Fitness Trackers, do you wear them on the trail ?

Since I started wearing my Fitbug Orb about a year ago, I really have developed a love for the little critter ! Now, whether I am doing yard work, or shopping for groceries at the local Kroger supermarket, I am also EXERCISING! You know, when you visit your doctor for a checkup, one of the main questions they always ask is about exercise. When you tell them you mowed the lawn, they just give you that look that doctors have; but if you tell them how many steps was logged into an activity tracker, then they are impressed and happy. I really like that even making the bed and doing laundry are no longer housework, now they are exercise!

We go to the fitness center every other day, and I do water exercises and swim, and those can be logged into the app separately. In the last 8 months since January, I have lost over 30 lbs, and wearing the fitness tracker has helped keep me motivated to do that, and keep on trying even when the loss was very slow. I have also been following a Paleo-style eating plan, and I log in my food intakes on the fitness tracker, and also on a carb-tracker app that I just downloaded.

In a few more months, I will be turning 72, and I weigh less and am in better health than I have been at any time in the last 15+ years. Granted, wearing a fitness tracker does not do the work; but it certainly helped me stay motivated to do what was necessary, and I am only partway to my goal weight; so this will be an ongoing project for a while longer.

 

I had a Fitbit but I had a reaction to the band . I loved that thing. I think I'm going to get a vivosmart since the band is thinner and it's also waterproof.

At my new drs office, they even state on the papers that exercise is regular, *scheduled* physical activity, not "chasing after kids" for example.

I definitely don't do regular scheduled activity, I don't believe gyms are sustainable for people like me. I can't be on a treadmill for 30mins staring at a tv with stuff showing that I don't give a crap about. It's soul crushing. Give me an hour long hike, or three with kids lol. I try to mimic my kids and before I know it I've done squats and stretches and hung around on branches or climbed trees.

I don't have furniture like couches or dining room chairs. I made our dining room table at floor sitting height. Our beds are futons on the floor... our living room looks like a jungle gym and we're rarely sitting around doing nothing. When we are sitting, it's still active. You don't just sink into the floor and not move for 3hrs lol. Yet, that doesn't "count". If they consider 1hr a day of exercise an active lifestyle, one could feasibly be sedentary the other 23hrs. And 1hr a day is a bit "much" by our current standards.

Anyway, rant over lol.

It was always interesting to see what was going on with the Fitbit. I think the sleep feature was more interesting to me because of my lack of sleep. No one really believed me about just how much I was up all night with my baby who has severe eczema. I didn't even really realize how much sleep I was losing.


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I just found a Jawbone UP24 on Amazon for under $20, and ordered that last week. I liked the Fitbug Orb clip-on; but sometimes, i would forget to wear it. I just love the Jawbone already! I wear it all the time, and it checks my sleeping as well as the steps, and then I can enter the info when I swim.

The UP24 has kind of a soft, rubbery-feeling band, and it does not bother me at all when I wear it. The more expensive models look like they are metal and they have a clasp, but this one just folds around my wrist, and I can easily pull it off when I shower or swim. The app syncs with the Apple Health app, and also with my carb manager app; so it works with everything. And it is easy to use, so if you are like me with "tech-y" things, you can still figure out what to do. Mine looks like this, but a pretty bright rose color.

 

I am really happy with how mine works! I have a little graph that shows all of the steps that I take, and there is a place to enter other things, like when I am swimming. I also have a food app where I can log in what I am eating, and it shows me all of the nutrients, plus my carb, protein,fats, and fiber intake every day.

At night , I set it for sleep, and it shows me how well I slept during the night. Some of the information I have to enter, naturally, like what I am eating, but between the Jawbone UP24 app and the carb manager app, it does most everything automatically.

I am more pleased that I am able to even express with how well they work together and how much information I get from those two apps working together. Just wearing the fitness tracker also really makes me aware of getting in my steps every day. Unless I specifically need to, I don't use the handicapped parking anymore, and I park out near the area where they collect shopping carts, and walk to the store and back.

 

That reminds me of a device engineering put in my climate controlled work station. It was a little USB device that recorded all climate situations in its area. I took and put it in the refrigerator in the break room, and then after a few hours took it outside and put it in my vehicle where it probably reached about 90F degrees. After a week he came and got it to upload the data on his computer. He came by my work station a couple hours later and stood on the other side of my window and stared at me. I couldn't quite make out his expression. We never spoke about either.

 

Thank you for asking about my health, @campforums ! My health is actually much better than it has been in many years. I will be turning 72 in a few months, and am healthier now than I was at 62. Not all of this is due to wearing a fitness tracker; but it has been a great part of my health and fitness program. My goal is to live pain-free with out medications, and be as healthy as I can for as long as I can.
To that end, I have modified my diet, and about 90% of what I eat is for the health benefits, and not just thoughtless munching on food. I also exercise, and this is where the fitness bracelet does help a lot, because I am always aware of it.
Not only is the bracelet a constant reminder that I need to "get my steps in", but it also reminds me of my goal to eat healthy foods, so it helps me keep on track in both areas.
I totally recommend having one to anyone who is interested in keeping their health for the rest of their life. No matter your age or present health, it is never too soon to start taking care of it.
Once you lose it, as happened to me, it is an uphill struggle to get it back.