On this page:

• How do fitness trackers work?
• Fitness trackers vs smartwatches
• Types of fitness trackers
• Can fitness trackers accurately measure your heart rate?
• Fitness tracker subscriptions
• Other important features to look for
• How much do fitness trackers cost?

How do fitness trackers work?

Fitness trackers, bands and a number of smartwatches offer a large range of fitness logging functions depending on the model. They all count steps or distance travelled and save that information in an accompanying app. This data is presented in graphs so you can track your activity progress.

More expensive models have features like sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring (active and resting), calorie input logs and even support for some smartphone apps like Spotify. Meanwhile, the accompanying apps can get quite granular, with the ability to track different types of exercise including swimming, rowing and weightlifting.

The idea is that you have a constantly updating log of your activities whether that’s a simple morning walk or a full-blown fitness regime. A fitness tracker won’t make you exercise more, but it can motivate you to stick with your workout particularly when the data starts to show positive improvements.

Fitness trackers vs smartwatches

Most smartwatches have some fitness tracking tools these days and their performance often rivals the best bands in our tests. Plus, they also offer a lot of smartphone features including texting, making digital payments and calendar alerts.

They’re essentially a mini smartphone for your wrist so you can review some data and control some apps (such as music streaming) without having to pull your phone out. Some also support third-party fitness apps as an alternative to the default one.

However, they tend to be bigger, bulkier and a lot more expensive. The added features and large, vibrant screen can also decrease battery life and they can be pretty hard to navigate.

Do fitness trackers increase physical activity?

Fitness trackers can be an important part of your fitness routine. They won’t make you suddenly start working out more as soon as you put one on, but they can motivate you to exercise more often.

Most let you set goals and track your progress over weeks or months at a time, with feedback on your general health improvements. Fitness goals like ‘run for 20 minutes each day’ give you something to aim for, and these are much more motivating than a vague plan to ‘get fit’.

And never underestimate the power of a guilt trip. Some bands will remind you to exercise if they haven’t detected any activity that day, though this is usually an optional feature that can be turned off.

Types of fitness trackers

Fitness trackers fall into two broad camps – fitness trackers and smartwatches with fitness features. Early fitness trackers tended to be a band with a small screen that displayed basic information and while this design is still around, a couple of others have emerged.

Some companies make smartwatch-style fitness bands. These look like a smartwatch, with a square or circular face, but they only have fitness tracking tools. The larger screens can be a convenient alternative to the band as they can display more information for quick reference and they’re easier to interact with.

Hybrids hide smartwatch features under an analogue watch face with either a small screen that displays very basic information (e.g. step count) or no screen at all. They usually filter most, if not all, of the relevant fitness information through accompanying smartphone apps making them far less convenient to use during a workout.

These and other bands/watches are often marketed as ‘fashionable fitness bands’. They look like traditional watches or jewellery so you can track your health and exercise while looking stylish. These aren’t inherently worse, but they do lack the convenience of models with buttons or touchscreens.

Can fitness trackers accurately measure your heart rate?

Almost all fitness trackers come with a heart rate monitor that can measure active and resting beats per minute. Most will graph this info in their smartphone app so you can monitor your heart rate over time.

Active heart rate monitors need to be accurate as certain types of exercise, such as cardio or lifting weights, benefit from specific heart rate zones. These zones are in a 10% range which means inaccuracy readings above 5% aren’t acceptable. Not only can an inaccurate reading reduce the effectiveness of your workout, it can also be demotivating.

Can fitness trackers measure blood pressure?

Though there are some fitness trackers that claim to measure blood pressure, we don’t gather this information in our test as they’re not very common in Australia. Even so, an accurate blood pressure reading can be very important for some people, and everyone’s results will be different.

It seems unlikely that a jack-of-all-trades fitness band will do the same job as proper medical equipment, so we suggest speaking to your doctor to determine which device best matches your needs.

Can fitness trackers help you sleep?

A good night’s sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, which is why many of the more recent fitness trackers and smartwatches include sleep tracking tools. These won’t help you sleep, but they can provide you with important data that you can use to improve sleep.

Information about your sleep cycles, restlessness at night and resting heart rate can show whether you’re a healthy sleeper or not. Many fitness trackers and their apps will take the data and either show you how your sleep is improving your health, or give you tips on how to improve sleep.��

These are rarely user specific and should only be treated as a guide. The good thing about sleep trackers though is you can take your data to your doctor for better advice.

Do all fitness trackers need a smartphone?

Fitness trackers need to be linked to an external device with the associated app installed and that’s almost always a smartphone. You may also be able to substitute your phone for a laptop or tablet, depending on the brand and available software.

Why is this? Fitness trackers gather all kinds of data during a workout which is moved (aka ‘dumped’) to your phone, laptop etc. Most bands will do this every minute or so if the phone is nearby, but you can also dump all the data in one go when you get back from a run, for example.

You may find some bands or watches that don’t need to dump data, but instead offer it as an additional function. The information they can display is usually very limited compared to what the app can do, so it’s always worth connecting them.

Some fitness trackers also give you the option to control apps on the phone if it’s connected and nearby. For example, if you’re jogging along and feel like listening to a particular song, you can flick through your playlists on the band/watch rather than having to get your phone out.

How to connect a fitness tracker to a phone

Fitness bands and smartwatches connect to your phone via Bluetooth. If you’re having trouble connecting, make sure the band/watch and your phone are in Bluetooth scanning mode, then look for it in the list of available devices in your smartphone’s settings. It should automatically connect once detected, but you can do it manually in the same device list too.

Some also require location settings, so turn those on before you set it up. Also, connect to a Wi-Fi network if you’re setting up a fitness band for the first time as you’ll need to download an app/software and possibly some firmware updates as well.

Fitness tracker subscriptions

Apple and FitBit offer paid subscription services called Apple Fitness+ and FitBit Premium. Subscribers get access to video workouts from professional trainers (updated weekly) as well as content and guidance tailored to your lifestyle and exercise regime.

FitBit Premium, for example, can provide personalised, pre-recorded workout routines called guided programs that are much more nuanced than the free default app. It also provides deeper insights into your fitness data, dieting tools and a digital personal trainer. Each service costs $14.99 per month but they offer discounts if you sign up for a year.

Using different fitness apps

A number of Android-based fitness bands and smartwatches support alternative, third-party fitness apps such as Runkeeper and MyFitnessPal. Similarly, some Android bands are compatible with Google Fit on your smartphone. The Apple Watch supports a few third-party fitness apps, but the range isn’t quite as extensive.

Zombies, Run! is a very popular example, which uses an audio-book Walking Dead-like narrative about surviving the zombie apocalypse to encourage you to run. The more you exercise the more chapters you unlock and it motivates you to keep moving by playing zombie sounds if you slow down. Stop entirely, and you become a meal.

If you want to give Google Fit a try, on your Android device. There, you’ll find out whether your fitness tracker works with Google Fit.

Other important features to look for

Alarm

Quite useful, especially if it’s a silent alarm that just buzzes on your wrist to wake you up without waking up anyone next to you. They can also be useful for runs and other situations.

Altimeter

Great for those who want to measure stairs or height changes. This can also be worthwhile from a running or walking perspective to measure the degree of effort made in exercise (rather than just the distance) without having to go back and adapt your routine via your smartphone or the band’s webpage. Most fitness bands and smartwatches measure this by assessing barometric pressure.

Battery life

This can be an important consideration, and most claim at least a few days’ use while others can last as long as a year thanks to replaceable batteries. Most have rechargeable batteries, which can be powered via USB.

Bluetooth

There are two main versions of Bluetooth available – Bluetooth 4 and Bluetooth 5. While 4 is much older than 5, most fitness trackers can get by just fine within its limitations. That’s why Bluetooth 4 is still around even though most modern trackers and smartwatches use Bluetooth 5.

For fitness trackers, each Bluetooth iteration has improved data transfer speeds, bandwidth and power consumption, which means the batteries will last longer.��Bluetooth 5 also increased its wireless range so your phone can receive data from the band up to 120m away, compared to the 30m limit of 4.2.

There are other improvements to audio, latency, smart controls and simultaneous streams, but these only really concern smartwatch users, broadly speaking.

Calorie counter

This will usually show you how steps taken convert to calories lost. It generally measures in calories rather than kilojoules, which can make it difficult if you’re doing some on-the-fly grocery shopping, but there are some third-party apps you can use for automatic conversion through your smartphone.

Distance counter

This can be adapted for metric or imperial, and generally measures distance based on your steps. Some of the newer fitness bands do have a GPS function though, which can utilise this technology for more accurate distance measurement.

Food tracker

A food tracker that’s built into the smartphone app used by the fitness band means you can log your intake of food throughout the day as well. If you have the discipline to maintain this routine, you might find it useful to track the number of calories you’re taking in versus those you’re burning off. Native food trackers tend to be US-centric though, so it would be worth looking around at their third-party apps.

Milestones

Milestones act as rewards and are an incentive to keep going when you get a notification that you’ve passed 10,000 steps, or that another milestone over the life of wearing the fitness band has passed.

Session tracker

This means you can trigger an activity or event such as a run or a cycle and note it as such via the tracker, rather than having to do it later by logging it manually. This means it can more accurately assess the number of calories you’ve burned in this period.

Social media sharing

An important feature for some, as it can act as an incentive to let your friends or family know that you’ve passed a milestone. It can also add a competitive element for some that acts as an extra incentive. The big social media platforms are generally covered, but some fitness trackers don’t have this feature at all.

Step counter

This measures your steps, but accuracy will vary depending on what you put in as your height, weight and, in some cases, pace length, plus the technology used in the device.

Waterproof claims

These vary between models. Any that do claim this feature usually have the specifications on their website, but they range from splash-proof through to swimming and 50m depth.

How much do fitness trackers cost?

