I'm on a journey towards better health. For me, it's not just about shedding some extra pounds but also striving towards better mental health, physical health, and a healthier diet. I am a month into a 5 days a week gym routine and two months into a vegan diet.

Recently I had started to become interested in fitness wearables. I friend of mine had one and I started looking into one that might best suit my own needs. After days of research and indecision as well as some sale hunting, I finally decided on getting a Fitbit.

Why Fitbit?

I encourage you to do your own research to find a fitness tracker that best suits your needs. My main criteria was for something with the most recent heart rate monitoring technology, multi-sport mode and something that was subtle enough to be stylish. I've heard mixed reviews about the accuracy of the heart rate monitoring before I purchased mine but decided to go for it.

Multi-sport mode means it measures more than just steps. I do a variety of activities at the gym like yoga, cardio endurance classes, weight lifting etc. and apparently their technology can recognize this and record each work out differently. How scientifically accurate is this? I couldn't tell you.

This is one of the reasons why I was hesitant about handing over about 160$ for the thing after tax. I scoured the internet for a lower listing price but unfortunately, $149 is the going rate for the Fitbit Charge 2 across the board.

This is surprisingly the middle range of pricing for most fitness wearables. Some fitness wearables go well into the 300$ range. Those pricey wearables are better described as fitness smart watches though.

Initial Reaction To My Fitbit Charge 2

My initial reaction to the My Fitbit was...cool but...$160 worth of cool? I think not. Luckily I had 15 days to decide if I wanted to return it back to a BestBuy store. If you buy from Fitbit's official website you get 45 days to decide but then you have to pay for shipping too, and wait 4-7 days and I am not a patient person. Being that I am not a patient person 15 days seemed like plenty of time to decide if I love it or hate it.

After Three Days With My Fitbit . . .

Well, it didn't take long for me to turn my opinion around. I may be falling in love with my Fitbit. I had my first Fitbit tracked workout yesterday and I have to admit it did encourage me to push myself more since I knew my stats were being recorded.

Spent two hours in the gym when I normally spend about an hour to an hour and twenty minutes max. Coincidence? Perhaps. But honestly knowing my workouts are being logged encouraged me to push myself. I feel excited to look back on my progress and reach towards my goals. Here are the things I have already learned to love about Fitbit.

The App

I had read reviews that the Fitbit app had probably one of the best interfaces across all phones and I was not let down. It is clean, simple, fun, and full of features. Your sleep stats (including REM cycles), you can log your food (calorie intake) and even keep track of how many ounces of water you're drinking!

All this biofeedback info in once place. An easy way to set your goals and be reminded of them. Also, any questions you have about how to operate your Fitbit or its features is right there within the app. It's great.

Sleep Tracking

This was one feature I was aware of but didn't think I'd love this much! It tracks how many hours I'm sleeping or when I take naps and even keeps track of how much REM sleep that occurs during my sleep. Being aware of over sleeping can be as helpful as knowing when you aren't getting enough sleep.

The sleep monitoring may even give you some insight into your current mental health status. For example excessive sleeping can be a symptom of depression. If you have already been diagnosed with depression being more aware of your sleep patterns might provide some insight into how your mental health is doing. This might alert you that you're having a depression flare up and to reach out for help from your friends and family or your doctor.

Food Tracker *

This was a feature I wasn't aware of until purchasing my Fitbit. You can log your food on the app. You can search food and log it into the app. The app provides a breakdown of carbs, fat and protien.

It also creates a bar graph to compare your calories in versus out and you're over, under, or in an appropriate range of consumption of calories. Remember the Fitbit has information about your goals and weight stored so this is another feature to keep you on track.

*If you have ever suffered from an eating disorder you may want to steer clear from anything that encourages calorie counting as it may trigger you to fall back into old unhealthy habits. Consult your mental health professional on figuring out a program that is right for you.

Calories Burned Feature

I told myself I wouldn't pay much attention to the calorie counter after the reviews I read about it's accuracy being questionable. The calorie counter is questioned because it is based off the heart monitoring technology in the device which has mixed reviews.

