it has been a very important tool.
As for you, I guess it depends on what your expectations are. Putting on a FB will not "make" you lose weight.2 -
Haha! Same for me. My FitBit broke, and I haven’t bought a new one yet. I feel like if it’s not on the Fitbit, I never did itBry_Lander wrote: »I have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR and love it. It has a continuous HRM and calculates calories burned 24 hours per day and calculates performance metrics, counts steps and stairs ascended, has GPS, tracks sleep, has an altimeter, barometer, and temp sensor, is waterproof to 100m so you can track swims, integrates with your phone through Bluetooth, and a lot of other functions. It has a long battery life and the associated phone app is easy to use. It also has customizable watch faces and you can change watch bands so it can coordinate with pretty much anything you wear (at work, social events, etc.)
I think that exercise data keeps fitness interesting, I love seeing my stats after a workout, and yeah, if I didn't measure it digitally then it never happened...1 -
I hesitated for a few months for basically the same reasons as you. I had friends with fitbits that were constantly fiddling with them and they seemed to be an annoyance. I was doing a lot of reading both here and online reviews of all different types of devices but wouldn't commit and wasn't sure I wanted/needed one.
My husband pulled the trigger for me and I got a Garmin Forerunner 35 as an early Christmas present. I LOVE IT! It gives me a lot of information and definitely pushes me to better myself and look forward to achieving more goals.
Ultimately I think it's a great tool but isn't a "necessary" one.5 -
I know plenty of people (friends, family, etc) that use them and it helps keep them active. When I first started out I used one just to start "moving" more and getting an idea of how "active" I really was. It was a good tool to get me on the track to beginning my fitness journey. I haven't used one lately, but it has crossed my mind when I have been unable to lift due to injuries, life etc...just to have on hand so that I know my activity levels are not too low even if I can't workout as I would like to. I think if they help motivate you and get you moving...then go for it.0
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I personally don’t understand the appeal of step trackers like Fitbits and the like. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been active and walk through everywhere, but tracking steps seems kind of pointless to me and doesn’t provide me any motivation.
That said, if you run or bike regularly, GPS watches are absolutely all they’re hyped up to be if you want to keep track of your runs or rides and don’t want to have to bring your phone everywhere. I love my Garmin.2 -
Jushere018 wrote: »
Haha! Same for me. My FitBit broke, and I haven’t bought a new one yet. I feel like if it’s not on the Fitbit, I never did itBry_Lander wrote: »I have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR and love it. It has a continuous HRM and calculates calories burned 24 hours per day and calculates performance metrics, counts steps and stairs ascended, has GPS, tracks sleep, has an altimeter, barometer, and temp sensor, is waterproof to 100m so you can track swims, integrates with your phone through Bluetooth, and a lot of other functions. It has a long battery life and the associated phone app is easy to use. It also has customizable watch faces and you can change watch bands so it can coordinate with pretty much anything you wear (at work, social events, etc.)
I think that exercise data keeps fitness interesting, I love seeing my stats after a workout, and yeah, if I didn't measure it digitally then it never happened...
You really are into this! Sounds like something I might like too! Thanks 1 -
I wish I had bought one sooner. It is literally one of the best purchases I have ever made.3
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I love my Fitbit. It definitely keeps me focused and has increased my "stepping". My friends and I do challenges all the time and are very competitive with it. I average about 16,000 to 20,000 steps daily and feel king of naked without it. It pushes me to hike, run, walk more. I didn't want something with all the bells and whistles. Just something to motivate me to move more.2
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I think the answer to that question lies in whether or not you're motivated by data/goals/awards. I love data and numbers and graphs, and also love having goals to strive for, so a fitness tracker provides motivation and incentive to me. If those kinds of things don't motivate or interest you, it will probably end up in a drawer pretty quickly.
