I recently talked about running my first half-marathon at the Flying Pig. I had fun doing it and I’ll think about if I want to do it again however it marks the end of an era. The half-marathon was my FitBit’s swan song. I am officially retiring my FitBit and it feels really weird; I have “phantom device” syndrome.
A few years ago I bought an Apple Watch but I kept using my FitBit because it had so much of my walking/running data that I didn’t want to give it up. Essentially I had two fitness devices and it was time for one to go.
My Fitness Journey
In January 2013 my fitness journey began when I bought my first FitBit. I was 285 pounds and I was taking prescription-strength painkillers for my knees. We also wanted to start having children and getting on the floor (and up off the floor) wasn’t easy given the state of my knees.
I began walking. A block or two turned into a mile or two and the weight started coming off. As the weight came off my walking pace increased. I also started walking 5Ks.
As my walking pace increased I began to wonder if I could run. Initially I began alternating between running a block and walking a block. This continued until I was running 5Ks, 10Ks, 10 miles, and ultimately a half-marathon. In the process, I lost 60 pounds and stopped taking any form of painkiller for my knees. In fact, my knees feel great now.
So Why Retire the FitBit?
As I said earlier, I essentially have two fitness devices, and keeping both is unnecessary. This was not a decision I made easily. I spent several months researching the differences between the newest FitBit devices and the Apple Watch. I researched fitness apps, battery life, cost, etc, and considered the pros and cons of both.
Ultimately it came down to Google. Since Google purchased FitBit the production of new FitBit devices has declined. A lot. It’s clear Google is trying to migrate FitBit owners to use their Pixel watches instead. If I’m being honest, I do not like the look of the Pixel watches.
FitBit has literally changed my life and I will be forever grateful. However, given the product trajectory of the actual FitBit device and its impending demise, I made the hard decision to retire it. The Apple Watch provides too much additional functionality, given that I also have an iPhone, to warrant giving it up.
Thank you FitBit. MTFBWY.
/cheers