The trendiest item of Christmas 2k15 was obviously the Fitbit- both the Fitbit flex and Fitbit Charge HR were popular items this year. The flex is a great tool for those looking to get a general idea of activity levels throughout the day, whereas the Charge HR provides accurate heartrate readings for calories burned during the day and during exercise.
Many that hear about the trending gift are left wondering if the Fitbit is anything more than a glorified pedometer.
I am here to tell you, it is much, much more than that. On Christmas morning, I set up my Fitbit Charge HR and proudly strapped it on. It was awkward and clunky at first, but I was excited to see what all I could use it for. I was in for a huge surprise.
First of all, the Fitbit app that is synced to the device via bluetooth is one of the best features. I added other friends to my community that had a Fitbit so that we could encourage one another (just one of the many features on the app) to get up and move around. On Christmas day, I only logged around 3,000 steps, and I set a 10,000 step goal. I was determined to keep moving.
Pictured above is the Fitbit Charge HR
During my job as a server, I would come home to step counts of 12,000 – easy. Realizing that in the course of a day I walked six miles was incredibly impressive, and motivating to say the least. Tracking my heartrate when walking or doing exercise (even cleaning!) has become so interesting, and seeing my progress in my fitness is incredibly rewarding. Now that I’m back at school and on campus, I’m definitely getting in my 10k! My high school math teacher is still kicking my butt with like 14,000 every day. I’m telling you guys, the community thing is really cool.
My favorite part of the watch aside from the other great features is the sleep tracking. As a college student, sleep is not my area of expertise. With the app, I’m now able to keep a close eye on the length of time that I am sleeping. It’s really interesting to get up in the morning-especially when I’m feeling very slow and groggy- to see that it is because I was restless over 20 times during the night! It’s incredible to wake up and feel refreshed, only to have the Fitbit app congratulate you for sleeping eight hours.
However, I learned how helpful my Fitbit actually was about two week ago. It was a weekend when everyone I knew was out of town, my boyfriend and most of my friends left for the holiday weekend.
I decided to waste away in my bed for a few days to relax. However, after laying around for hours at a time, I started feeling depressed, low, and down on myself.  I completely forgot I was still wearing my Fitbit. Out of boredom, I scrolled through my phone and opened the app, still feeling miserable. I noticed I had only walked 300 steps that day…enough to go to the bathroom and then come back to bed. My heartrate was fluctuating from more extreme lows to the extreme highs- indicative of my random, short burst anxiety attacks.
I felt so lazy and sad, until a small notification popped up on my screen. It was exactly what I needed at the time- a notification from a friend in my community saying “*Friend’s name* has cheered you!” with a smiley face. Basically, this is the Fitbit app’s form of encouragement. (You can also taunt people, and I totally do that sometimes.) That little bit of a push was all I needed to get up, get dressed, and get moving. I went for a walk around campus and felt SO much better about myself afterward.
Who knew a trendy Christmas gift would help me get through just a small bout of depression?
The Fitbit is definitely worth the hype, and everyone’s time and money. Our generation has seriously lost touch with our health and wellness and high-tech fitness gear like the Flex, Charge HR, and Fitbit’s new Aria- a smart scale that syncs with your watch device- are ready to combat that. Why not add years to your life and enjoy yourself while doing it?
Think again before rolling your eyes when someone says they got a Fitbit for Christmas!
Check out more awesome products and high-tech fit gear at http://www.fitbit.com/home