<p>I tried the MapMyWalk app to track the length of my daily exercise, but it was rather unsatisfactory as half the time it could not record the GPS on the entire walk, other days it was fine on the same route.</p>
<p>I have read of fitbit and wondered if anyone has had any problems with it.</p>
<p>I would love to have something that tells me how far I have moved in whatever exercise I do plus the changes in elevation. The MMW app definitely inspired my to move up my pace or lengthen my walks, big surprise for CC, I am competitive, even with myself.</p>
<p>I hear you can leave fitbit on all day and it will track your steps and changes in elevation, I like that added feature, too. I understand FitBit will track the times I go up and down stairs which would be great for me.</p>
<p>What is the best app/item/watch/toy to track actual outdoors exercise distance & time plus track just the general steps you take and levels you change?</p>
<p>My husband uses the one that has an app to the iphone. I think that may be fitbit? I’m not sure. He wears it on his wrist and it’s been great for him. He was starting to get a middle aged bulge in the middle, which he’d never had, and now he is back to normal. He was surprised by having to add more movement into his day, but also, once he got the hang of it, it was easy. For example, he walks around now when he’s on the phone instead of sitting at his desk.</p>
<p>There’s a device called the Nike Fuelband which is supposed to measure your activity all day long. They have an iPhone app to display charts and reports.</p>
<p>I guess that these devices do a very good at tracking your physical activity:</p>
<p>“We were discussing the product with a source directly connected to Nike and he told us an amusing, albeit startling anecdote about a guy who got caught cheating on his girlfriend because of the Nike+ FuelBand. “They shared their activity between each other and she noticed he was active at 1-2AM, when he was supposed to be home,” our source told us.”</p>
<p>I use a Fitbit and have since September of 2012. No problems with reliability. Syncs to an iPhone app AND my computer. I like the food-tracking part of their website. I’ve lost more than 30 pounds at this point.</p>
<p>Several friends on FB use Fitbit - last night one of them was talking about how she got her last 5000 steps for the day in pacing the floor and watching The Voice. :)</p>
<p>I use RunKeeper - but that’s just for when I’m out doing a specific run or walk - does not monitor all day activity. But it will show elevation, pace, mileage etc. for a particular outing. I use it on my iPhone.</p>
<p>I use RunKeeper on my Android, but the GPS has issues and often gives an erroneous “spurt” just as I leave my house. Then I crack up to hear that I have gone 1 mile in 3 minutes!</p>
<p>Have a friend who swears by Fit Bit. My niece likes the Nike life band except she has had manufacturing defects with both of the ones she got-- lost a row of pixels each time. Irritated. It notes the motion of arms, even if she ONLY moves arms. It can do pedometer mode but mostly tracks her arm movements.</p>
<p>I LOVE my Fit Bit. I have the older version but it looks as though the newer $99 model is a replacement for my old one. Fit Bit also manufacturers a $59 version that does not track flights of stairs/changes in elevation. They have recently released a bracelet version but I cannot comment on its effectiveness. A friend has the Nike Fuel Band and does not like it but I am not 100% certain of why she is unhappy, so I probably shouldn’t say anything. But, I would not like the bracelet version for the reason HImom mentioned. I don’t want to track my arm motion.</p>
<p>The Fitbit device tracks my steps, flights, miles and calories and reports them on my computer, my phone, and on the device itself. (I disregard calories.) The device needs to come within range of its docking/recharging station that is attached to the back of my computer. If I am not w/in range, the iPhone does not update, but once I return to my house, everything is updated. I do not know if the new version works the same way or if I have set something up incorrectly. I am not hindered by this arrangement, and only need to remember to charge the device before leaving home for a trip.</p>
<p>The day’s activity can be viewed as a bar chart in five min increments showing calories burned (color-coded to intensity level), steps taken, or flights climbed. Time active is shown as a pie chart with the large grey section as sedentary. </p>
<p>The device is small and easily worn inside a pocket or on a waistband. I would not want the bracelet version on my wrist, but that is a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>I love our fitbit. My H wears it on his belt, and it tracks everything we do. We walk our dogs a lot and jog and walk everywhere we go so we usually get to 10,000 steps a day.</p>
<p>I use it in conjunction with MyFitnessPal app to track my daily calories expended. </p>
<p>We’ve had a couple of versions of the fitbit. We love the new one, but the old one was fine too.</p>
<p>DH likes Fitbit…BUT the clip is wimpy. He lost one. And then he stepped on the next one after if fell off (REI replaced it). Supposedly a new wristband model is coming soon. </p>
<p>We’ve tried them all. The Garmin (which is the most expensive and we have tried more than one) as well all the various running iphone apps as well as the many heart rate tracking apps. So far We’ve found nothing easier than the fitbit. It’s cheap and accurate. And have I said easy? I’ve been running/walking 5-8 miles all my adult life. I love tracking mileage. I’m obsessed with it in fact. The fit bit is the best we’ve found.</p>
<p>colorado mom–I have never used the clip that came with the Fit Bit as I felt it added more bulk. I clip the device directly to waist band or just stash in pocket. I will admit that a hair line crack is developing at the top seam, so I am not sure how long this will last. I can tell when I am stretching the device more than I should just to get it on some waist bands. It stays firmly attached other than to running tights.</p>
<p>mrscollege—I will join you in your obsession! I have never tried another device but truly love this one. It is also amazing how many flights of stairs I climb within my house.</p>
<p>^Would the fitbit register spinning or other stationary types of aerobic activity or do you actually have to make forward progress in order for it to take notice?</p>
<p>I bet it doesn’t track spinning because mine went through the washing machine (by mistake but survived) and I didn’t get any extra steps. I have discovered that the altimeter in the fitbit doesn’t differentiate between stairs and escalators. I wonder what it makes of elevators. I also use my fitbit to track sleep which is fascinating but I would love compare my sleep patterns to others, or to an average. Does everyone wake up 32 times a night?</p>
<p>well, yeah, exactly why I’d like to see a comparison. Does the fitbit say everyone wakes up 32 times a night or just me? you wear it on your wrist on your nondominant hand at night and presumably it equates certain movements with awakening. My pattern is fairly consistent from one night to the next but is it specific to the fitbit in general or to me in particular?</p>