Fitness Apps to Monitor Health and Exercise.

Happyflowerlady

Happyflowerlady

Vagabond Flowerchild
Location
Northern Alabama
First came the little pedometer that clipped on, and maybe next, it was incorporated into a watch. I remember having one of those watches that would keep track of my steps when I walked.
Next, I had a Fitbug, which was a little gadget that clipped on to my clothes and tracked my steps and then synced it into my iPad and iPhone.
I had to change the battery every few months, so I looked for one that charged up with a usb connection, and got one of the older Jawbone UP trackers. This one also tracked my sleep; so I could see how well I was sleeping each night.

I used that until last fall , when my daughter upgraded to the new Apple Watch cellular, and gave me her old Series 2 watch.
I didn’t think that I would like it and having to wear a watch again after all these years of not wearing one; but I now just love all of the things that this watch does.
It is not only a watch and a wrist-phone; but also as a device to help me monitor my health.

The Apple Watch tracks my steps, how many calories I actively burn each day, what my heart rate is at any time, as well as keeping track of how well I am sleeping.
When I go swimming, I can set the activity tracker for swimming, and it tells me how far I swam, how many laps I swam, and how my heart rate was when exercising.

The Apple Watch syncs with my iPhone, which sends the information to another app called “Health” .The health apps logs in all of the activity information, plus my food intake.
I have an app called “CarbManager” and when I eat, I record it in the app, and it keeps track of how many calories, carbs, fats, and fiber I get every day.

The health app takes the food information and shows me how many vitamins and minerals I am getting from the food that I eat, so I can easily track my vitamins and minerals, and see what I might need to supplement with, and which ones I have enough of in my diet.

There are a lot of health and fitness apps available for people who care enough about their health that they want to keep track of everything, so regardless of what kind of phone or computer you use, there are programs that will work for it, and apps that integrate easily with most phones.

What I would like next is one of those scales that works with a phone app and shows not only your weight, but your BMI and other related info.
I know that one popular food tracker is called “My Fitness Pal”, and I have seen all kinds of sports and walking/running apps ; but the ones that I have do what I need to have done.
Which other apps are any of the rest of the folks here using, and why do you like them the best ?
 

I have a Garmin fitness monitor. Water resistant, counts steps and reps, keeps track of heart rate, and has more features than I use. I love it, just because it lets me know how much I have done. I need at least 8,000 steps to get to sleep at night. I could have bught an apple watch, but I would freak out about breaking/losing it. Garmin is under $200, so I don't worry so much.
 
I bought a "Talking" watch which is run by a group in Colorado. It's accurate to the split second and actually says the hourly time and also

"says" the time whenever I press the button. I never have to wind it, get a new battery etc. I can't shut it off. At night I have to stick it in a drawer
lest it would keep me awake every hour on the hour. I wear it every day and it comes in handy when we have to change the settings on our clocks twice each year.

If it's dark out, I simply punch a button and the little man inside announces the EXACT time of day or night.

This watch is prized by blind people who want to know the time.

As I mentioned before, it is operated by the group somewhere in Colorado.

If you want one..."Google" it. I think it was around $30 something or other.
 

CarolfromTX said:
I have a Garmin fitness monitor. Water resistant, counts steps and reps, keeps track of heart rate, and has more features than I use. I love it, just because it lets me know how much I have done. I need at least 8,000 steps to get to sleep at night. I could have bught an apple watch, but I would freak out about breaking/losing it. Garmin is under $200, so I don't worry so much.
Click to expand...

If you look for an older model, or a refurbished one, you can have an Apple Watch in the same price range. I see that at Best Buy all of the time, starting at around $200. Ebay is also a great place to find a used one.

I can’t say enough about the Apple Watch, Carol ! I thought I just needed a fitness tracker, but the Apple Watch does SO much more. I used to miss phone calls because my phone was in the bottom of my purse and I didn’t hear it when I was in a busy store, like Walmart, or even when i was driving. Now, it vibrates right on my wrist, and I can talk like “Dick Tracy” with my wrist phone.
It has an emergency button in case you need to call for help and can’t get to your phone. You just hold the button down and it calls 911 for you.
Any exercise that I want to do, I can start it as an activity from the watch, and afterwards, it has total specs of what i accomplished during the exercise.
Mine is a Series 2, so it is safe to wear in water, but if you are going to be swimming, then you need something newer than a Series 1, which can get wet but is not waterproof.