The fitness trackers and smartwatches in our most recent test range from $149 up to $1399. And while you don’t have to spend top dollar to get a good one (some of the most expensive models aren’t ones we recommend), a good fitness tracker will generally set you back $150–400. Smartwatches also tend to cost more than fitness trackers.

How to get rid of your old fitness tracker

Donate it

Most Salvos and some Vinnies stores will take your old fitness tracker and/or smartwatch but The Red Cross doesn’t accept electronics. Smaller local charities and community support services in your area will probably accept them too as they’re pretty popular items.

Just make sure that your devices are in good working order before donating them. Batteries in particular can lose a lot of capacity or completely die if they’ve gone unused for some time so remember to check the charge. If the tracker uses a charging cradle or plate (instead of a micro/USB-C input), you’ll need to find and donate that as well. Without it, the band is basically useless.

Recycle it

Fitness trackers sort of fall into the e-waste category but many recycling services don’t specify whether they take them or not. This gets even more complicated when you factor in smartwatch style fitness trackers that aren’t strictly smartwatches.

is the first port of call. Check the Electrical Appliances and Mobile Phones databases for e-cycling services in your area then get in touch to see if they’ll take fitness trackers. You can also contact your local council as most have free, regular electronic recycling events similar to a council clean-up.

JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys will also recycle your old fitness trackers via a partnership with Ecoactive. All you need to do is head to the , enter your details and the items you’d like to recycle, and a staff member will get in touch. will accept old fitness trackers and smartwatches too.

Some of the bigger manufacturers will recycle their old and broken products and they may even pay you for them. Apple, for example, will give you credit for your or recycle it for free if it isn’t eligible for trade-in. Contact the manufacturer of your fitness tracker/smartwatch to see if they have a similar program in place.

The post What to know before buying a fitness tracker appeared first on ����Vlog.

Or perhaps you’re not planning on changing your lounge lizard ways but you want to buy a nice gift for the gym bunny in your life. 

Either way, these fitness trackers can be safely removed from your shortlist. They’re the lowest scorers in our test of 38 models on the market.

“Ease of use, comfort and distance accuracy are key components of our test and some of these devices stumbled when it comes to comfort, while others have some annoying quirks that turned our testers off” says ����Vlog tech expert Peter Zaluzny. 

“Some otherwise decent fitness bands or smartwatches have been let down by poor performance in some important areas.”

The lowest scoring fitness trackers in our tests

If you want to track your progress or you’re planning to buy a fitness band as a gift, step away from these four products. The ����Vlog Expert Ratings for these models aren’t bad, but they’re not exactly great either when you consider that a number of the top performers cost the same or even less than these.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Dark Green Alpine Loop – Medium

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 77%
• Distance accuracy score: 99%
• Price: $1399

This Apple watch is a serious piece of kit, but it scored the lowest of any product we tested.

Why?

Because our ����Vlog testing focuses on its use for the average fitness freak, not a serious diver or triathlete. While it boasts some fancy features that might be handy for serious enthusiasts or semi professionals (like the ability to function a whopping 100 metres underwater), it really isn’t a good option for the average person looking to stay fit with an easy-to-use, comfortable device.It achieved impressive results in our technical tests, with near-perfect results for distance accuracy and pace count, and it has features like fall detection, built-in GPS and the ability to receive phone notifications, reply to texts and receive or reject calls.

Ultimately, this watch just isn’t worth the price tag if you don’t need the high-tech specialist features it boasts. The most popular features are available in other models that are both cheaper and more comfortable.

Read the full Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Dark Green Alpine Loop – Medium review.

Google Fitbit Charge 6

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 78%
• Distance accuracy score: 97%
• Price: $260

Yes, Fitbit is now owned by Google. While “Google Fitbit” is a bit more of a mouthful than the original, the new ownership could mean new and improved features for Fitbits, but the jury is still out on this for now.

Unfortunately, the Charge 6 didn’t impress our experts: it’s one of the lowest scoring fitness bands in our review. The ����Vlog Expert Rating of 78% isn’t bad, but it’s not exactly great either when you consider that a number of the top performers cost the same or even less than this one.

It did perform quite well in terms of accuracy and our experts liked its apps and website, but they had a few quibbles. 

The band struggled to sync with the phone during setup, and the date resets when you’re browsing old data or drilling down into details which is frustrating when you’re trying to track your progress over time. (One or both of these problems occurred with all three Google bands we tested.) And while the band is comfortable to wear, some testers found it a bit awkward to fasten.

The features on offer with the Charge 6 also require an ongoing subscription, which may not be appealing for people who just want to count their steps and do some sleep tracking. You don’t need a subscription for many features of the Charge 6’s predecessor – the Charge 5 – so it might be better value for money depending on what you want from a fitness tracker.

Read the full Google Fitbit Charge 6 review.

Garmin Vivosmart 5 Small/Medium

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 78%
• Distance accuracy score: 97%
• Price: $249

This is one to avoid if you’re planning to track your steps or distance while walking or running with a pram. While it’s very accurate when your arm is swinging free, it doesn’t accurately record your distance or step count when your arm is relatively still – so you won’t get the credit for all those steps you did while pushing the baby in a pram, or any other activity where you’re not moving your arms much. 

On the plus side, it has very good Android and iOS apps for monitoring data, and our testers found it very easy to set up. 

Like the Charge 6 above, there are better fitness trackers to buy if you have a budget of around $250. 

Read the full Garmin Vivosmart 5 review.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Black Titanium Ocean Band

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 79%
• Distance accuracy score: 99%
• Price: $1399

This is the same watch as the Ultra 2 we’ve mentioned earlier, just with a different band. We’ve tested this separately because comfort is a significant factor when using a fitness tracker.

Though it still only scores 58% for comfort, our trialists did find this band slightly more comfortable (highlighting the importance of getting a band that feels perfect for you), but its other scores are identical to the watch with the Alpine Loop band.

Unless you are training for the next Olympic game triathlon, you can get better performance for less money by choosing a better scoring product.

Read the full Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Black Titanium Ocean Band review.

Apple Watch SE 3 GPS + Cellular, 44mm Midnight Aluminium Case with Midnight Sport Band – M/L

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 79%
• Distance accuracy score: 97%
• Price: $539

This Apple watch has a high-contrast screen that’s easy to see in bright daylight as well as other features like fall detection and a built-in GPS. It has excellent accuracy for pace count and distance, however, it’s only OK for ease of use. In particular adjusting the fit isn’t simple. 

You’ll need to supply your own USB-C charger. If tracking your steps is important to you, the supplied watch faces don’t show your steps, so you’ll need to use a third-party app to track your steps.

Read the full Apple Watch SE 3 GPS + Cellular, 44mm Midnight Aluminium Case with Midnight Sport Band – M/L review.

CMF by Nothing Watch 3 Pro with Liquid Silicon Strap

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 79%
• Distance accuracy score: 99%
• Price: $179

This watch has excellent accuracy for pace count and distance, but our trialists only rated it as ‘OK’ for comfort. You’ll need to have your own USB-A charger and the raised watch edge can be an impedance when swiping. Another annoyance is that you won’t be able to view the polarised screen if you’re wearing polarised sunglasses.

This is one of the cheapest fitness watches in our test, however, we’ve tested other sub-$200 models that score ‘very good’ overall, making them a better option to consider. 

Read the full CMF by Nothing Watch 3 Pro with Liquid Silicon Strap.

The post The lowest scoring fitness trackers in our testing  appeared first on ����Vlog.

One app that’s growing in popularity is Noom, which markets itself as “the last weight-loss app you’ll ever need”.��

The Noom website says its “Healthy Weight program empowers participants to achieve and maintain a healthy weight through lifestyle intervention”.

But is it a diet? Does it work? And is it worth it? Two ����Vlog staffers share their experiences.

What is Noom?

Noom is an app-based wellbeing and weight-loss program that uses “science and personalisation” to help you lose weight. It claims to offer its users insights into their eating habits and provide knowledge that allows them to make permanent changes.��

Its Noom Mood offering (not currently available in Australia) is a program that aims to help users understand stress and manage it better.��

How does Noom work?

When you sign up to Noom you are asked to answer a series of questions (more than 70 when we signed up). These include things you’d expect (weight, height, age, sex and your weight-loss goals) as well as questions about your motivations for losing weight, information about your family history for conditions like diabetes and cholesterol, eating habits (do you watch TV or scroll on your phone while eating, do you snack and if so when?), and behavioural questions, such as what you see as the barriers to losing weight.��It uses this information to provide a prediction on when you will achieve your goal and then sets a daily calorie goal.��

Once signed up, users are encouraged to track their weight daily, record what they eat in the app and read daily lessons to help develop their knowledge of nutrition and the psychology of weight loss. It also offers support through generic Noom Guides, one-on-one coaching and a Noom community. It stresses the fact that it uses psychological insights to help users achieve their goals and promotes its innovation and technology as central to its success.��

Noom also prompts physical activity by giving you a daily step goal which starts small and increases automatically, though you can also set this manually. In order for it to track steps, users are asked to allow it to access data from other apps on your phone (for example, fitness trackers).��

The one-on-one coaching garners mixed reviews. Some users report finding it helpful while others complain that their interactions are formulaic and impersonal. The company also significantly scaled back its coaching staff in 2022.��

What foods can you eat?

Noom makes a lot of the fact that you can eat or drink pretty much anything and that no foods are forbidden. Instead, it categorises foods as belonging to either the orange, yellow or green categories, which are based on calorie density.�� (When Noom began, the orange classification was red. However, in 2022 they changed this after receiving criticism that the red classification implied the foods were somehow dangerous and off-limits).��

Foods classified as “orange” include things like desserts and it’s suggested you eat fewer of these, but you don’t have to give them up altogether. Instead you’re told they should make up about 25% or less of your calorie intake. Yellow foods include things like eggs and avocados and you’re told these should make up about 45% of your daily diet. Green foods include vegetables, whole grains and non-fat dairy products and you’re advised these should form at least 30% of your diet.��It’s stressed that none of these foods are either good or bad and that the classifications should be taken as a portion guide.��

An example of a typical day’s eating while using Noom might include porridge with fruit for breakfast, a salad with tuna for lunch and some chicken breast and vegetables for dinner, as well as snacks like fruit or low-fat yoghurt. Of course you can also eat sweets or other more calorie-dense foods, as long as they fit within your calorie budget. That budget will vary depending on your age, gender, starting weight and other factors, such as how active you are.��

How much does Noom cost?

