Any ditched the fitness trackers? Any regrets?

I lost my FitBit one some years back and didn't bother to replace it. I use a "dumb" pedometer when I go on walks.

I can eat back 75-100% of the calories from the MFP database and lose as expected. Right now it's 100% because I've created some custom entries for light and moderate gardening - I only use the regular gardening entry when I'm doing heavy gardening.

I could never because I wear my Apple Watch constantly unless it’s charging. I turn off all annoying notifications though, what ones do you get? I don’t get any on my watch.

I like to see my heart rate date during runs/biking. I like seeing my steps for the day.

I wore a Fitbit for a couple days and it made me feel claustrophobic - I have issues lol. So that was that.

Would I be "able" to live without my Fitbit? I certainly didn't die during the week I was waiting for a replacement, or during the four days I was waiting for a strap from a slow moving amazon order. There has also been the time I couldn't find my charger and had to wait for the one I ordered to arrive since I was NOT going to pay the inflated in-stock store price.

But, through the beginning of my "weight management" phase just about 90 months ago I've tried to "layer" my actions and defences against reverting to my pre weight management state of obesity and inactivity.

Why would I give up one of my more interesting and effective tools?

In a way, the question doesn’t even compute, for me. I’ve long used a HRM, GPS tracker, and sometimes specialized devices to collect performance-related metrics. That was before mass-market multi-function fitness trackers were available at all.

Now that I have a Garmin that integrates all of those, plus automates some estimates I used to do more laboriously (like resting heart rate), plus gives me estimates I didn’t have before at all, I love my Garmin. That’s true even though its all-day calorie estimate is *wildly* inaccurate for me (I don’t synch it to MFP because of that).

I used to use a Polar HRM, and correlate it with pace/distance/time data from my Concept 2 rowing machine, tracking hoped-for things like lowered HR at the same pace, for example. I also had a Garmin (Forerunner) that would do pace/distance tracking for on-water rowing. I would use that data in junction with the Polar HR data, as well as for evaluating different technical changes or strategies. (Example: If we do 500m max-effort rowing pieces, is our double faster at 25 spm or 30 spm? (If you’re thinking 30 is always faster . . . it isn’t, because technique can degrade at higher spm.)) It took a 3rd device to get the SPM, and there were not apps to integrate all those pieces at the time, so it was ballpark-ish, or spreadsheet analysis with aggregated data streams.

Now, Garmin gives me reasonable estimates of all that stuff – pace, SPM, HR, distance, duration – time-integrated. That’s pretty useful, and a time-saver. On top of that, it replaces the wristwatch I’ve worn most of my life (for a while in the 1970s, I carried a pocket watch, because my job was destructive to wristwatches of the era). Though I'm not competing any more, performance improvement is still part of the fun, for me.

I do use Garmin’s calorie estimates for some exercises, where I don’t have an estimating source I consider more likely to be accurate. That’s a handy side-benefit, but not the key reason I appreciate having such a device.
I understand that we’re all different people with different priorities, but the seeming common idea on MFP that the main point of these devices is calorie estimates and step counts . . . that’s really alien to me.

I'm also a runner. I started out without a watch and would blow up in races because I had no idea what my pace was. I always started way too fast and would die about 3/4 through. Same happened on my long runs. I didn't like having to wait until I was finished to know whether I was on target or not. I got the most basic Garmin initially (FR10) and it was fine until I started doing marathons. Having it die at mile 24 was not happiness. I still stay basic with the FR 25. I like looking at my HR and sleep and calories, but I don't focus on them. I mostly just focus on pace and distance, what I need to know to make sure I'm going fast enough when I'm doing speedwork and not too fast when I'm doing long or easy runs. I could live without the information, but since I do enjoy racing, I find it useful.

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

I'm also a runner. I started out without a watch and would blow up in races because I had no idea what my pace was. I always started way too fast and would die about 3/4 through. Same happened on my long runs. I didn't like having to wait until I was finished to know whether I was on target or not. I got the most basic Garmin initially (FR10) and it was fine until I started doing marathons. Having it die at mile 24 was not happiness. I still stay basic with the FR 25. I like looking at my HR and sleep and calories, but I don't focus on them. I mostly just focus on pace and distance, what I need to know to make sure I'm going fast enough when I'm doing speedwork and not too fast when I'm doing long or easy runs. I could live without the information, but since I do enjoy racing, I find it useful.

Yes, I find the steps and mileage helpful, but pace is most important to me because I will totally burn out early if I don't focus on it.

I’ve never had one. I’m not a data geek at all. I’ve gained lost and maintained weight without one. I also don’t use mfp as intended though so i don’t eat back my exercise calories.
I think I would find trackers annoying. Each to their own.

dave_in_ni wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

In a way, the question doesn’t even compute, for me. I’ve long used a HRM, GPS tracker, and sometimes specialized devices to collect performance-related metrics. That was before mass-market multi-function fitness trackers were available at all.

Now that I have a Garmin that integrates all of those, plus automates some estimates I used to do more laboriously (like resting heart rate), plus gives me estimates I didn’t have before at all, I love my Garmin. That’s true even though its all-day calorie estimate is *wildly* inaccurate for me (I don’t synch it to MFP because of that).