Because of my heart problems, I also want to keep track of my heart rate, and this is so easy to do with the Apple Watch also.
So, if you want more than just a step counter, this device is really worth checking out.
 
I have an Apple watch, a Fitbit Charge 2 and a new Fitbit Versa. I prefer a Fitbit for fitness tracking since they have superior battery life as compared to my Apple watch. I also prefer the Fitbit app and interface compared to Apple Health. The Charge 2 is my absolute favorite but I recently bought the Versa since it can be used for swimming.

As for apps, the Fitbit interface is probably the best, but I have also used My Fitness Pal, Lose It! and Weight Watchers for nutrition tracking.
 
C'est Moi said:
I have an Apple watch, a Fitbit Charge 2 and a new Fitbit Versa. I prefer a Fitbit for fitness tracking since they have superior battery life as compared to my Apple watch. I also prefer the Fitbit app and interface compared to Apple Health. The Charge 2 is my absolute favorite but I recently bought the Versa since it can be used for swimming.

As for apps, the Fitbit interface is probably the best, but I have also used My Fitness Pal, Lose It! and Weight Watchers for nutrition tracking.
Click to expand...
I now also have a Fitbit Inspire 2, and the battery lasts at least 10 days, maybe more, in between charging, and my Apple Watch has to be charged up every day.
The reason that I have both is because of my Humana Medicare plan. They have an activity incentive program called Go365 and you can get points for things like doctor visits and also for walking at least 500 steps each day. The problem is that the Go365 doesn’t sync with Apple Watch, but it does sync with a Fitbit.

My Humana OTC catalog had activity trackers on it, so I used up my OTC amount and got the Inspire. Since all it needs to do is tell Humana that I am walking every day, I got the little clip-on case for it, and wear it clipped onto my bra.
Once I knew that it was working right, I no longer even look at it, because I track everything else with the Apple Watch . I just charged it up today, and it has been around 2 weeks since I first got it and charged it up.

The inspire is capable of tracking a lot of things, as well as waterproof for swimming, and I would definitely recommend it for someone looking for a basic fitness tracker. It comes with a free year of Premium, which gives you more options and information (which I never pay any attention to anyway).
 
My daughter just got a new Apple Watch and gave me her old Apple Watch Ultra . It is larger than a regular Apple Watch, and easier for me to read everything with. We have not been to the fitness center for a while because of the cold weather and icy roads this winter, but now that spring is coming, we plan on going several times a week again, so I will be able to swim more often.

Our regular fitness center closed last summer, so now we have to drive to one that is further away, but it is still covered with Silver Sneakers in our Advantage plan.
I miss swimming, but when it is really cold, I do not like being outside after swimming in cool water for an hour.

My son has an Oura fitness ring that he no longer uses because he bought a newer one, and he said he is going to give me his old one. He likes the ring for overnight sleep tracking better than wearing his Apple Watch to bed, and the ring also monitors oxygen levels and body temperature and a few other things.
I usually wear my Apple Watch to bed for the sleep tracking and oxygen sensor tracking, but i think that I would like wearing the ring instead, too.
 
I'm kinda tight with a buck. The blood pressure monitor my doctor gave me is far as I go. Walking, running and other exercises, I just count and calculate with a regular watch. 20 minute walk is about a mile. Stuff like that.
 
So….. I just got the Oura Ring from my son yesterday. I have it set up, paired with my iPhone, and working. I am still getting used to it, but is also syncs with my Apple Watch and my apple health app; so all of the new ring information should also be in my health app now, too.
The ring fits me perfectly on my index finger, and it is easier to wear it at night while sleeping that to wear the Apple Watch.
After I get a little more experienced with the ring, I will report back about what all it does.
This video describes the new series 4, and mine is a series 3, but it gives you an idea of what the ring will do as far as health tracking.

 
Happyflowerlady said:
So….. I just got the Oura Ring from my son yesterday. I have it set up, paired with my iPhone, and working. I am still getting used to it, but is also syncs with my Apple Watch and my apple health app; so all of the new ring information should also be in my health app now, too.
The ring fits me perfectly on my index finger, and it is easier to wear it at night while sleeping that to wear the Apple Watch.
After I get a little more experienced with the ring, I will report back about what all it does.
This video describes the new series 4, and mine is a series 3, but it gives you an idea of what the ring will do as far as health tracking.

