Janepie33 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Thinking of getting a fitness tracker to try and help me move a bit more and eat a bit less and hopefully loose a bit of weight! There are so many out there with so many different prices, I was wondering if anyone uses one of these and if so, which brand you use. Any thoughts and suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 I just use the one on my Samsung phone. It counts your steps every day and. Think you can do other things with it too. It'll only really work though if you're competitive with yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I have a Fitbit Charge, which I quite like. It registers steps, stairs and sleep. It will even give me a little warning when I get a call on my mobile, which is surprisingly useful. My mom has a Fitbit Charge HR with heart rate monitor. That one also tells her how much fat she is burning and how active she has been. I really like it for its sleek design and comes in many colours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I have the fitbit flex - it is the cheapest one and in my opinion not worth the money really - gives you steps and sleep (or just how little!) and other stuff but you have to log in to get all the information - some of the others are much better these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I have a Csx pedometer which was bought for me from Amazon as a birthday present over a year ago. It is simple, easy to operate and I love it, plus it's small. I've had it in my pocket for every day since I started using it and gradually increasing my steps. I did try an app on my phone originally but it kept going out of the loop and not recording properly, plus if you got in the car and had forgotten to turn it off, it started measuring the distance you were driving and computing it into steps or something like that. It was a very basic thingy or the user was useless with it Good luck, the thing with them is you can't pretend you have been active when you haven't, as you have a record of what you've done. My pedometer records what I've done for the last week, though I don't use that now. Let us know what you get, they are quite addictive if you are competitive . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I have a Fitbit Charge HR - as well as steps it tells you heart rate, stairs climbed and monitors your sleep pattern although I'm slightly sceptical about the accuracy of the latter. Overall I am really pleased with it though. I tried phone apps but found they weren't accurate and you have to have the phone on you all the time. To begin with I was horrified at how little I was doing, because I think of myself as fairly active and I try to walk rather than take the car I thought 10,000 steps would be easy but on some days I was barely reaching 5,000. I started going for a daily walk in addition to my usual activity and I'm really feeling the benefit. The best thing for me however are the 'Challenges'. If you have friends with Fitbits you can set up goals and see who's doing the most steps. I have five or six friends with Fitbits, and I'm quite competitive and this has really motivated me to do more. I've found the increased walking has helped to relieve joint pain and I'm gradually getting fitter. As Blackrocksrock says, some of them don't display the step count. The newest one is the Alta and that shows steps, calories and distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I have a Garmin Vivofit 2 tracker which only leaves my wrist when I change the strap. Pros in no particular order - Different coloured straps available to buy separately from the tracker No need to charge, runs off a replaceable coin cell battery which should last 12 months. Mine is still working after 14 months. Waterproof to 50 metres. Swim, shower, and do aqua fitness wearing wearing it. Tracks sleep Tracks steps and distance Tracks activities, eg running, spinning, exercise classes Tracks calories used Easy to read screen with a backlight . Mine doubles up as a watch Can read the data except the sleep on the tracker itself Join in challenges with other Garmin users Links up with the My Fitness Pal app and others Gives you an audible and visual alert if you sit on your bum for too long Costs less than £60 now as an improved Vivofit 3 is available Cons - No heart rate monitoring although you can buy a heart rate chest strap which connects with the tracker If I was a first time buyer now I would go for the Vivofit 3 as it has more features but not enough new features for me to upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janepie33 Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Thanks everyone. I went for the Vivofit 2 in the end. I only really wanted a posh pedometer I could were on my wrist and use to tell the time! The only annoying thing is that I have to turn my wrist in an odd way to read the time. Maybe I am wearing it upside down ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyBean2605 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I have a Fitbit zip (very basic) but I like to use the app that came with it, very happy with it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I have a Fitbit Zip too. It is fine if you don't want an all singing all dancing gadget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janepie33 Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 Quite addictive aren't they!? I have managed to reach or exceed the goal I've been given on every day except one,(Torrential rain all day long ) since I got the Vivofit. My main aim was to get a bit fitter and I have certainly been walking far more than before. I was rather hoping to loose a bit of weight too, but sadly that hasn't happened. . The real added bonus though is that my dodgy lower back has massively improved. Hooray for walking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I have the Fitbit surge, but I wanted an all singing all dancing one for my triathlon training. It has GPS for logging my cycles, runs and walks. For those of you with Garmins and fitbits, are you on bounts? With bounts, you earn points just for being active that you can exchange for vouchers for shops. It's an initiative through Oxford Uni. If you want to join its free (although you can pay to upgrade to earn points quicker), the web address is www.bounts.it If anyone does join, use my referral code, and you get bonus points for being referred and I get bonus points for referring. My code is Longman1538 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Also the little Fitbit that clips on to my bra strap. Initially it was registering all sorts of weird stuff - even when I wasn't wearing it! But it's settled down now. It counts hills as stairs so I think it's linked to altitude - not exactly sure about that, but as we go on walks with killer hills I think that's how my stairs count is driven upwards. On the other hand I do like the Endomondo app on my phone. It seems to be the most accurate of the satellite tracking devices. Hubby tried a few after his cousin did the same walk as him with the same app as him and hers was equal to mine give or take a few yards or so. His was out by a long chalk! The one he has now is in kilometres so he's sticking with that. We both have Fitbits so the steps are a little competetive. I'm not - he is!!! And at the moment he's frustrated because he has a sore foot and has rested up and I'm romping away! Fitbit does the all sorts but I can't really be bothered - I just like to know how many steps I've done during the day. Apart from that there is another app on my phone that was part of it. Fitbit you can clip on or have on your wrist or ankle or waistband. Phones are too cumbersome to wander round the house or in and out of the garden. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janepie33 Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 With bounts, you earn points just for being active that you can exchange for vouchers for shops. It's an initiative through Oxford Uni. If you want to join its free (although you can pay to upgrade to earn points quicker), the web address is www.bounts.it If anyone does join, use my referral code, and you get bonus points for being referred and I get bonus points for referring. My code is Longman1538 Hope you got your extra points Space Chick. I joined! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
