I find it super motivating!
To get the most out of your device, use the website and app. Add a bunch of friends so you can make a leaderboard and try to climb the ranks. There are two fun buttons you can use with your friends - taunt and cheer. You can also send them a short message. Everyday, I like to taunt the five people below my rank to get them motivated and I cheer the ten above me. As the day goes on it's fun to get messages like "____ has passed you by X steps!" Then I work harder to pass them!
Try to utilize the many functions of the site. Set custom goals and watch your progress through the day. It's very addicting and you will want to see all green by the end of the day! There are lots of functions I think go unnoticed. Make a food plan and log your food. It sounds hard, but there is a database of food. If something isn't there, it takes a second to just put in a title and the calories. Then you can get a good idea of how many calories in versus out you have. You can make a goal to lose a certain amount of pounds and body fat and then select a plan to get there - easy, moderate, or hard. Then it tells you when you are over or under on calories.
I think another thing people forget is to log activities. If you have the One, you simply need to hold down the button the start the timer. Then hold it down again when you are done. Then log into the website and tell it what you did. For example: You could use a heart rate monitor and do a workout. Your monitor would tell you the calories burned. Press the button before and after the workout. It will override your steps so they aren't counted twice. Then just enter the activity name and calories burned! So easy. You don't need a heart rate monitor. If you are using an elliptical for instance, it should tell you calories burned. If you are doing something else, a quick google search will usually yeild an estimate.
If you get premieum, I LOVE the benchmark feature. You can look at where you stand against other people on a bell curve. I also like the trainer feature. It's a twelve week training thing. It looks at where you are and sets a goal for calories to burn every day to help you meet your goals. It adds an extra widget to your dashboard.
I hope you have fun with your fitbit!
