Fitness tracker bands

[Happy prose]

Do you wear one regularly? 
Which one do you recommend?
What features does it have?

I'm thinking of buying one. There doesn't seem to be a big difference between the lower and upper price models. It looks like the latest releases track your heart rate during sleep only, which I don't care about. Suggestions please!

[truthbound]

You don't need to wear a band to keep fit. Save your money.

[ners]

I have a fit bit flex.  I have had it for almost two years.  I wear it everyday.  It tracks steps and calories burned. 
It has motivated me to move when I realize how little I have moved.

My company has a wellness plan and it is a very easy way to get my workout points. My reason for getting one and my reason for not upgrading since the upgraded models are not approved at the moment.

[Happy prose]

ners Does yours vibrate if you've been idle too long? I kind of like that feature for when I'm at my desk in work.

[Deleted]

I have a Fitbit Flex too and wear it everyday.  I have several family members linked to mine in the app and I'm super competitive, so I hate to see any of them getting more steps than me.  Highly motivating.  I move about double what I did before getting it at Christmas.

Sometimes I think I'd like the Charge that has a watch and shows actual steps on the band instead of just the dots, but I got this one for free when my Mom felt she needed to upgrade and I don't want those ad-ons enough to actually pay. 

I used to track my sleep, but I found out in about a week that I sleep like a rock and there isn't anything too interesting to see there. 

[Deleted]

I used a FitBit Zip pedometer as part of my company's Wellness program; so did DH.  I preferred that because I have a really good watch and don't need additional gear on my left hand.  Really, all it was good for was counting steps but even though I was already active and fit, it was a motivator.  I think I hit 25,000 steps one day on Paris when I went out for a run after a day of sightseeing.  DH tended to walk more, too, and that was really good for him.  I sold them on e-Bay after I left the company; they're very popular.

The FitBit Charge HR looks interesting if it works; I've had bad experiences with the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor. It used a chest strap and the chest straps would fail every 4 months or so and need to be replaced at $40 a pop.  I LOVED getting the heart rate (because it kept me from slacking of in my workout) and calorie burn but hated having it "stick" at 90 bpm when I was huffing and puffing my way uphill on my bicycle.  Wrist devices typically aren't as accurate, so I'll be checking reviews before I buy one.

[emma1420]

I have a polar M400.   It's primarily a GPS running watch, but it also tracks activity as well.   It also alerts you if you've been sitting too long.   The only draw back is it's size.  It looks like a sports watch, which is fine, but they don't make a smaller version for women so it's huge (especially if you have smaller wrists).

[thyme4change]

My phone tracks my steps - which doesn't help when it is in my purse - but whatever.  

[HoneyBBQ]

May 28, 2015 5:14:03 GMT -5 truthbound said:

You don't need to wear a band to keep fit. Save your money.

[Happy prose]

I think it will motivate me to do more. I'm a big walker, and also do light weights 3x per week, but I also sit a lot! I see on ebay that the first versions of these (new) are going for about $30.

[bobosensei]

I have a fitbit flex, but I think they look too cheap to wear with professional clothing or anything nice or sexy.  So most of the time I don't wear it.  Plus now that I am better at working out I know 5 miles is about 10k steps for me, and I do that most days with my dogs so I don't need the fitbit to measure what I do anymore.

I do like that it tracks your sleep, and it has a silent alarm which is nice to wear in bed with DH so that if I am up before him the alarm only wakes me up.

[shanendoah]

I have the Up by Jawbone. It's not super fancy, but it is just a little tracker that could fit in my bra (lots of running friends do that), has two watch band holders (one white, one black) or a little clip on holder, to put on a belt loop. It tracks number of steps and my sleep. It can also function as a watch - not a great watch, but good enough for days at work or running around on weekends. (For Disneyland, I wore it on the clip on on my belt and wore a regular watch to keep track of time.)
I got it at CostCo, so it was fairly inexpensive.

By tracking my steps and entering them into a site for our insurance, I'll save money on my health insurance next year, more than what I paid for the tracker. And it does also help remind me to get up and go walking. And I like arbitrary goals.

[wvugurl26]

I got the FitBit Charge HR as a large Christmas gift. I wear it daily. It reminds me to move more. I also like that it tracks flights of steps. As for sleep well it's not a surprise I sleep like crap. I'm trying to work on it though.

[shanendoah]

Funny bit about the sleep tracking - the Up connects with your phone via Bluetooth and you download a free app that actually gives you all your information. My model of phone technically has bluetooth, but at some point there was an update to bluetooth that means my phone doesn't actually have bluetooth anymore. C's phone is one model newer, so my Up connects to his phone. That means when he gets up every morning, he gets the text message about how well I slept the night before/how much sleep I got. That's led to him harassing me about going to bed sooner, which probably works better than if I were the one getting the texts.

[wvugurl26]

I had the same thing shanendoah. I got mad at mine not connecting to my laptop one time so I put the app on my boyfriend's phone. So now when it connects he gets updates. I don't have mine set up for the texts though, assuming it is an option. That was one of my justifications for getting a new phone.
I forgot the other reason I like it. I get extra calories in my fitness pal based on activity. Because I'm pretty much an epic failure at 1200 calories.

