Fitbit Challenges

Well folks, I, too, can easily get caught up in this new modern technology. I'm not good at keeping up with many of the new media fluff, electronics, cell phones and what-have-you-isms but when our very fit friends showed us their wrist Fitbits, I wanted one. Just to note......they were fit before they bought them so I wasn't fooled there.

My Fitbit

I wanted it for a different reason than what it ended up I did. Wha??? I was basically curious how much sleep I was getting in a night and even more so how much sleep hubby-dearest was getting. Bill can drop off to sleep for an easy 20 minutes yet when he wakes up can tell me "oh, I just dozed for a couple of minutes". I know he doesn't get (nor need, obviously) the same number of hours that I get in a day but at the same time I knew he got more than he thinks he does. A Fitbit would prove or dispute that. It would be interesting to know either way.

So, I started searching Best Buys and Future Shops to see what the prices were, chatted with Kathy about what kind to get and began to save my fun money. Lo and behold, before too many wishful days had passed, a lady on our work Swap Shop was selling one at a great price. It was only a couple of months old and she had decided she didn't like it as much as she thought she would. Yay for me!

Get that little band on my wrist, sync it with my phone app and away we go! The first night I slept, as usual, like a baby and with 8 hours my goal, I have been reaching around the 96% mark every night. I let Bill wear it one night and as we expected, his goal of 6 hours wasn't too far off what we suspected. Between 5 and 6 hours sleep, hmm, how he survives on that I'll never know but his EverReady batteries just keep on ticking. It also explains how he can drop off so quickly at the end of a day.

So, the interest grew and I was enjoying my new toy. Bill naturally got interested and was curious as well about his sleep patterns, his heart beat and distance travelled in a day. Within 2 weeks he had one of his own. Our friends, upon realizing, we had one sent us a weekly step challenge. That was the first time we really started paying attention to how any steps we walked in a day. The race was on!!
                                                      


Now mind you, this couple work out every day, walk and bike on the weekends so I knew I'd never have a hope in you know what to beat them but I could sure die trying! What great encouragement it was for both of us. We don't walk during the day, other than at our job and my job is 50% on my butt. I was lucky to be getting 5,000 steps in in a day with a worldwide recommendation of 10,000. Bill was surpassing me by the thousands, meeting 10,000 steps by 3 pm, 2 pm then 11 am!!! Before long we found ourselves going out after supper just to increase our steps. See what I mean? It is addicting!

Now I'm walking at noon every day, as long as the weather is holding and the sidewalks are clear for walking, I take 30 minutes and walk around various blocks on my lunch period. I can easily add 3,000 steps and feel really good about myself for doing it. I've met the quota and passed it more than a handful of times and I know when I'm retired the push will be on to challenge myself even more.

My Fitbit is also my watch, 
gives me my heart rate at a touch and calculates my calories and number of miles walked on a daily or weekly basis. I love it!

It was the encouragement I needed to get moving!

Thanks for reading.