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Posted: 3/14/2017 11:58:00 AM EDT
Looking at a fitbit, or something like it, to try and help motivate me to keep moving. I know there a few manufactures of these things. Is one better than the other? Are they really accurate in their readings? 
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 2:07:33 PM EDT
[#1]
First off, whatever helps keep you motivated is a great thing, so I'm certainly not saying don't get one.

I've just never understood them at all. What are you hoping to get out of one? Calories burned isn't going to be accurate. Seems useless to me, but I know some people love them, so whatever helps you.

IMO a better way to get motivated is to set realistic attainable goals, find a workout partner, find a program you like and follow it (whether bodyweight stuff, lifting, running, biking, whatever), enter an event, etc.
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 2:30:22 PM EDT
[#2]
Quoted:
Looking at a fitbit, or something like it, to try and help motivate me to keep moving. I know there a few manufactures of these things. Is one better than the other? Are they really accurate in their readings? 
View Quote
What information would motivate you to keep moving?  Need to know the question before you can get an answer.
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 2:38:43 PM EDT
[#3]
My fat niece has a fitbit....

She subconsciously taps it on the table while sitting and ends up reaching her step goals for the day.

What are your goals? I assume weight loss.

The best thing to do is make a gradual lifestyle change. Don't attack it like a 30 or 60 day program, because if you do make it through then once you reach the end you will stop.
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 2:51:51 PM EDT
[#4]
I got a Fitbit for Christmas in 2015 and have maybe worn it a couple dozen times.

I got it for heartrate monitoring, but later found out it isn't very accurate at all.
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:13:29 PM EDT
[#5]
I use a Charge HR; my typical goal is to burn 3000 cals and walk 5 miles, which I do on a daily basis while working at the port. I also track my sleep and water/food intake. Keep myself physically active and try to maintain good eating habits and a good sleep cycle. on average, my body is restless only 2-3 times a night, with a total of 15-20 minutes,ANd I tend to sleep 8 hours or more.
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:28:11 PM EDT
[#6]
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Quoted:
I use a Charge HR; my typical goal is to burn 3000 cals and walk 5 miles, which I do on a daily basis while working at the port. I also track my sleep and water/food intake. Keep myself physically active and try to maintain good eating habits and a good sleep cycle. on average, my body is restless only 2-3 times a night, with a total of 15-20 minutes,ANd I tend to sleep 8 hours or more.
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How do you use your sleep data?
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:43:11 PM EDT
[#7]
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Quoted:
What information would motivate you to keep moving?  Need to know the question before you can get an answer.
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The daily goals and movement reminders are what would really help me I think. I sit behind a desk or steering wheel most days. I tried using the calendar on my cell phone, but I use it for a ton of reminders at work and just end up ignoring it. 
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:43:39 PM EDT
[#8]
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Quoted:
I got a Fitbit for Christmas in 2015 and have maybe worn it a couple dozen times.

I got it for heartrate monitoring, but later found out it isn't very accurate at all.
View Quote
Want to sell it 
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:46:44 PM EDT
[#9]
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Quoted:
The daily goals and movement reminders are what would really help me I think. I sit behind a desk or steering wheel most days. I tried using the calendar on my cell phone, but I use it for a ton of reminders at work and just end up ignoring it. 
View Quote
I'm not being deliberately obtuse because I don't have a fitbit or similar device, but do you mean things like how many steps you take every day?  I ask because if you want to know how far you walk, iPhone 6S has a built in health app that does that.  There are also free apps that do GPS measurement (Runkeeper, etc).

The "worth it" factor depends on what information you think you need and how accurate you need it to be.
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:49:19 PM EDT
[#10]
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Quoted:
The daily goals and movement reminders are what would really help me I think. I sit behind a desk or steering wheel most days. I tried using the calendar on my cell phone, but I use it for a ton of reminders at work and just end up ignoring it. 
View Quote


What kind of program are you running?