You won’t easily find this information on the Noom website (it is there, but we had to dig), and most attempts to get a price require the user to answer dozens of questions before the price will be revealed.��

When we signed up in July 2020, a four-month plan cost A$159 and it was the same when we checked again in late 2022. Users could also choose a two-month plan for $129, six months for $199, eight months for $219 or 12 months for $249. You can also just download the app for free and use it to track calories, but you won’t get access to the features that set Noom apart from other food-logging apps, such as the daily curriculum and logging.��

Cancelling your subscription on the app is relatively straightforward. It can be done through your smartphone’s subscription settings or you can send a message to your Noom guides or coach saying “CANCEL” and then you’ll be sent a link automatically that allows you to end the subscription.�� 

What are Noom coins?

Noom coins are earned by completing the tasks assigned by the program, whether it’s logging your meals, recording your weight or completing your lessons. Noom says that they’re working on linking these to prizes and rewards, but at the time of writing they are simply linked to weight loss, with Noom claiming that, on average, “Noomers lose one pound for every five Noom Coins they earn”.��

Noom vs WW/WeightWatchers

The WW (formerly Weight Watchers) app is an alternative to Noom. It’s similar in that it also offers reading to help you understand food and nutrition, allows you to track what you eat (using the WW points plan), your exercise, lets you record your weight and also offers coaching via a chat function.��

The coaching is available via the app or website and gives paying subscribers answers to questions on what to eat, how to maintain motivation, as well as clarification on the points system, among other things.��  

Rather than simply tracking calories as you do with Noom, WW gives food a points value based on its full nutritional value, including added sugars, fibre, protein, saturated fats, etc. Once you fill in the basic information about your age, height, weight and goal weight you get a daily points budget and a weekly budget, described as a “little extra cushion” to use throughout the week.��

The program also provides a list of ZeroPoint foods which are foods you can eat without logging. Helpfully, the app also provides suggestions of what to choose when eating out at restaurants and recipes to cook at home. Noom also offers recipe suggestions.�� 

Both apps claim to be scientifically proven and to be something more than a simple calorie tracker. Both promote their use of technology, both promote the fact they give users a personalised plan, both have a community aspect and both offer some kind of personalised support.��

In terms of pricing, WW’s offering is clear and a lot easier to find than Noom’s. There are three tiers – Core, Premium and Personal Coaching.��

The Core offering includes tracking through the app, a members’ social community, recipe builder and barcode scanner, syncing to your smart scales and fitness devices and program downloads like meal plans and guides. It costs $42.50 per month ($255 for seven months at the time of writing, with a one month free offer) vs Noom’s offering of six months for $199 or eight months for $219. This plan appears to be most similar to Noom in terms of what it offers its users.��

WW’s premium offering includes everything in the Core plan along with potential eligibility for health fund rebates, weekly workshops with WW coaches and weekly wellness check-ins with a WW Coach for accountability. If you sign up to four months on the Premium plan, you’ll pay $81.95 per month.

As well as the Core and Premium options, WW also offers a personal coaching plan. This includes everything in the Premium offering (other than the weekly workshops) as well as personalised weekly action plans, personalised skills training and one-to-one coaching at a time that suits you. The Personal Coaching plan costs $109.50/month if you sign up for one month, $99.50/month if you sign up for three months and $89.50/month for a six-month plan.

Cancelling your subscription to WW is done through your smartphone’s subscriptions settings.

Marg: ‘It worked for me’

I’m as fond of a chocolate biscuit or a hot chip as the next person, but I realised I’d taken it a little far when my doctor warned me that if I didn’t get my weight under control I’d be putting my health at risk.��

In all honesty, it wasn’t the first time I’d heard such warnings, but my problem was that I didn’t actually know where to start. Sure, I knew the theory – eat less, move more – but putting it into practice felt more difficult than it should have. I made vague attempts to eat better, but without a clear plan my resolve failed again and again.

Then I found Noom (or rather, they found me, via targeted Facebook advertising, which accurately picked me as a prime candidate). With a sense that I could at least give it a try – and encouraged by the 2016 University of Sydney study that ranked it first among the weight-loss apps it reviewed – I signed up.��

Does Noom work?

For me, yes. I lost 15kg in the first six months after I began using the app in mid 2020. After the initial weight loss I kept losing weight and a year later was down a further five kilograms for a total of 20kg lost. More than two years on I’m still maintaining, though have noticed some old habits creeping back so have signed up for a new two-month plan on Noom in the hope it will help reinforce the lessons I learned the first time around to help me to continue to maintain my weight.��

I’ve also kept up the physical activity the program encouraged, running regularly and attending boot camp once a week, as well as aiming for 10,000 steps each day. The lessons I learned with Noom have made me more mindful of the choices and have definitely assisted me in maintaining a healthy weight.��

Using the app

The way you use the app – logging foods and weigh-ins being the primary functions – was simple enough. The food library you could choose from was lacking in Australian products, which was somewhat annoying at times. I make most of my meals from scratch so this wasn’t a huge issue, but I’d imagine if you bought a lot of processed foods or regularly ate out it might be more of an irritation.

Noom also features a daily curriculum of lessons to help you understand the patterns of behaviour that lead to weight gain and weight loss and you’re encouraged to give the curriculum 10 minutes a day (In 2020 all the lessons were in article format but in 2022 they had made many of them available as audio lessons, too). There are also quizzes and other activities (journalling, for example) linked to the reading.�� 

It’s one of the things that sets Noom apart from other food logging apps but Noom’s big sell is that it provides personalised coaching. This is promoted as an important point of difference and your coach – aka, goal specialist – is assigned to you to help keep you motivated and working towards your “big picture” goal, something you set early on in the process.��

The coach

During my first go at Noom in 2020 my coach introduced himself early on as my “goal specialist”. I found his support useful in providing reassurance when I experienced frustration with the inevitable ups and downs of weight loss. He also asked some interesting questions that made me think about what I was learning and answered questions I had about some of the things I noticed about the process. I found his input to be a useful balance of the practical and more abstract.��

In 2022/23 the coaching had changed and rather than an individual who I met straight away, my initial interactions were with the anonymous “Noom guides” which may or may not have been a real person – it was hard to tell. However, I was able to eventually connect with a coach who I was introduced to by name, but I had to specifically request it. In this aspect, Noom definitely felt less valuable compared to 2020.

The community had changed too. In 2020 I was assigned a group where I could talk to other Noom users who are at a similar point in their subscription. The benefit of this feature was a bit hit and miss for me as I felt I was already getting lots of support from family and my coach.��

In 2022/23 the community, called Noom Circles, was more like a social network where I could sign up to chat to other Noom users about subjects related to my interests – such as maintenance, movement, and recipes, which were among my picks. This was of limited value and I rarely checked the content in this part of the app.

Overall verdict 

Noom is a tool and like any tool it will only work if you use it. A shiny new spanner won’t fix a leaky tap if it just sits in the tool box and Noom is the same – you still need to do the work.��

Having said that, it certainly helped me and while it might not be the right fit for everyone, I think it’s worth a go. I’ve not only lost weight, I’ve also begun exercising and gone from being horrifyingly sedentary to running and working out several times a week.��

Signing up for a second time was a different experience because the app had changed quite a bit and the coaching was less of a feature than the first time. However, it has been useful to revisit the lessons that helped the first time I did Noom and made maintenance more achievable.

Rachel: ‘Noom wasn’t for me’

I’d become so overwhelmed by conflicting information about what was a healthy way of eating – keto, paleo, low carb, high protein, low sugar, Mediterranean, intermittent fasting – that I was looking for something to clear up my confusion.��

What really appealed to me about the program is that it was marketed as not a diet, but a lifestyle, and you had real life coaches to help you along. But both of these claims I found somewhat dubious.

I don’t know what their definition of a diet is, but Noom asks you to track calories and weigh yourself. That tastes like a diet to me.

Noom’s colour-coded food categories were initially helpful, and the kind of re-education I needed. By recording my food I could see how much of my calorie intake was taken up by ‘green’ (eat plenty), ‘yellow’ (eat moderately) or ‘red’ (eat little of).��

In hindsight, and as I’ve read more about diet culture, I now wonder if food should really be triggering a red flag alert. Is that the type of relationship I want to have with food? There must have been others who felt the same way, as the app has now changed its ‘red’ food category to ‘orange’ – so clearly those foods are only moderately ‘dangerous’ now.

The coach

I was so excited to have access to a real live person who would help support me. But something felt a little lifeless about her. Her questions, comments and responses were all so perfectly composed, and so devoid of typos, regular human imperfections and personality that I googled “Are Noom coaches real?” 

I do believe Noom users are assigned a real person as their coach, but I also believe there’s a liberal dose of artificial intelligence being employed to automate a good part of their job.

I understood why a tech company would create a system that would ‘scale’ easily and not rely purely on human power, but a little bit of love for it died the day I began to wonder how real my coach was.

The curriculum

What really made Noom stand apart was its daily reading material. It probably only took around 10–15 minutes, but as time went on, it began to feel like a burden. It was a lot of information, with references to scientific studies and quizzes at every stage to make sure you understood.��

I was impressed with the section where they attempted to educate you on how to critically assess a ‘scientific’ claim, which included considering who paid for the study. It was ‘very ����Vlog’, as we say around these parts.��

And while all this may sound incredibly dry, they’ve put in a lot of effort to make it entertaining. Maybe too much effort. The style they’ve gone for is irreverence on steroids, and I found myself rolling my eyes after the second week. Maybe I’m just a grumpy Gen-Xer, but it seriously grated. I began by diligently consuming every piece of information, transitioned to scanning by about week four, and then started skipping the reading altogether.

