New Year’s Resolutions. Like many others, on January 1st, I find myself thrown into a routine of wellness and exercise to lose weight because – this year I’m serious. Two weeks later however and I find myself back on the couch enjoying repeats of TV shows I’m not even sure I’m interested in, surrounded by snacks.
Since I’m the only person making myself accountable for my actions, I feel like I can let myself down as I normally do without feeling too guilty. Yet, finding myself on the couch again made me really see the sad routine I had worked into. Researching magic weight loss pills and pyramid schemes made me hopeful that I could continue this lifestyle while having a full set of abs however it didn’t take long until I found out that I couldn’t.
From there, I decided to take it a bit more seriously and acknowledge the fact that I wouldn’t be getting anywhere without hard work. The key for me, was finding someone or something that held me accountable for what I ate and how much exercise I did in a day. That’s when I came across the Fitbit. View the Range of Wearable Fitness Tech available at Harvey Norman.
Diving into the world of the unknown, I was initially shocked by just how much these tiny little trackers actually monitor. Most of the models are encased in an aluminium construction that features a slim glass panel with a wristband to fit shape of your wrist so that you can wear it all day and night.
As it is meant to be worn both while you’re awake and while you’re sleeping, it is able to keep track of heart rate, daily steps, exercise and even sleep quality and habits. Models such as the Fitbit Versa (marketed for women) tracks menstrual cycles and helps you tailor your lifestyle choices dependent on any premenstrual symptoms.
The Fitbit Ionic Fitness Watch rolls all the best features into one. Its larger ‘watch-face’ screen shows personalised workout routines and examples based on the feedback from your body. With an in-built GPS, it can accurately record the distance you’ve covered as well as elevation and pace. The Fitbit Ionic also has a memory capacity that allows for the storing of 300+ songs as well as an NFC chip so that you can use your credit card at the flick of your wrist.
The Fitbit app ranks you among your friends and rewards you with badges, support and motivational messages which you can edit to suit your preferences. With models like the Fitbit Alta, it can automatically recognise exercise and it will log it for you through wireless synching to your smartphone or computer. This ensures you don’t miss out on recording any of the hard work you’ve put in and that your data stays accurate.
Fitbits offer the concern and demands of a personal trainer without the ridiculous cost. Using a Fitbit allows you to understand how your body works and gives you a guide on how to lead a healthy life. Recording daily exercise and meals is encouraging and having support from friends and family through the app, makes you thirsty for results. While a Fitbit hasn’t changed most of my bad habits (like eating a tub of ice-cream in one sitting), it has made me more accountable for the choices I make. I may not have abs, but wearing a fitness tracker from Fitbit has definitely helped me keep a fair bit fit.