Some reviews compared the heart rate tracker on their wearable against medical equipment which I think is a little unfair. You're supposed to comfortably wear these devices around all day, of course, they won't be as accurate as hospital equipment.

After working out with the Fitbit I found out the feedback about calories burned was a big motivator. The calorie counter may not perfect but definitely, it's enough to keep you on track.

An hour on the treadmill and then an hour doing weight training racked up about 700 calories burned. The hardest part about sticking to a fitness routine is staying motivated so the accuracy may be less than perfect but if it keeps me motivated so that's good enough for me.

Notifications

This feature is not something I thought I wanted nor cared about but have come to learn I enjoy. Even if my phone is in another room my Fitbit will vibrate on my wrist and either read me a text or show me who is calling. This way I will never miss a phone call, even on one of the rare occasions my phone is in another room.

You can also set alarms through the app and your Fitbit will vibrate your wrist when the alarm goes off. This means you can set an alarm that won't disturb people around you.

Negatives

As of now, I have found more reasons to keep my Fitbit than return it but here are the few drawbacks when it comes to purchasing a Fitbit.

Not Waterproof

This one wasn't a big one for me because I do not often find myself immersed in water, however, most fitness wearables seem to be waterproof except the Fitbit brand so I'm left wondering why.

Style

Let me first say I did go with the most stylish fitness tracker brand on the market but the Charge 2 is still a little two thick and chunky for my taste. They have a slimmer version, more stylish version by Fitbit called the Alta HR but it just didn't have all the tech that Charge 2 had and that is what ultimately swayed me towards the less stylish model.

I am a big fan of accessorizing so having a stylish wearable was important to me and the Fitbit Charge 2 just misses the mark. It's more like a sporty looking watch and won't transfer well into a party setting when I am wearing a dress and heels.

On occasions such as those, I will probably be leaving my very expensive, but not very stylish, accessory at home. And because it is suggested that you wear your fitness tracker on you at all times so this is not ideal.

Material

The material for the standard bands isn't very breathable which is less than savory for something you're supposed to be sweating in. I mean it's only day three and there's a smell on my skin where the Fitbit sits, as well as on the tracker strap itself. If you've ever had to wear rubber gloves for long periods of time you know what I'm talking about. The smell is from bacteria growth no doubt.

There are instructions to clean the straps with soap free cleanser but to have to do so every day is a bit cumbersome. I think using a less rubbery material for the bands that makes it able to breathe or perhaps making it waterproof so it was more easily washed would be preferable. To be fair you have to be right up on it your nose to smell anything, but still, having no weird smell would be better.

- The brand did come out with a more breathable Charge 2 "sport band" but it does not come standard with the purchase of a Charge 2 and will cost you an additional 30$ on top of your already pricey tracker.

Pricey

I think Fitbit is probably one of the better-known brands thus making them a bit pricier. The runner up was the Samsung Gear Fit 2 seemed to have all the same tech as the Fitbit Charge 2 but was significantly less expensive. The reason I sided with Fitbit over the Samsung Gear Fit 2 was because of overall style options and because the Samsung website implied that some features may not be accessible if you didn't have a Samsung phone (I have an I-Phone).

Fitbit works the same across Apple, Android, and Windows devices I believe which again may be why they are so darn expensive. This was definitely a splurge item for something that could be damaged by water. I'm worried about its longevity especially since it was so pricey I wouldn't spend the money to replace this one if it does get damaged.

-Like most tech, there are protection plans you can purchase but with it already being such a costly item I couldn't afford to spend any more on it

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

There is definitely room for improvement but other than feeling like I have to purchase an accessory band immediately after purchase the device itself is pretty cool. I think it's a great way to track your progress and stay motivated on your fitness journey. Even though there are some drawbacks there is overall more to love than there is to criticize.

I can't wait to see the evolution of wearable biofeedback devices which I expect to continue to grow in efficiency and popularity much like smartphones did. It may be early on in my relationship with my Fitbit device but I hope the heart will only grow even fonder with time. So far, I'm loving it.

Stay healthy people!

- ❤ Laura