If you listen to the iTechGear.org Podcast you know that since the beginning of the year I have turned my attention to my overall fitness and health. I’ve lost about 60-70 pounds. This was no easy task for someone in their 50s. Throughout this journey I have used many devices and apps to both track and teach me things about how to lose weight. So what I am attempting to do is talk about the different devices and apps that in detail, what I use, what I recommend and what I will be trying in the near future. We’ll start with the apps. Now my primary platform is Android so I can’t speak about the Apple Watch myself but I will attempt to let you know if the Apple Watch will work with the app. Also I have not used EVERY app there is. These are just the apps I use and what I think about them.
The Apps
There are three kinds of apps that I use. First are the health related apps. These are apps that are not specifically targeted at losing weight. Then there are the weight loss oriented apps. Then there’s the fitness tracking apps. We’ll start with the health related apps.
Livongo
I use Livongo which is an employer benefit. Livongo has programs for diabetes, weight loss and blood pressure. All of these work with free connected devices. They include a glucometer with free supplies, a blood pressure cuff and a scale. The nice thing about Livongo is all of their devices track in the same app and that app also provides tips on lowering your glucose and blood pressure. The downside to Livongo is I am not able to take this data and plug it in or share it on social media if I so desire but overall I have been very pleased with Livongo. One other negative I forgot to mention is that my cuff wore out and I had to find a replacement on Amazon. Livongo was of no help when the cuff itself stopped working. The sphygmomanometer was never the issue. Fortunately I was able to find an acceptable replacement on Amazon but your mileage may vary. The scale itself uses AA batteries and seems to be accurate when compared to other scales.
Unfortunately if your company doesn’t offer this as a benefit it’s not useful to you but if it is I say go for it as the free strips and supplies for the Glucometer are an awesome deal.
Google Fit
Google Fit is the standard fitness tracking app for WearOS devices with exception of the Pixel Watch. The nice thing here is even if you do have a Pixel Watch you can still use Google Fit as well instead of Fitbit. Google Fit supports most Wear OS watches and many scales like the Withing Scale which I also own. Google Fit is a basic fitness tracking app. It allows you to track steps, workouts and weight but not much else. It also keeps track of Heart Points as defined by the American Heart Foundation and that is one thing I love about it. It also let’s you tie in multiple apps and devices to help aggregate your tracking. For example, Fitbit (a Google Company) also ties into it but apps like Livongo do not. I also notice that Garmin devices don’t seem to tie into Google Fit. There’s only about 50 apps that do tie into Google Fit but that’s about it. Apple Health will tie into Google Fit as well so you CAN use an Apple Watch with Google Fit but I don’t know why you’d want to unless you live in both Apple and Android universes. If you are just getting into fitness tracking and have an Android device and a WearOS watch this is a good place to start. Google Fit is free.
Google Fitbit
I am surprised Google hasn’t just consumed all of Fitbit’s features but it hasn’t yet and right now it’s a stand alone app and the first one I have found worth paying for. Fitbit is the main app for it’s own fitness trackers as well as the Pixel Watches (both 1 and 2). Fitbit tracks exercises and it also attempts to do some of this automatically. For example, as I walked at a amusement park over my vacation on my Pixel Watch it popped up a notification that I looked like I was walking and asked if I wanted to start tracking. If tracking is all you need then the free version will be good enough, but the premium level adds workout video and audio sessions, readiness score, sleep tracking, mindfulness sessions, stress management details, a wellness report as well as recipe and meal hacks. I find the premium features to be worth it and the tracking is generally accurate. I also like the goal setting in this. I have mine set for 5 workouts per week and 11,000 steps per day. The basic level also tracks SpO2 (blood oxygen), breathing rate, heart rate variability and resting heart rate. This is dependent on if your device supports it. It also tracks weight via it’s own scales. My Withings scale is not supported. The Apple Watch is not supported with Fitbit and this hits one of my biggest criticisms of devices in that there doesn’t seem to be a standard way to move data from one app to another. While Fitbit is device specific it does have features that other apps have like food tracking but there are better apps for that that aren’t device specific. For me, the premium features are worth it currently but this may change. Premium is only $9.99 per month.
Noom
Noom’s primary purpose isn’t health tracking in and of itself. It’s either weight loss or mood depending on what you choose when you sign up. You can also switch from one to the other from within the app. I signed up for the weight loss program. It’s basic premise is teaching you about how to eat better and how weight loss is more than just what goes in your mouth. It teaches you that your diet has to be something you live with for the rest of your life.
