#TechTalk: FitBit
PHS editor, Christy Kate McKenzie, talks about the tech she couldn't live without...her FitBit!
Never in my life would I have considered myself to be a gadget girl. I mean, seriously, I can’t even work the TV remote half the time. I have to ask my four year old to do it for me. So, I have no idea how I ended up being considered one of PHS’s gadget girls, but here I am and more surprisingly, I have found myself struggling to narrow down my favourite gadgets to choose only one.
It was a tough decision, but here it is, my favourite gadget—my FitBit Alta. Wearable fitness trackers have been all the rage for a while now, I got my first one, a FitBit Flex, years ago, and they just keep getting better. I’m a few weeks away from upgrading to the FitBit Alta HR to take advantage of all of its new features, but let me tell you why I chose FitBit in the first place and why I love mine so much.
Why the FitBit?
There are loads of different types of trackers on the market, even the Apple Watch acts as a fitness tracker, but one thing drew me to the FitBit above all else—its looks. I admit, I am a girly-girl. I like pretty things and what stood out to me about the FitBit Flex at the time was the fact that it was slim, came in a decent variety of colours, and looked like a bangle. At the time, I never left the house without my Pandora bracelet either, so I wanted something that complemented that and looked like jewellery. The new one comes in rose gold with a pink strap!
In all honesty, I wasn’t looking for a fitness tracker. I was hoping to buy a silent alarm since I had to get up for work three hours before my husband. The FitBit provided a silent alarm and so much more. The fantastic FitBit App is another reason I chose FitBit, and why I keep coming back to them with each new tracker. The app, too, has seen a number of updates and additions, but what they have created is a masterpiece. I can track my steps, exercise, food, water, weight goals… I can even see how well I slept because it tracks how many times I was awake or restless.
Keeping Me Moving
Keeping me motivated is probably the most important function my FitBit Alta performs. When setting up the device, you can choose to have hourly reminders to help you hit a minimum of 250 steps per hour. This is great if you spend your working day at a desk, staring at a computer like I do. Not only am I more likely to get up and move when it prompts me to, I’m less likely to forget to strive for a few extra steps to reach my daily goal.
I set a daily goal of 10,000 steps and having the tracker there, on my wrist, buzzing to tell me that I haven’t moved in a while or that I’m only 1000 steps from my goal is great motivation to park a little further from work or to take regular mini-breaks (even when that means just pacing back and forth behind my desk). I can even add friends so we cheer each other on, or more likely provide a swift kick when necessary.
Is there an app or program that just makes your life infinitely easier? Share your #TechTalk with us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
