When I was a mom of pre-schoolers I considered myself fairly physically active. I made an effort to get to the gym 3-4 times a week and spent the rest of my waking hours carrying babies and chasing toddlers. A year and a half ago, my baby started Kindergarten. I wasn’t a mom who was sniffling over this fact (unlike Celia in my Porter Family novel #2 Meant to Be Mine). I was a mom who was fist-pumping over this fact. I love having quiet hours in which to write, run errands, and clean the house.
Slowly, though, I began to notice that my activity level was dropping a bit too low. I’ve still been hitting the gym as frequently, but all the hours of sitting in front of the computer are starting to catch up with me. So, I bought a Fitbit to motivate me to MOVE more. For those of you unfamiliar with the product, a Fitbit is a watch/exercise tracker. It gives you a daily goal in terms of steps, then it tracks your steps and tells you at the touch of a button how many steps you’ve taken so far that day.
I bought mine in November. Here’s what I posted a week and a half ago on facebook…
Part of my reluctance had to do with the fact that I didn’t want to be told by an electronic device that I was a slug. Part of my reluctance had to do with the fact that my Fitbit monitors my heart rate 24/7. Which seemed creepy. I had an obscure fear that a few days after strapping on the Fitbit I’d receive a phone call from someone at Fitbit headquarters saying, “Mrs. Wade, I’m terribly sorry to inform you of this, but we can tell that you have a serious heart issue. You’ll probably be dead soon.”
Yep, that’s how writers with overactive imaginations think.
So I wavered.
In response to the above facebook post, women weighed in strongly in favor of the Fitbit. You can check out all their comments on my post here. They weighed in so strongly, in fact, that I powered up my Fitbit and have now been wearing it for a week.
My very first morning with my Fitbit, I headed out for a yoga class. To my great indignation, I quickly realized that an hour of yoga had added very few “steps” to my day. Hello?! Have you seen the bodies of women who do a lot of yoga? That’s the kind of fit and strong I’d like to be. Twenty downward dogs in one hour should count for a lot of steps, Fitbit.
It didn’t.
I’m an oldest child, so I naturally want things to be “fair”. And I naturally want Fitbit to give me an A for fitness achievement.
So…
- I got online and did the research and it turns out that there was a way to log the time I spent in yoga class into my Fitbit app. The program added a certain number of ‘calories burned’ to my day and provided me with a graph of my heart rate during class.
- I decreased the daily step goal from 10,000 to 6,000. Take that, Fitbit! I’d rather succeed during the early weeks of my relationship with my Fitbit thanks to a goal I can hit than feel bummed about a goal that’s often out of reach.
- Since it also tracks sleep, and since I also wanted an A in sleep hours, I decreased the sleep goal from 8 to 7 hours.
The above screen shot shows a summary of the most active day I had last week.
Here’s an example of the sort of sleep summary it provides.
This is one particular workout’s summary. I punched a button on the Fitbit when I began and again when I ended, and it provided all this data.
It functions as a watch. But when you want to know how many steps you’ve taken so far that day, it’ll quickly update you.
After one week of Fitbit use I, too, have become a fan. It’s doing just what I’d initially hoped. It’s inspiring me to move more. To walk the dog. To be grateful for the “steps” housework adds to my day. To get outside and breathe during my after-lunch ‘I can’t keep my eyes open’ lull.
Best of all, no one from Fitbit has called to tell me I have a serious heart issue. Yet.
Do any of you use exercise trackers? Did any of your new year’s resolutions pertain to fitness? Do tell!
Becky Wade
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Great post, Becky. As a fellow sit-too-much writer, you’ve got me thinking! May have to try a fit-bit, too. Thanks.
Hi Becky, I got a new Fitbit too! I’m finding it very motivating to get up and get moving more during the day. I also like the silent alarm and being able to check my heart rate during exercise. I started tracking my food, that was a tiresome, but I think it would be a big help if I would bite the bullet and build in that habit too. Overall I really like and want to keep at it.
How cool that you have a new Fitbit, too, Carrie! It really is motivating, isn’t it? It’s the accountability push I needed. Some days I’ll feel like I’ve moved enough, but the Fitbit gives me better insight into whether I really have… or not.
No fit bit for me. My iPhone tells me all I want to know. After knee replacement last year I started water aerobics class in November. One hour three days a week then 30 min of stationary bike riding.
Water aerobics sounds like a great class for you, Gail! Good for you. 🙂
I’ve been using the FitBit for four or five years now. Love it. Keeps me in motion, although not as much as I should be still. And since I have trouble getting the sleep I need, I love that the Charge monitors how I’m resting.
Welcome aboard!
Thanks for the info, Becky. I’ve been thinking of getting one.
Ok, I’m feeling like a slug now. I need one.😉
Glad you took the plunge! I love mine! On a slightly related topic, have you read David Sedaris’s essay at The New Yorker about his Fitbit? It’s hysterical. Fortunately, my OCD/driven nature does NOT extend to my Fitbit like his does. 🙂
I haven’t read that essay! Sounds like I might need to look it up. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Carla.
Last year I intentionally paid for classes at a gym — something I’d never allowed myself to do — but I needed the social time and the variety in my workouts. I also didn’t run a minimarathon in the spring like I usually do, so I knew I needed something to motivate me. This spring our treadmill needs to be replaced, so I’m trying to do videos, but it’s not the same. Eric has a fitbit and loving it, so I think I might need one, too, for all the reasons you listed.
I have had a fitbit for a couple of weeks and I am enjoying it! I got the “one” model because it can clip in my pocket or on my bra. My work does not allow me to wear bracelets, so this was a good fit for me. The messages throughout the day are motivating and I love connecting with family and friends in accomplishing the goals.