There was a fair amount of Noom lingo that confused me at times. The coaches were called Goal Specialists, and early on I had to create what they called “Your Big Picture (YBP)”, and a “Super Goal”. I recall not fully understanding what these were supposed to be, entering something to fulfil the task, but then there was no record of what those were anywhere in the app. Weeks later Noom would refer to my YBP and my Super Goal, and ask me to reflect on how I was working towards them, but I couldn’t remember what they were.��

Using the app

The app had a Daily Tasks list that helped you keep track of your tasks and see at a glance what you had completed – log your meals; weigh in; walk X thousand steps (you set your own target); and more. You’d think this was a good thing, and helpful. And it was – initially. But after a while it started to weigh on me (no pun intended) when I hadn’t completed something. I already had a home ‘to do’ list, and a work ‘to do’ list, and now I had a Noom ‘to do’ list. It started to become YET ANOTHER THING I had to attend to. Just another example of all the things I wasn’t completing.

The most surprising thing about Noom was how easy it was to leave. I fully expected the gym membership treatment. You know… “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”. Not so. I wrote to my coach to let them know that the program didn’t suit me and I’d like to cancel when the initial period is over. I’m thinking the AI picked up on the word “cancel”, and I got a System Generated Message: “Looks like you no longer want to continue with your recurring Noom subscription – we’re sorry to see you go! Just click on this link and you’ll be able to turn off auto-renew on the program yourself.” Easiest experience quitting something I’ve ever had.

Overall verdict

After just two and a half months on Noom, I decided I was done. I don’t recall if I lost weight, which suggests I probably didn’t. But granted, I was not a dedicated student.

If you’re looking to lose weight without severely restricting one food group or type, the hours you eat, or your calories, I believe Noom has a lot to offer. It will probably be a slow burn, but that’s more sustainable and better for you than rapid weight loss anyway. But you’ll need to have the time, interest and energy for a lot of reading, quizzes, and interaction with the community. One might argue you could do Noom without all that, but then you’d just be logging food and weighing in, which is no different to so many other free apps out there. Noom wasn’t for me, but to be fair, I’m beginning to think dieting isn’t for me.

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On this page:

• How we choose what we test
• How often we test
• How we test
• Test criteria explained

How we choose what we test

Why do we choose one fitness tracker over another? There are a number of reasons, but our priority is to test what you’ll see in the shops. That means sometimes we might not cover the one brand that has one model that’s only sold 100 samples in Australia, and instead focus on the big brand models that you’ll most likely see in the shops.

How do we know what’s in shops? We ask manufacturers and check current market figures to see what’s selling well. We’ll also include models that you’ve requested; if a lot of members want it, we’re going to test it.

When we know what you want, our buyers go out and buy the fitness trackers from a variety of retailers, then bring them in as-is. This means we get what you’d get, so we can be sure the results are what you’ll find. They’re not ‘tweaked’ any way.

How often we test

We test fitness trackers in batches of up to 12, usually once a year. New models are released frequently as manufacturers keep trying to outdo one another. Usually we see a few market leaders keep their products in the market for at least year with a crossover period of a few months as new models are released. Major brands typically release new models once a year.

How we test

Ease of use: We test each fitness tracker on Android and iOS. While we look at Windows mobile where available this option is becoming less relevant. We than score how easy it is to set up and wear, and to track on-the-go information via the band and its interfaces.

Performance: We measure paces and distance with a calibrated tracking tool, and then measure this against what the fitness tracker displays.

Comfort: A panel of 10, split between five men and five women, try on each fitness tracker and assign them scores based on how easy they are to put on, adjust and wear. The trackers in the test are medium-sized, where applicable.

Kids bands: These are tested under the same conditions as adult bands, using pre-teen and teenage triallists.

Heart rate monitors

We no longer test heart rate monitors in fitness trackers as of 2022, but results from previous tests are still available. There were two components:

Resting heart rate: Prior to 2021, we measure the resting heart rate of six people using each of the fitness trackers and a medical grade heart monitor, the GE Healthcare Carescape V100, Dinamap V100 or Dinamap V150 (these record data using the same hardware and software. Newer models have a touch screen and data export). Models tested during and after 2021 are assessed against a chest-strap heart rate monitor, calibrated against the ECG used for the active heart rate test. A score is then calculated based on the fitness tracker’s accuracy.

Active heart rate: Athletes at the Sports Chamber at the University of Sydney exercise on a treadmill, or exercise bike, wearing one of the fitness trackers. A 12-lead ECG provides a real time reading of their heart rate, which is then compared to the readings of the fitness tracker. Readings of both are taken at 10-second intervals in the first minute, one-minute intervals for five minutes, and then at 10-second intervals during the last minute of cooling down.

Pedometer and distance accuracy

We assess these features for their effectiveness and accuracy:

Step count accuracy:The pedometer will measure your steps, though accuracy will vary depending on what you put in as your height, weight and, in some cases, pace length, and the technology used in the development of the device.

Distance accuracy:The pedometer and GPS/GLONASS (if available) will measure your distance traveled though accuracy will vary depending on what you put in as your height, weight and, in some cases, pace length, and the technology used in the development of the device. Devices that support GPS and GLONASS should deliver the fastest position identification.

Test criteria explained

The overall score is a combination of the comfort, ease of use and accuracy scores:

• Comfort score (35%)
• Ease of use score (30%)
• Pedometer accuracy score (17.5%)
• Distance accuracy score (17.5%)

Resting and active heart rate accuracy do not contribute to the overall score, as these features are not standard in all models and are considered optional extras.

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On this page:

• Recharge Bar

So when unhealthy eating habits started to creep into my daily life again I decided to get my health back on track and, having seen ads for Jenny Craig’s latest plan – Rapid Results Max – I was curious to try it out.

So, for one week I followed the weight-loss plan. Here’s how it went.

Getting started

You can sign up at Jenny Craig centres nationwide, or online. For convenience, and because we’re still living through a pandemic, I chose to sign up via the website.��

Jenny Craig has three plans to choose from – Simple, Essential and Rapid Results Max. After entering my details, I was recommended the 7000kJ Rapid Results Max plan for $185 per week (although there are often discounts applied).��

You also have to become a member to get access to the Rapid Results Max plan, although when I joined they were offering a free 12-week trial membership.

What is the Rapid Results Max plan?

The plan includes a full week of , breakfasts, lunches and dinners, plus access to a personal coach. It also requires you to stick to an intermittent fasting regime in which you can only eat during a 10-hour period.��

When choosing my meals for the week, I was pleased to find I had four menu options to choose from. I could also swap up to five items to suit my taste (extra costs may apply to some swaps).��

But I was a little surprised to learn I also needed to buy a selection of fresh food to supplement my meals for the week (in my case, this included 18 cups of salad, 14 pieces of fruit, 13 fat serves and more).��

This was an extra expense I wasn’t expecting, but it did mean I had access to fresh, not frozen, foods all week. I also needed to spend a fair bit of time consulting Jenny Craig’s Grocery Guide to work out what exactly I should shop for.

Dietary requirements

Jenny Craig offers a full vegetarian menu, but it doesn’t currently have any vegan or gluten-free options. It also states “our menus are not suitable to accommodate your needs for Coeliac Disease”.

Delivery

After placing my order, a centre representative texted me to arrange a delivery time that was convenient to me. Two days later, my order arrived.��

Everything came in a big silver box and was nicely chilled with an ice pack inside. There wasn’t any information included in the box, so I had to log back into the website to print out my menu for the week and organise the meals into breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Now all I had to do was buy my fresh produce and I was ready to start my week on Jenny Craig.

Recharge Bar

I started each day with the Recharge Bar, which Jenny Craig claims is “specially formulated to be high in fat to support your 14-hour rejuvenation period”.��

It’s essentially a fancy muesli bar with nuts and honey, and although it was tasty, it was a bit sweet for my liking first thing in the morning.

Breakfast

Because I was usually still full from my Recharge Bar, I wouldn’t have breakfast until mid morning.�� But I generally enjoyed the options available – omelette, corn fritters, ham and egg muffin – as they were similar to what I’d normally choose for myself.��

Two of the seven options were cereal based (tropical twist muesli and malty grain), which were perfectly fine, but not to my taste, as I’m not really a fan of breakfast cereals.

Lunch

Despite working from home during my week on Jenny Craig, I didn’t have much time to make lunch from scratch, so I appreciated the convenience of the ready meals.��

But the portion sizes were quite small – Day 4’s Spinach & Fetta Roll was just 100g, for example. The plan does say you need to bulk up your meals with the fresh produce you’ve bought (on Day 4, that meant adding two slices of wholegrain bread, two fat serves, one boiled egg and two cups of salad to my lunch menu), but because I was often short on time I generally skipped this.

This won’t be an issue for everyone, but it did mean I still felt hungry.

Snacks

These came from the extra groceries I bought, and were mostly fresh pieces of fruit, or crispbread with reduced-fat cheese.

Dinner

As with the lunches, you’re expected to bulk up your dinners with serves of salad or vegetables that you’ve bought and prepared yourself. Unlike my experience with the lunches, I actually had the time to make these in the evening, so I found it easy to follow the suggested menu.��

That said, to stick to my “10-hour nourishment period” I ended up eating dinner quite early at about 5.30pm (I’m an early riser, so needed to accommodate). This was earlier than my family’s usual dinner time, and it felt a bit isolating not only to eat a different meal from them, but also to eat at a different time.��

As for the supplied meals themselves, I was really quite happy with the selection, which included curry, pasta, crumbed fish and wedges, and even a beef pie. I wouldn’t say any were a particular standout, but they were all enjoyable enough, and I could see myself eating them again if I were to continue on the plan.��

So did it work?

