Are you interested in monitoring how much physical activity you are doing daily? Then, you may be one of those who are wondering if there is a device that can do this for you. One of these devices is called the FitBit. It is designed to track your physical activity and more, including how healthy your diet is and how well you sleep. In other words, FitBit helps you monitor your habits and activities to keep you going in a healthy direction.
What Does a FitBit Do?
The FitBit is a modern pedometer that was introduced in 2008 by James Park and Eric Friedman. Here are some of the functions a FitBit can do:
1. Food Logging
If you want to keep track of the foods you eat and the calories you consume, Fitbit can scanbar codes and estimate calorie counts using meal shortcuts and a database of various foods.
2. Social Challenges
Fitbit can help you connect socially. It connects you to large social networks around the world that are focused on fitness. You can invite friends, share info, send cheers, compete and celebrate. You can show how your workouts are helping you and share tips with other people.
3. Sleep Tracking
Fitbit can help monitor your sleep. What does a FitBit do? It can track down your sleep disturbances and monitor how long you sleep. It can also take note of your sleep patterns. It automatically sets a silent alarm, which gives you a gentle nudge with the vibration on your wrist to wake you up.
4. Heart Rate Monitoring
When you are working out, it is important to monitor your heart rate to see if you are achieving your goals. However, Fitbit can also sense if your heart rate is abnormally higher, which could be a sign that something is up – are you going to have a cold or flu, maybe? Or over time, is your increase in resting heart rate a sign of heart trouble?
5. Call and Text Notifications
Some Fitbit models can allow you to see your calls and text notifications from your phone. This is great when you are working out and you can’t use your phone, but want to be notified if you had any calls or messages.
6. Apps Pairing
Fitbit can be paired with other apps you use to share information. For example, you can share information between your Weight Watchers app with the health and exercise info from your Fitbit.
7. Time Tracking
If you are wondering how long you have been doing a certain activity, you can use the Fitbit as a time tracking device. What does a FitBit do? It records individual activities while in the Activity Mode. Tapping your Fitbit rapidly makes two lights flash at the beginning of your activity and tapping it rapidly at the end of the activity makes 5 blinking lights appear.
How Does a Fitbit Work?
How does FitBit achieve the various functions? Here are more about how it works.
How Does FitBit Calculate the Calories You Burned?
Fitbit has an accelerometer which can measure your energy expenditure and estimate the number of calories you burn per activity. The results are compared with a telemetric gas analysis system, which analyzes the gas you exhale and accurately determines calorie usage.
How Does FitBit Track Your Sleep?
The sleep tracking device monitors how often you move at night. However, if you're just reading while in bed and not moving, FitBit may also think you're sleeping. On the other hand, if you tend to often move about during the night, it may interpret your movement as if you were not sleeping at all.
How Does FitBit Improve the Accuracy of the Data?
To make FitBit work properly in a widely differing population, it uses information from every user. People enter their personal information in a web-based account, which includes their age, sex, weight, and height. When you provide information about your meals, FitBit can estimate how many calories you need to burn when you work out. Armed with data about your activities, FitBit keeps you updated about how much your body needs to exercise.
FitBit Reviews
Knowing "what does a fitbit do" may not be enough for you to make the decision. Here are some reviews from the customers who have bought and used FitBit.
“I LOVE Fitbit Flex! It has a long battery life (around 5 days), and I have had no problems with it so far. You can download an app and sync it with your Fitbit, which is very easy to use. It gives me so much information about how many steps I have taken, how many miles I walked, and how many calories I burned. It also estimates my active minutes, tracks my exercise, sleep, calories eaten, and calories burned. Its food database is complete, but I can also upload foods not included with a simple scan or picture taking. Fitbit also keeps track of the times I wake from sleep and rates the overall sleep quality accurately. I definitely recommend Fitbit if you want to shed off weight and have some lifestyle changes.”
“I have owned a Fitbit Surge for 6 months, and I noticed the strap started to crack near the two screws that hold it to the body. I reported it to the Fitbit customer support and they sent a replacement for the device. However, 5 months later, the replacement device had exactly the same problem. I love Fitbit, but its design flaw is really a problem for me.”
“I initially bought Fitbit to track my steps and use it as a sleep tracker. It is a great motivator, because it has encouraged me to exercise more daily, drink more water, and to have a better sleep schedule. The wrist band is quite comfortable, the watch is water resistant, and the app is an excellent tool to track your food consumption. However, there are draw backs, such as it doesn't sync with the app in your computer unless you're standing or sitting near the USB plug. It is hard to track your total number of steps while you're out. It can also give you an inaccurate reading if you use your arms a lot while you're just sitting orstanding.”
“I got my Fitbit HR on my birthday and so far I think it's not very accurate. My first emailed report included dates even before I had it. It does not register that I have climbed flights of stairs, even when I do so every day.”