This is my new Handy Dandy. My mom calls her iphone her “handy dandy” so this is my version. It won’t zero in on a moon satellite, but it will tell me if I’m sleeping and walking enough. It’s not just a pedometer. It’s a calorie counter, pedometer, and sleep figure-outer-er. It tells me how long it took me to go to sleep, how long I slept, how many times I woke up and how long I stayed awake each time. Why is this important? Because I’ve known for a long time that I don’t sleep well. I just never knew how poorly I did sleep. According to this little gadget, my sleep efficiency quotient is abysmal. And there is a strong relation between sleep and overall health. Yikes. I’m in trouble.
Here is the website—>FITBIT
I can log in my own workouts and it will calculate calories based on my profile. It will tell my how many calories I’m burning just sittin’ around watching Lifetime movies (not that many).
So far, I love this. It’s easy to wear (anywhere on my torso..waistband, bra strap, etc) and has a strong grip so it won’t flop off into the toilet when I’m changing clothes at the gym. That’s a big plus in my book. The data is easily displayed and categorized. My only complaint is that it is solely web-based. I can’t use the data feedback unless I’m connected to the ‘net. It has a small docking station that will read the data once I set the fitbit to dock and charge. It holds a charge for about 7 days which is great! As long as the transmitter is connected, it will “read” and download my fitbit while I’m wearing it. I usually set it on the transmitter every couple of days for new charge.
For the sleep, I have a small wristband that holds the fitbit close to my wrist and pulse. It reads my movements and pulse rate to determine when I’m sleeping or when I’m fidgeting awake.
I’ll be posting some screen shots of my data in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!