I know I haven’t worked hard on my blog, read all the posts I wanted to read, commented whenever I felt like to comment…etc. for a while. Believe it or not, it’s all Fitbit’s fault.
My nephew bought a Fitbit a couple of years ago. I asked him if it would help me losing weight. He didn’t give me a clear answer. Instead, he said, “Just wait until Christmas. Who knows? You may get one from Santa!” I told him not to buy one for me, since I had been walking 30 minutes every day (almost every day… I think) and I had no plan to change.
A couple of months ago, my friend showed me her new toy. Guess what? A Fitbit! She told me how nice and how annoy at the same time that it would buzz if you had been sitting for a long time. I liked the annoying part and thought it would be a great birthday gift for Wei since, in my opinion, he spends too much time in front of his iPad. Well, Wei wasn’t very happy when he found out my plan. He didn’t want one.
My friend suggested me to get one for myself. “If Wei sees how good it is, he will ask for one also,” my friend said. So, I bought one.
I had no idea that Fitbit has this unreasonable expectation that everyone should walk 10,000 steps every day. I was surprised that walking 30 minutes on the treadmill only yielded 4000. The first 5 days, I failed to achieve this 10,000-step goal miserably. On the sixth day, my friend and I took a long walk on the trail and I finally managed to get 10,000 steps. It is possible to walk 10,000, I thought to myself.
I don’t really know how or why, the moment I had achieved 10,000-step goal, I became a slave of my Fitbit. I walk 5000 or 6000 steps on the trail in the morning. Then, I rest, or learn something from YouTube, or read some blogs (less than what I used to). Around 9 PM, on most days, I still have 2000 to 4000 steps to go, so I walk back and forth in the house until reaching 10,000 steps. Have I told you that 9 pm is supposed to be my time to blog?
Day after day, Fitbit makes me so tired that I don’t have any energy left for doing other things.
Have I lost any weight, you probably wonder? Well, in the beginning, I had. I lost 3 pounds, but, somehow, I gained one back (maybe two by now; Wei bought me two boxes of moon-cakes to celebrate my new life style ;-). Even though I hadn’t lost any weight after losing that 3 pounds, I feel healthier. And… are you ready for this? To my surprise, Wei started walking with me two weeks ago. I don’t know how long this will last (for Wei and for me), but I have learned to appreciate for the moment and I do. 😉
Now you know the truth: it is all Fitbit’s fault!!!
Thanks for visiting my blog.
HHC Blog 
A couple of months ago, I tried walking 5,000 steps a day. The doctor recommended that I walk at least five days a week and told me that a nature walk will help with blood pressure. I am grateful that there are a number of bike and walk paths that are close to my home. Ten thousand steps…I think I’ll go back to bed. 🙂
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Thanks, Brenda. That was it! I had to take many power naps in the first two or three weeks 😉
We live close to a trail for 20 years now (that was why we picked this location), but shamefully I didn’t take advantage of this until after I retired. It’s interesting to find out how different I feel between walking 4000 steps and 10,000 – I feel better and I like it (I mean after the initial struggling).
I think consistent is the key, right?
Have a great day.
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Consistent…yes. It is my understanding that to be consistent with a new behavior creates a routine. And when we don’t follow a routine, like brushing our teeth, then we will feel out of sorts and that may motivate us to “get off the couch.” I hope you have a great day!
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Thanks, Brenda. Routine sounded boring to me when I was young, but now it makes me happy. 😉
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I have done 10000 steps on a couple of occasions but I feel daily, it might be on a higher side. Walking for about max one hour might be enough for normal people. That might yield about 6k steps. Don’t overdo anything, Helen, because walking affects the knee joins. If you are feeling any pain reduce it. But I should say great commitment from you, as usual. Good luck!
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Thanks, Raj. It’s getting easier now… after 5 weeks 😉 I guess the key thing is I do feel better (healthier). Not sure if it’s a mental thing or not. Ha.
You are right that if I feel any pain, I should reduce it. I will keep that in mind.
Good night.
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In the beginning I was very reluctant to an activity tracker, but since 10 days I’m the owner of a Fitbit like yours, Helen. I got it in the airport on my way back to Norway. My mum has moved into a care home and there was a lot of activity awaiting me, a house clearance, visiting the care home, friends … I was absolutely amazed to see that I made between 13-15 000 steps every day! Fitbit proposed to set 8000 steps daily as a goal when I set it up, so you can change your goals to whatever fits you. I’ll raise my goals to 10 000 now. And I think activity is better than social media. 😉
Stay a happy, healthy blogger! x
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Thanks, Dina. My Fitbit didn’t propose 8000 steps when I set it up!!! (I know it’s me. I usually don’t pay a lot of attention to details when I set up anything. Ha.) But now I wonder if it was a good thing that I didn’t know I could set up my own goal, because I am happy with 10,000 now. Not one step more though! 😉
You are right, activity is better than social media. I do miss my blog friends when I couldn’t blog or read others’ posts. (By the way, are you taking a break from blogging? 😉
Have a great day.
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Ugh, tell me about it. I can no longer sit and write a long story uninterrupted by my Fitbit. So I absolutely get how you feel. Even though I managed to lose 10 pounds, I actually gained at least half of that back.
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Thanks, Yinglan. I am glad you know what I was talking about. Once in a while I heard myself saying in a loud voice, “Leave me alone!”
10 pounds? That’s my goal! I am not sure if that’s possible. 8 would make me happy enough. Even that, it’s a long way to go…
Have a great day.
