Activity Monitor, Fitness Tracker

[TravelingGal]

Here's one more view up close.

 

[soocool]

I am also interested in the FitBit, but am waiting for the Charger. When exercising I use a Polar chest monitor with a wristband that shows my HR and my workout and it is annoying because many times I have to rewet sensors on the band to keep the contact and track my heartrateand workout session. I also have to make sure I wash the chest band regularly so that it works properly. I was just wondering if there could be a similar problem with these wristbands.

I know there is no perfect way to track your heartrate or workout unless you are hooked up to an EKG machine, but I would like the next best thing. If I truly want to check my HR I use an oximeter . I just want to find the best way to let me know that I am moving enough instead of being too sedentary.

I ended up getting a Mio link optical heart rate monitor based on the reviews at dcrainmaker. I was really looking to get away from chest strap monitors because at some point the chest bands would lose contact and the readings become spiky. I've had no problems with the Mio accuracy on my runs, 5 miles or so and recording heart rate with Runkeeper. I recommend reading the reviews of fitness trackers at the dcrainmaker website. Initially thought about getting a Samsung gear fit, but the bad reviews convinced me to go with the Mio.

Thanks for the info. I have a headache just reading through the discussion of the FitBit. I think I need to do a little more research on this and will discuss with my electrophysiologist at my appointment next month. He initially recommended the Polar F7 to me 4 years ago to help track my workouts. I don't think there will ever be a perfect way to measure intensity and performance, but I do like to get a good idea of the intensity workouts and am interested in monitoring my HR (I have a pacemaker) without always relying on my oximeter.

 

[AprilBaby]

I was thinking about the Fitbit but I have decided to wait for the i watch.

 

[Cozystitches]

I bought Fitbit One last night! I'll let you all know how I like it, so far I'm not sure on the steps as I woke up with 21 steps, not sure if it' because of how I wore it last night or if I was sleepwalking....

 

[baby monster]

I bought Fitbit One last night! I'll let you all know how I like it, so far I'm not sure on the steps as I woke up with 21 steps, not sure if it' because of how I wore it last night or if I was sleepwalking....

If you're a restless sleeper, turning and tossing will show up as steps and feed into sleep quality report as sleep interruptions.

 

[rainydaze]

Woo hoo Cozystitches! I hope you like it - I am loving mine (the Charge). I wake up with a few steps too, and attribute it to restlessness which is what FitBit records it as. I like that I can get a sense of my sleep patterns, it's kinda cool. All in all, I feel this thing tracks pretty accurately so I wouldn't worry about that. I suspected the Garmin Vivofit was off by a thousand or more steps, and I would wake up with 200 steps on that one, so the 20-60 the FitBit gives me while sleeping is nothing by comparison!

AprilBaby, I'm excited for you. It was originally the Apple iWatch that got me interested in this whole tracker thing. But, I don't really need the smart watch functionalities, just the tracking functions - and I liked that iWatch looks sweet while doing it. But I don't think I have the discipline to charge it every night. I still ogle it though. Can't wait to hear how you like it!

 

[manderz]

I just started using a Garmin Vivofit. Hubby surprised me with it, because it was on sale, and he also had a coupon. We now are competing with one another to see who can get further past the step goals . I'm happy with it so far, though it's pretty bulky for me for daily wear. I don't wear much on my wrists as a rule, so this will be a bit of an adjustment.

 

[amc80]

I wanted to revive this thread to get some opinions. I bought the Jawbone Up3 and will be returning it. It has quite a few quirks (putting it nicely) and just isn't doing what it should. I'm thinking about getting the Fitbit Charge HR or possibly the Surge. Does anyone have experience with either of these? My primary goal is to get as accurate calories burned counts as possible. I walk a lot while pushing a stroller, and the Jawbone doesn't count any of those steps. So I'm thinking GPS might be needed.

 

[TooPatient]

I wanted to revive this thread to get some opinions. I bought the Jawbone Up3 and will be returning it. It has quite a few quirks (putting it nicely) and just isn't doing what it should. I'm thinking about getting the Fitbit Charge HR or possibly the Surge. Does anyone have experience with either of these? My primary goal is to get as accurate calories burned counts as possible. I walk a lot while pushing a stroller, and the Jawbone doesn't count any of those steps. So I'm thinking GPS might be needed.

Don't need GPS. Our app does that sort of counting. That said, our software is different than others so I don't know how they would do.

My FitBit missed almost 100 steps around the house last week. That was just one time counting as I went. Left me wondering how many more it,misses through the day.

For stroller pushing you will probably be best with something that can be carried in your pocket or something for your shoe.