At the end of the week I definitely felt like a healthier version of myself and I did lose weight so, in my opinion, the Rapid Results Max plan does work. But whether or not I could stick to it for longer than one week is up for debate.��

I can definitely see the benefit in mixing the frozen foods from Jenny Craig with the fresh fruit, veg and snacks that you’ve bought yourself – it helps guarantee freshness and you get to choose the foods you like.��

But throughout the week I kept thinking I would have preferred the convenience of having all meals, snacks, fruit and veg supplied so I didn’t have to cook (microwaving aside) or think about portion sizes and calories. Or, alternatively, I could have simply made what I wanted from scratch and tracked the calories.

I also struggled a little with the 14:10 intermittent fasting rules, particularly as they meant I had dinner earlier than my family. But if I were to continue with the plan, I think I could slowly adjust those times (i.e. have breakfast later) to align them better with my family mealtimes.��

So although I would recommend Jenny Craig Rapid Results Max, I’d suggest you ask yourself what you’re looking for in a weight-loss plan before signing up.��

The post Jenny Craig Rapid Results Max review appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• My verdict
• Getting started 
• Placing the order 
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• ���ٴǰ���������
• Lunch
• Dinner
• How convenient is Lite n' Easy?

I wasn’t looking to lose weight but I knew I needed a bit of a reset and wasn’t sure where to start. I’d heard about the pros and cons of Noom but I didn’t want to have to track calories (or read a daily curriculum of articles).

I’d seen numerous TV ads for Lite n’ Easy and was drawn to the convenience of having calorie-controlled meals pre-prepared for you. For me, it was a literal no-brainer, so within a few days I became one of the thousands of people around Australia using Lite n’ Easy.��

Of course, I’m a sample size of one – the experience I had may not be the same as the next person’s, and I won’t assume it’s indicative. Plus, I was only on it for a week, so I can’t vouch for what it’s like if you’re on it for longer.

But if you’re contemplating using Lite n’ Easy, here’s an insight into what to expect.

My verdict

Overall, I was impressed with my Lite n’ Easy experience. Whether you’re looking to lose weight or want the convenience of ready-made meals, the fact you don’t have to think about what you’re eating for a week is very appealing.��

And if I wanted to lose weight, then I think it could really help to kick-start the process. It takes away the need to count calories, and the additional cost on top of my family’s usual grocery bill would be an incentive for me to stick with it until I saw some results.��

I can see myself ordering from Lite n’ Easy again – most likely their fresh or frozen dinners rather than a weekly meal plan. But even if I don’t, I feel I’ve learnt something from my week on Lite n’ Easy that I can benefit from going forward. Particularly in relation to the amount of food I serve up for myself, and how much – or indeed little – I need to feel satisfied. So for that, it was worth it.

Getting started 

Lite n’ Easy has a selection of plans to choose from including Jump Start (a two-week program to kick start your weight loss journey) and various 1200-, 1500- and 1800-calorie plans.��

I wasn’t sure what meal plan to order, so I entered my details into their website tool – gender, age, weight, height, exercise routine, and whether my goal was weight loss or convenience (I chose convenience).

I was recommended a seven-day, 1800-calorie plan, which is the number of calories I’d be limited to on an average day. That’s about 7530kJ, for those who prefer to think in metric. (The average Australian adult consumes about 8700kJ per day).�� 

Then I set up an account with my address and credit card details and made note of the delivery day for my area. I liked that there were no joining fees and that you only pay for what you want – you don’t have to agree to regular weekly or fortnightly orders.

Placing the order 

Having selected my plan, I could either accept the preselected “most popular” options, or choose my own.��

There were two choices to pick from each day for breakfast and three for lunch, and more than 50 different options for dinner.��

I was generally pleased with the choices on offer. For breakfast I steered towards meals with eggs as I prefer those over toast with spread or muesli. I chose lunches based on what I fancied for the week, and for dinners I chose a mix of fresh and frozen dinners – including the southern chicken with sweet potato wedges dish I’d seen on Lite n’ Easy’s latest TV ads. Afterall, if it’s good enough for MasterChef’s Khanh Ong and Diana Chan…

Dietary requirements and food allergies

Lite n’ Easy offers a full vegetarian menu as well as some gluten- and dairy-free options, but they make it clear that their meals are “not suitable for those with coeliac disease or food allergies”.

However, the website provides a detailed list of ingredients for each meal, along with allergen details for each food, so depending on your requirements you may still find plenty of options to choose from.

Rachel’s story: ‘It took me a while to work out what I could and couldn’t eat’ 

In 2016, ����Vlog food editor Rachel Clemons spent a week following a 1200-calorie plan with Lite n’ Easy. She shares her experience of selecting meals that catered to her food allergies.��

“Placing my order was a little complicated as I have a few food allergies. But I figured their comprehensive list of ingredients and allergens for each meal would help me navigate my way around the menu and select food that suited.��

“However, it took me a while to work out what I could and couldn’t eat. Because I wasn’t choosing between brands I buy on a regular basis, I had to check the ingredients lists for each type of bread, cereal, salad dressing, cracker and cake. This was rather arduous, although I imagine it would get faster each week once you became familiar with the options.�� 

“I was pleasantly surprised to find I was able to select seven breakfasts and lunches from the menu that catered to my allergies, and there was only one snack that I wouldn’t be able to eat. I’m not sure if I’d have the same experience each week, as you can’t go off-menu and request the same snack every day of the week, for example.��

For the dinners, I selected seven meals from a list of about 50 options. I had to check the ingredients lists for these too, but it was a straightforward process.

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I was more than a little excited about receiving my delivery – a whole week of food that I haven’t had to menu plan, shop for, prep or cook – what luxury! 

There’s no set time frame for deliveries (their website says day orders should arrive no later than 5pm). My order arrived at around 8am when I was in the middle of getting my son and myself ready for the day, so I left the two large polystyrene eskies in the kitchen to unpack later.��

Two hours later I was pleased to find the contents were still perfectly chilled, in part due to the block of dry ice wrapped in plastic at the bottom. But you will need to be extra careful when removing your items as dry ice can burn your skin. The packaging has several warning labels cautioning ‘do not touch’ and ‘leave dry ice in esky to dissolve’.

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The bags are all clearly marked with the day (one to seven), the meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack) and where you need to store the food (fridge or freezer).��

I hadn’t really considered the quantity – my fridge was already heaving from a recent grocery shop for the family – and it quickly became apparent that I’d struggle to make all the Lite n’ Easy bags fit.��

It took a bit of reorganising, but I managed to squeeze them into one large shelf in the fridge, and haphazardly across all three drawers in my freezer (by playing a game of Tetris trying to fit the bags in between various other packets of frozen veg, portioned mince and ice cream).��

It meant I’d have to spend some time each day digging around to find what I needed from the freezer, but I do that most nights anyway when I’m looking for that rogue packet of chicken thighs to defrost.

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At the end of every day there was a certain amount of leftover packaging, and for some meals it was quite substantial.

According to the Lite n’ Easy website, all of its dinner trays, plastic bowls and other hard plastics can be recycled kerbside. They’ll also collect your clean plastic shopping and day bags to be recycled and collect your esky to be reused (if it’s in good condition) or recycled.��

Breakfast

For the most part the breakfast options I’d chosen weren’t dissimilar to what I’d normally eat – avocado on toast, poached eggs or an omelette – and there was just enough variety so that mornings didn’t feel entirely repetitive.��

Four of the five breakfasts also included a serve of cereal, but as someone who doesn’t really enjoy cereal I didn’t eat it. For the same calories I would have preferred a larger portion of the main meal.��

Lunch

Lunches were more of a revelation. I’d previously fallen into a rut of having dinner-sized leftovers or work-day ‘treats’ of takeaway ramen or larger than life sandwiches. So when I saw the portion size of my lunches I feared some hunger pangs. But my meals – which included a vegie pizza, wraps, a chicken burger and even a curry – were all filling.��

Snacks

Each day there was also a small snack, which included choc and nut mix, vanilla yoghurt with yoghurt sprinkles and an apple crumble, and two serves of fruit daily, including at least one fresh item such as an apple, mandarin, kiwifruit or orange, paired with a packaged fruit cup.��

If that wasn’t enough to tide me over till dinner, I had the option to pick from a selection of additional snacks at any point – such as an English fruit muffin, choc nut bar or packet of cheese and crackers. But I never felt the need to.

Dinner

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the mental load of planning, shopping and cooking dinners for the whole family. So outside of picking and choosing my dinner options, I was thrilled with the convenience of mindlessly grabbing something from the fridge or freezer for myself. (Yes, my family had to fend for themselves during my week on Lite n’ Easy.) 

I was pleasantly surprised by how substantial the portion sizes seemed, and comfortably full after finishing each meal. The dinners were a mixture of fresh and frozen – and though I didn’t have high hopes, they were all enjoyable. I wouldn’t go as far as to say any were particularly delicious, but they were all meals I’d happily order and eat again. The vegetables in the two fresh dinners in particular were plentiful, vibrant in colour and still quite crisp after microwaving.��

However, by the end of the week the novelty of being able to eat just minutes after I’d taken the box out of the freezer had worn off. I missed the flexibility of cooking what I wanted, when I wanted, and family mealtimes felt a bit off when we weren’t eating the same dinner.

What I found

Most days the options I selected had some form of bread – sliced for toasting, a roll for lunch or flat bread for a wrap – and in most cases it was always multigrain or full of seeds, which I enjoyed.��

Overall the one thing that struck me was the portion sizes. The bread rolls for lunch are of the rather diminutive ‘dinner roll’ proportions, where I’d normally buy a much larger roll from the bakery. And most of the snack serves were around 25g, much smaller than what I’d normally serve myself. Regardless, each day I felt pretty satisfied with the quantity of food I ate.

