By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about the Fitbit. In fact, you probably know someone who uses one. Simply, it is a fitness tracker, but depending on the model you purchase your Fitbit can provide you with different information. Basic Fitbit models just track steps and tell you the time, but the more complex models can tell you your heart rate, how many calories you burned, how much you slept, how long you were in certain sleep stages, and more. For this article, I wanted to share some pros about using and having Fitbit as a tool that can help keep you healthy.
PROS
- Fitbits can keep you accountable
Metrics are the new medicine. If you want to stay accountable throughout the day, this device keeps you posted with how many steps you walked, how many calories you burned, how much sleep you got, how much water you’ve consumed, and more. You can set goals into the tracker to reach on a daily basis. Throughout the day, you can keep track of how you’re doing to reach your goals. Maybe it will help you get up and move more, or maybe it’ll help you remember to drink another glass of water. In some models, you can even set reminders to get up and move. Having goals, like step goals, have been known to help people get more active and lose weight. Seeing measurements and data are great visuals for daily motivation!
- Silent Alarm
You can use this feature to wake up in the morning. The device will vibrate on your arm instead of blasting a loud noise to wake you up a bit more gently.
- Helps Your Workout Harder
The Fitbit can monitor your heart rate and will let you know if you’re in a fat burning zone
Dr. Kordonowy of Internal Medicine, Lipid & Wellness of Fort Myers offers Fitbits on his e-retail store. You can find them here. For other monitors and devices, click here. If you purchase a monitoring device, like a Fitbit, from Dr. Kordonowy’s online store, you can download all data from the device to a remote monitoring dashboard that you can invite your physician to view. Dr. Kordonowy has adopted this platform and nearly 100 of his current patents use this dashboard for data monitoring. As his patient, Dr. Kordonowy will have access to all shared data. The following devices can be used on this remote monitoring dashboard: FitBit devices, Withings digital weight scales, Withings Pulse O2 personal monitor, Withings BP monitor and the Fora Glucose test strip system.
Will a Fitbit make you more fit? It depends. It can help you reach goals by monitoring what you do and consume, but it cannot make the choices for you. A monitoring device is a great tool, but it isn’t the full picture when it comes to becoming a healthier person. Ultimately, it’s your choice if you think this device will help encourage you to reach certain goals, whether it’s to walk more or sleep more! Everyone has a different approach to a fit and healthy life, and monitoring devices (of all kinds and prices) can help you work towards your goals.
FitBit or not, you should get checked out by a doctor to assess your physical health. If you’d like to book an appointment with a primary care physician, call Dr. Kordonowy of Internal Medicine, Lipid & Wellness of Fort Myers. Dr. Kordonowy is a concierge doctor and a direct primary care physician. With a monitoring device, Dr. Kordonowy can monitor you without having to even see him! To book an appointment, click here or call 239-362-3005, ext. 200.
