30 days of Fitbit- the ultimate review

I started off 2015 the same as many others – with the vow to start the year off being as healthy as can be. As far resolutions go, I don't usually keep them. It's too hard to eat well and not drink beer in the glorious New Zealand sunshine. But this year, I was determined. And with a helpful aid, I have been pretty successful.

I started my Fitbit journey using a Fitbit Flex. It's cute. It's light. But because I still have an iPhone 4, it unfortunately did not sync with my phone. So in order to truly utilise all of Fitbit's features, I could only see my stats via the web portal, not the app in real time. This proved a nuisance, and became a bit unmotivating.

Then I upgraded to the Charge. The Charge is a little bigger than the Flex, but it has a little screen right on its front, which allows me to simply press a button to see the time, how many steps I've done, how may calories I've burned, how far I have travelled. Since I strapped on my Charge, it literally hasn't left my wrist.

The motivation a Fitbit gives you is enough to make its price tag worth it. All I think about is how many steps I have done. And because I sit at a desk all day, it's extra hard for me to get up to the required minimum of 10,000 steps. So any chance I get to walk down to the coffee shop, walk out to my car, walk up to Ponsonby Road, I take it. The 2014 me would have driven, even around the corner.

In combination with my other goal of making sure my dogs get walked every single day, my Fitbit ensures I get off my ass and do exercise. I'm never taking the easy option, because I want steps. I will play that extra game of netball or squash because I'll likely get a few thousands steps out of it.

I have become so obsessed with getting to my 10,000 steps that at the end of the night, if I'm short a thousand steps I will literally run in circles around my living room, or up and down my street, until my handy wrist buddy buzzes with excitement that I have finally reached my goal. So yes, motivation is enough to make getting a Fitbit absolutely worth it.

On the technical side, the battery lasts ages. I think I charge it maybe once a fortnight. To be fair, I never use the app. Because there's no heart rate monitor, the wristband is only guessing how many calories you are actually burning. But it's great for those who could use that as motivation too. I probably would use the app more if my phone wasn't so old.

The app does have cool features where you can make groups and start competitions. We have a work group, which is like a leader board, showing who is winning at steps. I'm not winning so I bowed out, because I'm a bad sport.

So for 30 days I have worn my Fitbit. I now have a sticker chart, an organisation board detailing all my exercise plans and commitments. And it all started with putting on my Fitbit. My 30-day goal is now turned into a 365-day goal. It's the best gift I've been given, and I hope I get even more results in the next 30 days.