Fitness Trackers

I still use the original Fitbit that clips to your pocket, belt or bra.

I don't need a Fitbit that tells me how badly I sleep at night (I already know that), I don't jog, so I don't need to monitor my heart rate. It doesn't need to be charged regularly, and about every 3-6 months I replace the battery.

I have a watch that tells me the time.

I can download my steps and see how many steps, how far and how many active minutes.

Don't get caught up in bells and whistles if you really only need a basic unit.

Not sure why I use it because my Iphone tells me how many steps I take. I probably just use it for comparison. And like GPSgeek, I don't need it to tell me how bad I sleep because I already know that. I don't need to replace the battery, just charge it.

Works great for me.

I've been using the Fitbit Charge 2. I only really like it for these features: continuous HR monitoring and sleep tracking.

I haven't tried any of the other ones you mentioned, or really any other smart fitness tracker.

Make sure you report which one you ended up with Angela. Now's a great time with the sales and all.

Strictly currousity, not sarcasm, but why do people think they need an electronic gadget to tell them how many steps they walk, if they sleep well, what their heart rate is? I really don't get it.

I walk every day, sleep as good as ever, up early and not tired. I do need to watch the calories, and the types of food I eat, but stepping on a scale once a week should give me a hint.

And why would I want my phone to do that?

Personally, they help me stay in reality about both eating and health. I'm excellent at rationalizing why I should eat that 2nd piece of pizza, assuming my walk with the dog earlier would balance that out and not looking at how many calories and of what kind, the pizza is made up of or how long I walked, the rate or calories burned. Plus, I'm easily distracted, so having a structure, both automatic and manual is super helpful for accountability. I also just like looking at the data. Not all progress is visible to the eye so metrics are helpful in keeping motivated for longer term changes.

Some people enjoy joining online communities created around various devices either because they benefit from group motivation or they find competition helpful. I don't tend to be in that category.

They're not for everyone, but that's ok. I've found them useful and know some of our membership have as well. I posted it here because I trust our membership experience on most products over amazon reviews.

~Angela

Ended up with the Vivomove HR. A friend of a friend received an Apple Watch as an early holiday gift so she let this one go for fairly cheap. Getting going with this device & app is not quite as easy as the Fitbit products I've owned, but I'm getting there. Downloaded Garmin Connect and My Fitness Pal to pair with it. Guess we'll see how it goes.

~Angela

"Strictly currousity, not sarcasm, but why do people think they need an electronic gadget to tell them how many steps they walk, if they sleep well, what their heart rate is? I really don't get it."

A family member first used a FitBit Charge HR to monitor and track their heart rate after having heart surgery. It was recommended by their doctor to use a fitness tracker so they could track their heart rate. They ended up giving the Fitbit to me and they upgraded to another device to track their heart rate and have it recorded and uploaded to their doc.

Others use it to track their workout so they can chart their progress at loosing weight, monitoring their sleep patterns, and other things.

They are not for everyone but for some they are very useful. I find it useful at times to use the FitBit rather than my phone when working out to track how far I've walked/hiked/run and to estimate how many calories burned. Its nice to be able to look at a weeks review and make changes if needed.

I'm a fan of the Apple Watch. It was the only tracker that didn't get me thousands of extra steps when I used my motorcycle. Fitbit tried to tell me I could go through this circuitous route of suppressing data online when I went for a ride instead of putting in a decent motion sensor. Most other motorcyclists I know feel the same way.

I did spot checks of the heat rate monitor against chest straps during runs and it was generally spot on. Need another now that my wife has appropriated mine!

My wife uses one, it helps her set and obtain goals, helps her give it the extra push when walking or whatever. Not everyone can keep a regular schedule/routine whereas you might know what you've done that day. For her it's a big help, a kind of pat on the back for a day well done.

I use my Apple Watch for the same purposes.

A car has a dashboard to summarize the coolant temperature, oil pressure, speed, various alerts, fuel level, load, tire pressure monitoring, voltage, and a plethora of other data. All to monitor and make sure the car is healthy and will provide reliable and safe transportation.

