I just got one last week. Have been wanting one for a while but my phone is too old to sync with it and I don’t want to pay for a new phone. I got the charge which has a screen where you can check your steps. My laptop is also too old to sync to it, but my husband has a newer computer (courtesy of my son who bought a really nice one on the spur of the moment then realized it didn’t do what he wanted so he gave it to Dad) so I am set.
Loving it so far. It really does make me think about reaching my goals. I’ve even got up at 6 to walk a couple of times because it is so hot here, and I go and walk around a big store in my lunch hour as it is too hot to go walk in the park.
Going home to England in a couple of weeks and really interested to see how many steps I do just in normal day to day life (I don’t drive there, use trams, trains and busses) rather than having to make a point of going for a couple of long walks a day.
Good for you, swimcatsmom. I’m also pondering a FitBit, or some kind of tracker, not so much for step-counting as for tracking calories burned during a workout.
Thanks for the plug for our great group, author! Don’t anyone hold back from posting. We learn from everyone!
I got a Garmin Vivofit a little over a year ago to motivate me to get my butt out of the desk chair at work more often. I have worn it every day since- except for a month last summer when I was on crutches and it wouldn’t track correctly. It really does motivate me to walk more. I am a competitive runner, so I didn’t need it for that (I wear a Garmin GPS watch to record my running data), but I can undo the good effects of exercise by sitting too much at work. I have been known to do some odd things to make sure I get my steps in- like walking circles in the kitchen at home or walking while eating a bowl of ice cream.
I really like Garmin technology and if I were buying something right now, would probably get the Vivofit 2.
I have several different colored bands for my Vivofit, and wear it on the same arm as my watch (although sometimes I don’t wear a watch since the Vivofit can show time, too).
A friend has a really cute bracelet that her fitbit slips into. You will never know She was wearing a fitbit. I was somewhat limited by my other old technology, lol. I know I need to be able to see where I’m at during the day to keep on track. @LasMa - That leaf thing is extremely cute!
@MomofWildChild - I am so determined to meet the step goals that I have done some things like that. I walked up and down the hallway at my office when I had to work late the other night, round and round the outside of the house to get my last few hundred. Last night my husband wanted to go out to the casino and I was way off the goal so I walked round and round the casino. I’m sure all the smoke I breathed in offset the benefits, but I know me - if I miss the goal one day it makes it easier to blow it off another.
The important thing is that if you are standing or walking- you are not sitting. There have been a number of recent studies indicating that sitting is really, really bad for you (to the extent many of us engage in that activity). I have meetings at work, work at a computer, sit in cars, airplanes, read in bead, sit and watch TV… all that can undo a 10 mile run really quickly. Of course, it’s also important to eat healthy foods and do weight bearing and cardiovascular exercise, but trying to limit the sitting is a great step (pun intended). I am in the process of getting an adjustable work station for work so I can stand instead of sit for some of the day while I’m at my desk.
I started with the Fitbit Zip a couple of years ago. I was mainly interested in counting steps since I wanted to improve my cardio fitness. I learned that I covered 10,000 steps in 1 hour and 20 minutes. When my Fitbit broke, I replaced it with a gps watch. I am motivated by mileage, and the Garmin Forerunner met that need. I used it to walk one long walk on the weekend.
Yesterday I walked/ran in the Rock n Roll Seattle Half Marathon. In a moment of insanity, I also signed up to run the full marathon next year.
I sit a lot too. During tax season I was working 7 days a week and 12-14 hour days. I would forget to get up and move around. I put on 22 pounds this last tax season, a combo of sitting on my backside all day, junk food we ordered in, and a daily Starbucks. Have lost 12 of the 22. Next tax season I will use my fitbit for sure! (&Starbucks has become an occasional treat :(.
Started walking a few weeks back in anticipation of my trip home. I always feel like I am going to die trying to keep up with my brother and his wife the first week home! I feel soo much better already and have really stepped it up a notch since getting the fitbit.
I have the fitbit One, it shows steps and stairs, which I really like. I, too, am ridiculously motivated by the goals. At first I would run around the house, up and down stairs, take a late night walk anything to get my 10k steps. Now I rarely don’t get 10k, and often get 15k or more. A big switch for me was when a fitbit friend messaged me congratulations on 100k steps. There is a running total showing on yor dash or sync screen. I like seeing that I am hitting 100k in a week. It is very motivating.
We are taking my 90 year old mother on a trip this summer so got her a fitbit for Christmas and explained it, she has gone from maybe 1500 steps a day to consistently over 5k, some days even hitting 7k. I am so proud of her, chipping away at it each day. It gives her something to work toward and hopefully she will do well on this long trip and have built up some good stamina.
I have a vivofit as well. The main thing that I don’t like is that it tracks steps with arm movement, so sometimes I rack up many steps without walking. OTOH, I have learned to walk 10% more so I actually get to my goal. The vivofit will count my steps on the dreadmill, but does not have a GPS feature. Am mulling over whether I’d want that next time. I’m not a runner, so it feels a bit like overkill.
