Jawbone UP24 wears out the competition on fitness bands.
Over the past year, my doctor discovered that my thyroid gland was not working. This caused a number of additional health issues including a decrease in energy and increase in weight gain. Because of this, we have been trying different ways to lose the weight that has been gained as a result of the thyroid malfunction. Many companies have been developing wearable fitness bands to help challenge users to increase healthy behaviors. I decided to look into one of these products to assist with my journey to healthy living. I also wanted to be able to track what I was eating and be able to keep a detailed log for my own health. After extensive research, I settled on the Jawbone UP24.
Jawbone UP24 works with the specially designed system (BAND + APP + YOU = THE UP SYSTEM) to help you achieve your health goals. UP takes a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle and tracks your movements, sleep and diet habits to keep you moving forward with your goals. UP24 is always connected and provides real-time feedback to the app so that you can stay motivated. UP24 is designed for everyday use and should work into your routine seamlessly. The UP24 app helps to document your lifestyle and will track your progress with weight, fitness and diet.
The first step was to purchase the Jawbone UP24 band. We ended up purchasing one from a local retail store. UP24 comes in different sizes (S, M, L) and should fit snugly against your wrist for the best data results. There is an online sizing guide that you can download if you are ordering online, but in store, we were happy to find that there is a plastic cut-out sizing guide on the packaging. This will help you to determine if the S, M, or L band is the right size for you.
Once the band was purchased, I downloaded the app. UP by Jawbone is available for free from the iTunes App Store. Some of the main features include:
- Get personalized insights
- Track your sleep and physical activity
- Log your food, drink and nutritional info
- Smart Alarm
- Set idle alerts to remind you to move
- Power Nap feature
- Log workouts
- Streaks and Milestones
- Activity Alerts
Overall, I have been very happy with UP24. The band is comfortable and most times, I don’t even notice that I’m wearing it. The only times I notice it are when I’m typing on my laptop because the cap lands on the wrist rest of my MacBook Pro. So, sometimes, I will just remove the band when I’m stationary. I feel as thought the band has been accurate in its measure of my activities and sleep. And, it’s connection to the UP app has been superb.
On July 16, Jawbone released an update for the app to version 3.2. This version includes some new features like weight management, a redesigned food experience and food score. The food experience is includes tools like restaurant menus and access to a large database of common foods and meals. I have had experiences with meal trackers from MyFitnessPal and while the database for UP isn’t quite as extensive yet, it is still growing. For example, we visited Logan’s Roadhouse the other night and I went to log my dinner from the app’s food tracker and even though the menu was available for the restaurant, it wasn’t the entire menu. The same is true of the regular food items.
I can successfully recommend the Jawbone UP24 and the UP system to anyone searching for a good activity band. So far, it’s the best wearable of this caliber that I’ve seen. The only downside to the UP24 is that it’s not waterproof. It’s splash-resistant, but not submersible and I’d love to be able to track water activity, too. The battery life has been excellent. I charge it every couple of days and think I’ve only gotten one battery warning since I’ve had it.
For more information, visit jawbone.com. It retails for $149.99.
