Thursday, January 9, 2014

Gear Report: FitBit Flex

Winter break is over...as you can probably tell by the lack of posts this week. I ended the break with a leisurely 9 mile run on Monday night. During, I listened to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and laughed the entire run. I'm sure I convinced some drivers that running can be fun!
My new not-so-secret weapon against boredom on a long run. I didn't even notice I was running half the time!
Since getting the FitBit Flex, I've been wearing it diligently so that I could write a full review. The review itself will be short, because once you get into using the FitBit, you figure out pretty quickly if it's right for you.
FitBit sends out a weekly report that's easy to read and very motivational.
Pros:
Comfortable to wear
Waterproof
 Fairly accurate for a wrist-worn pedometer
Easy data input
Simple to use
Effective silent alarm

Cons:
Diet plan can't be deleted, only edited - no fail-safe
A little bulky for everyday wear
Can't replace a watch (although the upgraded version can)
Finding friends is tricky - no basic search
Doesn't track calories burned in stationary exercise

Recommendation: If you're someone who needs to hold yourself accountable and are trying to lose weight, I definitely recommend the FitBit. Inputting daily meals and water consumption is easy. Setting up a meal-plan is easy, but there's no fail-safe...If you want to cut your caloric intake to 500 calories a day, the app will let you do so and gently chastise you when you go over.
I'm not a big fan of the red X
I loved tracking my water intake, but when I created a meal-plan to experiment with it, I quickly realized I'd be too likely to become obsessed. (I circumvented this issue by changing my desired weight to match my current weight, which allows me to just ignore the recommended calorie count for the day.)

Bottom-line: I'll continue to use the FitBit Flex to track water, use the alarm, and track my runs, but I don't intend to use it for monitoring my meals.

In other news, I'm staying accountable and on top of my resolutions! Last week was NTC; this week I got back into the gym. I spent some time on the stair-stepper while Matt rowed beside me (and took this awesome pic), then lifted heavy (for me!).
Runner no-no...I wore my running shoes to the gym & didn't run!
I'm looking forward to seeing my runs improve as I work on my body as a whole.

Thoughts or questions on the FitBit?
How was your first week of the new year?
Do you ever listen to podcasts on the run? What's your favorite?

ABK

22 comments:

  1. YES! I listen to pod casts always. Okay maybe 2% of the time I'll listen to Lady Gaga but the rest of the time is pod casts. I enjoy Fresh Air, Tell Me More, and the Savage Love Podcast... which is hilarious because they get DOWN and DIRTY in that and I bet NO ONE at the gym would guess that that is what I'm listening to in my headphones. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Savage Love is one I planned to download and forgot the name! THANK YOU! I'm really enjoying laughing out loud during my runs, and I've convinced a friend to listen to them, too, and she's hooked! I like that you're focusing more on the words than the run!

      Delete
  2. Marc Maron is my long run go-to podcast, and I listen to The Nerdist and Doug Loves Movies for my commute sometimes.

    I suppose my commute would be a good time to listen to more inspirational material, but I'm limited to what The Dude gives me.

    I write down my weight and food daily - more than that would not be healthy for me. Any time I've tried to track calories, etc. has led to crazy-head.

    It's been an interesting first week, what with the storms and cold... I'm looking forward to things settling down next week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marc Maron is on my "to try" list! I agree - tracking food to much makes me go insane.

      I hope the year only goes up from here for you!

      Delete
  3. I have not listened to a pod cast but this post is definitely convincing me to :)

    I love all of the detailed analysis the fit bit gives. The big red X would not be fun to see...lol.

    Being back to work has exhausted me to no end. I miss doing things at my own pace and regularly blogging. Look out weekend! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's amazing how 3 weeks of sleeping in STILL haven't given me a sleep-reservoir! I love that with a podcast, I'm engaged the entire time, Music sometimes makes me zone out, and then I'm focusing too much on the run!

      Delete
  4. This American Life is my go-to podcast. I save it for long runs. I get so captivated by the stories, sometimes I make my husband listen to them when I get home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've heard good things! I plan to try it out!

      Delete
  5. I am really interested in the FitBit! It sounds awesome!

    I love the stair stepper picture. Yours looks much less scary than ours. Ours is about 4 feet higher than all of the other machines and I am always scared of falling off. Yay for lifting heavy!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The stair-steppers are pretty tall...I'll admit, I've made some ungraceful dismounts in the past!

      Delete
  6. I've been curious about the fitbit flex, so thanks for the review! This would be awesome for me in a few weeks when I have my baby and am looking to lose the extra baby weight! I kind of love that it's fail safe and will make me stay on top of it all!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've never seen anyone smile on the stair-stepper before! I can't even imagine trying to smile on it, hah!

    I haven't been listening to any podcasts, but I do listen to the live ESPN app since I'm a sports fanatic. I love getting caught up in the conversation and laughing out loud (and also sighing loudly... and probably cursing loudly when they start talking about the Dolphins season...oops).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Matt loves listening to Rays games, so I can see how ESPN or something similar could be engaging!

      Delete
  8. I love wait wait don't tell me :) Thanks for the review!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I haven't tried the fitbit but it seems to be all the rage right now! I'd be curious more about the quality (or lack thereof) sleep I'm getting versus anything else. I just listened to a podcast for the first time on a long run yesterday. I listened to Jillian Michaels which was OK, but I'll have to read your comments for better options to listen to. I liked it because it provided me with a much needed distraction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do love the sleep feature. It's really helpful and has allowed me to see what my bad habits are. When I sleep hungry, I'm more restless, for example.

      Delete
  10. Thanks for the Fit review...I don't think I'd wear one religiously so probably not the product for me. At work we have be doing 16 flights of stairs 3 days a week with squats and jumping jacks at the landings....legs are feeling it by the end!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They make you workout at work?! That's either evil...or genius...or both!

      Delete
  11. My friend has the FitBit and loves it! I'm not really into those kind of gadgets because for me it would be a lot of work! I am in the midst of my mini challenge for writing down all my food and I can't keep track of that!
    I want to find out how I can download podcasts! I think those would be great for long runs!!!! :)
    Yay for the gym! You look fabulous by the way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes good ol' fashioned writing stuff down is the way to go lol.

      Delete