After a family member’s recent serious heart health scare in late October I became obsessed with the idea of buying a FitBit. You see – I’m not fit. And I regularly don’t do much about it. Certainly not very much in the past twelve months when I’ve been working nearly 7 days a week.
I don’t mind walking but pretty much loathe exercise of kinds. Actually I’m not sure if loathe is the right word – more ambivalent. I’m not driven to move, to sweat, to be physically active. If there was a tablet for exercise I’d take it. I’m happy being sedentary.
The logical part of my brain, however, knows I have to move. The recent heart health scare learnings have taught/reminded me that I should be aiming for 30 minutes @ 5 times a week. And it doesn’t have to be intense for heart health benefits either – fast enough that you can’t sing, but not so fast that you can’t have a conversation.
So anyway, I bought the FitBit. I tried to research the different kinds of devices – but that basically did my head it. So one day in late October I walked into Harvey Norman and picked the one that would fit my wrist. It was purple. I bought it.
But now, after over a month of just using the FitBit as an expensive watch, I’m finally – in the first week of January – ‘into it’. Looking at my reports tonight, it turns out I’m four weeks in. The first week I did 1 day of exercise, week 2 I did 2 days of exercise, week 3 – 3, and finally now/tonight in week 4, I’ve managed to do 4 days of exercise.
I can partially thank both fear/logic, and the FitBit, but mostly I thank my sister who has got me up and about in this past week after three weeks of texting me ‘shall we walk today?’ messages.
I’m finally enjoying it – even looking forward to it. I find myself during the day, thinking about the walks I’m going to take in the afternoon. I’m a little obsessed with the FitBit reports. After I’ve finished the post-walk stretch I usually poor over the reports on the phone – comparing them to previous days and weeks. I’ve become so obsessed I had a dream the other night that a group of us were being chased by something or someone – we were running for our lives. And I was running and fearful in the dream, but when I looked down at my wrist and I didn’t have my FitBit on I was slack about the steps I wasn’t counting! Crazy!
I do have to say I’m a little obsessed with FitBit reports. After I’ve finished the post-walk stretch I usually poor over the reports on the phone – comparing them to previous days and weeks. I’ve become so obsessed I had a dream the other night that a group of us were being chased by something or someone – we were running for our lives. And I was running and fearful in the dream, but when I looked down at my wrist and when I realised I didn’t have my FitBit on I was slack about the steps I wasn’t counting! Crazy! Death or steps?!
A close group of friends all in the same boat – not fitness nuts, all well over 40, and all know we need to move more – have started our own private fitness club and we’re going to push each other to move more. Of course, every movement (pun intended) needs a hashtag. So #move2017 it is.
I’ll (fingers crossed) be posting images on Instagram and Twitter with the #move2017 hashtag attached. My first quarter goal is to do the International Women’s Day Fun Run this year. I can’t wait. Feel free to join us for #move2017.
#iliketomoveitmoveit