So a few weeks ago, my husband came up with a genius idea. You need a FitBit, he said. And from the moment I put it on my wrist, my life changed for the better. No more excuses, no more 4-hour sessions with the laptop on my lap without moving my feet. And guess what? In under 2 months, I already feel healthier and lost 8 pounds! This is HUGE!!!

Disclaimer: I didn't lose 8 pounds in 2 months by simply wearing a FitBit. I actually walked an average of 15k steps per day and carefully watched my diet. But getting a FitBit triggered the change because it provided me with the motivation I desperately needed.

But why FitBit?

Fitbit manages to set itself apart with its wider ecosystem. Its trackers are good, but its app is great. The Fitbit companion app makes it easy to look at your history, set goals, and measure your progress. It's a great fitness app, and one of the key reasons you'd buy a Fitbit over another fitness tracker.

So today we are going to have a look at Fitbit Alta (my fitness tracker of choice for its slick design) and Fitbit Charge HR (my husband's favorite because of the extra features).

Fitbit Alta

Fitbit Alta is a fitness tracker that matches the company's ecosystem level of polish. It is a light tracker to the point where you can forget you're actually wearing it. And I appreciate Alta's interchangeable bands. 

While this does add an extra expense, it has also made Alta the Fitbit I want to wear, as I can change different bands for different outfits and wear it anywhere, be it around the house or even at a wedding reception. 

The Alta's center is a small metal and glass unit with a black and white display that shows the time and your fitness metrics. Flicking your wrist towards you wakes up the display. When the display is on, you can tap it to toggle through key fitness metrics. 

The Fitbit app gives you a small amount of customization when it comes to the display; you're able to change the order that panels appear in and you can remove items from the loop entirely. 

By now I think I developed a symbiotic relationship with my Alta, and it pains me that it isn't water resistant. While not being able to take it with me while swimming isn't a tragedy, having to take it off while I shower always makes me anxious I might forget to put it back on. Oh, well... can you tell I suffer from separation anxiety already?

The Fitbit Alta counts steps, distance, calories burnt, activity time, and sleep. But unlike Charge HR, there's no heart-rate monitor. This is one of the main differences between the two and you can easily tell they've been designed for different demographics.

Alta isn't designed for fitness enthusiasts and it won't necessarily give you 100% accurate fitness information. Which is fine by me. I hate going to the gym anyways! But it's a device that can provide a healthy dose of motivation thanks to Fitbit's polished ecosystem. 

Fitbit's smartphone and web apps are clear, easy-to-use, and easy-to-understand. They make setting goals, checking your progress, and checking your history incredibly simple.

My favourite Alta feature, however, is that it offers hourly activity reminders. If I haven't taken at least 250 steps (you can change this in the app) in an hour, the Alta gives me a buzz at 10 minutes before the hour's end and prompts me to get moving. This is the coolest thing ever! A gentle reminder to tell me it's time to move my butt. And the messages are quite funny as well.

The Alta is also able to automatically detect certain types of exercises such as brisk walking, running, cycling, or working out on an elliptical. This means you don't have to even open up the Fitbit app to tell it that you've started exercising. The band already knows.

While Alta isn't trying to be a smartwatch, it still provides basic notification support for text messages, phone calls, and calendar appointments. I would have loved it to have WhatsApp notifications too, but this could still happen with a future update. Fingers crossed!

Fitbit has become famous for its long battery life. So far I was consistently able to get a full five days in between charges. And the best part - fully charging it only takes 30 minutes or so.

Alta is Fitbit's best-designed tracker yet. If you want a basic fitness wearable that doesn't look like a fitness wearable, the Fitbit Alta is just perfect. 

And did I mention just how curious everybody is about it? I now constantly get questions about the little black device I wear around my wrist. Am I an alien from the future? LOL.

Fitbit Charge HR

On the other hand, my husband says that having some data about your daily activity makes it easy to want to better yourself. Can't argue with that. Fitness trackers simplify this process and transform it into a challenge and in the same time into a fun game. That's why he is happy with the Charge HR.

The "HR" stands for Heart Rate. The heart rate monitor allows the Charge HR to garner a more accurate understanding of your physical activity, as it can also calculate the intensity of your workout, not just the distance you've traveled.

A small portion of the band is taken up by a black and white OLED screen. This is used to display the time, your step count, heart rate, calories burnt, distance traveled and how many flights of stairs you've climbed. Yeah, I envy him for the latest. My Alta doesn't count stairs climbed. No matter how much effort I put into it, it only adds more steps to the lot.

However, the Charge HR's display will spend most of its time sleeping. Pressing a small button on the tracker's side springs it to life, and each subsequent press will change the metric displayed.
 

When paired with a smartphone, the Charge HR's screen can also be used to display caller ID, but unfortunately, it can't display any other notifications. Given the small screen, I don't think this is likely to change in the future. 

Fitbit Charge HR seems like it could be waterproof, but unfortunately no luck there either. So don't try to take it with you under the shower or for a swim or you might have to wave it goodbye.

In terms of battery life, my  husband is able to get about four days of usage out of his Charge HR before it goes flat. That's less than I get from my Alta, but it's to be expected, as the Alta doesn't have a heart monitor.

The Fitbit App

When you first get your FitBit out of the box, you have to go through an incredibly simple setup process; it's mostly a case of downloading the app and following a few easy instructions. 

The smartphone app is equally easy to use. Opening it provides an overview of your activity for the day, including steps taken, distance traveled and much more. 

I like how tapping one of these items shows my performance over time and displays the monthly average for any given item. I was over the moon to find out that I can personalize my fitness goals, such as how far I want to walk each day or how many calories I want to burn.

The Fitbit app also has a silent alarm, excellent if you want to wake up before your partner without disturbing him or her. I use it mostly as a silent reminder during the day, for it is so much more discrete than the regular alarm option on my iPhone.

The Fitbit ecosystem has a lot of nice little touches that help keep you motivated. The other day I earned the "March of the Penguins" badge, which means that since I have the FirBit, I've walked the same distance emperor penguins travel every year to their breeding grounds. How cute is that?

In additions to badges and "high scores", you're also able to add friends and compete in various challenges, such as who takes the most steps across the weekend. I particularly love this detail, as next to the hourly reminders, it's what keeps me motivated the most.

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