The Fitbug Orb. The 24/7 Personal Trainer.

I recently told you that I was starting both a new diet and a new fitness regime. Well, the fitness programme comes courtesy of the Fitbug Orb. A brand new and very clever small ball of plastic. Having previously review the Fitbug Air (which I felt was OK), I was interested to see what was different about the Fitbug Orb. This little ball of cleverness provides the following key features:

• Tracks steps, aerobic steps/time, distance, calories burned and speed
• Tracks your sleeping patterns
• Syncs with your phone through a multiple of sync options using Bluetooth Smart Technology
• Orb comes with your own digital coach called KiK. This helps set, track and manage personalised weekly nutritional and activity goals
• Multiple wear options including a wristband, belt hook, lanyard or underwear clip
• Three colour options – white, pink and black (I opted for the funky pink colour!)
• Battery lasts for up to six months so no need for charging up

Getting started is really easy. Once you have put the battery into the back of the Orb (I suggest using a coin to undo the back) then you can download the Fitbug app onto your smartphone and sync it up. It is currently compatible with iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini and iPod touch 5 as well as Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S4 mini and Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. You then need to visit the Fitbug website to register your account, input your current weight and lay out what you are trying to achieve whether it is to lose weight or get fit and healthy.

The first thing that attracted me was the size. It is about the size of a 50p pence piece and can be worn in a number of versatile ways.

You hardly know it’s there!

The other thing that I really loved is that it not only measures your activity during the day, but also at night! (oo-err missus!). What it does is track your sleep pattern. By pressing the button on the Orb 3 times it puts it on sleep mode. I loved that it tells me how long it took me to get to sleep and how many times I wake up during the night as well as the percentage of quality of my sleep. The only issue I have experienced on this so far is the fact that the Orb switches back to daytime mode when taking 50 steps – and it did just this when I needed the loo the other night. It means I have to remember to turn it back onto sleep mode!

The Fitbug Orb initially tells you to monitor your normal activity for the first week, which is currently what I am doing as I only put it on last Sunday evening. Once the week is up then KiK, my digital coach will be able to leap into action, sending me details of how to improve my fitness (I will share the goals on my Quest for Health and Fitness post next week). In addition – and this is totally brilliant – as I am following Diet Chef at the moment, I am able to log in exactly what I have eaten to my Dashboard and it totals up the calories consumed for me! My health and fitness are working perfectly alongside each other!

This is the activity I have tallied up for the second full day of wearing it:

It’s amazing what you achieve when you don’t even know you are doing it! I am really interested to see what targets my own 24/7 personal trainer comes up with.

The Fitbug Orb retails at £49.95 and is the most affordable tracker on the market. To find out more then visit the Fitbug website.

Disclaimer: I was given a Fitbug Orb for the purpose of this review, however all words and opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

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