Miss my FitBit

As I've written before I own a FitBit Ultra which served me faithfully for almost 2 years before I ran into issues where I could no longer charge/synch it because the docking station/receiver that plugs into my computer broke.  This wasn't a poor design, rather an unfortunately accident.  I have been without its daily prodding to achieve more for over 6 months now.

I miss my FitBit.

Now I have been looking at the new models of FitBit that you wear on your wrist, the Surge, The Charge HR and the Charge, but I'm reluctant to pull the trigger on one.

I preferred carrying the FitBit on my belt or in my pocket and that worked very well for me.  Sure these new ones introduce additional features like Heart Rate monitoring (The Surge and the Charge HR) and even GPS (The Surge) but Something about wearing it on my wrist 24/7 just bothers me for some reason.  Since they've discontinued my Ultra over a year ago, I need to get one of these newer models but still, I miss my Ultra.

Looking at the three models above, I am leaning towards either the Charge HR or the Surge.  I think the heart rate tracking would be helpful and I like the idea of the GPS, thus being able to replace my Garmin, but there are a few issues that FitBit needs to address.  The major one is that it doesn't seem to have a specific Cycling mode for the GPS.  Second, I wonder about compatibility with sites like Strava and Map My Ride.

Until I see some updates to the Surge, I am really leaning towards the Charge HR.  It tracks activity (steps, floors, active/ very active minutes), heart rate and sleep.  This will give me a better understanding of how much I am burning on a daily basis and more importantly I hope, motivate me to do more and increase my numbers across the board.  I know the Ultra did that.

So, the only thing left to do is work on my budget to free up the funds to pick on up for myself. Of course there appears to be no hurry as the FitBit site says if I order now (Charge HR - Size XL) its a preorder and will ship in 8-10 weeks.  Gives me time to free up the needed funds. :)

In the meantime I need to work on my goals for the year by getting out of my recliner and getting in some walks and rides or I'll never meet my goals.

Get on your bikes and ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its my FitBit's Fault!

At least that is what people are claiming when they say they are gaining weight after buying a fitness tracker like the FitBit or Jawbone UP or Nike Fuel.  This is what I read in an article published online at Today.com. The article is here.

   

Basically what the article is saying is that some people are experiencing a weight gain after buying one of these trackers and  following the caloric advice on their site.  Essentially they are claiming that by tracking their activity, it is causing them to gain weight.

I'm sorry, I don't agree.  That would be like saying that because I started tracking my driving and how much fuel I'm putting in my car my mileage has decreased.  One has nothing to do with the other.

I think the problem is that people are not viewing what the fitness bands are for correctly.  The true power and purpose of the bands is to help to motivate an individual to move more.  Period.  Now they also try to help by estimating an average calorie burn for said movement, but it is based on statistical averages for "normal" people.  I hate to break it to most significantly overweight people but their bodies and metabolisms are not "normal."  There is a reason they are significantly overweight.

In order for the sites to give any type of estimated calorie burn, they have to go off of what an average burn would be for a person of x height and y weight. Does everyone burn calories at the same rate?  No way.  That would be like saying I have a 4 door mid-sized car so I should get so many MPG without taking into account the size of the engine, type of fuel, style and speed of driving, etc.It just doesn't work.

In the weight loss battle there are many things that can affect your ability to lose weight.  Types of calories you are eating, how "intense" or strenuous your work outs are, are you frequently in stressful situations, do you have a metabolic deficiency of some sort.  All of these will affect your weight loss.

Going back to the car analogy.  Even if I had 2 identical cars that traveled the identical distance, but one started slowly and smoothly, gradually easing up to the speed limit and coasting to a stop when needed.  While the other floored it from every stop, kept the speeds 10 mph over the speed limit and slammed on the brakes for each stop.  Which one would burn more fuel?  The one driving in a more intense manner.

So, by all means use these fitness bands as motivational tools to help you become more active, but don't take their estimated calories burned as gospel, nor necessarily follow their recommended consumption. This would be a place to start, but if you find it ins't helping you to lose weight, then start reducing the calories and increasing the intensity of your activity.

and don't forget - have fun and get on your bikes and ride!