Another thing that stood out was the quantity of fresh produce. The week had a decent variety of fresh roasted pumpkin, spinach, tomato and salad leaves on offer the first two days – my first two lunches were a vegie pizza and a chargrilled chicken burger and salad, for example. The rest of the week was a bit more limited – mostly tomato, with a serving of spinach or pre-sliced cucumber on different days.��

Obviously any fresh items need to remain edible and appealing over a whole week. However, a larger amount and wider variety of salad ingredients wouldn’t have gone astray or done much to alter the daily calorie limit.

Lack of flexibility

Even though I never felt hungry, there were days when I craved something off-menu such as a chocolate brownie from my local cafe for afternoon tea, some Korean black bean noodles for dinner or maybe even a glass of wine after a long day.

Ordinarily, if I was counting calories I could make adjustments for the odd treat, so I really struggled with the lack of flexibility while sticking to the breakfast, lunch and dinner calorie plan.

But I knew it was only for a week, so I was able to stick it out without cheating – and in the weeks since I’ve noticed I don’t treat myself as much as I used to.

How convenient is Lite n’ Easy?

There’s no denying that Lite n’ Easy is incredibly convenient. For a whole week I didn’t have to meal-plan, shop, cook or even think about food for myself. I pretty much just had to eat, which I can manage rather well. And I think it’s this convenience I was most looking forward to experiencing.��

But realistically this convenience wasn’t something I could benefit from in the long term, as I knew I couldn’t make my partner and young son fend for themselves forever. Not to mention the enjoyment I get trying out new recipes and cooking a meal we can all eat together.��

I can see how handy it would be if I lived on my own or if every member of my household was using it – not least how much time it would free up.��

Would I recommend it?

Overall yes. Especially if you want the convenience of not having to think about your meals, or to stick to a calorie plan and reset your ideas around portion sizes.

The fact that you’re not locked into regular orders is also appealing. While I don’t feel the need to have every meal of every day catered to, I like that I can restock my fridge or freezer with tasty meals to enjoy when I’m too tired or can’t be bothered to make something from scratch.��

The post A week eating Lite n’ Easy appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• Which gym should I join?
• Types of membership
• What's in the contract?
• Gym Ts & Cs
• Can you transfer gym membership?
• What if your gym closes down?
• Gym membership costs and cancellations compared

This doesn’t have to be you. With a bit of planning and shopping around, you can make a better choice and get more out of your membership.

Which gym should I join?

Before choosing a gym, there are some basic practicalities to consider.

Types of gym

A standard gym usually includes weight-training equipment (free weights and machines); cardio equipment, such as treadmills, exercise bikes and rowing machines; and workout space for classes. If you’re new to gyms, thinking about what will interest you is a good start.

Other offerings may include a women-only gym, a 24-hour gym, or a gym with a pool and aqua classes. If you’re already active and looking for a new challenge, something a little different – such as CrossFit or mixed martial arts (MMA) – could be worth looking into.��

Location

Where the gym is will make a real difference in terms of when and how often you’ll use it. The harder it is to get to, the more excuses you’ll find to not go.

Opening hours

Will it be open when you’re most likely to want to exercise?

Fitness support

Does the gym offer a fitness assessment for new members, and an individualised program from a good personal trainer?

Child minding

If you need this service, find out the times it’s available, costs and the booking process.

User experience

The atmosphere and clientele of a gym can make a big difference to your comfort and enjoyment. It may help to visit at a time you’re likely to be attending and check out the scene.

• What’s the attitude of the staff – are they pleasant and helpful, or rude and pushy? Are there staff on the floor, supervising the weights area?
• Is it very crowded? Are classes heavily subscribed? Are there queues for equipment?
• Is the ambience (e.g. music, lighting and TV monitors) to your liking?
• Will you feel comfortable among the clientele?
• Check out the atmosphere: is it hot and sweaty, stuffy, air-conditioned, has open windows onto heavily trafficked streets, airy and spacious?
• Is the equipment clean and well-maintained? Are towels required when working out (and is this enforced)?
• What COVID-safe practices are in place and how well do the staff enforce compliance?
• What are the showers and change rooms like?
• Is drinking water available on the gym floor?
• Are safety and security measures adequate? This applies particularly for 24-hour gyms (and gym parking) which may not be staffed at all hours.
• Are there enough lockers available during peak times?

Types of membership

Casual membership

For beginners, a casual membership (pay-per-visit sessions, or buying a 10-visit pass, for example) gives you an opportunity to try it out a few times before making a larger financial (and time) commitment. Not all gyms offer a casual membership – especially chain gyms, or 24-hour gyms that give you access cards.

Short-term membership

A short-term membership – such as a one-month special, or three months – is another way for newbies to test the waters. You may also benefit from members’ services such as a fitness assessment, induction (instruction on how to use the gym equipment correctly) and having a program devised for you.

‘No-contract’ memberships

These do in fact usually involve contracts – that is, you sign a contract to join up and authorise direct debit payments, but there’s no fixed term. However, before you sign, be sure to check that there are no conditions or fees for cancelling your membership.

Fixed-term and ongoing memberships

Paying upfront for a 12-month membership can get you a good deal – typically much better than a monthly debit arrangement. However, if the gym goes broke, you’ll most likely lose the lot.

If you sign up for 12 months and pay month by month, you’re still locked into a 12-month contract – and if you want to leave after six months or so, you’ll still have to pay for the rest of the year, or at least pay a (perhaps substantial) penalty for breaking the contract.

Also, even if you sign a 12-month contract, membership may continue beyond the 12 months, and your fees will still be deducted until you cancel it – this is called an ‘ongoing membership’. Check the contract to determine whether you’re agreeing to a fixed-term or an ongoing agreement before signing.

Gyms that follow the Fitness Australia Code of Conduct should not accept more than 12 months’ fees at a time, so don’t pay more than this. Some get around this by offering a 12-month contract with an extra six months ‘free’, making the 18-month membership look like a better deal financially.

What’s in the contract?

If you’re new to gyms, and aren’t sure what a contract will look like and the sorts of things it covers, see if you can find the contract for the gym you’re interested in online. You can then have a really good look at it.

If you can’t, at least try looking at contracts for other gyms to see what sorts of things to look out for – google ‘gym contracts’ or ‘gym terms and conditions’.

Don’t tolerate pushy sales tactics

Tell them you want to take the contract home and look at it carefully. If they say the offer is ‘today only’ or similar – and gyms do legitimately offer specials for a limited time – this should be clearly advertised.

Do the maths

Work out how much it will cost per week, how many times per week you’re planning to go, and whether the cost is worth it. Would you be better off going as a casual (if possible), at least at first?

Look for added fees

This could be anything on top of basic membership fees, such as joining fees, fob/access card fees, monthly administration, direct debit fees, late or dishonour fees, cancellation, transfer or exit fees.

Also look out for terms around fee increases. Some ongoing contracts automatically increase your fees every year after the conclusion of the period you committed to when signing up.

Check the cooling-off period

There are minimum cooling-off periods that apply to all gyms for long-term contracts (more than three months) that are members of the industry association Fitness Australia: generally 48 hours in most states, and seven days in the ACT and WA.��

Gyms may have their own cooling-off period exceeding this. There may still be fees that apply, such as administration fees, or ‘guest’ fees if you’ve used the gym within the cooling-off period.

Find out what their holding, freeze or deferral periods are

If you’re away on holiday, or sick or injured for a long time, you may be able to get the time added to the end of your contract or pay a reduced fee for the duration. However, some notice – check how much – is required, and minimum and maximum periods may apply.

Check the cancellation policy

How much notice is needed, and what do you have to do? Regardless of what’s stated, you should always cancel in writing on a dated form or letter, and also tell your bank you have cancelled.

And under what circumstances can you terminate your contract without penalty? Moving more than a certain distance from the gym (and relevant affiliates) or long-term sickness or disability are typical reasons.

Transfers

If you don’t want to or can’t continue your membership, can it be transferred to someone else?

Tricky cancellation terms

If you’re not used to gym contracts, you may find that cancelling a membership – even after the conclusion of the period you signed up for – can be trickier than you expected.��

This is because the majority of gym memberships are classified as ‘ongoing’ agreements.��

For example, you may assume that your contract will automatically terminate 12 months after you sign up for a yearly membership. But if you signed an ongoing contract, your membership will automatically continue unless you actively opt out by cancelling your membership.��

Giving notice

Most gyms also require a notice period of about one month to cancel a contract, even after the conclusion of the period you committed to when signing up (referred to in the contract as the ‘Minimum Term’).��

This means that if you actually want your yearly membership to end after 12 months, you’ll need to cancel your membership in writing one month before the agreement is due to end.

In fact, ongoing gym contracts work similarly to most residential lease agreements. Although you may sign up for a 12-month lease, you’ll still need to give your real estate agent notice in advance if you actually intend to move out after 12 months. If no notice is given, it’s assumed you are continuing the rolling agreement until you ‘give notice’ that you intend to move out.��

Pre-paid and fixed-term agreements

The exception to this is prepaid or fixed-term agreements.��

If you pre-pay for a specified period, the contract will probably terminate automatically at the conclusion of the pre-paid term unless you renew, but it’s still worth checking your contract to confirm.��

 Fixed-term agreements will also usually terminate at the end of the term.

Gym Ts & Cs

It’s no secret that gym contracts can be hard to understand and tricky to terminate. In fact, in 2017, NSW’s Department of Fair Trading received 550 consumer complaints relating to gym membership cancellations, cooling-off periods and refunds (or the lack of them).��

The ACT, Queensland and Western Australia have implemented a mandatory Code of Practice for the fitness industry to offer consumers better protection – but most states haven’t, leaving many people unsure of their rights.��

In 2011, the ACL banned unfair terms in consumer contracts. This means and you may be entitled to remedies if the service you paid for doesn’t meet consumer guarantees.��

Before signing a gym contract, make sure to read it thoroughly, and if important information (including cancellation fees, notice periods etc.) is not included, make sure you ask for this information first. You may also want to consider signing up with a gym that complies with the if you’re not in a state with a mandatory code of practice.