Wouldn't it be easier to just block out a chunk of time every day for activity. Could be lifting a few days, mobility a few days, or just going for a 30 minute walk.
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:50:00 PM EDT
[#11]
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Quoted:
I'm not being deliberately obtuse because I don't have a fitbit or similar device, but do you mean things like how many steps you take every day?  I ask because if you want to know how far you walk, iPhone 6S has a built in health app that does that.  There are also free apps that do GPS measurement (Runkeeper, etc).

The "worth it" factor depends on what information you think you need and how accurate you need it to be.
View Quote
I currently use the google "workout" app, and it will tell me I reached my goal while driving. It's in-accurate as all hell. What I have read, the fit bits are a lot more accurate. 
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:52:34 PM EDT
[#12]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


What kind of program are you running?

Wouldn't it be easier to just block out a chunk of time every day for activity. Could be lifting a few days, mobility a few days, or just going for a 30 minute walk.
View Quote
I have a lot of of things I need to implement, including diet and doing my kickboxing more constantly. The use of my fitbit would be during my long work day (5am to 4pm min.) where I am mostly behinds a desk or behind the wheel. I want to remind myself to get up and walk a lap or two around our yard every 2 hours or so.   
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:55:25 PM EDT
[#13]
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Quoted:
I currently use the google "workout" app, and it will tell me I reached my goal while driving. It's in-accurate as all hell. What I have read, the fit bits are a lot more accurate. 
View Quote
Yeah, my iPhone health app varies from about >95% concurrence with my GPS running watch to as low as 80% accurate, although the apps accelerometer-based tracking will record distance indoors, which GPS won't do.  Runkeeper/Ridekeeper are GPS-based and match up with what my GPS gives me for distance travelled.

What goal are you trying to reach?

Edit:  You wrote "I currently use the google "workout" app, and it will tell me I reached my goal while driving".  What is this goal of which you speak?
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 3:59:20 PM EDT
[#14]
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Quoted:
Yeah, my iPhone health app varies from about >95% concurrence with my GPS running watch to as low as 80% accurate, although the apps accelerometer-based tracking will record distance indoors, which GPS won't do.  Runkeeper/Ridekeeper are GPS-based and match up with what my GPS gives me for distance travelled.

What goal are you trying to reach?
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I'm trying to lose more weight. I do muay thai about twice a week, and am in pretty good shape for a fat ass. My main issue is I eat like shit, which I am working on. My biggest obstacle there is my my wife doesn't cook, and when she does it's almost all frozen chick stripes/mac-n-cheese/etc. I know moving more at the office won't lead to large weight loss gains, but it will help. I have strava on my phone, but I don't leave it running all day because it will kill my battery. 
Link Posted: 3/14/2017 6:40:07 PM EDT
[#15]
I ordered a fitbit Zip a few days ago and am expecting it anytime.  It was used, new condition for $40.  I want to use it to establish a baseline of how many steps I take per day (I honestly have no idea, I just know it's very low) and then use it to incrementally increase my steps.  
Link Posted: 3/19/2017 9:08:30 PM EDT
[#16]
I bought a Fitbit Charge 2. Was going to cheap out and get one of the cheap Chinese knockoffs but glad I didn't. The Fitbit app is superior to any of the knockoffs. It works like the MyFitnessPal app for logging food, uses barcodes in the same way and it's not clunky. Quick & easy to log your food, water. The heart rate reading matches my Omron 10 series BP monitor. I have the the alarm set so it gets me up everyday for my workout. So far, I think it's pretty accurate, it BT links to the GPS in the phone. I got it mainly for the HR monitor but I've gotten to like the thing and it has motivated me to meet the daily goals, kinda weird but it's kind of a competative game thing. I'm logging everything I eat which helps make better decisions. I like it more than I thought I would. 
Link Posted: 3/20/2017 8:57:06 AM EDT
[#17]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I use a Charge HR; my typical goal is to burn 3000 cals and walk 5 miles, which I do on a daily basis while working at the port. I also track my sleep and water/food intake. Keep myself physically active and try to maintain good eating habits and a good sleep cycle. on average, my body is restless only 2-3 times a night, with a total of 15-20 minutes,ANd I tend to sleep 8 hours or more.
View Quote
You are burning 3k calories while only walking 5 miles?  

