Here is a brief review of a product I purchased on Memorial Day and returned today (6 days later); UP24 by Jawbone. In all fairness to the device, I did not integrate any external apps to the UP app such as MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper or IFTTT. An integration with those supporting apps may have changed my perspective.
I needed a kick in the pants. I was feeling sluggish with the start of summer and all the BBQ dinners and accompanying beer(s). I experimented with the Nike Fuelband in the early days and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment it gave, so I did my research and found FitBit and UP24 were the leading fitness bands in the consumer market.
I stopped at the local electronics store and picked up the device. $150+ was a bit steep, but hey…I needed a kick in the pants. Setting up was a real cinch and synced up via bluetooth with my iPhone app immediately. AND I WAS OFF AND STEPPING!
The first day didn’t count because I picked it up mid-day. I was really interested in the sleep monitoring. The first night I set a goal to sleep for 7.5 hours. I went to bed, set it for sleep mode and woke up 7.5 hours later. The device immediately synced up via bluetooth…quite cool. Turns out I sleep lightly 1/2 the night and soundly the other 1/2. In fact, this remained true every night for 6 nights in a row.
Alright, so my sleep pattern seemed consistent, but what about how much I moved around each day. I went to the gym 5 out of 6 days and found when doing so with light cardio I stepped about 12k per day. Only 8k on non-workout days. Okay…big deal.
Okay, okay…this is why I am returning it. I wasn’t motivated. I didn’t really eat any better. I didn’t take EXTRA walks. I still grilled out every night, walked my dog, played with my kids then relaxed for the evening. I figured if I REALLY wanted to shed the extra 5-10 pounds a silly fitness band wasn’t going to help me be consistent. I’m already (and most humans) a creature of habit.
The return process was easy and I used the money to buy a summer pool pass for the family. Now I can concentrate on memories instead of checking my iPhone app several times a day to make sure I’m taking enough steps.
Stay thirsty my friends,
Derek
w1sewords 