[drewprops]

I've become interested in getting one of those "nag bracelets" that tell me exactly how sedentary my ass actually is. I know that there are Fitbits and Nike Fuelbands and Jawbone wraparound doohickeys. The Jawbones interest me most because they look the least "strappy" and the least watch-like... very little commitment. The way that they clasp onto your arm looks like a last minute addition by the designer.... a sort of "oh yeah, this will probably need to fit onto a person's arm somehow," before running off to swig a bunch of Friday beers with the rest of the 20-somethings on the design team who share that delightful belief that the world is soft and huggable and not in fact out to rip off your arms and eat your lunch. Still, I really like the look of the Jawbone because it appears that if I play my cards right there's a very real chance I could eventually catch the edge of the thing on a hanging tree branch and lose it, freeing myself from the terrible tyranny these fitness monitors introduce into a person's life. (Did I mention that my desire to become fit is balanced by my love of sitting quietly in the corner eating large quantities of chocolate ice cream?)

Do you use one of these things? Some testimonials would be nice.

I'd also like to know who has the best software/hardware combo, and how well it plays with iOS?



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[drewprops]

It's okay you turds, I bought a clip-on version as a way to get into this thing and see if I want to do more.

I'm seriously worried about how healthy you people are considering the profound lack of response I got on this post

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[Ebby]

Fitbit Flex user here. Love the thing. Have a 7000 step goal for now and about 1.3K daily calorie goal. Yeah, it seems low to me too but for some reason that is stable for me.

I have not really lost much weight in the past year and a half I have been wearing it. Kinda wish that part was easier. But I like logging foods and exercise. (Now with GPS) I'm sorta a stat whore and started a little fitbit group with some college friends.

As for healthy people, I'm pretty sure I'm plummeted on the bottom of that list. But there is gradual rebound in my Fitbit stats and that is optimistic.

[_Ω_]

Originally Posted by drewprops I'm seriously worried about how healthy you people are considering the profound lack of response I got on this post ...

I'm too busy drinking pizza and eating beers to worry about your precious wrist bands....

[addison]

I got an Up 24 band for Christmas. It takes some getting used to and the open ends can make it feel clunky at times under clothes. The sleep measuring has been the most informative part for me. I always thought I slept okay but my patterns are a little crazy looking. You do have to tell it you are going to sleep and when you wake up though. It has a bunch of alerts that you can set for various goals. I like using it as an alarm in the morning. It wakes you up kind of gently which is nice. If you work out you have to plug the info into the app. You can also log what you eat as well but I don't bother with that. It can go about seven days on a charge. I do wish it had text and phone alerts but since it has no screen I guess it would be kind of hard. I do like the functionality of other bands like the one from Microsoft but that thing looks too much like a prison bracelet.

[alcimedes]

I'd also love to hear what people think of the various fitness bands out there. I'm looking to buy one for my wife, but when I went to shop around it appeared there were a dozen or more versions out there.

What works well, and requires the least technical know-how to use?

edit:

chatted with my sister in law who has been a fan of various fitness bracelets. She recommeded this one that just started selling yesterday actually. (battery lasts 8 months, water proof, knows when you go to sleep on its own)

Apparently she'd lost a few by forgetting to take them off in the shower, and often forgot to tell her fitbit she was sleeping before actually falling asleep.

http://www.withings.com/us/withings-activite.html

[curiousuburb]

GF had a Fitbit One, but has ditched it for the Misfit App on her Pebble after I showed her how mine covered the same basic pedometer stuff (and rudimentary sleep quality measurement), with the added bonuses of phone & email notifications addison wants, and without the inconvenience of losing it off the waistband clip... or forgetting to take it off the waistband and accidentally washing it.

Misfit on Pebble benefits: also a watch , ~7 day charge, notifications, runs other apps, 5ATM waterproof...

Looks like Misfit has its own wearables... plus iOS, Android, and Windows Phone apps

[turbulentfurball]

Originally Posted by drewprops I'm seriously worried about how healthy you people are considering the profound lack of response I got on this post ...

I did start an almost identical thread to this just 2 days before you started this one Drew, so I'm worried about your searching abilities!

Just sayin'

[Eugene]

The average sized in-shape person burns 1500 calories a day at rest, so another 1300 on top of that sounds about right.

[drewprops]

Originally Posted by turbulentfurball I did start an almost identical thread to this just 2 days before you started this one Drew, so I'm worried about your searching abilities! Just sayin'

Well crap O.o




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[alcimedes]

And it's dead after less than a day of use. Hoping it's just a dud battery, but doesn't bode well for the overall product quality control.

[turtle]

That isn't a good sign at all.

@Drew, what clip on one did you get? Just wondering.

[drewprops]

I bought the Jawbone UP MOVE for about $49.

My reasoning: let's see if I will use it first.

After nearly a week of using it I can see that I'm incredibly sedentary.

This must change.

The Jawbone software syncs to other apps, so I'm using one of those to help track diet.
(the reason being that it seems to have a deeper library of options when trying to find a pre-entered food that seems to match what I'm eating. This may be a mistake on my part, but the data makes it through the app, to the Jawbone app and onward to the Apple Health app).

The simple act of knowing that I have to log the meal is making me think about my food more, and while I haven't made enormous changes I am thinking about portions and types of food more often.

Water is a big consideration for me as well, as I live in the sweet tea belt.

Sleep tracking is helpful too, though I must pop the tracker out of the clip and insert it into a wrist bracelet to make it work.

A full-time bracelet would have ultimately made more sense.

A guy at the Apple Store had a Nike Fuelband on his wrist and it looked pretty darned swoopy, but I don't know what the software is like compared to Jawbone.

I don't know how well Fitbit talks with other health apps, but I've read that it does not talk to Apple's Health app.

This may ultimately lead me to consider getting one of those stupid fricking Apple watches.

Because those are supposed to have pulse monitors in them.







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[alcimedes]

The company is sending out a battery to replace what's in there, I'll update if that was the underlying problem or not.