Nike Fuel Band
 

The team discussed the Nike Fuel Band on the latest podcast. I have a few questions about the band. It sounds really great.

Do you have to wear Nike shoes or have a special Nike chip for your shoes for the band to work?

Does it monitor heart rate?

Does it have a built in pedometer?

Can you program intervals with it (i.e. walk/run intervals)?

No, it does not require anything else in order to use it.

It does track the number of steps you take each day, the amount of calories burned and the amount of Nike "Fuel Points" you earn each day (I still don't completely understand the Nike Fuel Points thing). It will sync with your iPhone via bluetooth (and I'm guessing android phones as well).

It's a great way to gauge how active you are each day and actually becomes quite addicting. Poor Shaun gets very upset if he forgets to put his on in the morning :)

Pete

Do you think it'd be pretty easy to use without a smart phone, Pete? I'm still in the dark ages when it comes to that (aka 'thrifty' as a 25 year old who lives at home with her parents still) but would like to have something to track with.

They have a device kind of similar for Weight Watchers that they're marketing heavily at the meetings but I'm leery of it without a smart phone.

(Oh, and since it's kinda related, I wanted to add to the awesome conversation from yesterday's ep about health and being active, eating, etc. that the basic concept of WW is eating good foods and also eating whatever else you want, just in the right amounts...so you guys definitely sound like you're all on the right track.)

If you have a Ipod touch you can use that. They sell the Nike+ Ipod that does the same as the Nike+FuelBand. You just buy the pouch that velcros on your shoe laces for the sensor instead of buying the shoes. This is what I have and it works perfect..

I would say that the Nike+ online interface and website are just as nice as the smartphone app. There is a separate application on your computer that takes that data from the band and then syncs it with the website just like the app would. It displays the data and numbers in nice charts and graphs to look at.

It's so sad when you forget to wear it because the graph flatlines and looks like you just lied on the couch all day.

I had the active link and didn't care for it. I'm very active, but I never seemed to reach goal. I didn't find it very motivating. I also hate that there is a $5 monthly fee and I can't use it when I'm off WW.

I have a fitbit now and love it. It sounds similar to the Nike band. It tracks my steps, miles, staircases, and even sleep. I find counting steps so much more motivating that the active link. (side note: I don't eat my activity points, so I'm not concerned about the conversion, but I could imagine that being a concern).

I just got a fitbit in the mail today. It's tiny. It records steps taken, calories burned and some other stuff I'm not sure of yet. You can sync it with your computer and it will keep track of everything. If you are a member of sparkspeople you can also sync it with that. I can wait to try this puppy in Disney next month.

I haven't seen the podcast yet, but I've been flirting the idea of getting one. I'll have to watch. Of those that have one - is the general consensus positive? I noticed that it had gotten mixed reviews on Amazon.

My husband and I have Fitbit One's and we love them. We got them because the can be discreetly clipped in pockets or in my case on a bra as opposed to the Nike. It tracks steps, stairs, mileage , calories, time, sleep, and has alarms. It will sync with IPhones and some Samsungs. I think all of the trackers have great options. It is just very motivating to set a goal and check your progress throughout the day.

I'm contemplating getting one of these for our upcoming WDW vacation. If the fitband keeps track of footsteps is it really keeping track of movement? and if that's the case, wouldn't it be tracking and counting movement on the rides as footsteps?

If anyone knows I'd appreciate the info.

I know that fitbit doesn't count riding in the car. So I wouldn't think it would count rides.