Fitbits & similar
Discussion
I've got the Surge and my girlfriend has the Charge HR. I inherited the Surge from her as it was a bit too big for her wrist and it wasn't getting realistic heart rate and calorie burn readings compared to her previous Charge HR. She's gone back to the Charge HR now and is happy with it. We also have the Fitbit Aria scales in the bathroom as well.
They're obviously limited as to how accurate they can be, but as a trigger for losing weight and getting fit they're great. We've both got them coupled up to the basic MyFitnessPal app. I've always been pretty good at knowing what I'm eating and exercising, but it's been a great tool for my girlfriend to log what she's eating and also a reasonable estimate of her exercise. It's quite addictive and the MyFitnessPal app is really good for logging what you eat.
I'd definitely recommend, but it doesn't change the status quo of calories in vs calories out plus a bit of fine tuning. As a tool to help understand and possibly motivate it's great.
They're obviously limited as to how accurate they can be, but as a trigger for losing weight and getting fit they're great. We've both got them coupled up to the basic MyFitnessPal app. I've always been pretty good at knowing what I'm eating and exercising, but it's been a great tool for my girlfriend to log what she's eating and also a reasonable estimate of her exercise. It's quite addictive and the MyFitnessPal app is really good for logging what you eat.
I'd definitely recommend, but it doesn't change the status quo of calories in vs calories out plus a bit of fine tuning. As a tool to help understand and possibly motivate it's great.
Can't answer your question but be interested in the responses as I've been contemplating similar. I don't really get these 'fitness trackers' as I always thought you'd want a proper heart rate monitor... these things seem to just tell you how many steps you've taken? What device would you use it with? iOS or Android? The new iPhone 6S seems to do some of that basic tracking anyway in the Health app. Think you also need to consider how much exercise/what kind of exercise you do as to what you go for. The new Polar A360 is the only one that's caught my eye
We both use iOS.
You can specify what type of exercise you're doing and The Surge has GPS for running etc. Ultimately, the proof is in the lack of pudding and by entering her meals in MyFitnessPal and allowing the FitBit to record her activity and exercise she has lost a considerable amount of weight and has got a lot fitter so, from our experience, it can't be that far off.
You can specify what type of exercise you're doing and The Surge has GPS for running etc. Ultimately, the proof is in the lack of pudding and by entering her meals in MyFitnessPal and allowing the FitBit to record her activity and exercise she has lost a considerable amount of weight and has got a lot fitter so, from our experience, it can't be that far off.
Both my husband and I have the Fitbit charge which I really like. They don't have the most robust straps in the world but Fitbit have happily swapped broken ones for us. I like the app side of it where you can compete against a group of friends. As we have a dog I've always done a lot of walking, but it has motivated me to walk at work during my lunch break which I would not have done previously.
Currently wearing my old s
tbit charge hr and my new MS Band 2. I really detest the Fitbit (lack of) support service, the attitude of their developers and such other stuff. The Charge HR does work well for tracking calorie burn for cardio workouts using the HR sensor and has helped my wife lose 3 stone this year in conjunction with mfp. Hoping for good things with the Band 2, but we will see....
tbit charge hr and my new MS Band 2. I really detest the Fitbit (lack of) support service, the attitude of their developers and such other stuff. The Charge HR does work well for tracking calorie burn for cardio workouts using the HR sensor and has helped my wife lose 3 stone this year in conjunction with mfp. Hoping for good things with the Band 2, but we will see....I've got a charge HR, I really enjoyed it for the first few weeks, and then the novelty ran out. I know this won't affect your wife, but I found it quite annoying to wear under work shirts, it's fairly chunkier than a watch, and also you wear it higher up your wrist, ended up being a bit uncomfy.
The heartbeat monitoring is really good, and it's nice to see how your heart rate altered throughout a workout. I was showing the heart rate graph to a colleague on my phone, and he asked why my heartrate suddenly went up around 11.30 pm.... so errr it does capture all types of 'exercise'.
The app is easy to use and also a good overview of all your stats, and you can increase your targets as the weeks go by. I have been known to go out for a quick jog if I haven't hit my targets for the day and have orange bars (they go green once you've acheived your target steps/calories/stairs etc) so definitely is motivational.
The heartbeat monitoring is really good, and it's nice to see how your heart rate altered throughout a workout. I was showing the heart rate graph to a colleague on my phone, and he asked why my heartrate suddenly went up around 11.30 pm.... so errr it does capture all types of 'exercise'.
The app is easy to use and also a good overview of all your stats, and you can increase your targets as the weeks go by. I have been known to go out for a quick jog if I haven't hit my targets for the day and have orange bars (they go green once you've acheived your target steps/calories/stairs etc) so definitely is motivational.
I've been wearing a Charge since Christmas and find it very good for motivating me to go out for walks at lunchtime to meet my 10k goal.
The social aspect of the app is also good (the girlfriend has one too so we often have a bit of competition going) so I'm definitely a fan.
Have to agree that it sometimes looks a bit odd with a work shirt and doesn't fit under cuffs brilliantly but I don't find it at all uncomfortable to wear.
Got to be a benefit if it gets people moving about a bit more often and I've had a replacement sent out when the button fell off mine with now troubles.
I'd be interested to try the Surge if/when my Charge breaks. I've got a Garmin Forerunner that I sometimes take out running but it would be nice to have something less bulky.
The social aspect of the app is also good (the girlfriend has one too so we often have a bit of competition going) so I'm definitely a fan.