Anything that gets you off you feet is a good thing! I will also confess to marching and walking in circles in my house at 11:30 pm to make my goal…
DH gave me a Fitbit One for xmas. Three of my friends are “fitbit friends” and we challenge each other to daily and weekly contests. The other night, I saw I was 500 steps behind someone and I walked around the house while talking to a friend on the phone. I went to bed satisfied that I beat her. Heehee.
Then, yesterday, I was mad at myself for forgetting to wear it while walking on the golf course. What a waste of unrecorded steps!!
If they aren’t recorded, they don’t count! I get roughly 2000 steps to a mile. As was mentioned, arm movements such as teeth brushing and even rough car rides will record steps. It is not sophisticated technology, but it 's a whole lot better than the old pedometers. GPS is the best, but doesn’t work indoors.
I found that the Vivofit had some unforeseen benefits at work. I would walk to someone’s office sometimes instead of emailing, just to get the steps. It enhanced communication.
I try to get 6000-8000 steps above what I run. I don’t always make it. I like to have at least 15000 steps a day including a run. So yesterday I had an 8 mile run which was 16000 steps right there, but I still aimed for about 5000 over that. If it’s a short run day, I have to do more walking around.
lilmom, so funny. DH is the same way. Gets mad at himself if he forgets the fitbit when he is walking. It has made a difference for me. When I started I just tracked my normal day and found I would only have around 2000 steps. Now I don’t always get to 10,000 but I am way more than 2! Also losing some weight as another benefit. It is just a little nag that doesn’t let me be a slug for long.
My wrists are large, and back in the day when I wore watches I almost always had to have the band switched out for a larger band. Is this an issue with any of the trackers?
How tight do the wrist units need to be? I don’t like a lot of pressure on my wrist.
Do they bother anyone when typing on a laptop?
Do they work with an iphone 5? A mac?
My key interest is in tracking steps and non-sitting time.
Is anyone on this thread interested in being IRL “Fitbit friends”? I find my motivation comes from being “accountable” to others…sort of like a virtual workout buddy. PM me if you’re interested… I’m sure there’s some way to set up a group (I’m sure it’s been discussed on the other thread, but I don’t have the patience to read through it, I’ll do some Googling)
Arabrab- The trackers don’t have to be tight at all, except the ones like Mio Fuse which sense heartrate from your arm. They can be very loose. They are very adjustable and the Vivofit comes with a smaller and a larger band, and each band has different holes. They are all unisex, so you should be fine as far as wrist size.
Vivofit syncs with iPhone or Android devices, but it has a visible display and resets every night at midnight, so if you don’t want to keep track of the data, you don’t even have to sync it. It’s all pretty easy, really.
Also want to add that DC Rainmaker reviews all fitness/athletic electronics and it is basically fitness malpractice not to read his analysis before you choose something. He’s very objective and detailed, but it is great.
One reason I chose Vivofit was because the battery lasts a year and doesn’t have to be charged. Some of the early trackers had to be charged every couple of days. Also, I wanted the display on the device and not on my phone.
As a participant in the Diet/Exercise thread, I really, really, really encouraging people to visit AND participate! Seriously! We have people of all types of fitness levels. Runners, walkers, bikers, hikers, swimmers. People who have been athletes all their life to me : someone who has always been a leisurely exerciser, but who at age 53 decided to tackle the Couch To 5K program - and now, 2 1/2 years later, run 8-10 miles a week (see? All levels! Not everyone there is a marathoner!)
Ask questions. Bring your FitBit. Tell us about your favorite fitness activity. Share a nutrition tip. One thing I would say we are for the most part - dedicated to trying. Very little whining. Few excuses. We get the job done - in one form or another!
That said, I don’t have a FItBit but am a wanna bee for a decked out one. Wish my family would get the hint and buy me one!!! I do monitor the step feature on my iPhone in the Health app that comes preloaded on your phone. Obviously, it only counts steps while the phone is on me, but I’ve learned what my “typical” steps are and aim to get to a certain point of steps even on the app.
@LasMas–I like to keep track of calories burned during a workout too. I’ve found that, for me, I get a more accurate reading from a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. I have a Polar F7 HRM and a Bluetooth chest strap. Also have a Polar Flow, which is like a Fitbit bracelet. The Flow tracks steps and calories burned for 24 hours; if you wear it on your wrist when you go to sleep, you’ll also get hours of sleep. There’s an app that tells you your activity levels throughout the day.
When I compare my stats on the F7 HRM with the Flow, there’s a discrepancy. I may be wrong but I think the heart rate monitor is more accurate. Flow is supposed to track heart rate with a Bluetooth strap but I have problems getting the two to sync and just gave up. So, I use both the HRM for tracking calories burned during a workout and the Flow for steps and daily activity measurements. The iPhone app for the Flow syncs easily, and I rely on that for information to track my activity.
You do have to charge the Flow (plug it into your computer) about once a week. That’s a pain and if I were buying again, I might opt for a Vivofit, which apparently doesn’t require charging. Also, the Flow tells you when you’ve been sitting too long, but there’s only a symbol on the phone app. If you don’t have your phone with the Flow ap on–you don’t see it. I’d prefer a beep or a signal on the Flow band.
The vivofit will count my steps on the dreadmill, but does not have a GPS feature. Am mulling over whether I’d want that next time. I’m not a runner, so it feels a bit like overkill.