It has food tracking, weight tracking either hand entered or via supported devices like my Withings Scale as well as exercise tracking using Fitbit or other supported trackers. It includes recipes that you can then just add to your meal tracking which is nice. These recipes follow the idea of tracking green, orange and yellow foods. Green foods are usually low calorie dense foods and fill you faster, yellow are more calorie dense and orange are the most calorie dense. Veggies are green usually, meat and starchy foods are yellow and desserts are an example of a orange food. You want to eat more green and less orange and learning this one thing in Noom has been very helpful in my weight loss journey.
Noom best pricing is paying for it yearly and that is currently $209 per year. Also, it can be an employee benefit depending on your company or if your company is like mine that gives you money to spend for improving your health be it physical or mental it’s well worth using that money for Noom. For me, it’s totally worth it and I have yet to run out of things to learn but once I do I may look to other apps for food tracking but right now Noom is what I use for that but as you can see it’s so much more than that. I find Noom instrumental to my most recent progress as it isn’t specifically one thing. It’s a whole picture thing and I love that. My only complaint is it loses connections with Fitbit and Withings regularly but it’s easy enough to tie them back in. That’s not reason enough for me to highly recommend Noom.
Devices I Use
I currently use a Withings Smart scale, a Pixel Watch, Livongo Scale, Glucometer and sphygmomanometer. We’ll take a look at each.
Pixel Watch
We were excited when Google first announced the original Pixel Watch which is the one I use for my fitness tracking. As previously mentioned, it supports Fitbit since Google chose to use that instead of rather in addition to Google Fit. Honestly I would rather Google look at consuming Fitbit into Google Fit. They literally can still make the Fitbit trackers if they wanted to. Either that or add the heart points to Fitbit and get rid of Google Fit. I am confused at why they went this way but honestly Fitbit is better than Google Fit in almost every aspect so this was a good choice for Google.
So far I really like my Pixel Watch but the biggest issue it has is battery life. It can last all day if you aren’t actively tracking an activity. For example, the battery quickly is spent when I am on a 10 mile plus hike. The battery saver helps but I am training for a 20 mile hike and there is no way this will handle tracking the exercise in Fitbit and All Trails (my favorite trail app) at the same time and still not need a charge when I get home. In a normal day, the battery life is fine if you charge it before you go to bed so you can have a full night of sleep tracking. The design is very nice but it would be nice if they had different screen sizes. The Pixel Watch 2 wasn’t large enough of an improvement for me to upgrade.
Withings Smart Scale
I love this scale. The scale ties into Noom which is nice. It also can take step data from Fitbit or other trackers as well other than it’s own trackers. In fact, it seems to be the only company that allows this. That’s a great thing in that it doesn’t attempt to wall you in with your fitness. Withings recognizes it’s not the only game in town and I like this a lot! Withings makes more than just scales and watches too. They also make a sleep tracking mat, a thermometer and a blood pressure monitor. They are also working on a urinalysis device too! What is clear to me is Withings is probably the most friendly company when it comes to integrating with devices that aren’t a part of it’s system. Withings also ties into Noom and other apps as well. I highly recommend a Withings scale. The one I have is the basic Body scale which is currently only $59.95. They have other scales that do much more analysis but this basic one is the one I like so far. If I choose to upgrade this it will likely be with another Withings device. Currently the app for the scale is free.
Future Devices
As I have shared on the show I am training for a 20 mile hike and am also looking to lose enough weight so I can go on backpacking trips without the need for Electric as I am currently using BIPAP for Sleep Apnea. What is clear to me is that my Pixel Watch will not have the battery life needed for this. So I am looked for a new watch. Garmin is the place to go with devices for hiking like I am planning to do. I have ordered the Garmin Fenix 7X Solar which has a great battery life PLUS integrated solar charging. So if I am on a hike it can also take advantage of the sun to help add to the battery life. Look for a full review after the Southeast Ohio Mammoth March which is August 3rd.
Summary
What is clear to me is that where we are today is just the beginning. The single biggest issue is data integration. It’s hard to know what apps integrate with what devices and there doesn’t appear to be a sorely needed standard. With fitness/health tracking it rides a fine line with some devices like my Livongo devices having to honor Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPPA. This is what controls what data you can share with others or not and is why Livongo doesn’t allow me to share a reading on social media….but it does let me export this and share it with my doctor. Ironically the only way I have to share this with my doctor is in person as I do not have and will not get his e-mail address. I can share things via the MyChart app that only two of my doctors use but I don’t think any of them would take my data over data they collect. Either way, HIPPA is huge reason why the Apple Watch doesn’t have blood glucose tracking just yet.
However, I think that this will start to become less of an issue in the future. Eventually, there will need to be a standard so that we, the users, can get a better picture of our health at all times. Our life depends on it.
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