Same goes for a fitness tracker. I used the first edition of the Garmin fenix, then moved on to the Apple Watch. The Garmin fenix had HR capability, which then enabled calorie tracking. Heart rate monitoring is very important, and the reports of what the Apple Watch has done for people with HR monitoring is amazing. Being able to monitor HR, speed, distance, time, temperature, ascent, and other factors shows how I am improving or maintaining fitness. The trend that the compiled data on the phone shows is crucial and telling.

...when I was doing Meals on Wheels. She wore a fit-bit so that she could make sure that she got her 10,000 steps a day. She was very diligent about getting the 10,000 steps. She was constantly checking it throughout the day to check on her progress towards her goal.

Motivates walks sometimes 10 miles, great to monitor HR and bunch of other things. Fitbit Ionic

Recently received an Apple Watch S4 as a gift. Wife has an S3. We both have seen a noticeable increase in our desire to be more active. Both watches have also made us more active and often times compete against each other.

Apple watch is the most well known and works well. There are others with varying degrees of success.

A bit of an update since I asked "why?" in an earlier post. And yes this thead is a couple of years old, but here goes.

I had a bit of a heart problem earlier this year, very low heart rate and ended up in ER. Turns out the tired feeling I was having was due to my BP meds. The Cardiologist change to another type of med and also recommended a fitness tracker. I chose a Vivosmart 4 and for the price it does what I need. Heart Rate and it has a Sleep Pulse Ox2 feature that gives you a hint on whats happening during sleep.

Didn't think I would use it for anything else, but now that the Heart Rate is back to normal I've been using it to push up my stationary bike usage to get the heart beating at a higher level for a short period of time.

So, yes, I'm convinced that they do serve a purpose, and monitoring what is going on is a big help for me.

Thanks for insight on what others in this thread are doing and at 79 I can still learn a thing or two.

I had a FitBit, but I am having better luck with my Vivosmart 4. My two main uses are monitoring my heart rate three times a week for a half hour on an elliptical machine, and looking at my sleep.

I've owned a succession of heart rate monitor belts. The Vivosmart seems slightly less accurate (especially just after the start of an exercise session), but is a lot less trouble to use. No more wetting my skin or applying electrolyte gel to get a good connection.

I'm now using the Oura ring. It's easier to wear 24/7 and can wear it in the pool. I really needed help getting my sleep hygiene under control as well and that's really what this device specializes in. I've been pretty satisfied with it for a couple of months now.

~Angela

Earlier this year i decided to join this watch craze and bought a Samsung Galaxy Watch3. At first it was just a toy, a new gizmo to play with, lots of interesting watch faces to try etc. Then I dialed it in and was checking the various health things it kept track of in concert with my Galaxy S10 phone.

I have sleep apnea and use a cpap machine when I sleep, the watch couldn't keep track of that but it could tell me what kind of sleep I had, light, deep, not at all, etc. Turns out, according to the watch, I rarely had 'deep' sleep. Anyway, like KenSyn, I didn't see the need, but ended up realizing they can be helpful and informative.

I had to stop using it though. I wore it on my left wrist. A few years ago I had carpal tunnel surgery on my left wrist. It was an extensive surgery as I had it bad. Anyway the surgery went great the numbness and tingling went away and all was well. Until about two months into wear the Samsung Galaxy Watch3. It aggravated my carpal tunnel, started getting the numbness and tingling again.

I stopped wearing the watch, thinking it was the cause. Sure enough a few months of not wearing it and most of the tingling/numbness is gone. I can't say the watch was the cause and stopping the cure for certain, but it sure seems that way. Gave the watch to my stepson.

Looks nice, but way to expensive for me and I'm not a ring guy. On the other hand (pun intended) I am a watch guy and even though I would never be using all the features, some of the top-end units look very nice.

I wonder when some company will come up with a small implant chip that will tether to your phone. I would think that it can't be too far in the future.

My wife and stepson have sleep apnea and both use a CPAP machine at night. Both are now using the Vivosmart 4 Sleep and Pulse OX features at night as a indication of how well the machine is helping them. Neither wears the tracker during day.