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Goodbye, Fitbit

Fitbit
Set the WayBack machine to Christmas, 2014. It was cold and snowy. And I as I was opening presents, I got a FitBit Flex. I was very excited, as Fitbits were all the rage. For the next 18 months, I wore it most days, without fail. I knew how many steps I'd taken, now much I had slept, and occupationally, I tracked food intake with it.

The mobile app is nice and functional. The silent alarm to wake up in the morning was great. For Father's Day (?) 2015, we added a new member of the family, the Aria scale. It's pretty neat as it auto detects different people, and displays weight, as well as percent body fat, which is always cool to know.

Pebble
In August 2015, I decided that I wanted to join the smart watch revolution, and purchased a Pebble Time. I wasn't sure how much I'd want to wear a watch, since I haven't regularly worn a a time piece for several years, and already had a Fitbit on my wrist. Still, the idea that I could receive notifications on my wrist, rather than fishing for my phone in a pants pocket was intriguing. 11 months later, I'm still rocking the Pebble, and loving it.

The Conundrum
So, now, with a moderate investment in the Fitbit ecosystem, and another Pedometer/Smartwatch on my wrist, what do I do? I can try to make them all work, and that had some amount of success.


  • Wearing my watch on the left and fitbit on my right was just silly, as it made me look like I was wearing cuffs of some kind. 
  • Wearing my watch and fitbit on the same wrist, was equally awkward, mostly because I have small wrists and multiple bands looked and felt strange. 
  • I gave up trying to wear the fitbit and bought a magnetic, silicon holder for my fitbit, so I could attached it at the waist for workouts or in my pocket for general use and that worked the best for a long time. 
But even trying to keep both of these devices functional, I was left with more data than I wanted. I had set and distance counts from Fitbit, Pebble AND my iPhone 5s, which was in my pocket most of the time anyway. The difference in step counts was insignificant and likely varied due to placement of the device on my person, not any difference in software or device accuracy.

The Result
I decided to retire the Fitbit Flex, in favor of the Pebble. I loved being able to have a step count for things like sand volleyball and Ultimate tournaments. Even though I wouldn't wear my Pebble to those events, I wear it enough for day-to-day step counts that it makes a difference. In particular, I should be focusing my step count tracking to make sure I'm not at my desk ALL day. When I prioritize my daily activity levels, over workout activity levels, the Pebble makes the most sense. \

Thanks Fitbit, you've been great. I still plan to keep my scale for weight tracking purposes, but at least for now, it's Pebble.


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