Friday Favorites – Fitbit HR

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It’s Friday…..on the first week back to work and school after the holidays and it seriously could not have come too soon!  Why is it always so hard to get back on a routine?  The type A part of me is so happy to have a schedule but the other side of me is missing lazy mornings and extra snuggles at home.

I may be late to this whole Fitbit party but for any of you on the fence I thought I would give you a little rundown with the five ways I’m using it so far.  Until recently I thought the whole idea of the Fitbit was ridiculous…yes really.  I did not think there was any way I wasn’t getting 10000 steps a day “as busy as I am”.  My daughter added the Fitbit HR to her Christmas list and as I was looking into it my interest was peaked.  I decided to add it to my wishlist and low and behold Santa delivered!  I have been wearing it since December 26th and here is what I can tell you.  
{Tracking Steps} 10000 steps is ALOT more than I thought!!  I have only hit that mark three times…..three!  I was skeptical at whether it was measuring correctly but have tested it out a few times and it is calculating within 2-3 steps every single time.  I am a numbers person and still have a teeny bit of a competitive nature so the challenge of hitting the 10000 steps has been good for me.  It has also been a positive for Dutch & Carly because we are taking more walks.  
So far I’ve found it syncs up nicely on my phone.  It also vibrates when I’m receiving a call which has actually caused me to miss less calls as my phone is usually in my purse on silent.  I can easily see who is calling just by looking at my wrist.  Obviously this could be good for my health if it’s a friend calling to meet me for a workout.  Ha!  
{Tracking Water} One of the things I am so terrible about is drinking enough water.  I’ve tried other apps before, tried marking my glasses, lemon in my water….blah, blah, blah but I just struggle with this.  I have still not hit my goal each day but I have definitely more conscious and when I log in and see this notation I’m thinking to myself I really AM kinda thirsty!  
{Tracking Workouts} I try to make it to the gym at least 3 days a week but really should have 4-5 days of activity.  I am able to set a goal for how many workouts I would like to hit each week and then track the duration of the workout by simply hitting a button on the Fitbit when I begin.  By tracking my heart rate, the Fitbit HR provides stats on when I’m in the fat burn zone, etc.  I’m a geek but I love some stats and if you missed my Sweet 16 post yesterday you would know I might just keep track of all these numbers in a spreadsheet!  
{Tracking Stairs} I work on the 3rd floor of my building and all too often I am guilty of walking straight to the elevator.  Since I’ve been back this week, every single time I reach out to push the button I’ve noted my Fitbit and quickly headed for the stairs.  I love that I can see how many floors I’ve walked in a day.  
{Tracking Sleep}  Getting more sleep is definitely something I need to work on.  I was a little bit skeptical about how the tracker worked but last with I totally got up to go to the bathroom at 1:20 and made a point to check the clock.  I think this was fairly accurate.  It’s been an eye opener that I probably need to get to bed a little earlier.  
I started a nutrition challenge this week as well so I’m definitely more motivated than usual to keep track of activity.  Part of the challenge is keeping a daily food log and I have been using My Fitness Pal.  The Fitbit can also be synced to My Fitness Pal to track exercise calories.  I synced them initially and it was working nicely but I am trying to focus on a constant calorie count for now instead of “earning” food from excercise so I turned it back off.  Easy both ways.  
All in all I really am loving it.  I’d love to hear any tips from those of you currently using a Fitbit to track steps or other activities.  Any features you are using I have not mentioned here?  Also what are some ways you add steps during the day?  Especially if you are in an office job which has so far been my challenge.
A quick shout out to Jennie at A Pocketful of Polka Dots for featuring my Floral & Stripes post last Friday.  She has great style so be sure to head over and check her out.  It’s always such an honor when another blogger gives you a mention so be sure to show the love through the year.  
Dillon has a basketball tourney out of town starting tonight and I’m excited to watch him play!  Other than that not much going on.  Wishing you a fun and relaxing weekend!