Which Fitness Tracker is Your Best Fit?
Seems like everyone these days are wearing a fitness tracker, from your grandmother to your personal trainer. They are everywhere; quick look around I bet you can find two people wearing some type of fitness tracker (assuming you are not reading this in a room alone). With everyone wearing them, are they just a fad or is there some value to them? While you can not replace a well balanced diet and good work out routine with a fitness trainer to lose weight, they do offer you a way to change your habits, by just making you aware your good and bad habits. Once you are aware of your habits, you sit at your desk for 4 hours straight with no break, and then you can change that behavior to a healthier behavior.
The two main types of fitness trackers are pocketable ones (one you carry in your pocket) or ones that you wear 24 hours. Pocketable ones as you may have already guessed are ones that you keep in your pocket and must remember to transfer from outfit to outfit. Wearable ones are the “cute” bracelets that you see on everyone’s wrist. This article will compare a few of the wearable ones, however, many of the pocketable ones offer the same features as the wearable ones.
The Nike+Fuleband SE tracks calories, steps, and Nike Fuel points, but this upgraded model now tracks sleep. It allows you to track your workouts whether yoga, running, or weigh lifting. It is water-resistant and syncs automatically with an iPhone app, however, it is not compatible with any Android device. All of this can be yours for the price of $150.00.
FitBit offers two different products the FitBit Flex and the FitBit Force, both products track steps, calories, distance, and sleep stats, but the FitBit Force can gauge how many stairs you have climbed (great way to see how much exercise you snuck in for the day). Both are water resistant and sync wirelessly and automatically to you iPhone, Android, or your computer. This allows you to view your stats on an app or in your browser. Price point of these two devices is from $100.00-$130.00
Polar Loop offers you a waterproof way to track your steps and calories while syncing via Bluetooth or USB cable to you iPhone app. The app provides you with an activity guide that will tell you things to do to meet your daily goals. Great for when you are close to your goal, but run out of ideas on how to achieve in the time left in your day. The Polar Loop will also remind you to get up and get moving if you have been sitting down for too long. Also a great perk for desk jockeys that get lost in work and forget to get up and down. All these great features are offered to you for $110.00
These three fitness trackers are just the tip of the iceberg, you can find more and how they compare here, these three just happen to have very similar features and price points. The big difference is that FitBit unlike the others is compatible with Android and not just iOS.
Once you find the right fitness tracker, and take the leap of being a fitness tracker wearer, remember like with the new running shoes you bought, it is just a tool that you use to help you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. A fitness tracker can only track the activity that you are doing and not do it for you. A big plus is that since you have to wear the fitness tracker 24 hours, it is a good reminder to get off your butt and move, or maybe just pass on that second doughnut in the monthly meeting.