Garmin, Fitbit and Apple also have social media platforms associated with their trackers, where you can connect with/compete with other users. I don't use that side of it, so have no comment on it, but some people find the social aspect of it very helpful/motivating.3 -
If you decide to buy, be sure to look past the watch itself. Check out the software and the apps that are used with the watch. Make sure they're compatible with all the other platforms you use. I have the Samsung Fit2 pro and it does not work well with other programs including MFP. I don't recommend anything with Samsung.4
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As mentioned, fitness trackers are good for measuring and awareness of how productive you are throughout the day in your activity. It's up to you to make the best out of it. I bought a cheap fitness tracker off Amazon this past week and I love it. I think it's fairly accurate since it's measuring roughly the same amount of calories that came through my old smart watch I used on a typical work day to and from the office. While it is not compatible with MFP, I just manually add the calories I burn as a made up exercise in my diary by the end of the day.2
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I personally love my smartwatch, even though it is considered ancient at this point (original Galaxy Gear Live). I use my HR monitor,sleep app, timer and step counter constantly, and they do help me keep track of how various changes effect my overall health.
Plus getting phobe notificationson my watch, being able to reply to texts, and impressing randon children with my sillier inferactive watch faces is pretty cool too.2 -
It depends on what you want the tracker for. I have a Misfit Swarovski crystal. My son gave it to me for Mothers' Day two years ago and I'm never without it. I use it for motivation because I like to track my activity but I take the advantages and drawbacks into consideration too because my Misfit isn't magick, after all. I did began running again though because my Misfit links to MFP and getting those extra calories is an added incentive (ice cream!)
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I have a Garmin, but you get the idea
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Does a fitness tracker magically make you lose weight - no.
Is it a tool to help you be more active and understand how you move throughout the day - yes.
I love mine and have just upgraded. I love how much data I get and that I can now record everything on one device. For me it’s all about knowledge, with that I can be a fitter (and lighter) person.3 -
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I have a fitbit charge 2. Their calories are inflated a lot and so are their workout calories for me. But then I have a very high maximum HR, and despite changing it manually FB doesn't really seem to take it into account. So if I just walk through a supermarket FB calculates massive burns which aren't there in reality.
But I use it to keep an eye on the minimum HR display (find it a good proxy to stress) and the sleep metrics to make sure I do get enough sleep.1 -
I think it helps if you have a decent understanding of your own average calorie burns, because these things can be all over the map in terms of calculating/portraying calories expended. I walk every morning, into a nearby forest; it's a mix of walking and hiking. I've experimented with just letting it count my steps; measuring using the "walking" setting; and measuring using the "hiking" setting. Doing the exact same walk gives different calorie burns depending on whether the watch thinks I'm doing nothing special, or going on a focused walk, or hiking.
I recommend that if you do get one (and I do really like mine for many of the reasons above), don't assume the data is perfect. Track what you can track and if you think it allocates too much of a burn, adjust the numbers in MFP or in your own mind. After years of losing weight and maintaining, I have a very good idea on how many calories I burn while doing the activities I regularly do.
What I'm REALLY interested in now, is that I have my Samsung Gear Fit2, but just won a FitBit Alta HR in a contest. When I get it all set up, I'm going to wear both on the same wrist for several days to see the difference in numbers, to see which one I prefer. I'm generally happy with my Gear, it doesn't seem to inflate my calories AS MUCH as what I've heard FitBits do. It'll be an interesting experiment.1 -
I've had a Jawbone, a Fitbit HR Charge, a Fitbit Alta, and now a Fitbit Charge 2 lol. I am not a super athlete but I really like the data. I linked it with my MyFitnessPal account and I keep track of food but then I can see steps, heart rate, etc. I had one without the heart rate monitor for a while but I realized I really like that feature - I'm an anxious person and it helps me see when my heart rate reflects that. It has a short breathing exercise feature too, which I enjoy as well. I wasn't sure I was going to like a fitness tracker but there is something very satisfying about getting to 10,000 steps and it shows a little party on the screen lol. Whatever motivates us, right?1
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I have had a Fitbit for about 3 years and just switched to an apple watch. I am getting used to the rings as opposed to the steps, but I still make sure I hit at least 10,000 a day not including exercise. When I started with Fitbit I realized how lazy I was throughout the day. I always had a mind set of I worked out today, so I have the right to be lazy. I was barely hitting 5,000. The device really motivated me to move more and now I cant live without a fitness tracker.2
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I think it can motivate you. Once I started hitting the 10K, I didn't want to go without hitting it. So it can definetly motivate you. But everyone is different.
