Tag Archives: Active

Fitbit Changes “Active” Minutes

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Fitbit has recently announced some changes to the way they count user’s active minutes.

Before if at any time you picked up your pace Fitbit would count that increase in effort as “Active” minutes, and simply sum up those minutes each day. However, in compliance with suggestions by the American Heart Association, Fitbit will only count active minutes after 10 minutes of continuous motion. This change will not affect your step count.

As a result, you may find that your Fitbit active minutes will be lower for the foreseeable future.

For more details, read the blog post Fitbit Extends Minimum Time Frame for Active Minutes.

Holiday Survival Guide: The 12 (Healthy) Days of Christmas

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As Thanksgiving passes and we plunge deeper into the holiday season, it becomes more and more difficult to lead a healthy lifestyle. Just because Mr. Claus has thrown up the white flag in the battle of the bulge does not mean you have to follow suit. Yes, tis season for parties that offer plenty of festive food and some heavy-duty Holiday *ahem* spirits, but if you follow the Fitdigits Holiday Survival guide you can make it through the sleigh bell season without adding a “winter coat”. Without further ado, the 12 (healthy) Days of Christmas:

Day 1: December 14. Plan ahead. If you know that you will be going to a party or having an extravagant meal, skip the booze and eat extra healthy in the week leading up to the event. This is called having a “cheat” day, and is recommended by many health experts for those trying to lose weight

Day 2: December 15. Exercise. It is easy to look at dreary weather and want to curl up by the fire, but nobody said staying healthy would be easy! Try out some interesting indoor workouts if mother nature keeps you indoors

Day 3: December 16. Stay Hydrated. Making sure you drink enough water is more than a holiday tip, it is a way of life. The benefits of staying hydrated are too extensive to list, but on the most basic level it will make hangovers after a night of too much eggnog that much easier. A good way to make sure you are guzzling down enough H2O is to have a 32 oz water jug and carry it with you at all times. Whenever it is empty, immediately refill it. A good test to see if you are hydrated properly: your urine should be clear or only have a slight yellow tint

Day 4: December 17. Swap Sugar for Stevia. When you are baking Christmas cookies for Kris Kringle and Co., ditch artificial sweetener and sugar for Stevia. Stevia is an all-natural sugar substitute with no calories, carbs, or glycemic index. Indulge yourself without the guilt with a great recipe for not Sugar Cookies, but Stevia Cookies

Day 5: December 18. Drink Green Tea. When the weather outside is frightful, a cup of hot cocoa may sound delightful, but save those calories for your Christmas Ham! Instead, try drinking a hot cup of green tea. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants and recent studies show that green tea can help battle cancer, reduce your risk of coronary disease, and battle obesity. Not only can caffeine help speed up your metabolism, but properties found in green tea can also lower your blood pressure and cholesterol

Day 6: December 19. Try A Winter Sport. Nothing is more apropos for the Holiday season than participating in a winter sport, and it is a perfect way to burn calories and have a great time. Even if you do not live near a mountain or have the necessary funds to go skiing or snowboarding, you can probably find a local Ice Skating Rink and channel your inner Apolo Ohno!

Day 7: December 20. Focus on Family and Friends, not Food. Often people make holiday plans around eating, be it going out to dinner or making a big meal. Instead, emphasize activities that take advantage of the time you get to spend with the people you love. Try out some fun games such as Catch Phrase or Apples to Apples, or stretch out the vocal cords with some Christmas Caroling! Remember, food is merely a way to fuel your body, not an activity.

Day 8: December 21: Take Your Vitamins. If you are planning on having a long night of drinking, plan ahead and take some vitamins. Alcohol depletes your body of essential nutrients you need to function (hence hangovers). Make sure to at least take a B-Complex both before and after drinking, and if vitamins are not your style, try FRS

Day 9: December 22. Give Healthy Stocking Stuffers. Usually stocking stuffers consist of chocolate and candy canes. Try to encourage a healthy lifestyle with your stocking stuffers. Instead of sweets, try giving a jump rope, some workout gear, or better yet a Fitdigits Cardio Bundle!

Day 10: December 23: Try Not to Stress Out. The Holidays can be a stressful time. Family and friends coming from out of town, big meals to cook, presents to buy, and the pressure to live up to the idealized version of Christmas we see in the media can make even the most laid back person tighten up. Stress can lead to heart disease, binge eating, and weight gain, so take a deep breath. The holidays should be a fun and happy time. Try some tips on how to manage stress during the holidays

Day 11: December 24: Check Out Some Christmas Lights. The Holidays offer plenty of opportunities to get moving. A great way to be active and feel the Holiday cheer is to go on a walking tour of an area that specializes in extravagant Christmas decorations. Make it a Christmas Eve tradition!

Day 12: December 25: Have a Merry Christmas! If you have been following all of our health and fitness tips, you deserve a day off. That does not mean you should waste all of the hard work you have done and eat until you feel sick, but don’t count calories. Enjoy your family, friends, and the feeling that comes with being fit and staying healthy!

Using Fitdigits and Fitbit to Lose Weight and Get Healthy

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Testimonial by Fitdigits user Dave H.

I’ve always enjoyed riding my bicycle, and have done so off and on for years. But I was never in really good shape. I wasn’t’ able to ride very fast and I never really knew how to get better at it without spending a lot of money on a trainer or classes. Especially during the winter, it was hard to keep up with biking. Plus, most of my day is spent sitting in front of a computer, since I work in IT. Not a good combination, for sure. As I’ve gotten older, my blood pressure has been slowly going up and my gut has been getting bigger, so finally, I decided that it was time to do something about it.

I had an older Garmin unit, but was in need of something better so started checking out the iPhone apps. Around Christmas of 2011, I found Fitdigits, and being a geek, thought it looked pretty cool. I didn’t want to have to use multiple devices while riding, and Fitdigits allowed me to get down to just one. Just my iPhone, for tracking all my stats and my route; listen to my own music mixes, and get calls and email without needing to stop and pull out some other device. It’s all there in one.

Customizing the screens to see the stats I want while riding and sync it all so I can access it online is another thing I love about it. And it worked with all the Garmin gear I already had, so no need to get more equipment or pay $400-500 for a new Garmin unit. I can also easily go from riding indoors with my bike stand, to outdoors on the road, and it’s still all in one place. How awesome is all of that?

Fitbit and Fitdigits work together seamlessly at My Fitdigits to show calories burned, distance and total activity.

Pretty quickly, I found out about the ability to link with Fitbit and so my wife and I decided to buy one for each other for Valentines Day. It’s been a permanent part of our daily lives ever since. Now, after only a few months of using these, my blood pressure has gotten better, my gut has shrunk, I feel better and look a lot better and my biking stamina, speed and strength are all improving. We also use the Withings scale and blood pressure monitor and are able to track everything in one place at My Fitdigits.

My wife and I both love using it and the combination of Fitdigits with Fitbit has been amazing, helping us to be more aware of how much activity we can get into our day just by taking the stairs or walking a bit more, for example. And I’ve gotten my wife into biking, now too, so we are both using Fitdigits to track it all. The combination of using Fitbit for daily activity and Fitdigits for my workouts has helped me burn more calories and makes it easier to reach my goals.

Without a doubt, getting the Fitdigits app has helped both my wife and I take a huge step forward in improving our lives and our health. We watch what we eat, exercise more and are much happier overall. Thanks for developing this app! We both love it!

I'm using Fitdigits Connect, Garmin Heart Strap, Fitbit, Withings Body Scale and Blood Pressure Monitor.