my fitness play – Isabel Natera

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What can I say, I could ask for anything this Christmas and of course, I opted for something that most people would think is insane: a Fitbit Charge.

I have been fluctuating by 2-3 lbs pretty much for the past several years. I noticed that once I hit the big 4-0, I just couldn’t keep it off for good.

A couple of my friends were discussing their fitbits on their Facebook pages and I decided to do a little research. The research didn’t give me more than the facts that it acts like a pedometer and tracks your sleeping pattern.

When I got it, I couldn’t believe how much more it really does.

Counting Steps

One of the main things that Fitbit does is track your steps. Skeptics will always ask, “But how accurate is it, really?” The website will tell you that they are working on making it as accurate as possible all the time.

I found that at times it will understep count and to be honest, I’m okay with that. I would be upset if it over counted and it made me feel like I was doing better than I was.

A couple of things to keep in mind: if it is on your wrist and you are pushing a shopping cart or riding a bike, it will not accurately log your steps. The actual natural motion of your arm is what does and while doing those activities your arm is static. I always opt for wearing the wristband on my tennis shoe at those moments so I get accurate steps.

Fitbit has many products, and they can be worn in many different places. I preferred the Charge because it acts like a watch and gives me the benefit of seeing my step count without having to look at a computer or mobile phone.

Sleep Patterns

Keeping track of my sleep patterns was another benefit that I absolutely love. Since I got married, my Husband always pointed out that I snore quite regularly. I started to wonder if the snoring was waking me up at night and if I should go see a Doctor about it. After going to the Doctor they weren’t really that concerned so I was excited to see what Fitbit would show me.

There are two setting for you to choose from for sleep sensitvity: normal or sensitive. I personally use normal but tried sensitve for one night and the pattern was super crazy. I learned that I move my left arm a lot while I sleep.

Below is a graph example that gives me my results from sleeping.

Not too restless last night, I exercised like crazy so I usually sleep pretty soundly.

Call Notification and Silent Alarm

Another fun feature is the call notification. There have been many, many times when I have had my phone tucked away in my purse and it’s starts to ring. My purse is a disaster area so it never fails that I scrounge for it and miss the call. With the call notification feature, I can see who is calling on my wrist and then decide if that person is worth the effort. Sad, but true.

The silent alarm in another feature I take advantage of. You can set your fitbit to vibrate at specific times. Because you wear it to bed for monitoring sleep, it makes an excellent non-noisy alarm. I have never slept through it so it works like a charm. You can set the alarm for anything you want, I personally like to use it as a wake me up alarm.

Fitbit Website

The website it really what brings everything together. I am such a graph freak. If you can place any information in a graph format, I am all over it. I love the tiles that keep me updated, with how many calories I have burned, how many steps I have taken and how many calories I have consumed. When I was researching fitness devices, everyone pretty much said that Fitbit was the best designed site and provided so much useful information (and GRAPHS!).

Another item, that costs extra but I totally love, is the Fitbit Premium membership. The membership basically provides you with a Fitbit Trainer that helps you meet your goals by taking account what you have done fitness wise, and coming up with a fitness plan. I originally signed up for the trainer aspect but have fallen in love with the food report, I am totally aware of what I am eating too much of and too little of as I log in all my food intake. Fitbit offers you a free trial period of the premium membership, I would recommend doing that after you have about 12 weeks of logged activity to really see how awesome the graphs are.

Fitbit App

What can I say about the Fitbit App. Everything is with you all the time. The Fitbit App is probably what I use the most. In it I am able to track any walking or running I do, everything I eat, and I accept and participate in challenges with other Fitbit users.

Food Log

The food log is a wonderful feature on the site and the app. Because like many others, my smartphone is always with me I log in my food intake on it the most. The food log already has preloaded choices that Fitbit provides and users have submitted to Fitbit by taking pictures of the product and sending them to add to their database. The log function also lets you scan a proof of purchase so that it can find it for you and all you have to do is choose the serving you had. Because you provided Fitbit with your weight, height and goals you have set for yourself, the food log lets you know if you are below, on or above your food intake for the day.

Exercise Log

The exercise log, does a wonderful job of keeping track of all your active minutes through out the day. The app has a built in GPS that will keep track of your active walking or running minutes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t keep track of other activities, like gym classes and other gym equipment you use. I find that the best way to keep track of this is to log that information into another app that shares the information with Fitbit.

The app is My Fitness Pal. A link below will take you to more information on that app, I use the free version. I am able to keep track of the classes I take, the gym equipment I use, and all the strength training I do (reps and lbs I use).

Challenges

This feature is one of many of my Fitbit Friends favorite. Fitbit provides you with many challenges to keep you motivated and to let your competitive side make you get up and go. There are different challenges you can choose from and then you invite your friends to participate. Your friends usually have their daily step goal visible so you can choose friends who are trying to meet step goals that correspond with yours or you can choose friends that are well above you so that you get yourself moving. The challenges let you taunt and cheer your friends, send messages and before you know it you are making new friends and getting fit at the same time.

Badges

Another fun feature is that Fitbit rewards you with badges on your journey. There are badges for completing daily milestones and then there are badges for taking steps that accumulate over time. A little way to reward you for taking care of yourself.

Conclusion

I love my fitbit and would buy another in a heartbeat. Make sure to do your research, some of the fitbits do not monitor sleep and just recently they released a fitbit that does monitor your heart rate, a more accurate way of keeping track of calories burned.