[Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of stuff

Wed Feb 15 16:59:43 UTC 2017

Agree, especially about the food part. Personally, I'm not into tracking my
food, other than noting carbs for my glucose records for doctor. As long as
I'm eating healthy and sticking to smaller portions, I don't get caught up
in tracking food.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Sandi Ryan via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 10:44 AM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sandi Ryan <sjryan2 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for
tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of
stuff

Trackers are wonderful for people who like and participate regularly in
exercise. They can be motivating and also great for people who want to get
going with exercise and build up gradually. They can also be discouraging
and disappointing for some people. I was initially one of those. When I had
a pedometer, I hated it. They count only steps, and I was horrified to find
I took only about 3,000 per day! And that was on a good day! My husband, on
the other hand, did 15,000 to 20,000 per day (his job involved standing and
walking all day, and mine was a desk job). I pretty much consigned myself to
dying younger and in ill health.

The Apple Watch has helped me change all that. I get a much more accurate
picture of my activity, get credit for all my movement, not just steps, and
can track various measures of activity, movement and exercise. Incidentally,
movement is measured in calories, so that one learns how many calories have
been burned through activity in a day, as well as resting calories burned.
Throughout the day I get encouragements and summaries of how I'm doing,
while there's still time to work on it if the day has started out slowly.
These can be shut off if they aren't helpful. 

Whatever tracker you choose, make sure it's one that will be motivating, not
discouraging, and commit to using it regularly. It's important to do the
research up front, because most of the good ones require a fairly large
outlay of money. In the meantime, though, you can get steps and a few other
things from your iPhone if you carry it with you all the time. Check out the
Health app on the phone. 

I practiced about 25 years as a dietitian, and I find the ability to track
what you eat with these devices less helpful than their other features. It's
possible, even a little fun for a while, but it can take significant time
out of your day, during which you could be working to increase your activity
instead. Some people really like tracking their food and nutrients. My best
advice is that you eat reasonable portions of foods, mostly healthy, and
that you eat when you're hungry and stop when you're satisfied (not full).
If you need snacks, keep them healthy, too. Then use your tracker for the
things it's good at--tracking your activity, checking your heart rate, and
motivating you to keep up the good work!

Sandi

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 9:39 AM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for
tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of
stuff

I think devices like FitBits are great because they help you realize how
much, or how little, you move in a day. Anyone wanting to stay fit and
healthy can definitely benefit from something like this, whether a FitBit or
something else. Even just knowing how many steps you take in a day can
change your perspective on activity and how much you get of it.

In my teens and early 20s, I ran and swam. In high school, I ran and swam
competively. I've always exercised, hitting the gym or nearby running trail,
but last summer, after almost 20 years of not doing anything competitive or
intense, my husband and I decided to enter a triathlon. Even though I
exercise several times a week, the training was intense. Swim was my
strength, and running was my husband's strength. And I found out I was
pregnant with my second child 2 weeks before the triathlon happened. It was
quite the experience. We plan to do it again this year. We start training
next month. I just had my second son 3 weeks ago, so perfect timing with
training, smile. The FitBits have been nice devices for our training.

I continued to jog and swim during my pregnancy, although since the weather
turned cold, I have not gone out and jogged. But I go to the local Y and
swim laps. My friend has a device you can wear while swimming; wish it was
accessible because it's a nice little device too. Similar to a FitBit but
specific for swimming.

Whether you run, walk, use exercise equipment  or just like to get up and
move throughout the day, it's nice to use a device or app to help you better
understand just how much activity you're getting.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Jeanette Kutash via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 3:02 AM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jeanette Kutash <kutash-jm at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for
tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of
stuff

You're lucky. Still, I love mine and truly appreciate having it. I wonder if
they made an improvement because I've had mine for almost two years. I'm not
good enough to run, and at my age I have no desire, but I have improved my
exercise ability tremendously since I got this.

Jeanette

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 2:03 AM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for
tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of
stuff

My husband and I are both blind. We did have to ask someone what the code
was, but once we had the code, we were able to set everything else up. We
purchased ours within the last year; they are FitBit Charges. Personally,
neither of us have experienced problems syncing the app to the FitBit, so
can't speak to that. We do love the FitBits though, especially when training
for triathlons. Handy little devices.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Jeanette Kutash via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2017 2:41 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jeanette Kutash <kutash-jm at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for
tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of
stuff

So Bridgit, which fitbit do you have, and is your husband blind or sighted.
If blind, I am curious just because I know I would love if need be to figure
out a way to set my device independently. I like you have not seen issues
with using it unless I forget to charge it.

Thanks,

Jeanette 

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2017 9:11 AM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for
tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of
stuff

The Apple watch sounds great. It's something we have considered. I will say
that in a year of having a FitBit, neither Ross or I have had problems with
it syncing to the app or not working. We have not had problems with the app
either. The worse thing that has happened for us just when it dies and needs
to be recharged, but any electronical device will need to be recharged. This
is our experience but in no way means there are not problems with the
device, or that at some point we won't experience these problems. Just
adding to the conversation. We bought our FitBits used also.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Sandi Ryan via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2017 10:18 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sandi Ryan <sjryan2 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for
tracking exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of
stuff

Hi Gary,

I wear an Apple Watch, which has many functions and spills information
directly into your iPhone (or, I assume, iPad). It's kind of expensive
upfront, but I've had mine nearly two years, and have never regretted buying
it. In my opinion, the thing that makes the Apple Watch better than the
FitBit (my husband has one of those) is that the Apple Watch speaks
everything using Voiceover. With the FitBit, at least the last time I used
one, you had to get it to sync with and dump everything into the app on your
phone, then read it from there. My husband has problems periodically with
his FitBit not syncing properly, and loses data for days. The Apple Watch
gives you certain information--you can even get it from the watch face if
you choose the right face. And it contains several apps that help you track
things, such as activity, your heart rate, and workouts, and you can have it
remind you to breathe if you want to practice deep breathing. Information
from the watch is automatically synced with the phone, and you can get even
more information about your day from the phone's Health app. The first
generation watch (which is what I have) now sells for about $200, and the
new Generation II watch, which has some added features--but not enough to
make me buy it, is $369. The older model is similarly priced to the FitBit
Blaze.

The watch face I'm using provides the day/date, time, calendar, local
temperature, fitness info (movement, exercise and hours during which I've
stood), and sunrise/sunset time. 

Anyway, I hope this is enough information about the watch to help with your
decision about a tracker. 

Sandi

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Gary-melconian via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2017 6:59 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Cc: Gary-melconian
Subject: [Diabetes-Talk] re question on a good accessible ap for tracking
exercises like walking on treadmill, bicycling and that sort of stuff

Hello I would like to know if there  are any good aps for tracking number of
steps traveled , number of calories burned and that sort of stuf on I OS.
It needs to be accessible to voice over. If there  are any recommendations
on this , I would truly appreciate it.  

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