FitBit

I have been looking at the fitbit for a long time now.  I've read all kinds of reviews and user opinions and even have gone so far to pick it up in the store only to put it back down.

So after my doctor visit last week, I decided to take the plunge.  I mean, I had a gift card to a store that sells them so I figured why not.  So I came home from my appointment and went shopping.

I got a blue one.

Initial thoughts?  I'm still not sure.  I've had a rocky start with mine.  I started wearing it full time on Friday.  I did 2 workouts that day (as per my doctor's orders!):  a walk and a p90x strength workout.  It told me I burned 2493 calories total that day (that includes my workouts).  I can't help but think that seems a little high.

But it was only day 1 so I wore it again the next day.


Saturday! I wore it the whole day long.  Had one short cardio workout (20 minutes maybe) and worked on a photo shoot so I was pretty active.  It says I burned 2421 calories.  I was a little surprised that the calorie difference between this day and the day before was so minimal because of the 2 workouts but whatever.

Next day:

I was starting to get into this little gadget.  I liked seeing my steps, calories and whatnot.  I found myself getting competitive and trying to move more to beat my steps from the previous day.

And then, it stopped working.

It was the end of the day after much movement, walking, and such and it just decided to stop working.  No lights, nothing.

I was agitated.  I reset the sucker and left it at home while I finished my day all prepared to take it back to the store.  But, when I got home, it was working again.

Go figure.


However, the third day was a wash since I had to reset it.

Now it's Monday.  I've been wearing it and so far I'm at 1116 calories burned today.

Yeah, I burn way less calories at work than I thought.  I have 2 workouts planned for today so hopefully I'll get that number up higher.

Conclusion:  I have no idea what to make of this thing.  I like that it makes me want to move more.  I like that I can see how my calories differ day to day.  Do I think the calorie burn is accurate?  For now my answer is no.  It appears to be an estimate at best but I'm hoping over time I can find a pattern in the number.  Maybe it'll help me find that "sweet spot" my doctor was talking about.

In any case, I love gadgets and data.  Maybe in a week or 2 I'll have a better idea.

For now, I'm keeping it.