Life With Fitbit

Hubs and I have been together for nine years and married for three this past September.  For our anniversary, he got me a Fitbit.  I’ve wanted one since he got the Versa last spring, and I tried it out for a few days.  I enjoyed it but didn’t like the bulkiness, so he got me the Charge 3 which is slimmer.  I started using it daily to monitor things like my calorie intake and my sleep habits.

Dieting is not my thing, as I have written about in the past.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it was one fad diet that kicked my body into diabetes-mode.  So, since then, I give diets no credit.  I don’t believe in denying oneself something; I believe in controlling how much of that thing you use.  Ergo, calorie counting is probably the only “diet” to which I will give credence.  I don’t have any crazy weight loss goals, either.  I’ve lost about 20 pounds over the past six months or so and I am mainly working on keeping it off; though if I could lose another 15, I would be super proud of myself and at a weight I feel I would be more than comfortable with.  I’ll never be the weight I “should” be, because I am simply not built that way, but I make small choices daily to be active or to eat certain things based on my caloric intake.  I was sort of winging it for a while, but then came my little anniversary present, and now I know exactly what’s going in and out of my body.

Another benefit I’ve found is that it helps with my OCD symptoms.  Most of these are well regulated by my meds and therapy, but my trickiest symptom to shake is counting.  I count all sorts of things, but what I count the most is my steps.  Now, when I start to count in my head while walking to the car or through the grocery store, I just remind myself that my wrist is keeping track of my steps so I don’t have to.  I still can’t take a long walk without doing it, but it’s helpful in those little moments when the numbers start rolling and I think “Oh, not again…”

Then there’s the sleep thing.  Good sleep is elusive to me.  I’ve had insomnia since youth, and often find myself cleaning the fridge in the middle of the night or binge-watching 90s sitcoms at 3 am.  I am often awake before six, despite going to bed late.  I have tried every sleeping pill under the sun.  Ambien was my drug of choice, but then they changed the regulations so that women can’t take over 5mg, and I needed 10.  Now I take Seroquel, which isn’t strictly a sleep drug but makes me dozy enough to drift off.  The first few days with my Fitbit I noticed I wasn’t sleeping well.  I was waking in the night, and mostly just getting light sleep as opposed to deep or REM sleep.  I tried taking my Seroquel to see if there was a difference.  I did mange less awake time and more deep sleep, showing me that my drugs do in fact work, which is kind of cool.  My sleep isn’t great but at least now I know where the problems lie.  I have changed my nighttime habits some using the recommendations I found in the Fitbit community, and have discovered that even without my meds I am sleeping better.

So far, I have two gripes.  One is that I can’t connect to friends easily.  It should register telephone numbers, not email addresses.  I don’t have anyone’s email address in my contacts.  Hell, I’m pretty sure I only have five or six people I email anyway.  I do however have dozens of friends with Fitbits that I would like to cheer on from the sidelines, and connecting via phone number is a much better way to find contacts.  Maybe they will give this thought in the future…but I won’t hold out hope.  My other complaint is that there should be an app for a calendar on your watch.  I can get messages and the weather, but I can’t get a calendar?  Seems silly.

All in all, I can say that my Fitbit has improved my health.  I am more conscious of my activity, my sleep, and my calories.  I am trying to stay invested in the long-term goal of good health, and I am using my new tool daily for that purpose.  If you’re looking to be more conscience of your body, I would definitely recommend getting a Fitbit

Thus ends my first product review.  And let’s be real, maybe my last.  I’ve really got to like something to write about it.  Or hate it.  Strong emotions must be felt either way.

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