Recently, the company that my husband works for, initiated a program to promote healthy living. Through this program, there are rewards and benefits for company employees, and their spouses, and it all starts with an activity tracker.
I had seen them before, but thought that they were too expensive or that I’d forget to wear it… either way, it was money that I figured would be wasted. I was sooo wrong.
Now, I have to admit that we did get good deals on our activity trackers because it was part of a company initiative (thank you, Morton Salt for promoting healthy living!)—so you may want to ask your employer if they offer any discounts for activity trackers or have programs to promote a healthy lifestyle.
But even if your employer doesn’t offer any programs or discounts, it would definitely be worth it to invest in one. Something crazy happened when that little device arrived. I found myself actually wanting to wear it to see how many steps I took during the day, and how many miles that came to be. But it became more than that too. I noticed that when I would look at it throughout the day and see a low number of steps, it motivated me to go for a jog, or a walk, or just take the kids outside to play. It motivated me to move. Perhaps motivated isn’t quite the right word though because sometimes when I look at it, it almost feels like this inanimate object was judging me… “Should you really be sitting here now drinking your coffee? You should be exercising.” Either way, it has prompted me to be more active.
But sometimes before I go for a jog, I do need to have a little bit of caffeine motivation….
If you are like me, and you sit a computer for a good portion of your day, then you aren’t burning very many calories, and gaining weight is going to happen much quicker than if you are active and burning more calories.
The goal is 7000 steps per day, which is about 3.5 miles; although 10,000 steps, or approximately 5 miles per day is optimum. So taking an evening walk with my boys is a great way to have a little bit of special time with them and get in a bit of exercise.
You can get an activity tracker that you wear like a watch, like this one: Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, shown in Black:
Of course, there are a variety of colors to choose from, if you want something more fashionable than black:
Or you could opt for one that you put in your pocket or clip on over the waistband of your pants, like this one: Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker.
The Charcoal one is the least expensive; you can buy it for only $48.99. Of course, there are other others, but those cost a bit more. As you can see, I have a basic one… and that is my #MoneySavvy tip: all you need to do is track your activity and the basic black goes with everything anyways, right? So save a few bucks and skip the color choice.
Many of these activity trackers work with apps that can be downloaded on your smartphone, so you can track your progress.
*This article does contain affiliate links, so if you choose to purchase through here, I will make a commission, although it does not increase the cost to you, the consumer. However, I highly recommend that you get an activity tracker whether you purchase through here or elsewhere.
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