Click to expand...
How do you like the Oura Ring? When my Fitbit watch finally dies I'll be looking for another health & fitness monitoring device.
 
I am undecided about the Oura Ring at this point. Both my son and my daughter really like theirs, but it seems to me that I do not get much information from it that I do not already get from my Apple Watch. The main difference is that the ring is smaller and easy to wear overnight.
It measures body temperature, but the readout only tells me if it is higher or lower than usual, and I have not found a way to actually see what my temperature is.

It has quite a few charts, and it looks like I can ask it for more details about things than I am already seeing. At first, it said that it needed time to calibrate everything, so for the first couple of weeks, it will be setting the base calibrations and then you will get more information after that time period.

You can wear it on any finger, but it said the index finger is preferred, and that is what i am doing. I have never liked wearing any kind of rings, but i am getting used to this one, and think that i like it being on my index finger.
It is waterproof and can also be worn when swimming, but since my Apple Watch monitors my swimming, I never wear the ring at the fitness center when swimming.
I do not think that (for me) it could ever replace my Apple Watch, because the watch does so much more and is an emergency alert if I need that, as well as a communication device; but I think that it is useful as a supplemental health monitoring device.
 
I’ve been using the Fitbit app for steps, heart rate, and sleep, and it syncs well with MyFitnessPal. For food tracking, "Lose It!" is simple and effective. If you’re looking for a smart scale, I’d recommend Withings
 
Viettare said:
I’ve been using the Fitbit app for steps, heart rate, and sleep, and it syncs well with MyFitnessPal. For food tracking, "Lose It!" is simple and effective. If you’re looking for a smart scale, I’d recommend Withings
Click to expand...
As a matter of fact, i am just now researching fitness scales because it is time to replace our old one. It looks like the Withings scales are excellent, but they are one of the more expensive brands, so i will probably be getting one of the cheaper scales instead. I am still looking , so have definitely not decided yet.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
I do not think that (for me) it could ever replace my Apple Watch, because the watch does so much more and is an emergency alert if I need that, as well as a communication device; but I think that it is useful as a supplemental health monitoring device.
Click to expand...
So you're happy with your Apple Watch, as a health monitoring device? I've loved my Fitbit for these past 5 years, but I won't get another Fitbit product since Google has bought Fitbit and is bit by bit destroying the Fitbit experience. :rolleyes:
I'm considering a Garmin fitness tracker, when my Fitbit give up the ghost. I haven't researched Apple Watch yet, but user testimonials are always valuable.
 
I have had an Apple Watch for several years and totally recommend them, @Nathan ; but you need an iPhone to use it. My first one was a Series 2, and now they are up to series 10; so you know it has been a long time.
My daughter just upgraded to the new Ultra 3 and gave me her Ultra 2, so that is what I have now.

I really like the fitness information, as well as the emergency feature. If I fall, it will ask me if I need help, and if I fell because I passed out and was unable to answer, it then calls 911, as well as my emergency contacts.
If I need to locate my husband when we are shopping, we use our watches, but I keep my phone in my purse for longer conversations because it is simpler than holding the watch up to talk.

It reminds me to stand up and walk every hour, and tracks my heart rate, oxygen level, and sleeping, as well as regular activity tracking, even in the swimming pool.
I can take an EKG if I want to, although some of the newer ones are apparently not doing that right now.
If there was a disaster and cell towers were down, my phone can connect with a satellite (or now Starlink), and i can send an emergency message.
While this is the phone and not the watch, it may soon work on the watch also, and is a great feature for the phone.

Some of the watches can also sense if you are in a car accident and call emergency services and contacts.
There is an emergency button on the side of the watch, and if you push and hold it, it will call 911 for you; so it really makes me feel more security for an emergency.
Aside from the health and safety features, Apple Watch is beautiful because it has all kind of different bands you can use with it and also a lot of different options for faces to track just about everything you would want to see on a watch face, or just look interesting. You can even use your own favorite photos like a screensaver that you can change, and some are moving , like time-lapse photos of cites and nature.
It is definitely worth checking into getting an Apple Watch !
 
