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Friday, May 9, 2014

I jumped on the Fitbit bandwagon

I had been thinking about this for some time.  But I was too stubborn because I felt like they are somewhat of a gimmick.   I know you can't get an accurate calorie count without a heart rate monitor.  And even then - how accurate is it?  I mean I get more calories with my Polar Heart Rate monitor than with my Garmin for the same distance run.    I'm sure there are many algorithms a certain company can use to determine calorie count. 

Well in regards to the fitbit I decided I needed some motivation.   I knew going in that this would be a "relative" thing for me.  I knew that I would look at a pattern of activity and not hard core numbers.  I thought that it would motivate me to move more - to maybe park farther away - that kind of thing.  I was also very interested in the sleep tracking. . .  I was unsure about a wrist model because how can something on your wrist track your steps?   And there are problems with it, but I know that going in.  So I think I have reasonable expectations. 



So there it is!  I got the black model cause I knew I'd want a black strap regardless of the other colors I have.   Target had a deal with a free three pack of straps with purchase.  All my local stores were out so I ordered online. I have the redcard debit card, so I got 5% off, I found a coupon online for $5 off, there was free shipping. . . so I came out with a better deal than I had I bought in the store (cause of the $5 online coupon).   

I should take a moment to say I researched a lot of bands.  The Jawbone Up would have been my band of choice but there was so much online about how they just quit in a couple months. People have been going through 3-4 bands in a year or less!   So I didn't want to have to deal with that.  When I was in KY my friend had a Jawbone Up.  She showed me the interface. She loves it.  But it was her second one.  At that point I didn't question that piece of information, but after reading reviews I think those things just crap out.  Jawbone does not have any quality control clearly.  

So here I am with the Fitbit Flex.  I ordered it Wednesday and it arrived the next day!  I was so excited.  I set it up last night.  Set up was really easy, but there are things I can configure that I haven't yet.  For example the default goal is 10,000 steps.  While I'd love to reach that goal I don't think there is any way I will with a desk job.  But for now I'm leaving it and I'm just going to watch my trends for a few days.  

I put it on last night as I figured it was charged and on (it's not like you can turn the thing off).  So if it's tracking anyways lets track my sleep.  Here are the results:


I was definitely awake at that red line as I got up to use the bathroom.  I'm intrigued by the period of restlessness early on in the night.   I can't wait to see my sleep pattern.   

I will have more to say about the fitbit as I use it.   Since I haven't had it 24 hours I don't feel comfortable saying much more.  Right now the goal is to move more.  For example yesterday when I got to the barn I had to get my horse out of his turnout lot.   The configuration is so stupid in that you have to walk past the whole turnout to get to the gate.   Lately I've been climbing over the fence where ever I see my horse, getting him and then walking to the gate.   Yesterday I didn't hop over the fence.  I walked all the way to the end, through the gate, and back to my horse.   These are the things I'm hoping to improve.   Stop being lazy and MOVE!   I gotta get back under the 200 lb mark.   Even though it's hard to tell I've put on a few lbs and my clothing isn't tight I'd like to get back under that mark. Then I'd like to lose 10-15 more lbs to get back into some of the clothing I was wearing when I had hip surgery.  It's an uphill battle to say the least.  This is just one tool to motivate my lazy bum.  Cause since I ran the half marathon I've been pretty lazy!   (oh - it will be interesting to see what the fitbit records when I am riding my horse!)

Have a great weekend!

2 comments:

  1. Please do keep us posted on what you think of it as time moves forward. I've always been very curious about these -- but I've never seen one in person and don't really "get" them in a way.

    Did they fix whatever was going on in the wrist model? I thought they recalled those a while back because the material in them was causing reactions in some people...

    Now I'll wait and see how long it takes you to realize that you have a comment since Google has decided not to send comment notifications when I post anymore. ;o) (BTW, it even rejects it when I comment on my own blog, so I have no idea what is going on or how to fix it)

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    1. They recalled the fitbit force. This is the flex. Not sure what the difference is. I will say I won't make near 10k steps on a day that I don't work out. I didn't ride today either cause I had a massage, so not sure if being at the barn will add much. It's interesting. . . target has a 30 day return policy on this, so I guess if I think it's a joke I can return it. If you look on people's wrists I think you'd be surprised who you see wearing one. When I picked up a script at Target this week the girl had one on and I asked her about. She had a Nike Fuelband before and didn't like it. Her mom had the Jawbone Up and went through too many of them just like I read. Look around :)

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