Over the holidays, I was trying to think of gifts to get people on my shopping list. My mom is typically pretty easy to buy for, she's very into fitness, so I usually go with some new workout clothes or shoes. While I had gotten her a nice sports bra that had been on sale, I was wanting to get her a couple other small items. I remembered I had been thinking about a fitness tracker.
I looked at Amazonhttp://amzn.to/2qjkx8x and a few other websites to see what kind of options were out there especially in the way of budget trackers (under $50). I came across the the Jawbone UP Move and I liked that it gave the option to wear it as a clip on and not just a bracelet (important if I ever wanted one since I'm not a bracelet/jewelry person). I read some reviews and most the reviews were fairly positive as long as your primary concern was mostly just getting steps recorded, this one can also track sleep. You're supposed to put it in sleep mode, but it will sense it as well and ask if you were asleep, same thing with activity, you can time activities, but it can detect as well.
After my research I was still drawn to the Jawbone UP Move, and it was bargain. Depending on the color you choose they range between $9-$15. This was a nice selling point since this was just an idea I had not something she had said she wanted. I chose to get her the Ruby Red (which is more of a reddish pink), since it was a feminine color (plenty of neutral colors as well) and a bargain price, though I really liked the lavender (due to losing mine I do now own the lavender). Another thing I liked is it doesn't require charging, it runs off a watch battery, and it does come with one so you should be set for a few months.
I gave it to her for Christmas and helped her set it up. There is an app for it for both iPhone and Android. She was intrigued by it and did put it on right away. Now after a few months she doesn't go anywhere without the tracker and if she does forget it somehow, feels lost without it.
The app also has your fitness coach and it will give you advice and tips for getting more steps and better sleep. It will also inform you when you hit various milestones. The Up Move links to your phone via bluetooth. As someone who leaves their Bluetooth off to save battery I've had no issues syncing when I do connect a couple times throughout the day (though my random syncing and going from no steps to 10,000 makes friends who use the app suspicious).
Needless to say I ended up buying one for myself as well. With the Jawbone UP Move you can connect to your friends who also use the device and see their progress as well and compete if you would like (there's a duel mode).
When you first set up the app and sync your tracker, you will enter you age, gender, height and weight. It will also ask if you are interested in maintaining your weight, losing or gaining. In the app it will display your steps and sleep in a graph, you can also look at an overview of the week. In addition to that you can see your active and idle time for the day and approximate calories burned (it takes into account the activity you have done as well as your BMR).
The app also has your fitness coach and it will give you advice and tips for getting more steps and better sleep. It will also inform you when you hit various milestones. The Up Move links to your phone via bluetooth. As someone who leaves their Bluetooth off to save battery I've had no issues syncing when I do connect a couple times throughout the day (though my random syncing and going from no steps to 10,000 makes friends who use the app suspicious).
Using the Jawbone UP Move myself and being a very goal oriented and self competitive person, I was determined to hit the 10,000 steps a day mark. The tracker is automatically set with a goal of 10,000 steps, but you can change that if you'd like as well as the 8hrs of sleep if you want different goals. One of my favorite things is that you can either time your activity or allow the tracker to pick up on activity, this will give you your average pace of walk/run. My boyfriend and I enjoy hiking and while we aren't runners we do tend to hike difficult trails and keep a decent pace so knowing our average time over the rough terrain is kind of cool.
Having a step tracker makes you much more aware of how much or little you are actually moving. Ironically part of what made me interested in a step tracker was Pokemon Go. When the game first launched my boyfriend and I would regularly find places to go walk and catch Pokemon and the egg hatching made me want to know how many steps I actually got when the game wasn't running.
I also found out that there are some websites or apps that reward you for your steps. Achievemint is the one I found to be the best at least for rewards I'm interested in (points you can redeem for cash), other apps you earn coupon codes and I'm not that into those since most are for items I don't need or want. I'm not going to recommend others since I've not tried them only registered to find out the rewards weren't of interest to me, but a quick search or browse through your app store should find them.
I did mention I lost my ruby rose tracker and that was while I was working and going between multiple places in one day and in out and of several cars searching all the cars with no luck and not going back to the other places again, I just went ahead and ordered a new one. Now when I'm working I tend to wear the bracelet (which I easily adjusted to). Fortunately while annoying, at least it is a bargain so not a huge loss if you do happen to lose or misplace it. Jawbone does recommend using the bracelet for sleep and clipping it to your sleeve and the clip on your waistband during the day for more accurate tracking, so wearing the bracelet during the day might not get me the most accurate count, but a ballpark idea is still better than nothing. My mom will sometimes just keep hers on the clip and put it in her pocket while working, or clip it to her bra. Since I'm a bit particular about bra fitting and don't want to mess with the fit I don't do this.
I would highly recommend the Jawbone UP Move especially if you are curious about fitness trackers and unsure if you will actually use it (chances are you will get hooked), since other options can be a large investment. Also a good option for kids/teens who are wanting a fitness tracker since this comes in at a lower price tag than many that are designed for kids and since it can clip on you don't have to worry about the bracelet fitting (there's also a necklace you can get). Since losing one, I did order an extra to keep on hand in the event anything happens just so I don't have to be without it for a few days while I wait on a new one to ship. The tracker is also quite simple to learn to use, since changing functions just involves pushing and holding the button a few times depending on what you want to do.
I did mention I lost my ruby rose tracker and that was while I was working and going between multiple places in one day and in out and of several cars searching all the cars with no luck and not going back to the other places again, I just went ahead and ordered a new one. Now when I'm working I tend to wear the bracelet (which I easily adjusted to). Fortunately while annoying, at least it is a bargain so not a huge loss if you do happen to lose or misplace it. Jawbone does recommend using the bracelet for sleep and clipping it to your sleeve and the clip on your waistband during the day for more accurate tracking, so wearing the bracelet during the day might not get me the most accurate count, but a ballpark idea is still better than nothing. My mom will sometimes just keep hers on the clip and put it in her pocket while working, or clip it to her bra. Since I'm a bit particular about bra fitting and don't want to mess with the fit I don't do this.
I would highly recommend the Jawbone UP Move especially if you are curious about fitness trackers and unsure if you will actually use it (chances are you will get hooked), since other options can be a large investment. Also a good option for kids/teens who are wanting a fitness tracker since this comes in at a lower price tag than many that are designed for kids and since it can clip on you don't have to worry about the bracelet fitting (there's also a necklace you can get). Since losing one, I did order an extra to keep on hand in the event anything happens just so I don't have to be without it for a few days while I wait on a new one to ship. The tracker is also quite simple to learn to use, since changing functions just involves pushing and holding the button a few times depending on what you want to do.