Can you transfer gym membership?

Cancelling a gym membership before the minimum term can often involve hefty fees, so transferring your membership instead can be a clever alternative.��

If you’re moving house, transferring your membership to a different club location will usually be cheaper than cancelling an existing membership and signing up again in your new location.��

Alternatively, if you’re looking to get rid of your membership altogether, selling your remaining membership to another person could save you a significant sum in cancellation fees.

Gyms are not legally required to let you to transfer your membership (either to a new branch for yourself, or to somebody else) but a number of the bigger chains do allow it, although policies can vary from one location to another.��

Transferring to a new location

Transferring your membership to a club at another location within the same franchise may come with some fees (such as an administration fee and/or a new access card fee). And remember membership fees can vary from one location to the next, even within the same franchise, so if you’re moving to a new club, you may need to pay higher membership fees.

If your current gym membership lets you visit any of the gym’s club locations for free, keep in mind that if you start attending a new location more frequently than your designated ‘home club’, you may have your membership automatically transferred to that club, which may come with fees or higher membership rates.

If you’re moving and your new home will be too far away from any branch of your current gym, you may be able to cancel your membership without penalty (Fitness First and Anytime Fitness allow for this if you are moving more than 15km away from any of their gyms.)

Transferring membership to another person

If your agreement allows it, transferring your membership to another person will usually be subject to a number of conditions.��

You may have to have a certain amount of time remaining on your contract and the new member often can’t be somebody who has recently held a membership at the same gym.��

Most gyms will charge either a transfer fee or the initial start-up fee charged to new members when transferring a membership to a new person.

What if your gym closes down?

In a competitive marketplace, with new gyms opening regularly, existing gyms may close down, leaving members in the lurch. And with the current COVID-19 pandemic forcing many gyms to close their doors for extended periods, it’s possible that more and more gyms will be forced to close their doors permanently.��

Your gym may have contingencies in place for clients if it closes down. The contract for the Virgin Active chain of gyms, for example, states that if your home club closes, you have the choice of transferring your membership to another club, or terminating your membership on the day the home club closes.

Some gym closures have left members no choice but to go to other branches, which may not be very convenient. For example, when Lifestyle Fitness in the Sydney suburb Carlton closed down, members were told they could use the gyms in two other suburbs. Judging by the comments on the gym’s Facebook page (which was quickly taken down) this wasn’t a popular option and, in any case, those branches also closed down shortly afterwards.

If you’re lucky, nearby gyms not affiliated with the facility that has closed may offer to take on members as a goodwill gesture. But you may be required to agree to a membership with that gym when your current contract expires.

If you’re not happy with the solutions offered by the gym, you can at least stop the direct-debit payments by contacting your bank.

If you’ve paid upfront, you’ll have to try to recoup your money from the company or its liquidator. Contact your state’s fair trading department for advice.

If you’ve paid with a credit card, you may be able to use a chargeback to get a refund, although this only works for a limited time after you’ve paid.

Making a complaint

Fitness Australia has various resources to help people with .��

1. Start by writing a letter to the business concerned (whether it’s a gym or a personal training service or something else).��
2. If that doesn’t work, and your gym is a member of Fitness Australia, submit your complaint to Fitness Australia.��
3. If it still doesn’t get resolved, take your complaint to your state’s fair trading office.

Gym membership costs and cancellations compared

We compare the costs and cancellation policies for eight of the biggest gym franchises in Australia by market share according to IbisWorld.

Note: Minimum term refers to the length of the agreement outlined in an ongoing contract. For example, if you sign a yearly ongoing contract the minimum term will be 12 months.

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On this page:

• Do weight-loss pills work?
•  Analysing the active ingredients
• Government approved? Don't bet on it
• The dangers of buying diet pills online

With alarming stats such as this, it’s no wonder so many of us are turning to over-the-counter help in the form of weight-loss pills.

The pills that claim to make you slim and trim are an integral part of Australia’s billion-dollar weight-loss industry.��

So we took a closer look at a selection of diet pills and checked out the ingredients that reportedly give these products their fat-busting properties.

People who are considering using weight-loss supplements should talk with their doctor to discuss these products’ potential benefits and risks, especially if they have an underlying health condition.

Claims vs reality

You’ve seen the ads – you know, the ones that say “I lost eight kilograms with this product!” or “Yes, I want my body to absorb less fat!” 

They can be pretty convincing, especially when supported by “scientific evidence” and amazing “testimonials”, complete with before and after shots.

Such dramatic testimonials used to come with the fine print that these people are “exceptional” and that “individual results may vary”. But in 2005, the law changed so that testimonials and photos must be of typical cases.��

Yet on the testimonial pages of some websites, many cases still seem exceptional. If you look at the fine print, it’s often explained that their results are due to a lot more than taking product X, such as changes in diet and levels of physical activity.

Do weight-loss pills work?

You’ll typically find that weight-loss pills are designed to be used in conjunction with an energy-controlled diet and regular exercise. But isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid by taking the pills in the first place? 

So we took a closer look at the literature around the most common active ingredients. Several systematic reviews have concluded that, at best, more research is needed before any conclusions can be drawn.��

Multiple ingredients

Complicating the interpretation of many studies is that most weight-loss supplements contain multiple ingredients. This makes it difficult to isolate the effects of each ingredient or how they interact with each other.

Overall, the current evidence for the effectiveness and safety of these products is pretty sketchy.��

The truth is that these products may or may not assist with weight loss. But whatever their impact, it seems that we can’t escape actually doing the hard yards, such as changing our diets or getting more exercise, if we want to see results.

 Analysing the active ingredients

Weight-loss pills tend to contain a mix of herbs and vitamins, and often stimulants such as caffeine, which can result in high blood pressure and heart palpitations.��

Herbs contain many chemicals, the presence and concentration of which can vary according to the source and the preparation. And in most of these weight-loss pills, ingredients are only individually tested for safety, despite the fact that they may interact with one another or with other medications in ways that may be less safe.

Here we look at some of the most common ingredients in weight-loss pills, what they claim to do, and whether there’s any evidence they’re effective.��

Government approved? Don’t bet on it

If you think weight-loss pills are evaluated for safety and efficacy the way prescription medicines are, think again.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the body that’s been charged with regulating complementary medicines. In Australia, all complementary and alternative medicines – such as weight-loss pills – need to be entered on the .��

On this register, there are two types of products: “registered goods” and “listed goods”. It’s important to know the difference.

Registered goods 

These are medicines (identified by an AUST R number) that are considered high risk. They’re evaluated by the TGA for quality, safety and efficacy before being released onto the market.

Listed goods

These are medicines (identified by an AUST L number) that are considered lower risk. They must only contain ingredients that have had their safety and quality approved for use in listed products, but they aren’t evaluated for efficacy.

In 2008, there were about 100 times more listed weight-loss products than registered products – today there are probably even more.

Manufacturers can apply for a listing by just filling in an online form and paying a fee. About one in five (20%) products are randomly audited to make sure they meet standards. Manufacturers also have to hold a file of evidence to prove that their products work. However, based on the literature we looked at, we suspect their “proof” is pretty underwhelming.��

Recalled slimming products

There have been product recalls in the past in Australia that bring into question the regulation around listed weight-loss aids.��

Weight-loss chocolate

A few years ago, weight-loss chocolate bars were pulled from sale as they contained an unlisted ingredient – the prescription drug sibutramine. Once a leading prescription weight-loss medicine, sibutramine was withdrawn from the Australian market after being associated with cardiac events such as non-fatal heart attack and stroke.

Latin Seed

In another worrying event, the heavily advertised Latin Seed was withdrawn for containing poisonous yellow oleander instead of candle nut, as the label claimed. Yellow oleander can cause a variety of symptoms from diarrhoea to heart damage.

These events may be unusual, but the fact that they do happen makes it difficult to see how the TGA can consider these products “low risk”.

The dangers of buying diet pills online

Weight-loss supplements containing sibutramine and Latin Seed are readily available online. We noticed that many of these online products don’t always state the actual concentrations of their ingredients in their online listings, which could make taking them risky.��

The listed content of ingredients in supplements can also be inaccurate. One 2015 US study found the actual content of a number of botanical supplements varied widely from what was listed on the label. For example, yohimbine was found to vary from between 23% and 147% from what the label said the products contained.��

The TGA recommends that consumers exercise extreme caution when buying any medicines or supplements from overseas online retailers, as they’re not regulated by the TGA and may contain harmful, dangerous or banned ingredients.

The post Do weight loss pills help you lose weight? appeared first on ����Vlog.

In 2020, 7.6 million Aussies were wearing some kind of wearable smart device with a fitness tracking component on their wrist, according to Australian telecommunications consultancy Telsyte.��

From basic plastic models to high-end smartwatch devices, more and more Australians are strapping some kind of fitness tracker to their wrist as part of their daily routine. And where adults tread, children are often keen to follow, with many kids now using fitness trackers designed exclusively for them.

From the popular Fitbit Ace 2 and Garmin Vivofit Jr. 3 to the lesser known Leapfrog Leapband Activity Tracker, Vtech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2, there’s seemingly a fitness wearable for all childhood ages and stages on the market.

But do children really need fitness trackers in the first place? And can they cause more harm than good?

Concerns around keeping track

You only have to walk past your local primary school or preschool at playtime to see the hive of activity children create. From skipping, cartwheels, running and climbing, many playgrounds give the impression that if the energy created by little kids could be harnessed, it could power a small city.

But at the same time the statistics are alarming when it comes to Australian children’s health, with one in four kids now classified as overweight or obese, and an increasingly sedentary population spending more and more time indoors or on devices.

