Let me begin by saying that I have never been interested in exercising or eating healthy. Prior to the new year, I hated breaking a sweat so much that I even kind of hated the summer (heinous, I know). But that was all going to change when I bought the beautiful piece of technology I now wear everywhere: my Fitbit.
On New Year’s Eve, I decided that I would make a resolution and actually stick to it for once. This stemmed from the realization that "Freshman 15" was not only real but apparently had now transitioned into the "Junior 20." In order to keep myself motivated and accountable, I decided to look into this Fitbit thing everyone had been talking about. After browsing their website and reading the reviews, I went ahead and bought the Fitbit Charge.
In case you've been living under a rock, the Fitbit is a wearable activity tracker that keeps up with your daily statistics, like the number of steps taken, sleep quality, steps climbed and other personal metrics. The trackers also come in eight unique styles, each differing in capability and performance, with accessories available to customize your look.
With my new activity tracker, I was able to enter how much I weighed, what I wanted to weigh and how much I wanted to lose each week to reach my goal weight. With my goal set, the Fitbit App (which is connected to my tracker) could tell me exactly how many calories I could eat in per day order to lose my goal of two pounds a week. As someone who could finish a whole bag of Pizza Rolls in one sitting, keeping track of my calories really held me accountable for what I was eating and showed me how much I was eating when I wasn’t even hungry.
At first, it seemed daunting to go from eating my heart out to having a set limit of calories I could eat. But, that was before I learned that I could earn calories back by exercising. I had never really liked exercising all that much, but if it meant I could eat more, it was, at least, worth a shot.
On the Fitbit app, I could set activity and exercise goals as well as nutritional goals. You are able to set how many steps a day you want to take, calories you want to burn, miles you want to walk and floors you want to climb. As someone who is very goal oriented, this helped me to constantly push myself to reach my 10,000-step goal each day (which is approximately five miles).
I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm very competitive and extrinsically motivated. I need to be the best and I want to be rewarded for it. My favorite part of my Fitbit is the ability to add friends on the app, compete in daily challenges with them and get "trophies" when I win. The app also gives you badges for each milestone and accomplishment you make. I love these badges so much that I walked up and down my stairs 50 times to earn the Lighthouse Badge.
Now I know that my ranting and raving must sound like I'm trying to sell you on Fitbit because I have stock in the product, but I don't. Not yet at least. What I'm trying to say is, if you are struggling with your resolution or looking for an easy way to get in shape, you can find your solution in the Fitbit.
I never thought I would be the kind of person to park in the back of a parking lot to get more steps in or walk up eight flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator, but I do now. Your solution is here; it's fun and you're going to love it.
What are your favorite things about your Fitbit? Comment below to let us know!
