Sunday ended the first month wearing my new Fitbit watch/fitness tracker. And after one month, here are my thoughts...
- I did NOT need another thing to obsess over. It has so many options (steps, miles, floors, calories, hours sleeping, restlessness), and it has kind of made me concerned over things that I've never been concerned over. I take it off when I shower, and if I forget to put it back on the whole day's tracking (in my mind) is ruined because it's no longer accurate. So in order to counteract the obsessiveness, I've taken to not wearing it on the weekends. During the week, my routine is pretty established so even if it's not on my wrist right after my shower, it's on before I leave the house because I always leave the house with a watch. The weekends are an entirely different story routine-wise. Leaving it off those two days gives my brain a break from checking it every few minutes.
- 10,000 steps is supposedly the goal for a healthy lifestyle. I spent the first month with it tracking that I was hitting 10,000 each day, but what I found was that I was hitting 9,000+ steps before even getting home from work. A few days last month, the 10,000 "vibration" went off while walking to my car in the school parking lot. There's walking across the room to work with a group, there's walking to students to answer a question, there's walking around the room doing a lesson, there's walking to the office and restroom during my breaks, but there's also a lot of stopping in between. Clearly, teaching is a very active job, but what I found from the tracking is that very little of those steps are continuous, and not getting my heart rate up, which is the point. So I've upped the goal to 15,000, which has been much more difficult to achieve.
- With that being said, being able to see those steps and wanting to reach that goal, I often find myself just shy of it right before going to bed. So rather than let it slide for the night, I walk around my house and up and down the stairs until it clicks over to 15,000. Part of me feels like it's ridiculous, on the other hand maybe it's not.
Ha! I can so relate to the obsessing thing!
ReplyDeleteSeveral of my family members have fitbits and I was encouraged to join in the fun. I chose not to in great part because I knew I WOULD obsess. Besides, I used a pedometer a few years back and there's no doubt I get 10,000 steps in each day. And for awhile, I used an app on my phone to track some of the other.
I don't blame you or taking the weekends off. :)
Yah, I have a pedometer but haven't used it in years because it just wasn't part of the routine, like a watch is. I do kind of feel like, "Ok, if I do the same things I did yesterday, I will hit the goal, so do I need the watch to track it each day? In some respects, it is motivational, but in others I'm not sure I need it every day. I miss wearing my pretty, sparkly watch. :)
DeleteIs this a thing you feel you need ?. I thought you walked the -jogged the dog- and then spent you work days chasing little ones.
ReplyDeleteHave you put on a bit of hard to shift padding ?. I have, I have a fricking belly that just won't go no matter what I do. It's not bad healthwise but on my frame it's noticeable.
I got myself a chin-up bar to see if that would do it. But as you say, if it doesn't fit to the day you don't use it other than a place to festoon shirts for drying/airing.
According to the numbers you are doing almost 5 miles at work, monday to friday, and likely as many on the weekend.
Could you clip the pedometer to a bra strap. Or would that look stupid. But I couldn't think of anything you use everyday. But isn't there an app on the phone. But I suppose that depends on you schlepping it, which I don't, not in the house anyway.
For what it's worth though. Exercise before bed doesn't help. It only disturbes ones sleep pattern. And you burn as many calories in ones sleep using the brain than walking a few miles before bed.
And that a point too. And in no way saying that all those guys and chicks in your town would be better engaged learning chess to pounding out their frustration on a mill in the early hours. But they would. Forcing the brain to burn calories is the best way to lose fat. I really must put my money where my mouth is :-D.
That's the thing I'm trying to figure out. Do I need it during the week? Part of me feels like it is good to stay aware (even though it's pretty much the same data each day), while the other part wonders if it's just feeding into my obsessive nature. :) In fact, I might be better off wearing it on the weekends as a reminder of what I'm doing on those days, since they tend to be less active on a whole. Sometimes I can go settle into that office and spend the day ART-ing without getting up once.
DeleteThe watch is definitely the most convenient compared to a pedometer or the phone - if I had to carry that phone around with me all the time the phone would go missing after the first day.
And yes, I was quite surprised on how many calories sleep burns!! If the watch is right anyways. I LOVE to sleep! I could do that all day. :)
I downloaded the app because I was curious after reading this. I never really looked into how far I walked in a day.
ReplyDeleteIn bed now and exhausted but can't find sleep. Dog snoring beside me. #jealous #pissedoff.
Vince !
Dogs can sleep anywhere! I get jealous of Rigby when the alarm goes off in the morning and she gets to keep sleeping! ;). I hope you found your zzzzs quickly!
DeleteYah, the info is interesting the first few days, even weeks just to see what's being calculated. After that, well that remains to be seen.
Eventually the lights went out.
DeleteI don't know what's going on. I'm tired and ready for bed and then once I hit the pillow I'm like a blooming electric spark. Normally I'd simply watch a few youtubers, but last night I was exhausted for I simply drove up and down and only had the moments to deliver and have a quick espresso. I was a bit amazed too for it was €2.20, .50-70 less than it is down here. Be like the Getty charging less than some poodunk Kaffe Jims in Bakersfield. Am I using poodunk correctly ?.
Ha, yes podunk is a hole-in-the-wall place. It is interesting about the cheaper price, maybe it's due to volume?
DeleteYou've probably had your mind on this photo, frame, and judging. It may not seem like it, but it could be making you restless when you sleep.
Yeah, I was expecting €5 at least. Did I tell you the title of the image, Emigration. And I just realised at a distance it looks like blood. Now that I didn't put in consciously, (chuckle).
DeleteYa know it wasn't until recently that I knew there were two different forms of this word - immigration and emigration. While your country has had quite a bit of emigration, mine has had little compared to its immigration.
DeleteYes, the view of your photo looks like streaks of red. I'm almost sure it doesn't up close though. :)