I am not terribly “tech-saavy”. I can navigate the internet, use my smartphone, and write this blog. Other than that, I’m pretty much groping in the dark. I was groping in the dark when I started this blog, too, but that’s beside the point.

So when I decide to purchase and utilize a new piece of technology, my needs are simple. It must perform its function, be user-friendly, and if it looks nice too, well, that’s a plus.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know I started to count calories a few months ago. I’m not dieting, I’m just staying aware of what I stuff into my mouth. It was working great for about a month. I lost five pounds. And then, I stopped losing. I’ve been playing ping-pong with the same pound for about three weeks now.

I blame the key lime pie.

The answer had to lie in my activity level. I am a nanny, so I am on my feet a good portion of the day, and I bicep-curl babies all day. But how much was I really doing? To find out, I needed a pedometer.

Enter: The Fitbit. There are quite a few whole-body health meters out there, but they all sounded confusing, and had at least a $150 price tag attached.

The fitbit measures steps taken, calories burned, stairs climbed, miles traveled, and your activity level, all in one device about the size of a rubber eraser.

Plus, it saves this data for up to seven days. It syncs wirelessly to your computer as long as the base station is plugged in. Your data is displayed on their webpage, where you can also log meals and track your weight. The website is nice and streamlined, and has an android app that also syncs with it. It tracks your water consumption as well, which I love.

You can also track your sleep (when you fell asleep, how often you woke up, etc.) when you wear it on the provided wristband. The Renaissance Man now thinks I’m crazy, by the way. Weird looks from spouses is just part of the fitbit, I suppose.

The flower icon grows taller as your activity level increases. This is for the more visual people; I prefer the hard data, but the flower is fun.

Bottom line: This is a pedometer on crack. It does have a $99 price tag, but it does a lot. Plus, there are devices out there that do less for more money. I have learned that I am not as active as I thought. This knowledge has led me to do crazy things, like walk laps around my coffee table, or climb up the stairs at work way more than I need to.

The fitbit is addicting. It is small and elegant, with enough gimmicks to keep me entertained and motivated. Which is really what I need. My favorite gimmick: if you put the fitbit down for a minute, then pick it back up, it says something on its little screen (“love ya” and “hold me” have been my favorites so far).

The fitbit’s website is clear and comprehensive. My only complaint with the website is their food database. It’s a bit light. But you can enter foods manually, and the website syncs with other calorie counting websites (like Loseit! and Myfittnesspal) so you can share food from those sites to your fitbit dashboard.

I wear mine every day, all day, and have worn it at night twice. It has been motivating me to move more, to get more steps, and burn more calories.

If you need the motivation, or are looking to get more active, I highly recommend this little gadget.

Plus, my fitbit just said “howdy.”

The Wife