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Happyflowerlady said:
I have had an Apple Watch for several years and totally recommend them, @Nathan ; but you need an iPhone to use it.
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I had forgotten that, thanks. I Googled to see if the Apple Watch would pair with an iPad, it won't. Can I connect my Apple Watch to an iPad? - Apple Community
I have entertained the thought of switching from Android to iPhone, right at the moment my (used to be) top of the line Pixel 7Pro is performing well, still has 2-1/2 years of guaranteed updates, so I'll be keeping at least until then.
 
So, @Nathan , am I understanding this right ? You want to change from your Fitbit Tracker because Google bought Fitbit and is ruining it; but you do not want to give up your Google phone ?

Okay, one possible solution that might work for you in this situation. You can get an older iPhone fairly cheap, especially if you get a basic model and not a lot of GB storage.
You should not need it to be connected to your cell service, (but it might not cost too much to add a second phone if you wanted to do that) and then pair the Apple Watch with the older iPhone , and keep using your google Pixel as your main phone until you are ready to get a new phone. (Essentially, the iphone would be like a tiny iPad If it is not connected to cellular.)
Once you are ready for a new phone, you can choose whatever iPhone meets your needs best, and be completely done with the google devices.

Or, you could just sell the google phone, and get an iPhone. If the Pixel only has 1-2 years of updates left, it must be an older model Pixel, right ?
Amazon is a good place to get used Apple devices, and also Woot (which is an amazon outlet that sells overstock and refurbished items very cheap) sometimes has Apple Watches and iPhones on clearance prices.
 
Nathan said:
@Happyflowerlady , Thank you, excellent tech workaround, you know that makes you a tech geek(honor & respect). 🤗
I could probably get an older iPhone for cheap or maybe free, from family or friends. I could check an Apple watch's stats from the older iPhone, so my Android need not be involved.
Click to expand...
I am not an expert and have never done this, Nathan, so it might not work as easily as I am thinking that it would. Having all Apple devices is certainly the best way to do this, so before you buy anything , maybe check with some of your friends who have Apple phones/watches and see if they think it would work.

edit to add:
I asked Co-Pilot AI, and they said you can pair the apple Watch with an iPhone not connected to cellular and still track fitness. However, you would lose some of the best functions of the Apple Watch because it would not be an emergency alert that you can use if you get hurt or pass out and need help.

Also, the newer the Apple Watch , the newer iPhone you need to have because the newer ones only connect to the newer iOS on the phone.
So, a lot to consider, @Nathan.
 
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Nathan said:
I had forgotten that, thanks. I Googled to see if the Apple Watch would pair with an iPad, it won't. Can I connect my Apple Watch to an iPad? - Apple Community
I have entertained the thought of switching from Android to iPhone, right at the moment my (used to be) top of the line Pixel 7Pro is performing well, still has 2-1/2 years of guaranteed updates, so I'll be keeping at least until then.
Click to expand...
Can you get these devices to work out for you ?

I'm just goofing but yes I live in the 19th century but you will agree if you walk a mile or two you walked a mile or 2 and no need for a watch , etc to tell me .
 
Oldeagle66 said:
I'm kinda tight with a buck. The blood pressure monitor my doctor gave me is far as I go. Walking, running and other exercises, I just count and calculate with a regular watch. 20 minute walk is about a mile. Stuff like that.
Click to expand...
The power of the Dark Side has taken them .

One of my neighbors and his wife now use some device to " guide " them as far as what they should eat .


 
I have both the Fitbit Versa and the Oura Ring 3. They both pretty much capture the same stuff, sleep, steps, etc... I use the Fitbit a lot more since I tend to have issues with the Oura ring syncing to their app on my phone for some reason. Plus the tracking of my sleep was different between the two. Never knew which one was correct. And with the syncing issues with the Oura ring, I just use the Fitbit Versa now.

I exercise enough but I do check it each moring to see how it says I slept and see it the trends match with how I feel.

Plus I use a CPAP machine and hate it (the feel of that mask on my face) but I noticed that my sleep numbers are better when I use the CPAP (makes sense) so it helps keeping me using (at least a little more than I would if I didn't have the Fitbit Versa).
 

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