Shopaholic Saturday: Fitbit Review

Well, I can thank the Fitbit for making me look like an idiot to get in extra steps the past couple weeks -- walking laps around stores or looking half asleep walking slow as a turtle on the treadmill on rest days. But hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get those 10,000 steps in each day!

I can also thank it for increased awareness of my calorie intake and burn. I already used a food diary app on my iPhone, but Fitbit's is much more motivating than the one I was using.

For those who aren't familiar with it, it breaks down calories eaten vs. calories burned. You can set a daily budget based on how quickly you want to lose weight. I've found the graphs showing the past several days motivating -- either for the progress you've made or if you didn't do as well as you usually do.

It's made me realize that on days I walk a lot, I burn more than I thought; and days I spend reading in bed for too long, I realized I actually can't afford the standard 2,000 calories.

The activity accuracy seems excellent. I ran on the treadmill, looked at steps taken, distance and calories burned -- then entered the workout manually based on what the treadmill said, and they matched up nicely. (The only time it seemed to get "confused" is when I worked out at midnight on a day I traveled to another time zone. I don't blame it.)

It also tracks your sleep patterns, and I'm sure you've read all those studies about the importance of sleep for losing weight!

So, basically, if you're looking to get that extra push by constantly reaching and setting new goals (who wouldn't want a "bracelet" that lights up and vibrates when you hit your steps goal for the day?), learning what areas you need to improve (fewer calories for me!) and making sure you're drinking enough water, the Fitbit Flex may be the best $100 you'll spend.