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I think 10 pounds is possible for anyone as long as they watch what they eat and remember to drink lots of water and do plenty of exercise. 🙂
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I have had one for over 2 years and I love it. At the beginning I was like you, very driven by the goals, but it has worn off a bit. I estimate an hours walking us about 7000 steps. My record is over 30,000 which I have managed 3 times.
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Thanks, Anabel. 30,000? Wow! I think my record is 13,000. Most of the days I refused to take one more step when I reached 10,000 😉 Wait a second, if I can travel to all those wonderful places like you do, maybe 30,000 would be a piece of cake. Ha.
Have a great day.
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Those were definitely hiking days! We didn’t get up to 30000 this year, but there were a few days over 20000.
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how fun that you guys stay moving because that is the key. Not sure if you know this – but my spouse is a certified health coach and sometimes he works with people to do less – not often but he has folks that are cardio junkies – not at all saying this is the case here.
But the philosophy he anchors with is that rest days are crucial for recovery and wellness. We need to move – yes – but the human body is not robotic and anytime we have daily regimes that borderline on taxing – (when we think we are working it out for the good) it can pull from health and immune function., again, this is not at all what I sense here – but my friend K once wrote ansd asked,
“My NP said that rather than workout on somedays we’d be better off napping – is this true?”
we said – yes – it might be what is needed for that person on that day.
anyhow, I could imagine you doing all that morning walking and how good it is for your body mind and spirit – and not having your hubs “get moving” – well that is awesome – and as Amy Maranto always says – the blogosphere will always be here.
and if we do not have a healthy blogger – there will be no more blog at all
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Thanks, Yvette. LOL… if we do not have a healthy blogger – there will be no more blog at all — TRUE! So far, 10,000 steps makes me feel good. You brought up a very good point though — we do need rest. I will listen to my body more carefully. 😉
Have a great day.
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well thx for the nice reply – and I am still learning here – but some wellness coaches I know say that this is a problem sometimes with regimes (not your wonderful walking one – which really seems win win because it is “moving” and keeping the bones strong and oxgenating the body) but some rigid workouts that are so many times a wekk might overlook what a person needs for recovery.
recovery time is so personal. and with me – I had a year of doing all this yoga (was on a mission and the schedule allowed it) but then in maintenance mode I did less but got solid workouts because of where my body was. Then – I once missed a week and saw this huge joy in my practice with freshness and strength- and so now I stay on a schedule – while staying open for days off (without killing momentum) and esp if a sore wrist or sore area happens – rest is needed and then maybe a light workout –
anyhow, fun post and let’s stay healthy so we can stay blogging for the long haul – even if it means we do it less to do it longer and better (fully there – right?)
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The activity trackers are definitely self-imposed slave-drivers 🙂 Maybe that’s why I gave mine to my son.
Congratulations on getting Wei to walk with you. You now have double success! I hope the trend continues.
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You gave your Fitbit to your son??? (I am laughing…)
I don’t think you need a Fitbit, Joanne. You hike and bike all the time. Fitbit is designed for people like me, who needs push to exercise.
By the way, after reading your “Mea Culpa”, I was going to apologize for not blogging as often and that was when I discovered that it was Fitbit’s fault 😉
Have a great day.
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Ha! That’s funny that my mea culpa inspired you to blame your Fitbit 🤣
btw – I’m a slug compared to my son 😉 He wanted the Fitbit to get a heart rate reading throughout the day so he could better estimate his fuel requirements for working out.
Yeah, I know … hard core 😏
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Helen, this is a great story!!! I have always been a huge hiker and walker. When I heard the 10,000 steps idea, I used my iPhone to see how many steps I was taking…. I found I had been doing 10,000 steps easily, about 3 times a week. The other days were more like 6000. Unfortunately, in April I got what is called a Bakers Cyst, and could not even walk to the bathroom without pain. It is getting better, but I have to be careful. Things change fast in our bodies when we are older. I am with Raj on this one. Just be careful not to overdo. Knee joints take a lot of pressure when walking. I miss walking so much, I just loved it. Yesterday I managed to walk 6 blocks to the park, but slowly.
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Thank you, Carol. Sorry to hear your health problem. I had to google to find out what Bakers Cyst is. I am glad you are feeling better now.
I don’t walk 10,000 steps at one time. Usually I would walk 6000 in early morning (Thanks to the beautiful fall weather), and then walk the rest steps later in the day. I don’t have good knees. So far, the walking seems making my knees feel stronger. 😉
“Things change fast in our bodies when we are older.” — I know exactly what you meant, unfortunately. That’s why making every day counts is more and more important. I still hope I can meet many all wonderful bloggers one of these days 😉
Have a great day.
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Oh, I am so glad you told me that you don’t do those 10,000 all in one go!!! I was worried! I just checked my iphone which I have not done ever since I injured myself. Even going slower, I seem to be logging 5000 steps. My house has several levels, the computer is on the bottom floor and I am always going up and down stairs. The garden is on a lower level still, so I do get exercise just being in my house.
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I heard that going up stairs is good, but not going down, so go down slowly…
Stairs are good. Before I retire, my office was on 6th floor. Some days, I would use stairs (took escalator down though ;-). I was younger at that time 😉
Good night.
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I love your Fitbits! ^o^
Your are a good story teller!
Similar thing here. I haven’t blogged hard for a while… I joined a chanting group (online) and need to report the chanting everyday. So I am chanting all the time… except when I am working.
I am happy to chant/study more Dharma!
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Me, too, other than that 10,000 steps, I try to study Dharma as much as I can. It seems like I can never have enough time to read/watch all the lessons. And I have to keep telling myself it’s ok to learn slowly. 😉
Have a great day.
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