How to Decide Which Fitness Tracker to Buy - Circles Tech

Turning your daily actions into data can motivate you — at least, that's the dream behind many quantitative self devices that help you track fitness, movement, what you eat and how you sleep. Many of these devices are wristbands and most offer the same basic features, and come with a companion iOS or Android app that will help you make sense of the data. But of course, there are nuances.

Our Twitter Advice Column, #MashAdvice, helps you navigate digital questions related to relationships, productivity, fitness and more. Your answers will come from people who have experienced the very same issues firsthand.

This week, we discussed the pros and cons of various fitness trackers thanks to a question from Maddi:

The most well-known options are the Jawbone UP and Nike FuelBand, but a reddit user rounded up a few lesser-known options including Indiegogo successes Shine and Amiigo.

Do you plan to purchase a fitness tracker? Let us know what one you prefer in the comments.

Choosing a fitness band depended on people's personal goals.

The FitBit was a favorite.

Most people wanted to track movement but being able to compare movement data to eating and sleeping data proved useful for some, as well.

Of course, a little competition works as motivation, too.

What's the future of fitness trackers? Hopefully further integration with other services.

What question should we tackle next? Tweet us your advice question with #MashAdvice and tune into our Twitter chat on Oct. 8 at 3 p.m. ET.