The Fitbit is aiming to digitize our fitness levels, including a lot of the stuff we take for granted. If you’ve been having trouble keeping track of all of the peripheral activities you do that burn calories, like walking, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or exercising at the gym. But can one little device really do so much, and does it really work at keeping you on track with your efforts?
Overview
There are many obstacles to getting or staying fit, and one of the biggest ones is staying motivated. We all know the benefits associated with healthy living, but for some reason it is hard to maintain consistency when it comes to doing things that are beneficial to our health. With all of the technology we have available to us today, it seems only fitting that they’ve now come up with a tiny device that can help us track and analyze all of the things we do for ourselves each day.
The Claim
Fitbit says that it can keep track of all of your different fitness levels, including your body fat percentage, your weight, and your Body Mass Index. Their new Ultra model can even be used to track how well you’re sleeping. The end result, they say, is that you’ll have more effective workouts, stay motivated to keep up with your training, and have more accurate data than you would by using other methods.
Going Without It
If you don’t have a Fitbit you will have to figure out how you can track how well you’re doing with your health and fitness. This usually involves looking in the mirror or stepping on a scale. These methods are not very effective, and can often discourage you. By using an electronic device like this, you’ll get more accurate readings, and more helpful information that you would by just using your eyes. You’d also have to buy a few different products to be able to do what this does, including a step counter and body fat scale.
The Cost
The Fitbit is $100 and includes shipping. This is not a bad price when you consider that it’s for your health, and that it’s a one-off purchase.
The Commitment
While you don’t need to be too committed to use it, you have to make sure that you stick with the process of analyzing the data you’re receiving and using it to make better health choices. This should actually make it more fun, because it will give you more of a clear idea on what you’re doing. Many of the problems of exercising without tracking your progress is you don’t have an objective idea of how well you’re doing. You’re left with a vague concept of your own fitness level that is dependent on your own emotions and perceptions. With this you get hard data that you can’t really argue with, so it gives you motivation when you need it, and it gives you good feelings when you’ve earned them.
Evaluation
Fitbit gets overwhelmingly positive feedback, and people are basically in love with this device. Some of the commonly liked features are that it tracks just about everything you could think of, but it also syncs everything up online so you can form a profile for yourself and track your progress with pretty graphs and a nice user interface.
Do We Really Need to Track Everything?
If you don’t keep track of things, they tend to get away from you. If you keep a daily tally of all of the things that go into your overall health, you will be more conscious of what you do and what you don’t do in any given day. If you find that you are behind on the number of steps you’ve taken on any given day, you might be more inclined to go for a walk. If you didn’t have this information at your fingertips, you might mistakenly think that you’ve gotten enough exercise for the day.
Similar Case Study
In Japan it is popular to track your weight daily, and put it in a chart. The theory is that just by putting your focus on your weight, it will naturally decrease, because in your mind you know that you have another weigh in coming up in less than 24 hours, so it unconsciously or consciously gets you to make better eating choices, or get more active. If you don’t track your weight you pretty much eat what you want, and get exercise only when you feel like it, or when you notice your weight becoming an issue.
Final Fitbit Review
The Fitbit is a great thing to have in this technologically advanced time that we live in. Why not take full advantage of the things that we have at our disposal? We are giving the nod to the Fitbit, as it is well-reviewed by actual users, and it is a great companion to have if you’re into health and fitness.
Our Recommendation
Adding the Fitbit to your overall fitness strategy is a great idea. If you are following a specific diet and exercise program, this will help you measure your results and help you decide whether or not the program is working. It can also be used as a standalone way to increase your fitness, lose weight, and be more conscious of your health. This alone can make it worth it, but we recommend getting started with a training program and using it to track your progress and stay motivated.
So it’s like having a nagging trainer by your side 24/7 hahaha. Well, I don’t mind it really. I, like most everyone I know need to be pushed and motivated to work out on a daily basis but I don’t really have anyone that pushes me to do so. The information about my body and work out is all good, but what I can really use is this thing constantly reminding me that I’ve been lazy all day. Maybe it could turn out to be my perfect trainer after all.