The people are right. The reviews are true. I got my first Fitbit last Christmas and I've now owned three different wristbands: the Flex, the Charge HR and currently the Alta. No matter the kind, I have rarely taken my Fitbit off of my wrist. It's become a daily obsession. Here's why. Step CounterThe most obvious use of a Fitbit is to count your steps, and the automatic daily step goal is 10,000 steps. Ever since I've had a Fitbit, it's not that I want to hit 10,000 steps, it's that I have to hit 10,000 steps. I find myself parking further away from my destinations, taking the stairs, walking around when waiting for class, and making sure my left hand is free so it can swing with my Fitbit on my wrist. Whether it's the vibrating firework show that lights up the device when you reach 10,000 steps, or the hourly reminders to get 250 steps per hour that enforce me to meet my goal every day, but whatever it is, it's working. My Fitbit forces me to be active and hit 10,000 steps even on the laziest of days, and for that I owe Fitbit at least some credit to my stagnant weight. Like the Fitbit website says, "Motivation is your best accessory." Sleep TrackerDirectly after turning off my morning alarm, there is nothing more important to me than checking how much sleep I just got. I normally set three alarms, so I feel that I'm able to 'hit snooze.' However, after alarm number one, I will ALWAYS check my sleep tracker on the Fitbit app. The sleep tracker tells you how long you slept (hours, minutes) and how many times you were restless or awake during the night. My personal sleep goal is seven hours per night, and since my Fitbit knows this, I'm unsure if obsessively checking the sleep tracker is beneficial to me or not. If I wake up and see my sleep has been tracked in green writing (meaning I met my sleep goal), I am more willing to get out of bed and start my day. Contrarily, if I wake up and see that my sleep is recorded in red writing (meaning under seven hours), I convince myself I am more tired than I should be. Beneficial or not, I use it every single day and it helps me get in bed sooner so that I can meet my sleep goal. Yet again, I warn you... The Fitbit will control your life. Calorie TrackerI'm no health guru, but the calorie tracker on the Fitbit app helps me watch what I'm eating. I don't count my calories every day (I like to believe they don't exist), but I know that if my Fitbit says I've only burned 1,000 calories, I cannot go for seconds of dessert. The Fitbit calorie counter is both on the app and on the device itself, so it's accessible anytime with just the tap of a finger. To tie it all together, the calorie tracker helps me meet, and even surpass my daily step goals. More steps = more burned calories = ability to consume more. They must've really thought through this thing. "Friends"My Fitbit "friends" are my biggest motivators. For seven days, Fitbit adds up all the steps you've taken and puts them in a list that compares your total steps with the total steps of your Fitbit friends. Comparing my steps to my family and friends' steps gives me a sense of competitiveness stronger than it probably should. In addition, you have the ability to 'taunt' your Fitbit friends. Although I don't win anything for beating my friends, bragging rights sure do feel good. Whether my competitive nature or Fitbit is to blame for my increase in steps against others is up in the air. Surely, it's the Fitbit. My peers should never wonder why I ask them to go on a walk or run around campus, it's because I haven't yet hit my 10,000 steps. Should my professors ever wonder why I'm acting mentally exhausted, it's probably because I know I didn't hit my sleep goal. If you ever see me eating several cookies with my lunch, it's probably because I've already burned enough calories for the day. And if you see me rubbing my seven day win in my friends' faces, you don't need to question.
You know it's because I'm addicted to my Fitbit Alta. It seems I'm not alone.
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