When I RUN 6 miles I only burn about 850.  Are you including your BMR in those figures?
Link Posted: 3/20/2017 9:02:41 AM EDT
[#18]
Link Posted: 3/20/2017 10:20:05 AM EDT
[#19]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


You are burning 3k calories while only walking 5 miles?  

When I RUN 6 miles I only burn about 850.  Are you including your BMR in those figures?
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Heart rate based calorie expenditure is notoriously unreliable and, in my observations, it wildly overestimates caloric expenditure.  This is based on past comparisons of heart-rate based caloric estimates of calories expended during a bike ride and actual work performed using an estimated 23.9% metabolic efficiency to compute caloric expenditure.

HR-based numbers would be 20+% over normally.

ETA - even including BMR, 3K is way too high unless he's Ant Man in giant form.
Link Posted: 3/20/2017 10:59:41 AM EDT
[#20]
According to mine, 30 min on a treadmill varying 10% incline and 3.5 mph is worth 200cal. To hit 3000 cals expended I did 30 min on the treadmill in the morning, 8.5 miles walking around a town all day doing a historic home tour, 10 flights of stairs, 18.9k steps. Even if it's 80% accurate, it still gives you something to gauge against the caloric intake that you log. Many folks strap it onto their ankle for a more accurate step count. 
Link Posted: 3/21/2017 2:39:32 PM EDT
[#21]
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Quoted:
Heart rate based calorie expenditure is notoriously unreliable and, in my observations, it wildly overestimates caloric expenditure.  This is based on past comparisons of heart-rate based caloric estimates of calories expended during a bike ride and actual work performed using an estimated 23.9% metabolic efficiency to compute caloric expenditure.

HR-based numbers would be 20+% over normally.

ETA - even including BMR, 3K is way too high unless he's Ant Man in giant form.
View Quote
Assuming based off a power meter accurate +/- 2% or so?
Link Posted: 3/21/2017 2:50:43 PM EDT
[#22]
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Quoted:
Assuming based off a power meter accurate +/- 2% or so?
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Yes, although you do have to make an assumption about metabolic efficiency, but that assumption is pretty solidly mid-range. (23.9%)
Link Posted: 3/26/2017 2:36:10 PM EDT
[#23]
I have an older one, I think the Charge
my gf's friend gave it to my gf when the friend got a newer model, then the button fell off and my gf decided she wanted a newer model so instead of throwing it away I took it
I found that a tooth pick in the hole the button would push into works, and I really only needed to do that for the reset process.

I don't think I'd buy one, but I am making some use of this one. I like the sleep pattern tracking that it does. I look at my steps and number of floors each day but am not really trying to hit a daily goal of either
It is nice to get a rough estimate of distance when going to a walk around the neighborhood or something, but a gps will do that, either stand alone or on a smartphone
Link Posted: 3/27/2017 6:21:11 AM EDT
[#24]
I have a Garmin Forerunner 235.  I got it primarily as a running watch but I use wear it all day.  I have received more use out of the general activity tracking than I ever expected.  I walk more and the tracking has definitely helped me lose weight through better awareness.
Link Posted: 4/15/2017 4:34:15 PM EDT
[#25]
I started with a Fitbit to track sleep (good/bad trends - sleep apnea) then steps.  Not necessarily daily steps but deliberate steps.  No HR.  Moved to a Garmin Vivoactive HR to track hiking, biking, running, walking for my self improvement project and I really like it.  Added a wahoo tickrX for HR and have learned a lot and watched my cardio conditioning improve.

Get any of them if it will make you do stuff to get yourself in a better place.  I do recommend Garmin products for the stand alone gps if nothing else. We do have several different fit its in the house.
Link Posted: 4/18/2017 9:14:40 AM EDT
[#26]
Have been through about five Fitbits of various types.  Never got one to last a year.  They worked well when they worked.  Got one with a heart rate monitor after my heart attack, tracked pretty well with the hospital rehab equipment. Finally gave up on them.  Might try one something else one of these days.
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