Bryan bought me a FitBit last week. I have to admit–before he came home with it, I’d never really heard of these. But I was super thankful he thought of me, and strapped it to my wrist. I didn’t really think I’d like it, but thought I’d give it a chance. Since then, I’ve done some research, and some field training, and I decided that I like it!
Here are five quick reasons I’m enjoying this gift:
1. It keeps track of my steps
I’ve never really done anything like this before. I didn’t like the pedometers on my phone because I don’t always have my phone on me. I also didn’t like the clip on ones because they were easy for my littles to pull off and lose. But the FitBit Charge HR–it stays on my wrist with me all day.
I just left the goal with the basic one for my first week, 10,000 steps a day. I am going to up that to 15,000 soon. This week I averaged 16,525 daily. I had no idea I walked that much in the day–but between the kids and the farm, I stay busy!
2. It tracks my heart rate
I didn’t think I’d like this feature. But, both of my parents have had (or are having) heart problems. This will allow me to collect some great baseline data so if I start to experience problems, I will hopefully be aware of it sooner.
I’m also able to see how many hours a day I spend in different heart ranges–fat burn, cardio, peak, and resting. I like that!
3. My sleep is tracked
By wearing the FitBit at night, I’m able to see my sleep pattern. With different kids waking at night (usually Owen, Simon and Brynna), I have a really hard time judging how much sleep I’m actually getting. This tracks that for me too. This has been helpful in planning my day–if I get less than six hours at night, I make sure to plan on catching a nap at quiet time.
I’m also able to get a decent idea of my sleep quality, as it tracks the number of times restless or awake during the night. Sleep is important, so I like having more information about my sleep.
4. Water can be tracked on the app
I have a REALLY hard time drinking enough water each day. Since I’m nursing, it’s so important to drink, and with the FitBit app, I’m able to track my water consumption. It’s easy, and once I hit my daily goal in ounces, that feature turns green. If I see that it’s still in the red, it gives me a visual reminder to drink, drink, drink. I’ve hit my goal every day since I started using the FitBit, and prior to that, I can’t remember knowing that I drank enough for more than a couple of days in a row…
The app in general is just useful, and I appreciate being able to use both the iPhone or the computer to see more in-depth data. (We’ll call this a bonus reason!) 🙂
5. It encourages me to move
I didn’t think this would happen, but it did. I see that I’m so close to meeting my stair count (10 flights up) for the day, and decide to take a few extra trips up the stairs.
I realize I’ve almost hit my step goal, and I walk a bit more.
They are little actions, but by knowing it’s being tracked, I’m finding myself moving more. Each little step adds up to better health, and that’s what I’m after! Bryan and I have started walking together again in the evening, and on Saturday morning, Ellie, Sydney and Brynna (in her sling) joined us as we trekked a hill (that was the equivalent of 11 stories!)
Moving is important, and my FitBit provides some motivation to me–that’s nice.
Do you have a FitBit or something similar? What do you like about it?
