Not all of us want to totally unplug from our fitness routine when we travel. Especially those of us keen to indulge in the delicacies of our destination, while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
That’s where a Fitbit comes in handy. It’s a personal electronic device that syncs with an app on your phone and tracks everything from your heart rate to the calories you consume to the distances you walk, run or bike every day.
Most models are designed to wear on your wrist, much like a wrist watch, and come in a wide range of styles and colors.
Here’s an outline of what you should know when traveling with your Fitbit.
BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
The good news is it is safe to take your Fitbit through airport security – the scanning machine will not damage your device. But check with your airline to make sure you can use it inflight. Fitbits use low-energy Bluetooth®, considered safe for most airlines.
INFLIGHT
To charge your device while flying, you’ll need to plug your charging cable into a laptop or another low-energy charger. You’ll find most models hold up to a week’s worth of personal data, so you shouldn’t lose any information while flying.
TRAVELING BETWEEN TIME ZONES
Traveling between time zones can mess with the accuracy of your information. Changing the app settings on your phone will help avoid any data loss.
For iOS phone users:
- go to the Fitbit app
- select ‘account’, then ‘advanced settings’
- turn off ‘automatically set time zones’
- next, select ‘country’
- select the country of your choice (to make sure the language of your app doesn’t change).
For Android phone users:
- go the Fitbit app
- select ‘set automatically’
- turn off ‘time zone’ and ‘country’ options.
ON VACATION
Fitbits are lightweight and comfortable to use in any country. If you’re vacationing at the beach or somewhere warm and tropical, remember to remove your device before applying bug spray or sunscreen – chemicals may cause the band to deteriorate.