The flaw with the Nike Fuelband...

I have had a Nike Fuelband for about 20 months now. After the first one crapped out, nike replaced it, so technically this is number two. But one issue has plagued me for the whole of my ownership:

There is no true correlation to physical activity!

I can earn just as much fuel (that's how Nike measures your activity) by sitting on the couch, sucked into Pinterest and flapping my Fuelband-wearing arm above head as I can running a 10k. But if I run a FULL MARATHON, I earn enough fuel that Nike thinks I've run a 10k. 

....?????

To out it in numbers:

Last Sunday, I shoveled the driveway- during which I know I cover at least 1.25 miles- and it is 60 minutes of constant movement. I earned a whopping 97 fuel points. The other four shoveling trips earned anywhere from 84 to 99 fuel points.

Monday morning, I cooked biscuits with sausage gravy, and earned 427 fuel points. 

So, according to my Fuelband, shoveling snow for 5 hours is damn near equivalent to 30 minutes making bisuits with sausage gravy.

Do you see the problem?

I generally earn about 1000 fuel points on a 5k run. But walking a 5k earned me closer to 3000.

Weight training for an hour earns me around 250, but Zumba earns 1500. One hour of yoga earns me 50 if I'm lucky, but I also earn 50 washing my face.

100 squats earned 5 fuel points this morning. 25 push-ups earned zero. Brushing my teeth, however, earned 57.

My whole point here: wearable fitness devices seem to be the big trend lately. While they are great anti-lazy meters, they are not true measuremtns of activity. 

I still like my Fuelband, and still wear it. It's a great way to make sure I don't waste the day on the couch. But beyond that, fuel points are as arbitrary as a five cent mail-in rebate.

I'd love to hear your thoughts: do you own a fitbit, fuelband, or anything like that?