I was in the market for a fitness tracker for over a year and like most of my technical purchases, I procrastinated the decision for fear of wasting money on a bad choice or the device becoming quickly stale due to constantly evolving technology (remember the Best Buy commercial?) not to mention my general impatience with the learning curve of cumbersome and unintuitive products.

I wanted a fitness tracker for basic functions, primarily to track my running time, speed and distance during outdoor runs as I ramp up training for a marathon in a few months. After loads of research and analysis paralysis I finally decided on the Fitbit Flex and I haven’t looked back. The Fitbit Flex ticked all of the boxes for tracking my runs and then some including calorie and water intake, exercise and sleep tracking in an app that was intuitive and easy to setup and use. Total set up time was under 30 minutes and the cost was a very reasonable £64.99 (or approximately $100).

Friends have warned me that the Fitbit app is addictive as I can now attest. I’ve always maintained a general awareness of the calories and nutrition content of the foods that I eat but the app has pushed me into borderline obsession with documenting and tracking my food and water consumption. So far it hasn’t really influenced my food choices which are mostly healthy. I added friends in the app and I feel encouraged by their challenges and my own as I push beyond my own perceived limits. The very next day after purchasing the Fitbit Flex I ran 10 miles, my longest run to date and I’m excited to use it as I set and conquer new goals.