[goldensam]

May 28, 2015 11:01:03 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I got the FitBit Charge HR as a large Christmas gift. I wear it daily. It reminds me to move more. I also like that it tracks flights of steps. As for sleep well it's not a surprise I sleep like crap. I'm trying to work on it though.

This is the one I've been eyeing. 

I currently have a Misfit Shine and it works pretty well when the app actually works. Seems like they break it every other update. It tracks steps and sleep, no stairs.

[wvugurl26]

Haha I just realized that should be late not large. Anyway I like it.

[tcu2003]

I have a Garmin VivoSmart and like it so far (I've had it about two weeks). It tells time, steps, something else I can't remember and has Bluetooth capabilities, so pushes notifications from my phone to the wristband (which is awesome). It also vibrates when you haven't been active in an hour (except at night). It can also track sleep, and you can get a version that tracks heart rate, but I didn't get that option.

[ners]

May 28, 2015 6:44:38 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

ners Does yours vibrate if you've been idle too long? I kind of like that feature for when I'm at my desk in work.

no it does not. 

[teen persuasion]

Re sleep tracking - what do they track about your sleep?

[Happy prose]

I think it tracks duration, plus different cycles like REM sleep, and the newer ones track heart rate during sleep. I don't care about any of that, so I'm looking at the lesser models.

[Deleted]

May 29, 2015 7:52:53 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Re sleep tracking - what do they track about your sleep?

The Flex tracks when you actually fell asleep and times you were awake during the night.  It just uses movement for this.  Mine always showed me falling asleep within minutes of laying down and less than 5 minutes restless time during the night so I quit using it for that, but I have a friend that sometimes has up to two hours a night restless.

[teen persuasion]

Thanks for the info.  I sleep like a log, no problems, and so deeply that I rarely recall any dreams, unless something happens to wake me while dreaming.  DH has apnea, used to use a CPAP machine (didn't help enough), now uses a dental device that is much better, but still some sleep issues.  When he's had sleep tracking/studies the important issues were sleep disturbances, periods of stopped breathing, O2 stats, etc.  I couldn't see how many of that could be tracked by these devices, but thought I'd ask.

What's the relevance of sleeping heart rate?

[tskeeter]

May 28, 2015 9:24:23 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I used a FitBit Zip pedometer as part of my company's Wellness program; so did DH.  I preferred that because I have a really good watch and don't need additional gear on my left hand.  Really, all it was good for was counting steps but even though I was already active and fit, it was a motivator.  I think I hit 25,000 steps one day on Paris when I went out for a run after a day of sightseeing.  DH tended to walk more, too, and that was really good for him.  I sold them on e-Bay after I left the company; they're very popular.

The FitBit Charge HR looks interesting if it works; I've had bad experiences with the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor. It used a chest strap and the chest straps would fail every 4 months or so and need to be replaced at $10 a pop.  I LOVED getting the heart rate (because it kept me from slacking of in my workout) and calorie burn but hated having it "stick" at 90 bpm when I was huffing and puffing my way uphill on my bicycle.  Wrist devices typically aren't as accurate, so I'll be checking reviews before I buy one.

Don't know about the current chest straps, but I was a heart rate monitor user when they first came out abut 30 years ago.  I found the chest straps would need to be cleaned regularly to prevent the accumulation of salts from persperation from shorting out the sensors on the belt.  Salts are pretty good conductors of electricity and it doesn't take much to interfere with the small amount of electricity measured by those sensors. 

[Happy prose]

teen persuasion I'm not sure, but my DD is getting The new Jawbone 3 when it comes out, and that does the heart rate in sleep, so I'll see what it's all about. Now it turns out I'm geting her old one, so free for me! I forget what brand and model.

[jelloshots4all]

I have the fitbit charge HR and like it. However, I noticed last weekend when I strolled around Home Depot with a cart, my steps didn't register because my wrist was stable pushing the cart (with the fitbit on it). A woman at work made the same comment so she wears hers on her ankle.  I am starting a work challenge on Monday so I will wear it and likely up my steps.  The competion aspect is good!

[Happy prose]

Does it fit on an ankle? My wrist is wayyy smaller than my ankle!

[msventoux]

May 29, 2015 18:24:39 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

I have the fitbit charge HR and like it. However, I noticed last weekend when I strolled around Home Depot with a cart, my steps didn't register because my wrist was stable pushing the cart (with the fitbit on it). A woman at work made the same comment so she wears hers on her ankle.  I am starting a work challenge on Monday so I will wear it and likely up my steps.  The competion aspect is good!

I've thought of wearing mine on my ankle.  However, if you're sitting eating a bag of chips it also registers that arm movement as steps, so maybe it all evens out in the end.    I have a friend that gestures with her hands when she speaks...a lot!  We have pretty much the same activity level, but she'll usually have at least a few hundred or more steps than me just from how much she gesticulates. 

I also have the Fitbit Charge HR and really like it overall, but it does have some limitations.  Mine's been known to say I've climbed an insane number of flights of stairs when I really only climbed one or two.  If you're sitting still watching TV or reading a book it will mark that as sleep time. 

[Happy prose]

I read a lot. It's probably going to think I'm dead. Lol

[jelloshots4all]

I do 12 oz curls with drinks however I don't think I get credit!

I have the large band and I might be able to fit it around my ankle on the last slot.  I will try it tomorrow and report back.

Also I think the calorie count is way too high in regards to calories burned