How I use my Fitbit Flex

Last year for Christmas I asked for a fitbit - a gadget to help me track my activity and sleep. Previously I used iPhone apps which you only activate when going to sleep or exercising but I wanted something that would track my activity all day. 

I have the fitbit Flex which tracks my activity and sleep. It came with a small and a large wristband, a charging cable and a wireless sync dongle which you can plug into your PC but I have never used it, I tend to stick to using the iPhone app instead. The manufacturer claims that the Flex' battery lasts up to 5 days and that it takes 1-2 hours to fully charge - I think that is fairly accurate. The battery life is most definitely affected by how often you set the silent alarm though - the vibration drains the battery much more quickly. It is also supposed to be water resistant (as in splash proof but not swim proof) but I was never brave enough to test this ;)

The dashboard allows you to see the following: the battery level of your fitbit, how many steps you have done and what distance that's equivalent to, how many minutes you have spent being active that day, any exercise you tracked/logged, how many calories you have burned, how much fluids you drank and how long you slept for. The recent Fitbit update also introduced a new feature - hourly activity which allows you to set an hourly step goal and the amount of hours in a day that you want to track this for.

 There are also another three things you can track: your weight, calories eaten and the amount of calories you can still eat that day. I chose not to use these options as I am not currently tracking calories or aiming to lose/gain weight. I have tested these options out previously though just to see what my average daily calorie intake is. The database of food products is absolutely huge! You can find the data for most products and if not, there is definitely a product similar enough for you to be able to get a rough guide. The product information also includes the nutritional value of products including some micronutrients - it's always handy to know where you are with those as well as with your calories. 

So let's break the dashboard down into its separate components. The first two are steps and distance. When you tap on their dashboard titles you can see past data in number and graph forms. The horizontal line on the graph indicates the goal which you set for yourself. Once you set your step goal fitbit will calculate what that is in kilometers/miles and set your goal for you. Throughout the app the stars show that you have met your goal, so as you can see over the past week I met my goals twice. I have set my goal at 10 000 steps because that's when I feel that I have been fairly active and not been lazing around all day. It's also an achievable goal - there's no point in setting goals you are never going to achieve because it will only make you feel worse.

The next item on the dashboard is Active Minutes. On their website fitbit state that Active Minutes are any activity which is more strenuous that normal walking, for example, brisk walking or cycling. Active Minutes are calculated using metabolic equivalents (METs) which measure the energy expenditure during different forms of activity. Active minutes are earned at 3 METs or above. However there is a catch. That level of activity needs to be sustained for 10 minutes or more in order to earn your active minutes. This was developed to help people achieve the Centre for Disease Control's concept of '10 minutes at a time is fine'. Current guidelines recommend 30 minutes of being active a day 5 times a week which is what I based my goal on - 30 minutes 7 days a week. The app page for Active Minutes is very similar to the steps and distance pages - you get the number form data history as well as a graph.

Exercise tracking/logging is the next heading on my dashboard. Flex gives you the option to track three forms of exercise which are walking, running and hiking, all the other ones you need to time yourself and log them afterwards. I like running so I use the app to track my runs however it's important to remember that it's the phone that tracks the run not the Flex band. When I first started using it I used to go for my runs with my band on and with the app tracking on which resulted in the steps being counted twice. The GPS in your phone allows you to review your run on a map and gets the pace and distance data. The app then splits it all up so you can see your run kilometer by kilometer and works out the impact this activity had on your daily stats.

Fitbit can also estimate the calories you have burned throughout the day. Some of the data is based on your basal metabolic rate (BMR) which is based on the data you enter into the app at the beginning - your age, gender, weight and height. The app then combines the BMR with all the activity you have undertaken that day (steps and exercise which you tracked or logged).

Drinking enough fluids throughout the day is really important especially if you are reasonably active. If I don't drink enough it is almost guaranteed that I will get a headache, this is something I figured out thanks to this app. I set my goal at 2 litres a day because I walk around a fair bit and I may be no athlete but I try to exercise a couple of times a week too and I feel that this is about the right amount for me. There are days when I find meeting this goal really easy however more often than not it's difficult and I try to make it up to 2 litres just before going to sleep (within reason of course because if I drink 500ml before bed I will be going to the bathroom every 5 minutes rather than to sleep).

Sleep data is definitely my favourite part of using my Flex band. There are two ways of using it: setting it to sleep mode and not doing anything at all. When you start 'sleep mode' (by continuously tapping the Flex for a few seconds) you are telling the app that this is the time you have gone to bed and are trying to get to sleep. This then allows you to determine how long it takes you to get to sleep. I like to just leave it alone and let it track my sleep once I have actually fallen asleep. That way I can still determine how long it took me to fall asleep because I know what time I went to bed. The issue I have with 'sleep mode' is that I forget to switch it off in the morning so I prefer to just leave it do its job. The layout of this part of the app is essentially the same as the activity, steps etc. The only difference is the background colour. Similarly to the rest of the dashboard you can set a daily sleep goal. Different people will need different amounts of sleep, if I don't get my 8 hours (which as you can see I haven't been getting this week) I can get a little grumpy which is why my goal is 8 hours. The band I have also has the option of setting up a silent alarm which I mentioned earlier on. You set it on the app and it is synced with the Flex. It works by vibrating for a few seconds. I hate being woken up suddenly, such a horrible disruption to my sleep is not a good start of the day so the silent alarm is the perfect solution. If you don't dismiss it, it will snooze automatically and go off again in 10 minutes. 

The final part which I track on my dashboard is the new Hourly Activity. It allows me to see if I'm being active continuously throughout the day or whether it's short bursts of activity. My goal for the day is 10 hours with more than 250 steps per hour. It's set between 07.00-17.00 which is when I anticipate to be the most active. It also allows me to see how long I've been stationary and active for throughout the day. 

I think that with these type of gadgets their accuracy is often questioned. On their website fitbit state that the algorithm used for step counting looks for certain intensity and motions - that's what the step count is based on. They also state that certain movements may affect your step count, for example pushing a trolley whist wearing a wrist-band tracker may result in a slightly lower count and doing a lot of arm movements may result in a higher count. I have noticed this to be the case whilst using my Flex - I often wake up with 10 - 15 steps already on the app when I have stayed in bed all night. When compared to a daily total of, say, 10 000 steps that's only 0.1% of the total, for me that's a low enough inaccuracy to ignore it.

I think that the app and the tracker definitely play a part in keeping me active and well rested. I love my Flex but would definitely think about upgrading to a model that does even more, such as the new Blaze or the Charge HR - it would be nice to be able to track my runs/bike rides without having to take my phone with me.