I'm 6-8mo pre-op and i definitely want to invest in one to keep track of my ups and downs before and after surgery. Do you have one that you love?

I'm *thisclose* to ordering the Polar Loop. It's at my price point. It is Water proof. It 'talks' to the type of technology I have. It comes in purple. What more could a girl want?

And then I see that I COULD choose to have a bluetooth heart rate monitor. Do I need this? Do I want this? Will having a HR monitor on during my exercise make a big difference in the output received? If I don't get it now, will I wish I had it post-op? I can buy it later...but it is more expensive and I'm a little bit cheap...so yeah.

What say you?

I have had a Garmin 310xt for about 18 months now. I often tell people its the best money I've ever spent on exercise stuff. It tracks everything, automatically uploads to garmin connect via ANT+, then to an app on my android. SO easy to set up.

My personal beliefs: A HRM (chest strap) is invaluable. I use it every day while cycling/running/swimming, etc. When correctly set up with your personal stats, I believe they are MUCH more accurate at tracking calories than just some program designed to guess calories.

I bought mine off Ebay as a factory refurbished model for about $200, and have added a bike speed/cadence sensor and a foot pod that attaches to your shoe lace. The footpod is especially useful if your using a treadmill and want to measure distance.

There are many different ones available, but I'd buy another one just like it if it ever fails. I've replaced the chest strap one time since I've had it. My vote....GARMIN.

Heres a couple recent ones:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/598168446#

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/598168408#

Edited September 25, 201411 yr by catfish87

It all depends upon what your goals are....if you are aiming at working out in anaerobic zone...85% MHR, then it is essential you have something to gauge your heart rate...

I invested in a good watch, heart rate monitor from polar.....however I mainly run on a treadmill 80% of the time so I don't use the GPS...theoretically I'm standing still....

Then I realized all the equipment at my health club has state of the art displays that can read my chest band, and tell me all kinds of other stuff....so I don't need to wear the watch....

I only use it when I am not running in the gym, which is not that often...and never during cold months...

I don't need GPS or anything. The Loop will track steps, calories, amount of time active, and will prompt you to move if you've been sedentary too long. It will even track your sleep time. restless sleep vs deep sleep. The HR monitor will obviously give a clearer picture as to how 'hard' my body is working for workouts and which workouts work best for me. Since I'm pre-op, i want to be able to provide the powers that be all the information they need about what I'm doing at home. I don't want ANY questions about whether or not I'm doing the work needed to qualify for surgery. Obviously, after surgery, the tracker will be a whole new toy!

Fitbit. It tracks calories, sleep, weight, steps, water etc. I love it. It has helped me be accountable

Has anyone tried the heart rate monitors that are built into watches/wristbands? I dont like chest straps, and want to monitor my heart rate to target the 65%-85% zone when i work out, i use an app on my iphone called Cardiio that can check your heart rate which is pretty cool, but i hate having to stop what im doing to fiddle with my phone. I like the idea of having a tracker that will keep me on my toes :-)

I use a Garmin ViVo Fit. It's battery is good for 1 year, (changed like a watch battery), and you can use it with their heart rate strap for workouts. It does the pedometer thing like all the trackers and basic sleep movement tracking as well. It also has a "move bar" which is a little line that turns red when you've been sitting for too long. Just a reminder to get up and take a short walk regularly. It synchs with Garmin Connect, (their cloud) which can also push info to MFP for exercise tracking and calorie calculation. Mine has helped me during the loss phase, but even more in maintenance so I know how many calories to add based on my activity level to maintain. It looks like a basic watch with a time display. I never take mine off!

I ❤️ my fitbit flex!! It keeps me going an motivated, because I'm constantly trying to get to 1st place! Lol.. FYI I'm a sore looser! ????

I started at about 7-8000 steps a day but I average about 16000-22000 a day now. I walk ALOT at work... At least 12000 a day are from work alone. I also like the alarm vibration to get me up;

Really good info about fitness trackers here: http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/14/6001153/the-best-fitness-tracker-you-can-buy

I had the polar loop. LOVED it. I do Water aerobics as my primary exercise so it was important that any activity tracker I got be water proof. The only downside to the loop was the battery life. I felt like I need to recharge it every night or risk low battery the next day. I also disliked that little toggle being the only way to recharge it. I thought I had lost mine and when I looked at how much it was to replace it, I was not happy. ( Fortunately I found it.) In the end for some reason my loop bricked on me after 6 mnths of use and I returned it. I will be purchasing the Garmin vivofit next.

As for heart rate monitors, it depends on what you want. Initially I was just interested in being more active so I didn't bother with one. Additionally the polar loop heart rate monitor and most heart rate monitors I have looked at do not work under water. However I like that both the loop and the vivofit have the option of purchasing heart rate monitors. As I progress with my fitness goals (cycling and possibly running), I will be purchasing one.

Thank you so much for your post @@BLERDgirl!

Has anyone tried the http://www.amazon.com/Misfit-Shine-Activity-Sleep-Monitor/dp/B00G9N3I7O/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1418916323&sr=1-1&keywords=misfit+shine Misfit?

I just read about it yesterday on another blog and it looks great. Waterproof and also works well for cycling. Syncs to phone; unfortunately not compatible with my older phone but I may be upgrading next year.

Drmeow, I have the Misfit Activity tracker which is the "cheaper" version of the Misfit Shine. I did like the item but didn't like the fact you can't see any of steps taken or anything else unless you had your phone. I got it on sale at Best Buy on Black Friday for $25.00. It was a good deal at the time, but I would have been pretty mad if I paid full price for it.

I researched activity trackers for some time. I wanted a few basic things: it needed to be waterproof since I do Water aerobics as my primary work out, I wanted it to count steps, I wanted it to remind me to move when I had been inactive too long and I wanted the info to be on the tracker & not have to pair it with a cell phone or look at my cell phone to check my activity. Bottom line is not many are water proof.

I initially had the Polar Loop. I loved it. It was easy use, had all the things I wanted and was easy to use. The only down side was the short battery life. I found I needed to charge it every night which was annoying. It could only be charged via USB toggle.

I then tried the Misfit shine. It was far too complicated for it's own good. I disliked that I need my phone to check my progress. I returned that as soon as it came and I got a look at set up.

I currently have the Vivosmart. So far I love it. It even give me notifications when I get an email. I also considered the Vivofit, but I like the sleeker look of the Vivosmart. I like that unlike the Polar Loop, I can synch the Vivosmart with Myfitnesspal. It has a battery life of 7 days and you can use either a USB port on your computer or an AC adapter plugged into a wall outlet. It can take up to 2 hours to receive a full charge.

Both the Polar Loop and the Vivosmart/vivofit can be paired with heart rate monitors, however heart rate monitors do not work under water.

Edited December 21, 201411 yr by BLERDgirl

I have a polar heart rate monitor - chest band and watch, about 3 yrs old. I wonder if that could be paired with the Polar Loop or I'd have to get a new HRM band?

Should have looked it up before i posted - doesn't look like my old band would be compatible.