As for calories, you really will get the most accuracy out of logging somewhere like SparkPeople. How many burned depends on everything from how steep the hill was you walked up to how fast you walked to how much you weigh and even the outside temperature. Anything that gives you a number is really just doing a best guess off of incomplete information.

 

[amc80]

I wanted to revive this thread to get some opinions. I bought the Jawbone Up3 and will be returning it. It has quite a few quirks (putting it nicely) and just isn't doing what it should. I'm thinking about getting the Fitbit Charge HR or possibly the Surge. Does anyone have experience with either of these? My primary goal is to get as accurate calories burned counts as possible. I walk a lot while pushing a stroller, and the Jawbone doesn't count any of those steps. So I'm thinking GPS might be needed.

Don't need GPS. Our app does that sort of counting. That said, our software is different than others so I don't know how they would do.

My FitBit missed almost 100 steps around the house last week. That was just one time counting as I went. Left me wondering how many more it,misses through the day.

For stroller pushing you will probably be best with something that can be carried in your pocket or something for your shoe.

As for calories, you really will get the most accuracy out of logging somewhere like SparkPeople. How many burned depends on everything from how steep the hill was you walked up to how fast you walked to how much you weigh and even the outside temperature. Anything that gives you a number is really just doing a best guess off of incomplete information.

Thanks for the info. I figured there was a problem when I went to the zoo and walked for 3-4 hours...and the Up3 had me at something like 1.4 miles for the day. Not possible. Then, I realized it's because I was pushing the stroller for most of the day. The reason I went with the Up3 is the technology is supposed to be the same as that in the BodyBug (which is fairly accurate).

 

[baby monster]

Flex usually gives me an accurate reading when I'm pushing the stroller at a fairly even pace. If I'm stopping and starting, like going through zoo or museum, it does tend to undercount a little. Same with pushing a cart at the supermarket. I don't think it's that far off because those activities don't involve a lot of steps as there's so much stopping to look. For example, we walked around the museum with DS for 2 hours last week. My flex counted about 2000 steps or around a mile which is pretty accurate as i think about the ground covered at the museum.

 

[rainydaze]

I actually ended up getting the FitBit One after a few months. I thought it would count less steps than my FitBit Charge, but it consistently counted more. Because I wear it on my waistband, it counts those steps missed by the Charge when you're pushing a cart. I was so against the One thinking I'd forget it and throw it in the wash, or lose it, or it would be inconvenient to check. Turns out, I love it way more than the Charge!

I don't use them for calorie counting though, so I am of no help there amc. Sorry!

 

[manderz]

I wanted to revive this thread to get some opinions. I bought the Jawbone Up3 and will be returning it. It has quite a few quirks (putting it nicely) and just isn't doing what it should. I'm thinking about getting the Fitbit Charge HR or possibly the Surge. Does anyone have experience with either of these? My primary goal is to get as accurate calories burned counts as possible. I walk a lot while pushing a stroller, and the Jawbone doesn't count any of those steps. So I'm thinking GPS might be needed.

The only way to get truly accurate calorie counts is to use a heart rate monitor. You can use a pedometer all you want, but it can't tell if you're running or walking. There's going to be a HUGE difference between the two. For walking, it just guesses as best it can. But it doesn't account for running, hills, or things like pushing a stroller.

 

[amc80]

The only way to get truly accurate calorie counts is to use a heart rate monitor. You can use a pedometer all you want, but it can't tell if you're running or walking. There's going to be a HUGE difference between the two. For walking, it just guesses as best it can. But it doesn't account for running, hills, or things like pushing a stroller.

That's why I want to get either the Fitbit Charge HR or the Surge. They both have continuous heart rate monitoring. The Up3 was supposed to, but only takes one ready while you sleep.

 

[manderz]

The only way to get truly accurate calorie counts is to use a heart rate monitor. You can use a pedometer all you want, but it can't tell if you're running or walking. There's going to be a HUGE difference between the two. For walking, it just guesses as best it can. But it doesn't account for running, hills, or things like pushing a stroller.

That's why I want to get either the Fitbit Charge HR or the Surge. They both have continuous heart rate monitoring. The Up3 was supposed to, but only takes one ready while you sleep.

Nice! I wasn't aware of that with those ones, as I didn't do any of the research when hubs and I got ours. He just picked ours based on other factors. Glad you're on top of it! With my Garmin Vivofit, I would have to use a chest strap as well, which has made me avoid it. I'm too lazy

 

[amc80]

Nice! I wasn't aware of that with those ones, as I didn't do any of the research when hubs and I got ours. He just picked ours based on other factors. Glad you're on top of it! With my Garmin Vivofit, I would have to use a chest strap as well, which has made me avoid it. I'm too lazy

I had the vivofit and really liked it. The battery life is awesome and it was fairly waterproof. I just wanted something a bit fancier.