Have to agree that it sometimes looks a bit odd with a work shirt and doesn't fit under cuffs brilliantly but I don't find it at all uncomfortable to wear.
Got to be a benefit if it gets people moving about a bit more often and I've had a replacement sent out when the button fell off mine with now troubles.
I'd be interested to try the Surge if/when my Charge breaks. I've got a Garmin Forerunner that I sometimes take out running but it would be nice to have something less bulky.
Got the Charge HR and used it since April. SWMBO is getting one for Christmas as well. I do like the whole social apect and in an evening if I'm on 9000 steps I will get up and walk around the house a bit. Bit strange but the bit I love the most is the sleep tracking. Got a 22 month old and always interesting looking at when she wakes me up and how it affects my overall sleep pattern.
Also don't forget about Bounts, it's a website you can link your fitbit to and if you walk over 7000 steps you get points which you can get rewards from, small and gimmicky but nearly up to £5 off at Pizza Express for doing nowt except moving.
Also don't forget about Bounts, it's a website you can link your fitbit to and if you walk over 7000 steps you get points which you can get rewards from, small and gimmicky but nearly up to £5 off at Pizza Express for doing nowt except moving.
tribalsurfer said:
Also don't forget about Bounts, it's a website you can link your fitbit to and if you walk over 7000 steps you get points which you can get rewards from, small and gimmicky but nearly up to £5 off at Pizza Express for doing nowt except moving.
Cheers for that - not something I'd come across before!Does anyone have a "withings activite pop"? Seems like it will do what a base fitbit does but is also a watch. I like the idea of wearing just one thing. This is a John Lewis link but on Amazon now for £75.
http://www.johnlewis.com/withings-activite-pop-act...
http://www.johnlewis.com/withings-activite-pop-act...
chimp427 said:
I wore mine for 2 weeks and then the novelty wore off. It did make me want to meet my steps goal for the day whilst on though so I suppose it did help in a way.
Yes the novelty wore off quickly for me too.Once I'd got a few basic stats off it the interest fell away. Easily doing 10,000 steps per day, an Insanity Live class burns about 450 cals and a 5k run rather less.
I got the basic one for my dad this summer. Whilst I dont think its made him exercise any more, he's fascinated by the sleep tracker since he has sleep apnea and it shows him how good or bad his sleep pattern has been.
Au-ho-ho contraire, mon frère
Pot Bellied Fool said:
Thanks for the info everyone - pushed the button on a Mi Band - for a tenner I can't go wrong!
And if she ditches it after a month I won't be too upset at that price!
Your misses asked for the latest fashionable brandname gadget and you bought her a chinese knock off for a tenner...And if she ditches it after a month I won't be too upset at that price!
Au-ho-ho contraire, mon frère
Glad I found this thread!
I used to be a fitbit user but I found them annoying after a while for several reasons.
- They're ugly. Having a plastic band on my wrist when dressed smartly looked odd and I didn't like it.
- Even though it lasts for 5 days, you still need to charge it and that's easy to forget so there's usually a day or night every 5 days or so that isn't tracked.
- The charger itself is easy to lose. I lost two of them.
I don't know about other fitness trackers of this kind, but I've recently purchased a Withings Activité. I personally went for the top-end model but you can get the "Pop" model for about £90 or less. It's exactly the same as the top end model apart from the materials used.
Things I love about the Withings Activité:
- It looks smart. I can wear it with a suit and it still looks great.
- It does what I need without thinking about it. I just have to wear it.
- It shows my progress at a glance with a simple 0-100% analogue dial and shows the time in analogue format also.
- It counts my steps, tracks swimming, tracks my sleep and I don't have to activate any modes. It just does it automatically.
- Like the fitbit, it has an inbuilt silent alarm that wakes me up at the best time based on my sleeping rhythms.
- The battery lasts 8 months and it's simple to replace myself with a standard watch battery.
All in all. If it's just tracking you need and you're not interested in much else, this is brilliant.
I used to be a fitbit user but I found them annoying after a while for several reasons.
- They're ugly. Having a plastic band on my wrist when dressed smartly looked odd and I didn't like it.
- Even though it lasts for 5 days, you still need to charge it and that's easy to forget so there's usually a day or night every 5 days or so that isn't tracked.
- The charger itself is easy to lose. I lost two of them.
I don't know about other fitness trackers of this kind, but I've recently purchased a Withings Activité. I personally went for the top-end model but you can get the "Pop" model for about £90 or less. It's exactly the same as the top end model apart from the materials used.
Things I love about the Withings Activité:
- It looks smart. I can wear it with a suit and it still looks great.
- It does what I need without thinking about it. I just have to wear it.
- It shows my progress at a glance with a simple 0-100% analogue dial and shows the time in analogue format also.
- It counts my steps, tracks swimming, tracks my sleep and I don't have to activate any modes. It just does it automatically.
- Like the fitbit, it has an inbuilt silent alarm that wakes me up at the best time based on my sleeping rhythms.
- The battery lasts 8 months and it's simple to replace myself with a standard watch battery.
All in all. If it's just tracking you need and you're not interested in much else, this is brilliant.
Edited by beanbag on Wednesday 2nd December 16:20
aquarianone said:
Quick question on the Withings..
What's it like size wise, seems a bit on the small side..?
Excuse the hairy arms...I usually wear an Heuer Carrera JH81 which is much larger but this looks fine on my wrist.What's it like size wise, seems a bit on the small side..?
I have replaced the leather strap with the silicone one for now as I thought that was too thin and feminine looking on my wrist. (They are quite large).
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