Some of you may have heard of a little device called the FitBit. It is, essentially, an advanced pedometer that you wear as it tracks the number of steps you take in a day and automagically uploads your statistics to your account over at fitbit.com.
I have been using a FitBit for nearly a year now and I find that I never go anywhere without it on. Since it also comes with a wrist strap to wear at night to track your sleep consistency, I actually have this thing on me almost 24/7.
Before getting the fitbit I had no idea how many steps per day I was taking and, according to health experts, we should be walking nearly 10,000 steps every day. That’s a lot of walking! When I first got the FitBit, I spent a week just doing my normal routine to see what it was like. I was only walking an average of 3,000 steps per day. I quickly decided to up that average and was striving for double that. But once achieved, that wasn’t good enough. I was striving for nearly 50,000 steps per week. And so on. It’s very exciting to see the number pass the 10,000 mark in a single day!
Fitbit doesn’t track only your steps taken, but also how many miles you’ve traveled and the number of calories you’ve burned. You can also turn on “Activity Mode” which will track your statistics during a specific activity (but will continue to track your day’s totals). For example: when I go for an extended walk, I will put my FitBit into Activity mode so I can see how far I went and how many steps I took during my walk. I can then view this activity and make notes about it on my personal stats page.
This tiny little device is a wonderful motivator. Once you know how many steps you’re taking each day and can see those number in a graph on your own personal website, you will definitely be motivated to get out and walk more and further every day. Everyone needs to walk and get exercise and if you’re looking for something to help motivate you to do it more, get yourself a FitBit. They only cost US$99 and the new models even track how many stairs you climb in a day, a feature that my fitbit does not have. This is definitely a $100 device I have never regretted purchasing.
If you love seeing how well (or how bad) you’re doing, and you like statistics about your exercise, the FitBit is a wonderful little gadget that I can no longer live without.
Check it out here: www.fitbit.com.
(No, I don’t work for fitbit and I’m not being paid to write this article. I just really like my toys!)
