When April de Jong hits the gym, her Fitbit fitness tracker and cell phone are never far away. The Fitbit device helps de Jong keep track of how many steps she takes and calories she burns and consumes. Knowing these stats has helped her lose 60 pounds! de Jong explains, "I'm being accountable for what I'm eating and I am making the effort to get out there and walk more, exercise a little longer so that I can reach my goal for the day."
The wearable fitness market has exploded. Along with Fitbit -- we found options from Misfit, Jawbone, and Nike at Best Buy. They range in price from 25 to 200 dollars. Rhonda Murphy of Rhonda's Fitness says fitness trackers and free smartphone apps like myfitnesspal and Nike+ are convenient tools. And for a lot of her clients -- they work: "You gotta take 3,500 calories off your body to burn one pound of fat. So you have to make some better choices right off the bat. You can easily say, I worked out today, I deserve a pizza. No, you deserve that slice, not the pizza."
At the new Bar Method Studio in Northwest Fresno, classes are in such high demand, there's often a waitlist. That's why clients like Diane Poss love the studio's smartphone app. She not only can monitor her waitlist position but also pay dues and book classes in advance. "The most convenient part for me is that it adds it right to my Google calendar. I do almost everything. Maybe a little too much, yes I do a lot on my phone."
