Product Review - FitBit One

I promised a review of a product I bought and started using 2 weeks ago.  When I bought it I thought this would be the greatest thing ever, based on what I was told it would do.  But I said I would use it for 2 weeks first before giving a review, just to make sure it was all it was cracked up to be, and that it was worth the money. 

What is it? - THE ONE™ WIRELESS ACTIVITY & SLEEP TRACKER

http://www.fitbit.com/one
If you want to turn fitness into a lifestyle, the One™ is for you. For starters, it never rests. During the day, it tracks your steps, distance, calories burned, and stairs climbed. Come nightfall, it measures your sleep cycle, helps you learn how to sleep better, and wakes you in the morning. The One™ motivates you to reach your goals by bringing greater fitness into your life – seamlessly, socially, 24 hours a day.
The One™ automatically syncs your data to PCs, Macs, the iPhone 4S & 5, iPad 3, Retina & mini, iPod touch,
and select Android phones. All you need to do is sign up for your free account on Fitbit.com and
register your device (which you can also do via select smartphones). After that, voilà. Your stats will sync
on their own, giving you real-time access to all that outstanding data on your Fitbit dashboard.

First thing I should mention is, it is so much more than a pedometer.  For me, it's perfect.  I love it.  It motivates me, because if I don't have my 10,000 steps done by 7:00 p.m.  I will stand up and walk in place throughout a TV show just to make sure I get my steps in.  Same with the stairs.  I have a 2-story home, so I will go up and down my stairs to ensure I reach my daily goal.  Same with the calorie burn.  I think I'll break down the pros and cons to this product, for more detail.  Like good news, bad news, I will start with the cons, because that leaves good news to follow :)

Cons -
- Remembering to put it on.  This has not been a problem for me, at all.  I don't know if my mind is just clearer from living a healthier lifestyle lately, but I have not once forgotten it in 2 weeks.  I don't forget to put it in the wristband and on my wrist when going to sleep, and I don't forget to clip it to my bra (or belt) when leaving in the morning.  I put this as a con, because I THOUGHT this was going to be my biggest problem.  But like brushing your teeth, it just becomes something you do in the morning.  (With this con I just realized I forgot to take my thyroid medicine this morning, something I am supposed to do at the same time every morning...well at least I remembered my FitBit One lol)

- I do not believe the calorie burn is accurate.  I believe that they are telling you the calories you are burning while asleep, and when you do daily activity, but I do not believe it is incorporating the full calorie burn for the daily functions of your body.  Based on my lifestyle, plus activity, plus height, weight and age, my Daily Total Energy Expenditure is about 3600 - 3900 calories, but my Fitbit One never gets above 3000.  To figure out your daily total energy expenditure, use the link below.  I use it then to go to the weight loss tracker, to see how many calories I should be consuming a day.  NOT how little calories, but how MANY calories.  I am not about counting calories anymore because I will never again be on a diet, but I want to make sure I am eating ENOUGH calories, so my body does not store my fat for energy, leading to loss of lean muscle mass.  You should definitely try it, especially if you are in the mindset of restricting yourself or eating below 1400 calories a day.  You are actually doing more harm to your body than you think.

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/weight-loss-calculator

(those are the only cons I have come up with in my 2 weeks of wearing the FitBit One)

Pros -
-By far my favorite feature of this product is the sleep monitoring.  It comes with a little wrist band that you slip the FitBit One into when going to bed.  When you are ready to sleep, you click the button to start the stopwatch and go to sleep.  There is a vibration alarm built in (that you set online for what time you get up each day) and it will only wake you, not your partner (though maybe your cat lol)  You press the button when the alarm goes off and it stops tracking your sleep.  On your computer or phone (or both) it will tell you how long it took you to fall asleep, how many awakenings you had, and how much sleep you had.

-Motivation - I have watched entire episodes of Glee while walking, just to make sure I hit my daily target of steps.  Or climbed up and down my stairs to reach my stair goal.  I am motivated to reach all of my daily goals.  The FitBit One will have a default goal set up for you, but you can change those and create your own goals, if you choose to.

-If you have a Sparkpeople or Myfitnesspal account, the FitBit One site does the same thing.  You can track your food, calories, activity all on your free FitBit One account, and all of the information from your FitBit One is synced to the page.  It is very convenient, and definitely helps anyone trying to lose weight or increase fitness.

-Discreet.  Wear it comfortably in your pocket, on a belt, or a bra – the silicone clip will keep it secure. Use the sleep wrist band at night.

-Recharges the battery right on your computer (USB) and the charge holds for 5-7 days.

-Sweatproof - you can wear it during exercise (duh), but it's also rain proof...just don't wear it in the shower!

- Makes fitness fun...really it does, because when you see the results of what you've done on the FitBit One, you can't wait to do it again!!


So the bottom line is that I am very happy I made this purchase.  I obtained mine from BestBuy for $99.  But I have been told you can find them online for about $90-95 through Amazon and Ebay.  I know it is an investment, but I think it is a solid investment.  It's easy and convenient, and a definite fitness motivator.