It also gives you a lot of info. Especially the ones with Heart Rate. They may not be perfectly accurate but it give you some sort of baseline.1 -
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I love my Fitbit! It's a new thing in my life as I got it for Christmas, and I find it very motivating. I use it when I run, but for exercise that it doesn't track, such as swimming (not waterproof) and weights, you can add it in manually. I have an Alta HR and it's linked to my MFP account, which seems to work well.
I'm pretty competitive (just against myself!) and I do strive to meet my goals, beat previous steps records etc., which motivates me. I also really like the sleep tracker facility.
Yes, it's a tool, but if it works for you then it's great. It's making me move more and that has to be a good thing!2 -
I havent regretted buying my fitbit for a second. I did buy mine used off craigslist though.
But here are the changes I have noticed:
*I like to see all of my data and if I notice with my weekly reports that I have been significantly less active than the previous week, it motivates me to go out and change that
*I do get more steps in, I basically dont sit on the couch from the second I get home until I go to bed now when before I did
*On the weekends I realize how truly sedentary I can be, im talking its 3 pm and I have 900 steps (I live in an apartment so theres not too much space to walk around) when I see that I have such a low number of steps it motivates me to go out and go for a walk or a hike
*I will make the extra trip into the store or make the extra loop around the store rather than asking my husband to do it
*I realized I need to get a walk in during my lunch break and get up every once in awhile at work, Its a struggle to even get 2,000 steps in while I am at the office
Ive had my fitbit about a year so I think these changes are something that have stuck with me long term, im not as sedentary as I used to be, so I think just that was worth the money.
I also have some step based goals that I use my fitbit for, in particular the app I am using Walk to Mordor I am hoping to finish before 2019, so my fitbit is really helpful in helping me keep track for that.2 -
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SparkleHorse224 wrote: »I've had a Jawbone, a Fitbit HR Charge, a Fitbit Alta, and now a Fitbit Charge 2 lol. I am not a super athlete but I really like the data. I linked it with my MyFitnessPal account and I keep track of food but then I can see steps, heart rate, etc. I had one without the heart rate monitor for a while but I realized I really like that feature - I'm an anxious person and it helps me see when my heart rate reflects that. It has a short breathing exercise feature too, which I enjoy as well. I wasn't sure I was going to like a fitness tracker but there is something very satisfying about getting to 10,000 steps and it shows a little party on the screen lol. Whatever motivates us, right?
thanks for that info!0 -
davepollack wrote: »I think it can motivate you. Once I started hitting the 10K, I didn't want to go without hitting it. So it can definetly motivate you. But everyone is different.
It also gives you a lot of info. Especially the ones with Heart Rate. They may not be perfectly accurate but it give you some sort of baseline.
thank you for the helpful info0 -
Sugarbird23 wrote: »I love my Fitbit! It's a new thing in my life as I got it for Christmas, and I find it very motivating. I use it when I run, but for exercise that it doesn't track, such as swimming (not waterproof) and weights, you can add it in manually. I have an Alta HR and it's linked to my MFP account, which seems to work well.
I'm pretty competitive (just against myself!) and I do strive to meet my goals, beat previous steps records etc., which motivates me. I also really like the sleep tracker facility.
Yes, it's a tool, but if it works for you then it's great. It's making me move more and that has to be a good thing!
helpful info! thanks0
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