LIFESTYLE

Getting Your 10,000 Steps a Day // Comparing Withings and Fitbit Fitness Trackers

On November 16, 2020
By Kimberly

While the goal to reach 10,000 steps a day is a highly debated number; it still is the target for many exercising from home. Anywhere from 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day has been suggested as the gold standard, and the gains claimed are as much as 50% reduction in death rates. Even 80 year-old Dr. Fauci manages a 3 1/2 mile powerwalk daily.

If you’re comparing fitness trackers, I can tell you my experience with Fitbit and Withings. In short; Withings counts me at nearly half as many steps as my Fitbits. I’ve been monitoring them for six months now, so I have pegged the trends. Here are my numbers – let me know in the comments below if you have experienced the same.

Fitbit Charge 2	Fitbit Charge 3	Withings Steel HR
7,130	7,116	4,234
11,851	13,108	7,330
7,909	7,779	4,389

Step counts from sample random days.

Test Results and Reasons

Overall, the Withings Steel HR calculates my steps at 55%-60% of what the Fitbit Charge 2 and Fitbit Charge 3 register after six months of comparisons.

I tested the three on dog walks, busy days of yard and house work, and even kayaking. In reading about the differences in the brands; one aspect is that the Withings dials you in on arm swings more than step impact.

For me, this causes some troubles since when I walk our dogs, my arm is stretched out holding a leash. Also, I tend not to do a lot of arm swinging when I walk anywhere. Any attempts to increase the motion of my arms has made me feel rather peculiar.

Withings does mention some activities that may result in lower-than-normal step counts; pushing a perambulator, using a push mower, walking on a treadmill while holding the side handles – you get the idea. No arm swings means fewer steps recorded.

Alternately, if you are sewing, knitting, cooking, or doing anything that requires a lot of hand movement and no steps – it’s recommended that you remove. your fitness tracker to eliminate over-reporting of your steps!

We Used to Call it a Pedometer!

For years, I used a Fitbit Zip. It seemed nearly indestructible, and so easily attached somewhere on my clothing. These were the small roundish activity trackers that counted your steps, distance, and calories burned.

They were simple, included the ability to sync automatically and wirelessly to your computer and smartphone, and the battery life was six months. At the time; we thought that was ridiculous! My walking friends and I really wanted them to last a full year. Ha ha ha. So, we dutifully turned off all-day sync and quick view in order to make them last a couple months longer. We didn’t know what was coming next!

Upgrading to a Fitness Tracker

Then along came the “smart watches” and I upgraded to a Fitbit Charge 2. It was a bit of a shock to have to charge it every five days.

There were instructions, again, to turn off quick view, disable all day sync, change heart rate settings to off, and eschew hourly move reminders. Next we had to change the number of hours of stationary time monitoring, turn off call, text, and calendar notifications, and delete silent alarms, all to prolong battery life. Practically back to a not-very-smart watch!

My Fitbit Charge 2 is still going strong, and I still use it for my weekend tracker. The face is cracked from sailing in extreme heat two summers ago. When it cracked, I thought it would fail soon, so I went ahead and purchased a Fitbit Charge 3 so I could have the additional features.

Double Stuff

Telling time on a fitness tracker is not aesthetically pleasing. I prefer reading from a dial with at least two hands, if not three. So, I found myself wearing a watch and a tracker on the same wrist. Real watch for real time, and fitness trackers for call, text, email alerts, and all the fitness capabilities.

While I like the look, I am hesitant to wear out my two “good” watches for daily wear. As more smartwatch options came on the market, I looked for a couple of years at all the fitness tracker smartwatches, and found most of them rather unattractive.

A Better-Looking Option

Then Withings came out with the Steel HR line, and I liked them. Not only did I like the look, best of all, they boasted a 25 day battery life! Ahhhhhh!

There was a wonderful promotion I caught, about 40% off a sale price, and I went for it. I chose one in silver and one in rose gold.

Also, I chose a couple of bands for each Withings Steel HR to coordinate with outfits. All-metal bands do well with my everyday business attire, as do leather bands in a selection of colors like pale pink, tan, and navy blue. I was astounded at the quality of the “aftermarket” watch bands I received!

Stethoscope Watches

These Withings Steel HR watches I jokingly call my “stethoscope” watches because they look to me like a medical instrument. Their face is very plain. There is an hour hand and a minute hand. They lack a seconds hand.

Once you have set your step goal, the bottom dial will register how close you are to your goal. It reads the percent you are toward your desired step count at a quick glance.

Above the center is a black circle. I like that it resembles the phase-of-the-moon watches. Texts and calls show on the circle as they arrive if you choose that setting.

What else is in the circle is all your digital information. A touch of the side button reveals time, date, heart rate, steps, distance, calories torched, alarms, and, battery life. It’s very very easy to use and understand.

The battery life is super easy to read the percent as well as an icon with dwindling bars. I really appreciate this after having to go to the app on my phone to determine the battery life of my Fitbit Charges.

My Top Secret Justification

On the weekends, I still wear my Fitbits because I know my step counts will be high and go toward my yearly numbers. I already know I’m going to get a lot of exercise and move around a lot, and I love to see the 10,000 and 20,000 banners and feel that zzzzzzt zzzzzzzt zzzzzzzt happy alarm.

However, during the week, I know I don’t move enough. While it seems the Withings is throttling me back; actually, it’s inspiring me to try to “beat it” at it’s own game. I try to swing my arms, I get up more, I attempt to sneak in extra steps when I can and make the little dial get around to 100%.

If you made it this far – here’s my big top secret reason that I’m ok with the under-reporting of my steps. I am working on some healthier habits, and that includes tracking my food intake and calories. There is a pretty good chance we all underestimate our portions and serving sizes.

Therefore, while my Withings may underreport my calories burned; this is a good thing. My underreported steps can offset my underestimated serving sizes! Voila!

I’m using Noom for changing my eating habits, and, if you rack up a lot of steps; Noom rewards you with adding more to your calorie allowance for the day. So, my Withings governs my allowed calories in a way; which is helping me reach my goals faster. From Noom, I’m learning a lot. It’s all about habits as well as food. So, let’s make it a habit to rack up those 10,000 steps any way we can!