Being so consumed with the on-goings of a student life, it can be hard to find time to focus on general fitness and health. It’s just too easy to pick up that treat from the cafe you happen to be walking past and what’s worse is that we call it a treat when really it’s becoming more of a habit. You’re busy though, you don’t have time to go home and conjure up a salad. That would be difficult, but what isn’t difficult is staying one step ahead – literally. This is where the Vivofit band by Garmin comes in.

For the past month this band has been my saviour in terms of staying informed about my own general fitness. I don’t have time to count each step I take or every calorie I intake, but Vivofit does.

With a single three second hold on the Vivofit and a quick refresh on my iPhone Connect app, all my movements, sleeping patterns, calories and heart rate are at my finger tips.

And if you forget to sync it? No problem. The Vivofit can remember up to three weeks of activity – I couldn’t tell you what I had for lunch yesterday, let alone three weeks ago!

It’s light weight and sleek design is subtle on the eye and to wear. That’s what I love about Vivofit, you hardly feel like it’s on, so it doesn’t get in the way of what you’re doing.

It’s also water proof so if you get caught in the rain or want to take it with you on your morning swim, you can!

I do have one critique though. The screen on the band lacks any backlighting which is obviously a bit annoying if you have to turn on a light every time you want to see the bands display in the dark. But it redeems itself with all of its other features.

It has a red bar that is displayed along the top of the screen that indicates a period of inactivity. The first indicator is one long bar which tells you that you have been inactive for an hour and then it builds in 15 minute increments, so it tries to keep you active no matter how stubborn you might be. I currently have a love/hate relationship with this red bar but I know it means well.

It will track every step you take and every hour of sleep you have for over a year on a single battery. We’ve all had pedometers before, but we all know we could give them a sneaky shake

if the number wasn’t to our liking. Not with the Vivofit – trust me I’ve tried, it seems to be extremely accurate. There’s also a novelty kind of aspect to reviewing your sleep.

The app displays information sent from the band which tracked periods of movement and restful sleep during the night.

Another awesome feature that the app includes, is the ability to link it with other apps such as myfitnesspal to extend the amount of information – if there wasn’t enough already.

Priced at $150, I would recommend looking into one if you haven’t already!