FitBit: Easy, Sweet, Cool!

This is NOT a review of the FitBit Charge.  If you want to read a review,  Google “Fitbit Charge review” you’ll get more hits than you can read during your lunch break.  But if you want to know how this device works in a typical diabetic regime keep reading.

Basically, the Fitbit Charge™ is a pedometer on steroids that married MyFitness Pal™, and has FaceBook™ as his mistress! Not only does it automatically tracks your steps, it also automatically tracks calories burned, distance walked, steps climbed, heart rate (if you have the Fitbit Charge HR™), sleep pattern, and you can use it as a silent alarm.  By the way, the Mrs. really loves the silent alarm feature since I’m the first to wake up.  For the diabetic that has physical activity as part of their regime Fitbit can automatically track it. Easy!

The first step in managing diabetes is controlling and monitoring what you’re putting in your mouth, which is a daunting task.  However, if you track what you consume helps control what you are consuming.  I started tracking my consumption intake using MyFitnessPal to get my eating habits under control.  The same thing can be done with Fitbit’s dashboard to track, log, and monitor what you eat.  Here’s the sweet part, if you’re already using MyFitnessPal like I was, you can integrate Fitbit with MyFitnessPal to exchange data automatically.  Sweet!

Your team members with Fitbit devices can be added to your Fitbit network of “friends” (sounds familiar, ala FaceBook). For those times when I need a little motivation, the social aspect of Fitbit allow for my team members to motivate me.  Whether it’s in the form of a friendly challenge of who can get the most steps in a day, workweek, or weekend, or they can nudge me in whatever manner they deem necessary if I haven’t been active in a while.  In addition, Fitbit has its own set of motivation tools in the form of badges that are awarded for various personal accomplishments.  Cool!

All in all, Fitbit has made tracking my physical activity painless.  When I’ve fallen off the nutrition wagon I still use MyFitnessPal integrated with Fitbit to get back on track.  My family and friends make sure I stay motivated to keep active in the form of Fitbit challenges.  So for me, using FitBit as a tool to help manage my diabetes is an easy, sweet, cool thing to do.