If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you’ve probably noticed my affinity for counting my steps. For the last month or so, I’ve been test-driving the new Fitbit Alta fitness watch and if I had to sum it up in two words, it would be ADDICTIVELY AWESOME. Not only are the new Fitbit Alta and Fitbit Blaze models are sleek and stylish, they offer a wealth of knowledge about your activity levels, helping you make better choices every day. Thanks to Alta, I’ve stepped up my walking game – if walking is an option, I do it. I’ve been walking from the subway instead of taking the bus, taking the stairs instead of the escalator, taking the longer route home, instead of the more efficient way. My daily goal is to hit 10,000 recommended steps, and even though some days I fail, most days I go above and beyond. Fitbit actually made me realize just how little I move when I work from home. Some days I only hit 600 steps by the time it’s 5pm – basically from my couch to the kitchen and back. Being aware of those low activity days is important, because now I try to make up for them by taking an extra-long walk at the end of the day.

Another Fitbit feature that I am obsessed with is the sleep tracker. I get tired a lot, and for the longest time I was sure that I was getting at least 8 hours of sleep, blaming my tiredness on other factors. But guess what, after wearing the tracker for over a month, I now know that I rarely get 8 or more hours of sleep. Most days I am lucky to get 7 hours! The sleep tracker tells you the quality of sleep – distinguishing between sleep, restlessness and being fully awake. Seeing all of those “toss and turn” minutes is a pretty eye-opening revelation, helping me track down the triggers that may be causing those bouts of sleeplessness as well as reminding me to go to bed earlier.

On top of counting your steps, and analyzing the quality of your sleep, Fitbit Alta also tells you how many calories you burn, tracks exercise, distance walked, and total active minutes, reminds you to take your 250 steps every hour with a little buzz to the wrist, as well as shows your incoming text messages and calls. If you’re diligent enough to keep a food diary, you can do it on the Fitbit app too.

I never knew just how much Fitbit can do, and can truly say that I’m obsessed with my Fitbit Alta. With a variety of stylish bands – from metal to leather, there’s no reason to ever remove that stylish gadget from your wrist (other than to charge or shower). I wear mine to bed, to the gym, to work…every step I take, Fitbit’s watching me…ok that sounded kinda sinister, but you get the point.

So tell me, do you use Fitbit? And if not, WHY NOT?! Share in the comments.

Photo Credits: 2, 3 – George Pimentel Photography