So much motivation in these little devices. My family loves our Fitbits. (Photos: Amazon)
I'll just say it: The Fitbits that changed the fitness lives of my family are on sale for up to 40% off. Before I go on, let me get humble. I never imagined myself a Fitbit person. But after the success I've seen with these devices, I officially take back everything I previously thought about fitness trackers. I'd assumed they were reserved for overly obsessed exercise nuts. No shame in that, but I did not want that kind of pressure from a judgy watch. Then I had a change of heart. Literally. And right now, these handy little fitness trackers on sale just in time for Christmas, with several offering speedy delivery for even non-Prime members.
A health concern rocked me and made me want to keep tabs on my heart rate. Also, I'd been waking up so much in the night, I feared I was missing out on "deep sleep" altogether. I asked a group of folks with similar issues about their fitness trackers. They overwhelmingly recommended Fitbit over the pricier Apple and Garmin models. Specifically, they directed me to the top-selling Fitbit Inspire 2. (Lucky for you, it's on sale right now for $56!)
Around the same time, my 7-year-old was asking for a watch. She loved her friend's fitness tracker, excited by the cute animations activated when fitness goals are met. Disco balls! Fireworks! Hmm... I thought, she needs motivation for those mile-long treks to and from school.
So I snapped up an Inspire 2 and invited my daughter to pick out her fave Fitbit Ace 3 (on sale for $60, from $80).
When our watches arrived the next day (speedy delivery is a perk of being an Amazon Prime member), we were stoked. Setup was easy and fun. The more we high-fived over accomplishments (like racking up lots of steps), the more envious my husband became. He was experiencing full-on FOMO! We began taunting him mercilessly with our cool stats and Fitbit lingo. It was awesome.
My husband and I were about to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary — and I learned somewhere that the "modern" gift for that milestone is a watch. It seemed like a sign. I picked out the Fitbit smartwatch model best suited to tech-savvy people: the Versa 2. It miraculously arrived the same day! (Kudos, Prime!) He was over the moon.
Now we are all moving more and sleeping better. Sure there are other ways to motivate toward health goals, but for our family, the Fitbit has been a game-changer. We love that these babies are swim-proof, too, considering all the hand washing we're doing these days — and the fact that our daughter is part-mermaid. We can even send each other challenges, to keep things interesting. Truly, fun for the whole family.
My slim Fitbit Inspire 2 looks and feels great. I am obsessed with the sleep tracker! It gently reminds me to start thinking about sleep at 10 p.m. (yeah, right). In the morning, it tells me the quality of my slumber — how much time I've spent in light, deep and REM sleep and provides a very helpful "Sleep Score." This has led me to improve my sleep hygiene, making me a happier human.
The Inspire 2 also opened my eyes to how little I was moving on heavy workdays. The nudge was needed. I haven't yet explored the 20 fitness modes, and I know I won't use the calorie counter or water consumption features. But I do love seeing how many miles I've walked. It especially delights me when a celebration pops up as I'm carrying a bowl of ice cream to the couch.
This is all more than I could ever need, but if you're a real fitness buff (or wish to be), you'll be excited by the free yearlong Premium trial, which unlocks so many more features — loads of workouts and detailed personalized sleep and nutrition plans. If the user continues Premium service after a year, the app will begin charging $10 a month.
I checked the reviews before purchasing and was impressed by the sheer number of five-star ratings (now over 51,000) and the happy reviews.
"It's functioning flawlessly," said one fan. "It was a great price, is very easy to use, and really is a good little motivator. I love the gentle alarms, the relax exercises, and the little reminders to drink water and exercise. The sleep tracking is really fascinating and a personal goal of mine to work on, this is a major help to me in that regard. I love that it is swim-safe as well, since I'm big on swimming.... It is a small piece of plastic that I find quite incredible at what it is capable of doing for being so tiny, and am amazed at all of the extras in this!"
A solid, modern smartwatch, the Fitbit Versa 2, is awesome for tech-minded folks, like my husband. It features fitness tracking, music streaming and on-board music storage, contactless payments, voice-activated support (Alexa) and so much more.
His earbuds connect directly to his watch, which allows him to listen to Spotify music and podcasts phone-free. He's pretty blown away by how much mileage he gets while running around doing tech support at work. The watch even shows blood oxygen saturation! The calm breathing exercises serve him well too.
The latest version, Fitbit Versa 3 (on sale for $155, from $230), has a longer battery life and perhaps a neater interface, but I didn't see a really good reason to pay more for that. The 2 is great!
Amazon customers have given Fitbit Versa 2 more than 116,000 five-star ratings (whoa!), and it's clear from their comments that they are loving it.
"I'm addicted!" wrote one fan. "I couldn't decide between Fitbit and an Apple Watch, so I ended up getting both to see which one I liked better. Fitbit took the cake on this one."
Another Versa 2 lover said: "This is awesome. I love the accuracy of the sleep tracker, step counter, and heart rate monitor! As a former Charge 2 user, this thing is loaded with extra "bells and whistles," like Alexa built-in (SUPER CONVENIENT), ability to control Spotify/Pandora, cuts out the "middle man" i.e, your phone, when it comes to tracking water in-take, female calendar, as you can log all this info right from your wrist."
OK, now I'm coveting my husband's watch. Payback is hell.
"It's no secret that Fitbits are great, but this one in particular has worked very well for me. I bought this about 2 months ago and the most surprising thing I have found out about it is its sleep tracking. I was surprised at how accurate this device was from knowing when I woke up in the middle of the night to knowing almost exactly what time I went to bed and woke up. This device along, with the app, have helped me keep track of my diet and daily habits as well as lose 15 pounds which is great for me," raved one happy customer.
One customer said, "I love everything about my Fitbit. Tracking our sleep, heart rate, steps & swimming laps is fun and I feel competitive with myself! I love doing better or more with all my physical activities. I live with Chronic pain, anxiety, depression & PTSD. Doing this is helping me rise above it all!!"
"I am petite and wanted a small, thinner fitbit and band for my wrist. This is perfect! I absolutely love it. The only downsize I have found is that the battery only lasts approximately 5 days," said one shopper.
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
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