Fitness watches

loxottica
loxottica Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
I go back and forth if I should purchase a fitness watch. The only think I can see it being beneficial is tracking my steps. What are you pro's / con's ? Should I invest in one?

Replies

  • mikeandcris
    mikeandcris Posts: 8 Member
    They are "wants" and not "needs." If you're a bit obsessive-compulsive, you'll like it. (For example, have you kept a workout journal in the past..if you did, you're perfect for a fitness tracker.) I liked the Fitbit HR Charge for measuring steps, measuring sleep, and a few other items. It's not waterproof but it only needs to be charged every 3-4 days. I now have the Apple watch which has many more features but is expensive. I particularly like the fact it tracks swimming workouts..it even can tell what stroke I'm swimming. Basically, if you can afford one, they're fun toys. (My wife now has my fitbit after saying "you're a slave to that thing." However, after getting a silver band for the fitbit on Amazon, she wears it all the time and likes keeping track of her steps and sleep.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    They become addicting and motivating. You'll be surprised how motivating. One of my friends on here had doubts but got one through work and it's helped her a lot. The new Fitbit, the versa, is a combination of the charge 2 and the Apple Watch. It's great and it's waterproof. Lasts 4-5 days. And it's not that expensive.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Any sort of movement tracking device would be good, whether it’s a watch, or band, whatever.

    My husband had an i-phone, and I have a Fitbit Versa. I had a Fitbit One that I LOVED, but it was old and broke.

    THe things I like about this one is:
    Tracks my sleep without me having to tell it when I was asleep.
    Tracks number of steps, number of floors, calories burned, distance walked, and tracks heartbeat
    Because it tracks heartbeat it can tell if you’re exerting energy by doing something like folding clothes and accounts for it.
    It give you a chart of calories in vs. calories out (on the app on the phone).

    THe more data I have, the better. It makes the weight loss journey for me so much easier. Sometimes I’ll have a gain for no reason, and then would lose it and then some - the data I have from that and the MFP made it easy for me to keep chugging until next weigh in and end up not falling off track.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    @cebreisch how are you liking the versa? Which one did you get?
  • gypsygrl78
    gypsygrl78 Posts: 6 Member
    I use a Garmin Fenix 5x but I’ve used Fitbit followed by an Apple Watch. I love the Garmin. It is insanely expensive but I use it to sync up with my cyclometer.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited April 2018
    IMO, whether they’re beneficial or not depends upon a few things:

    1) How much interest you have in data/numbers about your activity/exercise/diet, sleep times, etc.

    2) Whether or not you find it motivating to reach/exceed goals set by your device and/or enjoy doing competitions with friends in the social media environments around most fitness trackers.

    3) if you’re planning on using it for exercise tracking, how much of your exercise is, or closely resembles, steady state cardio. The algorithms for calorie burns in fitness trackers are derived from steady state cardio, and the further your exercise varies from that (e.g., strength training, interval/HIIT training, circuits, etc.), the less accurate those calorie burn figures will be.

    As an example of two extremes, I love data - the more the better. I love numbers, graphs, statistics, and tracking them to see if I’m improving or not. I find it motivating to try to reach my daily step goals, weekly activity minutes, etc. on my Garmin watch. My wife, on the other hand, has no interest in data/numbers, is not competitive in the least and couldn’t care less about a watch telling her she hasn’t moved or exercised enough. Not surprisingly, I love my activity tracker and she thinks they’re completely stupid and worthless. They do absolutely nothing for her and she refuses to even consider using one because she sees no point in it.

    It’s a subjective, individual thing. Whether it’s beneficial or a complete waste of money depends upon how you look at it and how you intend to use it.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I was skeptical about the fitness bands so I bought a Garmin Vivofit2. It was the cheapest one I could find. I LOVE IT! I am amazed at how much it motivates me. There are days I know I wouldn't get out and walk except that I think to myself, "I'm gonna break my streak" and I go. I love my Garmin because it runs on watch batteries that last about 18 months and I never have to charge it. It doubles as a watch and although it isn't really pretty it is functional. If you aren't sure whether you will use one I would buy an inexpensive one and see if it motivates you.
  • loxottica
    loxottica Posts: 26 Member
    @AnvilHead I'm like you in a sense that I like data. Would love to see stats and set goals and try to hit those numbers but at same time I dont want to spend a fortune. Not looking for something with all the bells and whistles but not just a step counter. Something in between.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    loxottica wrote: »
    @AnvilHead I'm like you in a sense that I like data. Would love to see stats and set goals and try to hit those numbers but at same time I dont want to spend a fortune. Not looking for something with all the bells and whistles but not just a step counter. Something in between.

    Depending on what you consider "a fortune", my first pick would be the Garmin Vivoactive 3 if it fits your price range. (I have a Garmin 935 and like it a lot, but it definitely doesn't fit on the 'less expensive' end of the spectrum).

    If you see yourself participating in the social side of it for additional motivation/challenges, etc., Fitbit's social media platform seems to be more active and more ubiquitous than either Garmin's or Apple's. I'm just not as big a fan of their actual hardware compared to Garmin.

    A good site for very detailed reviews of fitness trackers is https://www.dcrainmaker.com/ - Ray does the most comprehensive and thorough reviews I've seen anywhere and I've relied on his site for a few of my purchases.
  • MalkinMagic71
    MalkinMagic71 Posts: 1,433 Member
    I love my Garmin vivoactive hr.
  • stylish11
    stylish11 Posts: 9 Member
    My doctor told me tracking steps wasn't as important as getting your heart rate up.

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