Tulane Skins Fan Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Does anyone use some sort of wearable technology to track fitness? Nike Fuelband, Fitforce, etc? Are these things accurate at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Btubes18 Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I use the Fitbit...love it. Especially with the apps, I can track everything I want right on my phone, while keeping track of my walking. To me, it's sort of a motivator, since I get text messages when I achieve my goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I want a fitbit force. Would love to hear an honest evaluation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeysc23 Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I have used a nike fuel almost everyday since last Christmas. Accurate is debatable. The real benefit these things give you is a constant reminder that hey you haven't really done a lot today. Get your ass moving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Btubes18 Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I have used a nike fuel almost everyday since last Christmas. Accurate is debatable. The real benefit these things give you is a constant reminder that hey you haven't really done a lot today. Get your ass moving Yup, exactly what I was saying earlier. Cool that you can get a group of people on Fitbit at least and compete against. My brother kicks my ass everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 No idea what a fitbit is, but I have a GPS running watch to track mileage and average speed. Also has a virtual partner that I set back when I was faster, don't know how to modify, and now can never keep up with. Garmin 600 or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Accuracy can vary. I know folks who've had FitBit record steps in their sleep. But any gadget that provides some motivation, that's 99% of the benefit. But a simple daily log of diet and activity is a great way to keep with the program, especially if you share it with others. Peer pressure/social-shaming can be very powerful. You can keep the log anywhere, such as a Google Doc, or any number of running/exercise/diet websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 My boss gave a number of us a Jawbone Up. I used it for about 4 or 5 months as I was losing weight. Now that I'm down as much as I want I don't use it any more. Also I don't think it charges any more, a problem that seems to be inherent in those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boston skins fan Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Ive done a ton of research on these things and everywhere i look seems to point to the Fitbit force. now that i made up my mind i cant find them anywhere gonna have to buy it online now i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoyler23 Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I have a first generation FuelBand and I still use it daily. I track my 4,500 Fuel (made up metric), and 10,000 steps a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Gizmodo had a code to get 15% off the fitbit force at best buy on Friday so I took the plunge. I had been looking everywhere with no luck and saw their post. Should be delivered via ups by Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingGibbs Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 The Fitbit Force looks very tempting, but I know I will wear it for a month or two and then it will collect dust. I also question the accuracy of devices like these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I bought a Nike Fuelband February of this year and it crapped out on me mid-August during a run. Very disappointed. While it was working, however, I enjoyed it simply because it was a constant reminder to me to get up and move around. I workout 5-6 days a week, but a lot of it is weight training, which the fuelband does not track. I basically used it to keep me moving outside of my gym time. Many times people will workout then, thinking they've done their exercise for the day, be very sedentary. I tend to do that, so outside gym time motivation is what I primarily used the Nike Fuelband for. As far as accuracy of calories burned, I wouldn't rely on that. The Fuelband calculates activity by the movement of your wrist. So, folding laundry would net me more fuel points and calories burned than 20 minutes of a HIIT session on the stairclimber where my hands were stationary, resting on the railings. Obviously that's completely inaccurate as my 20 minutes on the stairclimber were very high intensity maintaining an average HR of ~160. The readings saying I burned more calories in 5 minutes of folding laundry gave me a good laugh though. I've asked for a Fitbit Force for Christmas because I've heard good reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boston skins fan Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I bought a Nike Fuelband February of this year and it crapped out on me mid-August during a run. Very disappointed. While it was working, however, I enjoyed it simply because it was a constant reminder to me to get up and move around. I workout 5-6 days a week, but a lot of it is weight training, which the fuelband does not track. I basically used it to keep me moving outside of my gym time. Many times people will workout then, thinking they've done their exercise for the day, be very sedentary. I tend to do that, so outside gym time motivation is what I primarily used the Nike Fuelband for. As far as accuracy of calories burned, I wouldn't rely on that. The Fuelband calculates activity by the movement of your wrist. So, folding laundry would net me more fuel points and calories burned than 20 minutes of a HIIT session on the stairclimber where my hands were stationary, resting on the railings. Obviously that's completely inaccurate as my 20 minutes on the stairclimber were very high intensity maintaining an average HR of ~160. The readings saying I burned more calories in 5 minutes of folding laundry gave me a good laugh though. I've asked for a Fitbit Force for Christmas because I've heard good reviews. ive read the same issue with the fuelband that the only thing it reads is your arm movmements. Ive read that the Force actually calculates burned calories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 ive read the same issue with the fuelband that the only thing it reads is your arm movmements. Ive read that the Force actually calculates burned calories Interesting, although I still wonder about the accuracy. I would imagine it's much more accurate than the Nike Fuelband, but as a general rule of thumb, I don't rely on fitness devices that calculate calories burned when they aren't tracking the user's heart rate. Those are the most accurate that I know of, but then you have to wear an uncomfortable chest strap. :/ I'm going to see how the Fitbit Force works; if I like it, great. If I don't think its measurements are accurate enough I'm just going to bit the bullet and buy a full blown heart rate monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I received my fitbit force yesterday. I charged it all night and set it up this morning. So far, I'm impressed. The steps are pretty accurate, not saying perfect, but close enough not to argue. It also tracks calories burned. The fitbit app is nice, I had already been using myfitnesspal and the two actually work together. So when I log meals to MFP, it transfers to the fitbit app and the data is combined. You can used the fitbit app to track meals, but I like MFP's use of the camera to scan barcodes. Much faster. So far, I know its only 1 day, but I definitely feel the increase in motivation by wearing the device and having my steps tracked. I have baseball practice this afternoon, so I'll see how that translates with the calories burned etc... The graphs and charts in the app are very good. I can see how over time, you can see patterns etc... and make positive changes. I've lost 85lbs since June, but have been in a bit of a rut for the past month. This was what I needed to get over the hump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I've lost 85lbs since June, but have been in a bit of a rut for the past month. This was what I needed to get over the hump. I just wanted to highlight this and give you a big shout out for this huge achievement. Good job, buddy!! Thanks for the Fitbit Force review, I'm more excited to get mine next week now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Thank you! I appreciate it. The fitbit force actually did well, IMO during baseball practice. I'm very active during that time and it showed up. You can also manually log exercise using the fitbit app or MFP app. Both of the apps work really well together. I think so far, this was a good buy. Definitely added some motivation today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Just an update... I've been wearing the Fitbit Force daily since I bought it... I honestly only take it off to shower. I like it,it does provide me with some motivation. I have found myself taking opportunities to walk more so I can get my step total up. The days I work out I easily reach my goal, the other days, I have to do more to get it which is a good thing. I don't know if this is something that would benefit everyone. I'm competitive by nature and it works with my mentality. Since wearing it, I've lost about 8 more lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Good to see you like it! I assume that the Fitbit is water resistant. The Jawbone Up was for me. I'd wear it in the shower without any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan since a Fetus Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I like the FitBit that my wife has. We did it the other night (giggity giggity) and she showed me on her phone where her calories or whatever it was burned. I forget what it was, but it is great for motivation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Yeah, a funny thing about the tracking on the Jawbone Up that I had was the sleep tracking. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and not remember it. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night, engage in a bit of boom pow, and it would show up the next day. The funny part was a group of people I work with all had them and could view each other's movements... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.