I was recently given a Fitbit as a gift and was ready to be
underwhelmed as I have had a few of these things in the past with little
success or longevity. It would be an over exaggeration to say it has changed my
life but that wouldn’t be far off.
Things it tracks:
- Time and date
- Steps
- Heart Rate
- Distance
- Floors
- Sleep
- Weight
- It works out a BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and tells you how many calories you burn each day.
Fitbit gives credit to the smaller things you
do, like walking to work, or logging your tough gym workouts based on your
heart rate zones. On the other hand on those lazy Sundays where you have been
catching up on the omnibus, walking to and from the kettle does not clock up
many steps. Therefore the step column glows yellow or orange (incomplete) and looks
miserable in comparison to the green!
Before the times of a Fitbit you would just pass through
that chilled Sunday knowing you had a secret that no one else would know. But
not now; I can have relatives living in Newcastle, sending me a message to make
sure I am still alive as my average steps drop by 15,000. I simply can’t let
this happen and it is all my Fitbit’s fault!
Now my poor boyfriend is being dragged around Tonbridge Park
on Sunday mornings in order for me to get my step count up. This has now ensured
we get fresh air and feel so much more awake and we are far more productive.
Challenges
You can select friends to take part in challenges, such as seeing
who can achieve the most steps in a week. You are then entered into a mini
leader board where you get frequent notifications like; ‘Samantha L has just
done 14,000 steps, has overtaken you and now sits in first place’. In a recent
challenge my friends and I collectively lost about 7lbs from Monday to Friday
by taking the long way home, adding on that extra walk in the rain at the end
of a long day and volunteering to make all the coffees that week.
Losing weight and getting into shape can be a long road, but
every step down that road counts and your Fitbit records each and every one.
Emma.
