So I'm not much of a hotstepper - we roadtest a Fitbit Flex

For the next three weeks I've got the fun job of not only giving away three Fitbit Flex's on my radio show thanks to the local Harvey Norman but also roadtesting one myself. If you've never seen nor heard of the Fitbit before, it basically looks like this:

My own bodyhair. Copyright 2014 Almigo All Rights Reserved.

And it basically does this while you forget it's there:

 

It fits around your wrist and records just about everything. How many steps you take on a daily basis, how much of your tasty meals you're burning through - even how much sleep you're getting including time take to toss and turn!
It syncs up with your phone (or pc if your phone isn't new enough) and at a flick of your app, you can get up to date info on how your journey to INCREDIBLE FITNESS and MAD SWOLENESS you're actually getting.

I reckon it's a brilliant little bit of kit and I can see why they're selling like diet hot cakes. And in the three days I've been sporting this little grey baby, I've learnt a few things along the way...



Here's what I've learnt wearing a Fitbit Flex:

- If we should be attempting at least 10,000 steps a day then radio announcers really are behind the eight ball before we begin. After starting the show at 6am, walking to the jug for numerous coffees and all of the other occasional left foot right foot action in the station, I usually walk through the front door of my own house just clocking over ...4000 steps. This of course means I have to do a whole heap more hotfooting to get anywhere close to that tally.

- My Fitbit tells me at least 8km a day by foot is a good idea. My maths tell me that would be walking from work to home, then back, then halfway to work again which would be a horrendous trip. I'd be happier if it said 'Look Almigo, one k will be fine. Let's walk to the pub'.

- Every day you use one of these great little gadgets, someone presents you with something unhealthy. On the first day of our Fitbit challenge, the work experience student walked in with a massive plate of freshly baked walnut brownies. Which I was powerless to resist. Last night after walking the dog for a few clicks and finally clocking up my 10k for the night, I stumbled in to find my wife tucking into a bowl of smarties. I love smarties...especially in those times when I'm not supposed to (ie: Getting fit with a Fitbit)

My weakness

- I'm more active than average. Hooray! I just don't walk as far as everyone else does apparently (boo hiss!) 

- You can fine tune it and get right down to the nitty gritty of calorie intake and calorie burn by plugging in everything that goes past your gums each day. I would do this if I wasn't afraid that it would tell to stop having pasta with every single meal.

- Nescafe, milk, 1 sugar isn't an option in the pull down menu for 'I've had a coffee' for breakfast section. I'm sure that's only a matter of time.

- My dog loves the Fitbit. No I don't let Savannah the Border Collie wear it (or eat it), she loves the fact that she's getting a lot more extra walks so I can cross off my daily 10 thousand step challenge around a few blocks.

- I've seen some strange things around my neighbourhood as I've put feet to pavement. There's a house around the corner from mine that still has their xmas lights up (and on at night. In April). A few blocks to the North there's someone who loves leopard print bedsheets as you can't help but see them through the open curtains as you waltz past.

Rawwwwwrrr!

- I'm one and a half kilos lighter already. My body hates me though as I refuse to sleep until my daily challenge is done.

- If you try and saw anything while wearing a fitbit, the vibrations of the saw will put the Fitbit in sleep mode.

- Unfortunately you have to tell it when to switch to sleep mode so it can track your snoozing. Actually this is probably a good thing as it won't think I'm sleeping at my desk by accident.

- My cohost AD is obviously a freak. I struggle to make 10K a day. His average is round 15,000...

- And finally as much as I point out how unfit I am (sometimes on a daily basis), I can help but laugh at some of the entries we've had for this competition to win one. This week the challenge is: How many COMBINED steps do you think Al and A.D will do from Midnight Monday to 8am Friday? (Closest to the number wins) and i kid you not, someone has guessed that combined the two of us could only muster up a paltry 8546 steps.
For the working week...

3 days down and I'm loving it. I might struggle to hand it back when it's done though..