Fitbit; helpful or hype
16:19
Today I wanted to talk about my fitness-best-friend, Fitbit. If you're interested in increasing your activity and tracking your progress, no doubt you will have heard of Fitbit. The range of activity trackers allows users to monitor their activity throughout the day and link up to an app which helps counts calories in vs out; but is the Fitbit any more than a fancy looking pedometer?
Yes, the main focus of the Fitbit is to track steps, but many of the models also monitor sleep, calories burned, floors climbed and 'active minutes' throughout the day. Many users also say they're surprised with how few steps they take, and the tracker acts as perfect motivation to get moving. Advanced models monitor heart rate, which is perfect for those of us who want to see what they're really burning at the gym, rather than the estimate given on the Fitbit app.
Essentially, the point of Fitbit is less about the product you're wearing, and more about you. If you want a reliable pedometer with a few extras thrown in, such as a motivational message to start your day and a nice looking app to log in to, the budget range is perfect. Same again if you're already using apps to monitor your activity and want a little more accuracy. If you're serious about fitness, Fitbit can help you monitor your heart rate and calculate accurate calorie burn, although it is likely nothing will replace a heart monitor strap in terms of accuracy.
The main selling point for me is the push, if you need a reminder that you've not hit your target, Fitbit will tell you, and reward you when you make it. Personally, I don't go a day without wearing my Fitbit One. It's towards the budget end of the range, but works perfectly for me as I want to track my steps and see how active I am during the day. Having a sedentary office job means I know I aren't active enough, a couple of trips to the gym just doesn't make up for hours and hours sat at a desk - I know I need to get up and move everyday. Currently I aim to hit 7500 steps a day, which doesn't seem a lot, but on a day full of meetings and when I work through lunch I can easily only take about 2000 steps! I found it quite shocking actually because I had always presumed that I was active and walking loads, which I quickly found wasn't the case! Now I use my Fitbit to track and monitor my activity levels throughout the day. I make time to head out on my lunch break, or walk around the block when I get home to get those extra steps and hit my goal.
They say it's the little things that make the biggest difference, and I'm hoping gradually increasing my goal will help me shift the extra lbs over the coming months; teamed with healthy eating and regular work-outs too, of course.
Find out more about the Fitbit range, and features online here.
They say it's the little things that make the biggest difference, and I'm hoping gradually increasing my goal will help me shift the extra lbs over the coming months; teamed with healthy eating and regular work-outs too, of course.
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