This year I joined the hype surrounding fitness technology and finally got myself a FitBit Charge 2. I’ve been slacking fitness wise of late, and I wanted an easy way to track my activity – and sleep! It’s proven to be one of the best choices I’ve made to try to organise and improve my health so far. I’d definitely recommend getting one if you’ve been considering it! Here’s a few of my favourite features:
Steps
My goal is to take 10,000 steps a day. It may not sound like a lot, or it might sound like WAY too much, but generally if I don’t take shortcuts or go for a walk into town I’m guaranteed to hit it. The days I’ve struggled to hit target are the days I’ve driven or stayed indoors, and I didn’t realise just how many extra steps I could get in by parking a little further away (where it’s usually easier to park and safer for my car), getting public transport or waking up early and walking!
Heart rate
Rather than being predominantly about fitness for me, I wanted to know if my heart rate increased when I get stressed or drink coffee. The answer, of course, is yes. I’ve not had this for a full month yet, so I’m yet to get as stressed as last term, but I’ve seen my heart rate rise 30 beats per minute from my average resting heart rate when I’m getting anxious. It’s noticeable, and the best thing about the FitBit is that there’s an easy way to combat this in just 2 to 5 minutes – the guided breathing exercises bring your heart rate down and clear your mind, and they’re super easy!
Sleep Tracker
Last term was a nightmare for me in terms of sleep – I wasn’t getting enough, I was restless and I found it difficult to get out of bed. With a sleep tracker I feel like I’m holding myself to account, and I’ve set a goal to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. I can track when I’m restless and by doing this I can source the problems (i.e. stress, coffee, alcohol, working too late). I haven’t had a dream in months but I finally had one last night, and though that seems really lame, it showed me that it’s well worth tracking my sleep, because it really does help with my mood and motivation!
Tracking Exercise
My main sources of exercise this month have been walking and martial arts, and though the SmartTrack function on FitBit can tell if you’re on a long walk, running, cycling, or doing a general cardio/aerobic workout, there are actually settings so you can track specific workouts and check your heart rate on the app/website afterwards.
Calorie Counter
I knew I’d be too lazy to track my calories, but I’ve done it a couple of times, and the counter actually gives a huge variety of options. It has different brands on there so you don’t have to fill in all the details yourself, but if you make a lot of food from scratch it’s quite easy to make a customised meal from the ingredients you buy. It’s the easiest calorie counter I’ve seen, and does improve the accuracy of FitBit’s tracking if you use it! I take all the measurements with a pinch of salt, but it’s still a useful indication. You can also track macro-nutrients on the wesbite, which is an extra bonus.
Setting Goals
Goals are easy to meet on the FitBit app with their Adventure setting and personalized workouts. Whilst walking or running a set distance you can have photos of New York or the Great Barrier Reef show up as you hit milestones, or FitBit can recommend workouts to you. The goals you set are fully customisable and though FitBit can recommend goals based on things like your goal weight, you can work up to or adapt these to what you feel most comfortable with if necessary.
The best thing I’ve found is that FitBit can remind you to be active each hour – I didn’t realize how hard it was just to meet 250 steps per hour, and I’ve still not managed to do this for 9 hours in a day yet (the highest I’ve reached is 7/9 hours). It’s a great way to track if sitting and studying (or watching Netflix) is hindering your activity levels, and if you try to meet the goals I’ve found it really improves your mood and motivation levels!
Take a look at these tips for meeting goals, and if you’re considering getting a fitness tracker, there’s a few more options here for a wide range of budgets.