I quit smoking close to a year ago and since that time I have gained at least 15 pounds. I was already overweight and it just made things worse. My wifey and I decided we are going to get healthy together which means for us a healthier diet and adding  daily workout activities like walking or running. Whatever is needed to burn calories and not just sit.

We spent a week watching our daughter using her FitBit Charge HR and became inspired to do the same. I for one need data to see the benefits of working out. The “walking is good for you!” isn’t enough. I need to know how far and fast I need to walk to make any contribution to my weight loss and healthier lifestyle.

We both entered the fitness tracking world. I’m using the Garmin VivoActive HR and wifey is using the FitBit Charge HR. Both are very popular in the fitness tracking community.

It’s going to take a while for me to get used to idea of wearing a digital watch again. I’m an Apple product supporter and I didn’t purchase the Apple watch since it had no appeal to me. When I was researching the various watch trackers I tried very hard to have the iWatch as my choice but the lack of standalone built in GPS and the poor battery life didn’t work for me.

The size of the Garmin VivoActive HR is noticeable but the weight is nothing. Since I wear glasses I have to use a clock faces that allow me to read the vitals easily. I’m still going over what is available.

One thing that from the start that I had to get used to was the brightness of the display.