According to a recent publication in the Telegraph the top 3 Christmas Presents for 2015 for adults were
- The Nutribullet, the “must-have” for healthy eaters, popular as it makes lump-free smoothies and juices in seconds that is easier to clean than other blenders
- The Spiralizer, a kitchen gadget that allows you to turn vegetables such as courgettes and carrots into curly spaghetti, and
- The fit bit, the latest in wearable health equipment
I am very surprised to not see any version of the ‘nerf’ gun family in this list but maybe everyone is still using their children as the ‘lucky recipients’ of these toys rather than owning up to buying them for themselves??However, I pleased to say I am lucky enough to have one of the top 3 presents and have joined the fit bit gang along with 9.5 million other users it seems.
Currently, I am slightly obsessed with it too and am wondering whether it will finally be the thing that helps me stick to my plan of healthy living or is it a flash in the pan that will no longer appear on my wrist in a few weeks? You probably already know what a fit bit is, but essentially It can be worn day and night, like a watch, to track the steps, measure distance travelled, show your heart rate and the calories you’re burning. It also shows how you’re stacking up against your daily goals and at night, it tracks your sleep cycle. Since 2010, Fitbit has sold almost 17 million devices worldwide (it outsold the Apple Watch in May too, selling 850,000 devices, compared to 777,000 for the Apple Watch). The bottom line is that personal health and fitness tracking is now among the hottest sectors in tech right now and by 2017, that number is expected to nearly triple from now too.
My challenge right now is how do I ensure my shiny new toy sustains and remains an interest (rather than an obsession) of mine? I am genuinely determined to get healthier and by that I suppose I mean stick to some sort of exercise routine, but I always have that goal, continually, so how will this thing on my wrist help me to do that?
The signs are good so far, the facts are, I have:
- worn it every day and night since Christmas,
- charged it when it needed it
- not worn it in the shower or bath and therefore have not broken it
- downloaded the app to receive the data on my phone
- synced the data each day
I suppose these are the ‘basics’ and I am pretty confident I can maintain this bit but this alone is not going to get me healthier or doing more exercise.
The next stage is obviously the key cycle that I need to get into the habit of doing as I won’t get away with doing this just once
- Setting my ‘Goals’ and making them personal to me
- Reviewing my data and assessing my shortfalls, I am under no illusion that these will be shortfalls most of the time too
- And then more crucially, committing to doing something about it!
Progress report so far, I have managed to get through the cycle and with a big smile on my face.
I consider myself to be pretty terrible at running despite continually giving it a go. The ‘tick’ for me pre Christmas was just ‘going for a run’ that was enough wasn’t it?
It’s a bit different now.
Having tracked my normal route, I was devastated to discover how small the distance was, as it virtually nearly killed me to get home in one piece.
What was worse, was that a friend of mine wanted to become my fitbit friend (as you can do that too …) and there was no way I was letting her know how little distance I could run.
So I decided, I can’t have this, I must be able to run further than that, so funnily enough, I did. The next day I ran double the distance and did the same the day after that, much to my surprise, and in the rain!
I now need to be clever with my week by week goal setting to achieve my overall outcome.
I can’t see me continually doubling my running distance but I know if I push myself forward inch by inch (or in this case mile by mile), stick to my basics, review my data and be honest about my capability, there is no reason why I can’t then commit to action. If I can do it once, I can do it again, and again, and again…
So, shiny new toy, I think not, definitely here to stay.
