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I have been thinking about getting a Fit Bit. I currently use a free app on my phone, Map My Walk, to track my intentional exercise and I really like it. But it drains my phone battery and I try to only use WIFI (not data) so there are some delays in syncing the data to My Fitness Pal. Plus since it is free, there are ads and other annoyances.
I know that I currently am averaging about 7+ intentional miles per day of exercise, through walking, biking, and cardio at the gym. If 5 miles is 10,000 steps, I think I am getting about 14,000+ intentional steps per day. I say intentional steps because I do not do any sort of tracking of the unintentional steps that we all take everyday (walking around the house, walking around at work, etc.). It is there that my desire for the Fit Bit comes in: I would like to know how many steps I am getting.
So I would like some suggestions and information from you guys about the fitness trackers that you use. What to do have? Do you like it? How's the battery life? Does it easily sync to your apps?
But I also kind of see a dark side here. You may not be shocked to hear that I am kind of compulsive (YOU?!?! Impossible!), especially about exercise, health and fitness. I don't think it is a real problem in my life (a clinical psychologist once told me that exercise is only an issue if it interferes with one's life in a significant way), but I do think I have the capacity to have it become a problem.
I'm just going to take a moment and list all of the things that I have been compulsive about at various times in my life: food, eating specific foods, counting calories/fat grams/sugar/protein, overeating, not eating, binging, purging, work, exercise, weight loss, relationships, sex, dieting. There may be more, but that's all I can think of now.
Moderation is my new life mantra. All things in moderation: All foods, the right amount of work, the right amount of exercise, the right amount of relaxation, the right amount of family time.
But here is the issue: when your brain is a little broken in this regard, how do you know when you're crossing from moderation to a little too much in the wrong direction? Is it when you buy a Fit Bit tracker to tell you every little step you take so you can enter the number in your daily electronic journal and then post about it on your blog?
2 comments:
Um. what weird comments thus far. Were you spammed twice? I saw you asking yesterday on Facebook about the Fitbit. Heather and I both got ours for Valentines day and we have the HR. I wear mine 24/7 and take it off every 3-4 days to charge while I sleep. It has been a total motivator for me bc getting 10,000 is harder than I thought (on days that I don't do targeted cardio...which is 5 out of 7 days that I DON't do cardio). I love that you can do challenges with friends and you can see each other's progress throughout the day or week and that's fun. That's actually the only time you can see someone elses progress...is when you are in a challenge.
Mine syncs with ease. I have an iphone5S. Heather has an iphone 4 though and the app doesn't work with her old phone, so she has to use my work phone or sync to the computer. I love looling at my sleep patterns as well.
Now...for the OCD part. My bestie can become obsessed with fitness and health related things, as can my sister, and so they both have chosen NOT to get one bc they don't want to be crazy about it. Heather is very competitive, so she no longer participates in the challenges...that way she doesn't have to try "and beat" someone else.
Hope that helps!
I don't use one, but many, many people I know do. I use Nike Plus - and it has the community and tracking that I like. My iPhone tracks my calories burned walking though the LIvestrong app I use for tracking my calories, water intake, weight and completed exercise. But it's not precise as the wrist trackers you're talking about. I don't participate in the competitions much online although I have and they were fun. I like the tracking and it does become obsessive for me sometimes. Good luck!
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