One Week, Five Pounds, Sixteen Ounces

I've had my FitBit Charge HR for a little more than one week now and I have to report that I am SOLD! The web interface is just packed with information, the app is handy and easy to use, the device itself works extremely well.  It's all pretty simple and seamless. Best of all, it's working!

To my utter surprise, I'm stunned to say that the thing is actually motivating me in ways I wouldn't have believed.  First off, I've not missed wearing a watch in all the years since I started using a smartphone.  Now that I have the FitBit on, I expected to be annoyed.  Instead, I'm pleasantly surprised at how often I'm grateful to not have to fish out my phone just to see the time.  It fixed an annoyance I wasn't aware was there until it was gone! :)

Then there's the alarms and alerts.  The alarm is nice, because it's silent.  I can wake myself, without waking others which is very handy.  Moreover, I find I can use the alarms in other ways too such as reminding me to get up and move now and then when I'm working in my office, or to make sure I drink my recommended 16 ounces of water. The best alert of all has been the phone call alerts! I very often miss calls because my phone is in my pocket. It was a little difficult to find and activate, but once I did the FitBit Charge HR now buzzes and displays the CallerID info.  It doesn't sound like a big deal, but boy has it been helpful.

Most importantly of all having the ability to see my steps, and all of the other features, is keeping my goal of exercise front and center to my day.  It must be working too, because I'm eating better, drinking more water, and exercising daily again.  I've struggled to get that last one back for some time, so I'm grateful for this effect. In the last week I've started losing weight again, where I've been plateaued lately. Five pounds so far!

If there's any downside, I would say the cleaning of it is annoying but necessary.  The other is the very real dark side of seeing your steps all the time.  Before, I would always walk a distance or time.  Now I'm shooting for steps.  This sounds like no big deal, but it means that previously I wasn't worried about steps, and typically got in more than needed.  Now that I have it on my wrist and I'm seeing it real-time, I find there's a big desire to stop walking once I hit my goal, and be all "Well, I did it!" when I could easily walk a little longer or farther.  This isn't huge and is only a mind-game, and so far I've not let it happen.  I suspect the easy way around this would be to set a higher goal.

So, that's it.  A couple of weeks in and I'm already a huge FitBit fan!  I definitely recommend it if you're considering it and you're on the fence.