Fitbit: Keeping Me Accountable

The first half of my college career I had no idea what the gym at my school even looked like. It’s easy to forget about your health when you’re busy meeting new people and figuring out your major. Once junior year rolled around, however, I knew it was time to reevaluate my lifestyle. It is way too easy to make excuses when it comes to your health; but at some point, you just have to step up to the plate and make some changes. Like most women, I was up and down with my weight and had an on-again-off-again relationship with fitness. It wasn’t until my senior year that I rewarded my commitment to be fit with a nifty little piece of technology: The Fitbit.

In a nutshell, the Fitbit is a pedometer on steroids. Not only does it accurately track your steps throughout the day, but it can track distance you’ve traveled, floors you’ve climbed, and even calories you’ve burned. I have the Fitbit Ultra (an older model now) and it is very discreet—about the size of a tube of chapstick. It clips conveniently to my bra…or you can put it in your pocket or anywhere else you want.

A particularly active day...the Fitbit tracks steps, miles, calories, and floors.

To make this little product even better, you can sync it with their online dashboard. It aggregates all of your data so you can see your activity in past weeks going as far back as you need. Also, by wearing the special wrist slip, you can use it while you’re sleeping and it will track how long it took you to fall asleep and how many times you woke up during the night.

The updated dashboard makes it easy to see everything at a glance!

After using my Fitbit for almost a year, I feel absolutely lost without my Fitbit. Steps don’t really count unless the Fitbit is tracking them. One time, Jeff and I were heading to the grocery store (which is a great place to get some steps in) when I realized that I had left it sitting on my nightstand. I made him turn around just so I could grab it! It is so awesome to be conscious of your activity throughout the day. When I was on a college campus, it wasn’t too hard to get up to the recommended 10,000 steps each day because I had to walk everywhere. However, now that I’m working in an office and spending most of my time in front of a computer, it’s an awesome reminder that I need to get off my butt and stretch my legs every now and then.

The online dashboard also allows you to track your food and calories throughout the day and is a great alternative to online sites like Weight Watchers or My Fitness Pal. Once you have the Fitbit, there are no monthly fees. The dashboard is yours to use for free for as long as you own the Fitbit. I highly recommend the Fitbit to anyone and if you have one, find me on the site so we can encourage each other to be more active!

For more information...check out www.fitbit.com for yourself!