Summary: If you've listened to the show before, you know that I'm a huge fan of the fitbit. In today's podcast I talk about using a Striiv unit. It's SUPER easy, and super motivational. It doesn't need a computer and when you turn it on it walks you through setting it up. From there as you start moving it tracks your movements, and rewards you for moving, while motivating to move more. There are challenges that are organized by difficulty. When you win these you are awarded bonus points (for example take 200 steps in 15 minutes). This can be huge for your self-esteem. The easy challenges are just that - easy (at least for me). This means when you're first starting out you will be able to complete these challenges and boost your confidence. The Stiiv makes fitness a fun game that you play against yourself. The thing that I found very cool is it politely nudges you to do just a little more. When I got done walking for 15 minutes, it asked me to walk three more minutes. I accepted the challenge. By doing "just a little more" I can see where these little challenges will add up. It's not surprising that the Average Striiv users walk 60 minutes a day--almost double the national average. The other thing that makes the unit easy to use is the display is two inches. For me it makes it easy to read. It even has a small speaker for the "Myland" video game that is built into the unit (where you earn points and unlock different aspects of the game by moving). If I had one concern (but not really) it would be about its accuracy. To make a long story short, I did three tests of walking on a flat hallway where I counted 50 steps. In those three tests of 50 steps, the fitbit was only off by one step. The strivv was off by 7. By the end of the day, my fitbit said I had 1000 more steps than the striiv. As I look at my readout now, my fitbit says I've taken 1565 steps. The striiv says I've taken 1097. When you think about it, if you want your tracking device to be inaccurate you want it to report LESS so you walk MORE (most treadmills grossly exagerate calories burned). Likewise there is a fairly large discrepancy in terms of calories burned at the end of the day. I don't count this as a huge negative as I'm not sure any device is going to accurately calculate how many calories I burn based on my age, height, and weight. It's always a guestimate. It takes 2 hours to charge the unit if you're plugging it into the wall, and four hours if you're charging it via a USB cable plugged into a computer. Once charged, it should last about a week without needing recharged. The one thing that motivated me (that I didn't expect to motivate me) was the "Walkathon" where I signed up (for free) to have water donated for people in Africa every time I go 18,000 steps. That moved me to keep moving when I got up to 17,000 steps. And I can always see how close I am to my next water donation. If someone said "which one would you pick" in regards to the Striiv vs Fitbit, its hard. The one thing that a fitbit does is you can use their website (for free) to track your calories, sleep, and much more and if you really want to diagnose your weight loss efforts, it's a great tool. If I'm looking for motivation to keep moving? I really liked the Striiv and its ever so polite "nudging." I liked the easy to read graphics, stats, etc without needing a computer. With the different levels of challenges, and all the stats I don't see myself getting bored with this unit any time soon. I can see where I'm much less likely to lose the Strivv (being bigger and white), but the flip slide to that is when you are wearing the clip you are aware of it (which is why I've been putting it in my pocket instead). I guess it depends on what you are looking to do. Both are great motivational tools. Check out fitbit.com and watch pick up a Striiv at Amazon.com Fitdeck Nutrition Fitdeeck has come out with a new set of cards and tools in their "Fitdeck Nutrition" section.
