Missed the goal of 10,000 steps by a significant amount. As in, really need to get my tush in gear. Aside from that, explain this:
The Fitbit claims I took 5,867 steps today. The Jawbone tells me I took 4,625 steps. Same day, same person, same wrist, same amount of actual steps taken.
I can see this is going to be an interesting (to me) exercise (heh).
For six months, we moved. We grooved. I was walking before work – and I am so not a morning person – just so I could rack up steps. I especially recall a few days when I logged over 20,000 steps. In case you’ve never walked 20,000 steps, that’s a hell of a lot of pounding on the feet. I’m not known for wearing sensible shoes, either (more on foot issues in some later post, I imagine) and those not so little dogs were barking. Try walking around for seven straight hours in New York City in July. It’s not pretty.
Through it all, the Fitbit did its thing, dutifully flashing lights when tapped and buzzing on those days when I hit my goal of 10,000 steps. Supposedly, these devices track sleep, too, but in order for them to do that, one must actually sleep (more on not sleeping some other time, probably late at night). Then, long story short, it died. I got a replacement (Fitbit is good about that, as it turns out) with a black band (to go with most everything I wear) to mix things up. Another long story short, it, too, crapped out, and I was told I could get another replacement. This time, another long story short, I selected the “violet” band, which was on about a 20 week back order. I waited.
Funny thing happened while I was sans Fitbit. I didn’t move around as much. Sure, I still used the restroom on the first floor of my building, instead of the one in the office, but without keeping track, steps didn’t feel like an accomplishment anymore. During my long wait time, I got a gift (from Apple, yet another long story which I’m not even going to get into) of the Jawbone Up24. All I’ll say right now is that it is a sleeker, less obtrusive design, but the downside is that the bands aren’t interchangeable. I got a black one.
So I’m wearing the Jawbone for a few days, and remarked to Bob that my violet Fitbit would arrive soon, and that’s when he said I should wear them both, compare, and write a blog about it. The new Fitbit arrived yesterday, and now I’m wearing them both, and I suppose this is where the real story begins.
Hello.
Because this is my creatively titled introductory post, I feel obliged to include some (creative?you tell me) introduction as to why I am doing this. Does the world really need another suburban mom blogger? No. How about an indignant liberal blogger? No. A blog about the college search? A blog about the quest for perfect shoes? No, and no again. How about a blog comparing wearable fitness devices? Oh, that’s something that nobody’s ever delved into (save for David Pogue and others at the NY Times, and various experts at various tech and fitness oriented websites). Well, what if there were recipes? And the occasional meltdown? OK, now we’re talking.
This was born out of me suddenly finding myself with two wearable fitness trackers and only one non-dominant hand. My boyfriend, Bob, who is probably kicking himself right now for even suggesting this, casually mentioned starting a blog about it. So, I did. I’ve never written a blog before, so I don’t know where posts should start and where they should end. I’ll wing it and hope for the best, or at least, for not the worst. And away we go.
Just over one year ago, I put on my first wearable fitness tracker, the then newly minted Fitbit Flex. I got matching ones for me and Bob with the full expectation that wearing this unsnazztastic (albeit much less clunky than the Nike Fuel Band, which had been gaining popularity at the time) piece of rubber would be just the thing to whip us into stellar shape. And at first, it kinda did. There’s something motivating about moving around knowing that each step is being tallied, and something even more motivating about trying to get more steps than someone else. We spent a lot of time those first few months tapping on our wristbands and synching with our phones and generally keeping tabs on how many steps each other took.
So cool I thought this was that I got one for my brother for his birthday. Then I got another two for my kids. At this point, Fitbit should be giving me a commission, but I didn’t press them on it. Soon all five of us were connected and cheering or taunting one another, as the mood dictated. Through the “friends” portion of the iPhone app, I could tell if my brother had an active day, or if my daughter got a ride home from school, for example. And I started noticing it all over. That telltale slate blue band on the non-dominant hands of colleagues, shoppers at Whole Foods, or the receptionist at the doctor’s office. It was like being part of an exclusive club. Whatever that club was, it got me moving, at least for a few months.
LadyFeatherstone 