In August I was introduced into the wonderful world of fitness trackers. I was seeing them all over the women at the YMCA and had to research just what these "bracelets" were all about. I spent the next few days online comparing and reading reviews of all the latest fitness goodies and decided the best fit for me was the Fitbit Flex. It was more affordable than some of the other trackers and they carried them at my Verizon store so I could buy it on my account and pay for it with my monthly cell phone bill. I completely fell in LOVE with the flex! I loved seeing my steps and sleep mapped out and the nutrition tracker was very easy to use. I found it very simple to use on my iphone and my laptop.
The Flex has about a 5 day battery life so I would generally try and charge it on my lazy Sunday afternoons when I was mostly couch bound anyways lol. The Flex is waterproof but I never wore it in the shower or swimming. The package contained 2 flex bands (one large, one small)with clasp, USB charging cord, USB Dongle that syncs to your pc, and the fitbit tracker/computer piece that fits into the band. The band was secure and comfortable my only complaint....it made my wrist stink ;p Even if it was a rest day and I was not sweating, the band seemed to trap moisture under it very well and I started obsessing about cleaning my band every time I washed my hands because it was so irritating to my skin.
The fitness tracker seemed to be working fine tracking my steps but I couldn't help but feel short changed sometimes on what it considered "very active minutes" I went out for a very vigorous walk with the dog 2 miles in 30 minutes and when I got home and sync'd it would say I was very active for 9 minutes :( It has 5 dots that light up the closer you get to your 10k steps goal. It graphs out you steps and that seemed to be pretty accurate to me.
The food tracker was very easy to use but since I mostly purchase Meijer brand items I had to add the nutrition information myself :/ It has a meter that lets you know if you are under, over or just right for your calorie intake.
The sleep tracker was probably my favorite part, mostly because I didn't realize how horribly I sleep!! It marks when you are restless and awake for how long and how many times. I try to get at least 7 hours a night during the school year but it rarely happens. This particular evening I am posting I forced myself into bed at 8:30 pm instead of the usual 10 pm. Luckily I did because I was restless 20 times and awake 8 times :( I also loved the silent alarm you can set. I set mine for 5:15 AM and woke up nicely to the vibration on my wrist instead a violent heart attack from whatever metal band was playing on the radio.
Overall I loved my Fitbit Flex but I found it had one major flaw....The battery life. I never got 5 whole days of battery out of it and after 30 days my first Flex would not accept a charge. I exchanged it for another and that Flex lasted me a little over 90 days before it again would be connected properly and not charge up. Bringing it back for the second time my Verizon rep asked if I would like to try the Jawbone Up and at the cost of losing my Fitbit friends I enjoy I accepted the exchange.
The Jawbone Up is a one piece band with no clasp. The package contained the flexable up band and a USB charging cord. The silver cap covers the sync port that plugs in directly into your phone so unlike the Flex you do not have to use a pc at all. The Up is sold in S, M and L. I purchased the small and it fits very comfortably and has been sturdy despise not having a clasp. It has two light up modes a pretty colorful flower for active times and a moon for sleep. The app is very simple to use and it more detailed. You can track your food, activity, sleep, and mood. It also has fun little "did you know" facts everyday. Unlike the Flex it has not given me the gross smelly wrist or irritation....we shall see if it continues to.
The activity tracker seems to be accurate to my account for the day. My kiddos has a snow day so we did not venture out until afternoon, slept in and relaxed watching movies most of the Am. I like that it tells min in % where I am for my goals. You can log your workouts as well like today I did 45 minutes of Yoga that was not tracked because I set my Up on the counter while I did dishes and forgot to put it back on. While it is waterproof I remove it like my jewelry.
The food tracker is probably my favorite feature of the Up! I got so tired of sitting at the computer entering all my nutrition info for my store brand items and the Up has a scan feature :D You can scan the bar code and it brings it up for you, no fumbiling with packages trying to make sure you don't miss something. You can also snap a pic of your food to keep a image for future use.
Also when you track your food you can also track the exact time you ate it and where you were. Besides having a list of foods and drinks you consumed it breaks them down on the main screen on where you are % wise for the day for the main food groups. My goal is within 1000-1200 calories a day and love seeing when I get it right!
The sleep tracker is a little more appealing to me. I spent the first hour in bed facebooking with a friend haha....couldnt hide that from Up >.< Seeing this display of my sleep patterns just looks better to me I can see that I am getting plenty of deep sleep even if I am up and down all night from the 120 oz. of water I drink every day.
I have read other review that complained about the battery life of the Jawbone Up as well so we shall see if it withstands my needs. It is supposed to have a 10 day battery life compared to the 5 days on the Flex. My concern is that it will continue to take a charge. I go crazy with a dead fitness tracker! Since tracking my activity, food and sleep has become so important to my weight loss journey I can not imagine not having this amazing tool in my belt. I know there are many more fitness trackers out there besides these two but my vote has to go with the Jawbone Up. The Up's biggest selling point for me....I don't HAVE to use my laptop to sync my data, since I always have my Up on my wrist and iphone in my pocket I am always able to sync them up and see where I am at instead of counting blinky lights ;p
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