Lumen Metabolism Tracker Review
Who Is The Lumen Metabolism Tracker For?
- The Lumen metabolism tracker is an easy way to learn what to do to lose weight
- The Lumen tracker provides a number of goals with reminders and tips for reaching those goals, making it great for motivational help
- Already working out and eating right? The Lumen is a nice addition on top of that to learn more about your body
Many people, myself included, want to lose some weight. However, many people, myself included, aren't all that knowledgeable about how to do so effectively. Metabolism tracking has previously been a way for elite athletes to learn how to best care for their bodies and stay in peak physical fitness, but the process has been expensive and time consuming. That has changed with the Lumen metabolism tracker, which has reduced the costly and bulky metabolism tracking equipment of the past into an easy to use handheld device and a paired app for smartphones.
Fantastic Build Quality
For a product that is only used a few seconds each day, the Lumen has outstanding build quality. The surface is smooth and the mouthpiece cap is made of metal and is held on with magnets. Taking the cap off and putting it back on is surprisingly satisfying. There's just something about it that makes the Lumen feel nice to hold.
Even the way the Lumen charges is pretty cool. Each Lumen device comes with its own dock for charging. The Lumen easily nestles into its space on the dock and is charged fairly quickly. One charge keeps the device alive for several weeks, so it doesn't need to be charged regularly.
Easy To Use
The actual Lumen device, while well-built, isn't all that interesting. To use the Lumen, all that is required is to follow the prompts on the connected smartphone app to inhale through the mouthpiece and then exhale through the mouthpiece. Most testing sessions require two breath cycles before the app provides more information.
That's it! The Lumen only has one button, which is used to turn on the device. Outside of breathing through the tracker, the actual Lumen device isn't used for anything else. Sure, there are processes going on under the hood with the device analyzing breath, but that is something the Lumen handles by itself.
All About The App
Where the real magic happens with the Lumen metabolism tracker is on the Lumen app. After inhaling and exhaling through the Lumen device, the app provides data from the breathing to users. This data starts with a single number from one to five. This number indicates how many carbs a body is burning compared to the fats that body is burning. Getting a one means a body is burning fat, while a five means the body is running on carbs.
Once that number has been calculated, the app starts offering a whole host of options for making smart choices. For example, I almost always seemed to get a three when blowing through the Lumen each morning. The app noticed this, and as a way to help guide my body towards burning more fat than carbs, it gave me the number of servings of carbs and fats I should include in my diet that day.
I'm pretty clueless when it comes to diet and nutrition, but Lumen has made that easy for people like me. What does a meal that has one serving of carbs look like? Well, it looks like one of a number of different meal suggestions the Lumen app provides. The best part is users can enter their dietary restrictions like if they avoid gluten, seafood, pork or whatever else they may not want to eat. The app even provides information on portion sizes and how to make sure users are eating enough, but not too much.
A Bit Overwhelming
Starting with the Lumen can be a bit intimidating. What starts as a simple breath test quickly spirals out into talking about food servings, exercises and tons of data. Thankfully, the Lumen app has plenty of resources built in to keep users informed along with plenty more links to outside websites for additional information. These resources help walk newbies like myself through the diet, exercise and nutrition aspects of weight loss to where they make a little more sense.
Of course, that can still be plenty confusing for some. That's why Lumen offers a VIP package that enables a 24/7 help hotline for users to ask Lumen staff members questions and to request advice. The VIP service does cost a little extra, but might be worth it for a month or two for someone who is just getting started and may be unsure of what to do.
Those that don't get the VIP package still have access to many of the resources available on Lumen, including Lumen's push notifications. That may seem like a small offering, but as anyone who has tried regularly exercising or dieting knows, accountability and motivation are some of the most important aspects of weight loss. If anything, the Lumen app is great at providing gentle reminders on what to do and eat next on a person's weight loss journey. It might not be as effective as a friend grinding it out next to you at the gym, but it's certainly better than nothing.
A Decent Starting Point, But A Better Companion
The one thing I noticed with the Lumen metabolism tracker is that it really assumes users are already working out and trying to lose weight. It asks for weight information, exercise information and other things that probably aren't readily known for those who aren't actively trying to stay in shape already. That means the Lumen is great at two things.
The first is to get the completely unaware, such as myself, to take more steps for their health. This includes monitoring weight loss and gain, making sure to not only exercise, but to record what was done and how to eat right. This requires more work on the person who is learning, but the Lumen at least highlights what is important to focus on and shows how to focus on those things. The Lumen itself doesn't actually help anyone lose weight, it simply provides the information and tools for someone to learn how to best stay fit.
The second is for those who are already regularly exercising and trying to push to the next level. This is really where the Lumen stands out, as it can serve more as a companion to provide more information on what is and is not working in someone's routine. While I think the Lumen is great for anyone looking to lose weight, I think it fits best in the lives of those who have already started instead of those who are starting from square one.
Those who already are into fitness tracking will be pleased that Lumen can also integrate with Google Fit, Apple Health and Garmin IQ Connect. This makes it easy to import workout data collected from an Apple Watch or similar tracker into the Lumen app. Lumen will then plug that information into how much a user worked out for the day. It isn't required, but recommended that Lumen users take multiple breath measurements throughout the day to keep updated on how to best manage the balance of carb and fat burn.
Final Thoughts
The Lumen metabolism tracker is such an interesting concept. The tracker itself doesn't do much aside from breath tests, but the included smartphone app really helps to break down how people can lose weight through diet and exercise, and what each person should be focusing on for their specific body. It's so cool how the app can create entire meal suggestions to improve someone's diet based entirely on the contents of their breath.
The Lumen is a pretty high-tech way of keeping tabs on a person's health, and that tech does come at a price. A single Lumen device is $400, but is currently on sale on the Lumen website for $350.
