This post is something that I've been itching to write about since I first purchased my Fitbit back in May, but it didn't make sense to write a review until I had actually used it. Now that a couple months have passed, I feel like I've used it enough to give an honest review.
Overview
The craze in the use of activity trackers has picked up in the past couple years as it seems everyone is on the fitness train. Although I had been interested in getting one for a while, I couldn't justify spending the money for one. On a random trip to Target, I came upon this Fitbit Charge that was marked down to $69.99 (they are originally priced at $99) and I thought it was an incredible deal. My sister told me that she would pitch in for half of it as my present for starting medical school and with that, I honestly couldn't pass on purchasing it. So, that brings us to this little blue guy that has been permanently adorning my wrist for the past couple months.
Things I Like
Although I don't think you need fancy accessories to live a healthy lifestyle, I do feel that having a Fitbit helps motivate you to make more of a conscious effort. The main thing that a Fitbit does is count your steps and how much activity you are getting in during your day. The original step goal on my tracker was 10,000 steps per day, so I decided to stick with that. In the grand scheme of things, that equates to your average daily activity plus about 30 minutes of actual exercise. To me, that seems pretty good to just ensure that you are getting some activity in. The tracker syncs up to a Fitbit app and that allows you to view your steps and your activity for the day. Additionally, the app allows you to input your water intake, your meals, and check your sleep, as the Fitbit tracks your sleep. I am pretty good about drinking my water, so that's not a feature I use too often and I am not that conscious about tracking every meal. I do like to check out my sleep pattern, though and of course, my steps and activity level. I like that I have a way to hold myself accountable for being healthy as I can go into my app and see the days that I didn't reach my goals.
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| This is what the home page for the app looks like. |
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| After a full-day including a workout. |
What I don't Like
Unfortunately, the Fitbit model I have doesn't track exercise super well, so although it can register that I did take steps and that I was active for a certain period of time, it doesn't register that I went for a run/walk. I believe the newer versions do happen to measure exercise, though. Also, an issue that I seem to have is that you can't input food/water data for a previous day. Sometimes, I don't have the time to be putting everything in at the moment of doing it, so it would be a nice feature to have.
General Consensus
Having an activity tracker the past couple months has been pretty great. I have been able to assess what I've been doing with my health and motivate myself to get my 10,000 steps in for the day. I have also been able to see just how much activity I get in without actually "exercising". When I was in the city for SPP, I was easily getting my steps in just by walking around the neighborhood going to grab a coffee. Also, the first weekend of SPP, Em and I went downtown and walked around and I got about 20,000 steps in for that day. It was seriously crazy because it felt like a pretty casual walk around the city. Having a Fitbit isn't essential to your fitness routine, but it is definitely a great addition. I love having one and I'm currently trying to see how I can get the most out of mine.
I hope my review helped you if you were on the fence about getting one. Have a great rest of your week! I'll talk to you soon!
~Genesis<3
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