Friday, January 24, 2014

FitBit Flex Review

Notice: FitBit did not send me a free Flex to review and I am not getting paid for this review; however, should FitBit or any company want to send me any products for free in exchange for my opinions, I would gladly accept :)

My dear husband and business partner, Tim, gave me a FitBit Flex for my birthday. I had been eye-balling FitBit for some time, but didn't want to wait for the Force (which is still 1-2 weeks back-ordered at the time of this post), so the Flex seemed perfect!

Here's how FitBit describes the Flex: "This slim, stylish device is with you all the time. During the day, it tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. At night, it tracks your sleep quality and wakes you silently in the morning. Just check out the lights to see how you stack up against your personal goal. It’s the motivation you need to get out and be more active."

The reason I wanted it was to have a better check on my general activity level throughout the day (and I was admittedly curious about seeing the sleep quality thing too). I workout 6-7 days a week, BUT I spend 5 of those days practically chained to a desk between 7:30am and 5pm. Yeah...it sucks.

So I've had the FitBit Flex for a week now....here are my thoughts:

1. Simple as pie to set-up. Took all of 5 seconds on the computer (we're Mac users, so no problems there) and I downloaded the free app onto my phone as well.

2. It's slimmer than a watch and thus very easy to wear. It's suggested to wear it on your non-dominant hand, so you can't really wear a watch when you wear the FitBit (unless you wanted to be a hipster and double-up!) but that didn't bother me....that's what cellphones are for! :)



Source
3. It holds charge like a champ! I let it charge on a Sunday afternoon, and after wearing 24/7 for 5 days, it still has half the battery life left!

4. The website says it's sweat and water resistant (not proof!), so I do take it off when I shower, but that's it....and so far, so good!

5. It certainly does what I got it for, track activity and sleep! I still use my heart-rate monitor during my workouts, since that's the only true way to know exactly how much I burned, but this has been great to see my activity during all other parts of the day! I didn't realize how hard it is to get 10,000 steps, even though I consider myself an active person! DAMN DESK JOB!

And the sleep tracker is interesting too....I love to see the difference in nights when the baby sleeps through the night:

Looks like I barely moved

 ...And when he doesn't sleep through the night:

Yeah, 2am munchies! :)

All in all, in my opinion, the FitBit Flex is certainly worth the money. If you want a device to help ensure you are more intentional about your activity, this is perfect. I check the app on my phone throughout the day, see how many steps I'm at....if I'm low, I know it's time to sneak away and get some walking in! If it's buzzed 4-5 times in a little rhythm...I know I've hit the 10,000 mark and I do a little happy dance :) 

Questions? Comment below or contact us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube...we're everywhere!

In Health,

Lindsay

5 comments:

  1. Thanks - I always enjoy your being my guinea pig on new products, shoes, just about everything!

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  3. HI! I graduated with BOTH of your parents, so I am really old, but I love your posts. Btw, Lindsay, you look great! I have a FitBit One and I really like it. It is easier for me plus it tracks my stairs. I have a question about the Flex....do you think it counts steps when you move your arms around a lot? I have often wondered about that. The One does count steps if you toss it around. Regardless, I love using it...it definitely makes you think twice about taking an elevator or parking closer to a building. People looked at me funny when my dad was in the hospital and I would always ask, "Where are the stairs?' :-)

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    1. Hi Janice!!

      I'm sure the Flex picks up miscellaneous activity since its on your wrist. But I think you'd have to be flailing your arms around like a crazy person for it to make a significant difference :) As I said in my review, I think it's a great measure of general daily activity level and sleep tracking, but if you want to know more about calories your individual body is burning, a heart-rate monitor is the way to go!

      Keep up the great work!

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    2. You mean flailing your arms around a lot...like a teacher!! LOL.... They are all good and folks can only benefit from whichever one they use. I was so excited on Sunday to get in 17,000 steps!!!

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