I used to use a Polar HRM, and correlate it with pace/distance/time data from my Concept 2 rowing machine, tracking hoped-for things like lowered HR at the same pace, for example. I also had a Garmin (Forerunner) that would do pace/distance tracking for on-water rowing. I would use that data in junction with the Polar HR data, as well as for evaluating different technical changes or strategies. (Example: If we do 500m max-effort rowing pieces, is our double faster at 25 spm or 30 spm? (If you’re thinking 30 is always faster . . . it isn’t, because technique can degrade at higher spm.)) It took a 3rd device to get the SPM, and there were not apps to integrate all those pieces at the time, so it was ballpark-ish, or spreadsheet analysis with aggregated data streams.

Now, Garmin gives me reasonable estimates of all that stuff – pace, SPM, HR, distance, duration – time-integrated. That’s pretty useful, and a time-saver. On top of that, it replaces the wristwatch I’ve worn most of my life (for a while in the 1970s, I carried a pocket watch, because my job was destructive to wristwatches of the era). Though I'm not competing any more, performance improvement is still part of the fun, for me.

I do use Garmin’s calorie estimates for some exercises, where I don’t have an estimating source I consider more likely to be accurate. That’s a handy side-benefit, but not the key reason I appreciate having such a device.
I understand that we’re all different people with different priorities, but the seeming common idea on MFP that the main point of these devices is calorie estimates and step counts . . . that’s really alien to me.

I was speaking about myself really. I was never into running, just weights and walking, It was steps I was after and calorie total. Trackers are useless for weights and as you say the calorie total was not accurate and neither were the steps really, so for me it was kind of a pointless device. I was after it more for health I guess that fitness, we'll not even talk about sleep tracking which ended up giving me insomnia.

I love my Garmin in general, but also I find it pretty useful lifting weights in the gym. It knows whether I'm doing benches, squats, or whatever, and it counts reps for me. There's an up and a down button so when I did 12 and it only saw 11, it's quick and easy to fix. I like having a log of what I did. The web site gives me a graph of reps and weight for every lift, over time, to show me if I'm making progress and if I'm covering all my bases.

This time of year my main exercise is cycling. I have the Garmin tail light on my bike, the one with radar, so when I'm riding, my watch starts beeping and vibrating to let me know wherever there's a car behind me. Don't even have to look at it, if it's freaking out it's because there's a car approaching; if the car is going too fast the watch screen goes red, and the light starts flashing to get the driver's attention. I love my Garmin.

I had the Fitbit charge hr 6 years ago and replaced it with the Fitbit inspire in the last year. I wear mine all the time and only take it off to shower or charge. Although it may not always be precisely accurate I enjoy keeping track of my steps and sleep. It has became a must have for me kind of like my phone.

I could track my calories with pen and paper but I use MFP because it is faster and easier. The watch is the same way. It helps me in an area in which I have historically struggled so the easier it is the more sustainable it is. If the day comes I find it easier to live without it, then I will ditch it. The same is true of MFP. If I could walk everywhere easier than I could drive there I would ditch the vehicle too.

vanmep wrote: »

“I could track my calories with pen and paper”

You just reminded me of the days in the early 90’s when I had a huge book that gave the calorie info for thousands of different foods. Each day I would track my calories by looking it up and writing it down in a notebook.

That reminds me of this mini book I had when I first started counting calories over 15 years ago. I used to bring it with me everywhere in my purse.

I did. Haven’t looked back. Well, I did briefly and same issues made me put it in the drawer. My issues with all the ones I’ve tried:

—calorie counts way off. I ate what MFP synced w what tracker said and I maintained or gained slowly. Went back to manual input and I started losing again. (This partly bc my main activity was lifting and it couldn’t track that as well I think)

—trackers favor steady state cardio. I lift. That’s what actually makes me look how I want to look (because muscles). But bc I’m competitive and hate that bc my heart rate doesn’t go up enough for long enough to register as a “real “ workout, the tracker makes me look like a couch potato. So I would add more cardio than I needed. And would often obsess over why it wouldn’t count my steps while holding a shopping cart or stroller, etc. sometimes the extra push for more steps/cardio led to some minor overuse injuries and mostly far too much time spent exercising. I was prioritizing what pleased the tracker and not what would directly help my goals. Did the tracker cause this? No, obviously it was my own issue, but I prioritize better without it.

—I was spending too much time analyzing metrics and results, looking at trends in sleep, exercise minutes, steps, etc. and that got me nowhere, at the end of the day. So now I input into MFP, and get back to life. And get results.

I ditched my FitBit, but I like my Garmin. I use it primarily for GPS tracking and I like my exercise and activities to be uploaded to one site. It also provides far more in depth training data than the FitBit did. I also like the breadcrumb trails and compass for hiking and mountain biking. I can check the current weather and temps and days forecast just touching a button (like I just did a moment ago to see if I'd be swimming later this afternoon). I also keep a close eye on my HR, particularly resting and how quickly my HR comes down after exercise as another data point for where my fitness is...

Steps and stuff are just kind of gravy...I don't have any particular step goals since I walk my dog most mornings and I'm typically somewhere between 10K-15K steps per day...but I like seeing the data. I glance at the calories from time to time and for the most part they seem reasonable relative to years of data I had previous to owning one of these things...but it's not something I pay a lot of attention to. The sleep tracking was pretty interesting when I quit drinking the copious amounts of booze I was drinking throughout the pandemic...sleep was very noticeably improved IRL and as indicated on my watch...so that was kinda cool, but not something I look at a ton.

I've never had my Garmin or my FitBit synched to MFP...but I don't log, so it wouldn't really be of any particular benefit.