Hello. My name is Melanie and I’m an addict.
I’m addicted to my Fitbit.
How many steps did I take today? What is my average for the week? How do I compare to all my “friends?” Which clients are getting a lot of steps? Which clients are not? How did I sleep last night?
For an OCD analytic like me, tracking my own habits and behaviors is an endless reward.
My post about how much I love my Fitbit is the most viewed one on my site, largely because of search traffic. People are finding it because they are googling “is Fitbit worth the money.”
For me that answer was absolutely yes , because I love mine, wear it every day, keep it fully charged, read and analyze the data and use it with clients.
Without question I move more and have been motivated to do so (go for a walk, stand up and read email instead of sit) because I have the Fitbit and can see how much (or how little) I’ve moved today.
I like to do challenges with clients too which helps motivate them and myself to get in extra activity. It blows away the notion that we “don’t have time” because when that competitive streak kicks in and you’re trying to out move others, you make time.
Studies absolutely prove moving more is vital to overall health and longevity. It’s good for the body and mind. Studies have shown participants with more daily movement lose more weight and tend to maintain a lower body weight long term.
Plus sitting too much has been found to be nearly as deadly as smoking!!
Any extra incentive to move our bodies more is valuable in my opinion if you use it. The Fitbit is no good if you don’t wear it or don’t charge it or don’t pay attention to it.
And then there is the question of accuracy. Is a step tracker giving you a truthfully tally?
It doesn’t matter.
When I am asked if I think the Fitbit is accurate, I usually say it is accurate enough. What’s less important than whether you took exactly the number of steps indicated is whether or not you moved more today than you otherwise might have.
Just like the scale is one measure of progress to be considered among many, so are activity trackers. Use them along with other indicators like how your body feels, whether your clothes fit differently, if you look good and feel good.
Is a Fitbit or any activity tracker worth it? Maybe, but it’s only as valuable as you make it. If you buy it and abandon it in a drawer just months later, as some of my clients have, then you wasted your money. That’s not on the tracker though, that’s on you.
Too often we go looking for something we think will magically give us the motivation or results we desperately want but aren’t yet willing to work for. The Fitbit worked for me because I was already motivated. It gave me another tool to harness that motivation. It will not make you lose weight or get healthier on its own. You still have to do the work.
Activity trackers are just another tool in the tool box for an ongoing project and that’s making you the best version of you possible.
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