It’s no wonder, then, that plenty of parents are attracted to the idea of technology that helps to get kids up and moving. But the jury is still out on whether wearable tech is really the answer when it comes to kids and their health.

While some experts say the gamification of exercise is a good fit for modern children who are already using technology and devices in most other areas of their life, others have concerns about online privacy and the danger of applying a simple approach to the complex issue of children’s health and fitness.

Age appropriate?

Brodie Cambourne, an accredited exercise physiologist, says while fitness trackers can be suitable for some children, age does matter.

She says children under five are too young to be tracking their activity, and fitness and activity should be fun and play-based for little ones.

She says that some primary-age children may like to use fitness trackers as they can view their progress online and share it with peers and family members. However, any use of these devices should be monitored by parents and carers, who can help interpret results and offer positive feedback.

Cambourne says when it comes to exercise overall, the key to getting kids to enjoy being active is to keep them engaged, whether that’s using technology or any other approach that suits the individual: “When a child is engaged in an activity it means that they feel that the activity is achievable, has benefit to them and is something that they can feel confident to talk about.”

For some kids that may mean using technology like a fitness tracker, says Cambourne: “They allow children to view their progress, which in turn encourages them to talk about their progress or show others what they have been completing each week.”

Evidence lacking for kids

Tracking your fitness with wearable technology is not new for adults, but is the same approach right for children?

Jill Hnatiuk, senior lecturer in in physical activity and health at Deakin University, says that while there’s evidence that fitness trackers can be effective for adults, there just isn’t yet enough information on whether they’re effective with children.

“We certainly know that the physical activity children engage in is very different to adults – both in the nature of the activity, as well as the factors that influence their physical activity participation. Thus, it usually isn’t suitable to apply adult physical activity promotion strategies to children.”

Hnatiuk says that if a parent or carer’s goal is to increase physical activity in their children, there are many other established, evidence-based strategies that can be used to do this instead of looking to a fitness tracker for a solution.

“I also find it interesting that trackers largely put the onus on the individual, while we know that there are many factors within our social and physical environment that influence the physical activity that a person – adult or child – engages in.”

Anxiety and eating disorder risks

Despite the rise in popularity in wearable technology, there are concerns that tracking movement could trigger obsessive behaviour and even eating disorders in children and young people, particularly when many apps encourage users to share their results with peers.

In 2016, a New Zealand high school counsellor voiced concern that tracking steps and kilojoules could become a fixation with some students, especially girls trying to lose weight.��

These concerns were also reflected by students themselves in a 2017 study of 100 13–14-year-old UK school children who wore a fitness tracker for eight weeks. Researchers discovered the experiment made some students lose confidence in their physical ability and that others reported that wearing the device made them feel fat and uncomfortable.

Kevin Barrow, CEO of , which represents people affected by negative body image and eating disorders, says that using fitness trackers can be problematic for some as they encourage the idea that health is based on a numerical value. “We know this is not a sufficient enough way of understanding health, and can be dangerous for some young people.”

Barrow says fitness trackers can promote behaviours that are often associated with eating disorders such as counting of steps and kilojoules.��

“Fitness trackers can impact a young person’s relationship with exercise in a negative way. Movement, exercise and physical activity can become competitive, a chore, excessive and obsessive. Children should be encouraged to move their bodies for enjoyment, their health and wellbeing. All children should be encouraged to move in this way, not just those living in larger bodies,” he says.

“If you are concerned about your child’s health, development or body size, seeking advice from a health professional is key, preferably one who will focus on the overall health of a young people and not just weight.”

Brodie Cambourne says that a child using a fitness tracker to set goals that may not be achievable for their age group or ability could definitely cause anxiety, as can using an app that shares results with family or peers.��

“If fitness trackers are being used in a group or family situation where there may be siblings who often perform the same activity,” says Cambourne, “then it is worth checking with each child if they would like to publish their progress or keep it personal, much like a diary.”

How much activity do kids need to do?

From birth to pre-school

From 0 to 1 year, even very little babies should be encouraged to move, including tummy time and other floor-based play. From one to age five they should be physically active for at least three hours through the day.

For school kids

School-aged children need at least an hour of moderate to vigorous activity every day, including activities that strengthen muscles and bones, such as skipping, climbing, dancing or gymnastics three times a week.

Keeping safe online

Using a fitness tracker generally means capturing your data via a smartphone app, which often offers options for sharing information with friends, family or via other social media platforms. Some of the more sophisticated wearables also include GPS. As a result, there are concerns children’s privacy and safety.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant says parents need to be aware what’s involved with any wearable devices they buy for their children. Wearables often link to apps which collect information, and many have sensors to collect physical and biological information, as well as location tracking.

“Be mindful about oversharing. Most fitness trackers and smartwatches allow users to link with friends, giving them access to sleep patterns, exercise times, locations and other health information,” says Ms Inman Grant.��

“It’s really important to take the time to read the terms of use of the associated app carefully and assess whether you’re comfortable with what data is being collected and how it’s being used. Some apps collect information for marketing purposes and you may agree to this when you agree to the app’s terms and conditions.”

Check your privacy settings

Security and privacy settings should also be top of mind if you do decide to buy a fitness tracker or wearable. Checking privacy settings are set correctly can prevent uninvited persons from knowing where and when your children exercise or meet up with friends for activities.

“Make sure the device you choose allows you to make good, informed choices about what personal information you want collected, and how this will be shared,” says Ms Inman Grant.

How to stay safe online

• Keep track of your devices and associated accounts. Losing a device can allow third-party-access to the information stored on it.
• Secure your device, accounts and apps with strong passcodes and passwords.
• Use bluetooth when pairing with other devices, and only pair with devices you are aware of and can control.
• Manage your device even when it is not in use – when not in use, store it in a safe place where no one else can access it.
• Limit the amount of information shared with software and third parties.

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On this page:

• Case study: Marianna's story

Most of us could improve our posture, particularly anyone working in an office environment, spending hours at a time sitting at a desk or slumping in the sofa watching TV.��

Straps and braces have been used to help either correct poor posture or help train the body to recognise what good posture should feel like. But as with all health and fitness devices, they only work if you are disciplined enough to use them.

The Upright Go 2 is a small smart device that you wear to not only alert you when you are slouching, but also to show you how best to sit and stand to relieve stress on your spine.

Perfect posture in a box

The device is small yet carries out two important tasks to help you sit up and stand in a strong postural position. The first part is the vibration that alerts you to a less than ideal posture and the second part is the overall tracking of your every move to give you a history of when you are sitting and standing in a strong position – and when you are not.

The kit comes with the device which is about the size of a thin dishwasher tablet. You place it at the top of your spine using an adhesive that stays in place yet is easy to remove.

The kit also includes a USB cable and charger, as well as several reusable stickers and wipes to get you off and running (or standing).

Battery life

The Upright Go 2 should deliver a few days’ use before requiring a charge.��

Does it work?

The Upright Go 2 promises improved posture after two weeks. After using the device for a couple of weeks and sharing it with other users, we think this claim does have merit.��

However it’s not fool proof; you need to be motivated to follow the instructions and follow the setup procedure and calibration properly to ensure you get good accurate feedback. For a first-hand review, read Marianna’s story below.��

Rewarding good posture

If you have a fitness tracker or watch, you’ll be familiar with the way data is presented over time, with various goals to be met over a period of time. Setting specific goals will hold a strong appeal for many.

Setup

The setup process is deceptively simple: put in your height, weight and age and you are ready to start sitting up straight.

Unfortunately, the simplicity seems to allow a lot of room for error in the setup as the device only works as well as the person setting it up. If you don’t calibrate it properly, the device will simply ignore some poor posture positions.

Case study: Marianna’s story

Marianna had noticed her posture gradually getting worse while working from home (WFH) and thought the Upright Go 2 could help her develop better habits.��

“My WFH setup ticks all the right boxes – ergonomic office chair, laptop stand and USB keyboard so I can work without putting stress on my head and neck,” she says. “The trouble was that my desk was also my dining room, which meant I needed to set it up every morning and pack it away every night.

“I found myself slipping into a pattern of not bothering to set up my nine-to-five office and would work with my laptop plopped on the table – or even just on my lap when I wanted a change of scenery and worked from the couch.��

“Unsurprisingly, my posture suffered and I’d start to get twinges after hunching over for too long or I’d get a dreaded case of tech neck. Despite this, my bad habits continued.”

Perfect pattern breaker?

After seeing several targeted ads for the Upright Go 2 on social media, Marianna thought the gadget would be the perfect pattern breaker.��

“After downloading the app to my phone, it was easy to use – every day I’d stick the device to my back and set it to recognise a strong posture so that it knew when to alert me if I was slouching,” she says. “This was its ‘training’ mode. You could also switch over to ‘tracking’ mode, which notes how much of my day was spent slouching.

“I had the version that adheres to your back using a sticky strip (you can also buy a necklace adaptor instead). While it was small enough to hide under my top without anyone noticing, I have long hair and the adhesive backing would sometimes get stuck to it, which was annoying. But once it was on I could easily forget about it. At least, until it started vibrating.

Bad vibrations

“The first few days I got a real buzz out of using it and checking my stats on the app to see how my posture was improving over time,” says Marianna. “But I was surprised at how often it would buzz for poor posture when I moved slightly to write something down or answer the phone.��

“After a bit of trial and error adjusting the settings, I managed to reduce the buzzing I’d get for those small blips in posture so that it would focus on prolonged bouts of slouching.”

‘Frustrated’

“After about two weeks I found my posture had improved, but the honeymoon was definitely over,” she says. “I lacked the motivation to wear it, became angry when it buzzed at me and overall was just frustrated I had to pay attention to it like it was some sort of WFH posture Tamagotchi.��

“Turns out that was just the inspiration I needed to introduce some permanent solutions and sort out my home office for good. As annoying as it is to set up and pack down my little workstation every day, it’s a more effective and permanent solution to my posture problems than being buzzed every few minutes.” 

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