FitBit Obsession

      My FitBit is my newest obsession. The health and fitness tracker works like a pedometer, but has so many more useful and intriguing features. It tracks your steps, floors climbed, calories burned, calories eaten, sleep, weight, and BMI. The FitBit device clips to clothing or fits in pockets and scrolls through displays of all the pertinent information including the time. It syncs wirelessly to your smart phone and computer where you can see more detailed lists, graphs, and charts of your activity. On your smart phone or computer you can add the foods and drinks you've consumed throughout the day from a comprehensive list of options and you can add the activities you've completed from another list to update your calories in vs. out measurements.
 I love the water meter that tracks how much H2O I have consumed by showing a water glass that fills up and/or a stick figure picture of a lady with water filling her up.
       FitBit has several great features that work to motivate a person toward their personal fitness goals. On your dashboard on the computer version you can see badges you have earned by meeting activity goals. The badges are incentive to continue on because the website will also show you how much more you have to do to earn your next badge or designation like having climbed the world's largest pencil.

The charts and graphs show you if you're on the right track in terms of calories in vs. calories out. There's a goal zone and if you are not in the goal zone the dashboard tells you how many calories you need to burn or consume to get back into the goal zone based on a time prorated calculation.
     FitBit also tracks your weight loss goals and tells you how many calories less a day you need to consume vs. burn to make your goal. The goal is broken down into the amount you need to burn per week to get accomplish your objective. The FitBit incorporates this information into the goal zone pictorials. There are charts to show your progress toward your weight loss goal.
     One of the neatest features of the FitBit is the sleep tracker. The device can tell you how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you awoke during the night, when your periods of activity occurred, how long you slept for, and then it gives you a sleep efficiency rating. This is very interesting information for those looking to get a better night's sleep. You can track your most wakeful periods and know what your sleep patterns are. There is also a portion of the dashboard for you to record notes on any important activities or factors of the day, including things you tried to improve your sleep and how well they worked.

     There are so many other features to this device and as I continue to learn more every day; I feel like I am just scratching the surface. Most recently, I discovered there are FitBit support groups to help give further motivation toward your fitness goals. Some of the groups are based on geographic locations. I joined the group for Indianapolis and I am perusing the discussion board. This will help me learn more about my FitBit and also the people who are using the device in my community. It will also inform me of wellness events that are going on in my region. The FitBit comes very highly rated. One critic even said, "FitBit makes getting in shape as addictive as checking facebook and twitter." I agree with that sentiment and add FitBit is a very healthy addiction.