I wish I could say I have spent this week doing something impressive, interesting even. But I haven't. I have been held hostage by this device that I wear on my arm.
I realize that I am way late to this technical gadgetry party. I think it's a fine time to note that I am typically late to all things trendy. I can be labeled a lot of things-- and probably last on the list would be trendy. It was nearly 2011 until I purchased my first iPhone when the rest of the free world had long since learned all about it and how cool it was. I never started texting until my cell phone bill was wrecked by enough friends texting me that it was costing me more every month NOT to text than it would have to get on board with everyone else. I didn't own a pair of skinny jeans until at least three years past the time when they were the thing to buy. I'm still not entirely sure that they look good. This little technical marvel is really no different. For years most other people have had one. But I didn't...until about three weeks ago.
It seemed a wise decision. Also, I was jealous that Jason bought himself one, and then when I saw that they came in teal, it sealed the deal for me. We had made the purchase of a treadmill for the house, and both of us have gotten pretty serious about carving out time to exercise. And so, this seemed a logical addition to the program. Because when we get on board, we jump in all the way.
This FitBit calculates the number of steps I take in the course of a day. It also counts distance, number of flights of stairs climbed, heart rate and calories burned. It watches me when I sleep and records the number of times I am awake, and also restless. I have yet to figure out what constitutes being restless, but I apparently do a lot of whatever that is. I have found this sleep situation tracker to be quite depressing, if I'm telling the truth. I'm only grateful that there was no such thing giving me a complete report of the horror of the night when the kids were little and not sleeping.
The goal that the FitBit set for me was to walk at least 10,000 steps every day and climb 10 flights of stairs. These are the two major goals that I can seem to objectify. They have become the source of so much energy that I am almost embarrassed. Meeting the 10,000 step goal is such a goal that I have found myself walking in circles around the bottom floor of the house in order to get to the magic number. I have marched in place to try to see if that will make the steps tick off of the count. (It doesn't...evidently forward motion is required for my little teal friend to mark me down as having taken a step. Such a slave driver.) I have walked on the treadmill for "just one more minute" to see if I can get a few more of those steps crossed off. I even made the girls climb the three flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator to Lauren's ballet class on Wednesday evening because I was behind. I have climbed flights of stairs in the garage to get the 10 flights in (although normally I don't have trouble with the 10 flights). I must be horribly inefficient in the number of trips I am forced to make upstairs to fetch things or children or help with things that need to be done. Either that or there are entirely too many things upstairs that it would be smarter for me to move downstairs.
The crazy part about this whole thing is that there is such a thing as FitBit friends. I wasn't aware of this until I already had three or four. What I have learned about this is that you can spy on your friends' step counts and even can invite them into a competition. I have been part of two of these competitions so far-- one for a Weekend Warrior competition to see who can get the most steps in the course of a weekend, and one for a Workweek Challenge to see who can get the most steps from Monday through Friday. Never have I been more stressed out over watching to see who had walked more over the course of a day. It has made me do stupid things-- like walk on the treadmill right before bed because I see someone gaining on me. Like parking a lot further away than I normally would because, "Hey, at least I'll get some steps in." I am convinced that everyone else is also doing the same thing, because we have ended within 100 steps of each other each night this week. I get the idea that we are all sitting there waiting for the others' step counts to stop moving as proof that they are in bed.
Since I've been doing my working out in the morning hours before leaving for work, I have loved being about 5000 steps ahead of everyone each morning. This all falls apart by 8 am when the rest of the world is awake and moving around. My lead is always short lived, but at least I've had a taste of victory, albeit a short one.
It is utter ridiculousness. The whole thing.
Except it has made me move a lot more than I was before, by giving me something concrete to aim for. I certainly hope I'll see some kind of a result from all of this moving around when I weigh in tomorrow.
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