Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Is my title deceiving? Have I been traipsing through the woods with a tracker? Is it a book title for a new book? Neither. It could be a book title one day, I suppose

However, once I ran through the woods with a county sheriff carrying a rifle, as he tracked… It’s a true story, so I won’t say who the deputy tracked. I will say it was someone close to me, and I hopped in his car to make sure he didn’t shoot said escapee. True story. 😏 Whew, I wish I hadn’t remembered such a moment in my history of life. It will surely have to go into a book.

Oh, sorry for the flashback. Today I’m talking about a fitness tracker.

This is my first fitness tracker. How about you? Have you used one?

My personal goal is to be healthy and get some weight off.

A friend I walk with has a watch that includes a fitness tracker. She doesn’t know how to set it up, so while walking, we never know how far we go or how many steps we’ve taken. Yours truly is good at reading directions and figuring out tech stuff so I bought myself a Christmas gift.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with this company and receive nothing for mentioning the product. I purchased and use this for my own use. With that out of the way, I bought a *Fitbit Inspire™ wristband tracker. I admit, mine is one of their lowest priced, but I didn’t want to dive into a more expensive model to begin. So far, I’m impressed. This isn’t a review. Nothing more than my take and how I use it. It might be enough information for you to decide to try one of your choice.

Getting Started:

Turn it on by using a button on the left side. Once on, text scrolls across the touch screen with a link to get started, which entails setting up an account and downloading an app for a computer, Apple, or Android device. The app is how you see your stats. I do see stats on my touch screen without looking at the app, but the app is more in-depth. Android syncs via Bluetooth. I chose to put an app on my laptop and phone. The app is free. I use the tracker’s free version.

After a week and two days, I’m happy with what it does, but I have nothing to compare it to.

The stats are interesting. My main goal is to get up and move—get in steps and movement. These knees and feet rebel after seven thousand steps in ten hours. At least seven thousand per day is my goal, but I strive for more. I have control over the number of hours I can set to be notified to get off my butt and get in those steps.

12/15/2019-9:46 a.m.

The fitness goal is ten thousand steps a day. Well, that number is iffy in my world, especially in the winter though I can see them adding up quickly while shopping or walking for exercise on purpose. Which reminds me… This tracker has the ability to determine a strenuous activity versus walking to get steps in and tracks activity longer than ten minutes.

Average steps to date: 52,661

There is no way I’d accumulate this many steps without my new tracker to remind me. Yes, it does motivate me in many ways throughout the day almost to the point of obsessiveness. Until the newness wears off, I’m happy to accommodate the need to be obsessive. Each time I check my app, computer, or touch screen, I look for my step total, amount of water consumed, how many steps I need to make my hourly quota, calories burned, and miles. I pay less attention to calories burned and activity, but I do think more about choosing the right food throughout the day to get back on my healthy eating plan.

I’m reminded to get up to walk two hundred and fifty steps in an hour for at least ten hours of the day. I add more. My tracker reminds me to “feed it steps” ten minutes before the hour is up. Often though, I’m involved in my story, setting, or research and characters. An hour goes by quickly while writing, so there are times I need to jump up to do two hundred and fifty steps. Steps add up when you’re walking outside with a place to go or just to walk for exercise like I do when it isn’t sixteen degrees with a single digit wind chill.

Another interesting statistic is how much sleep I don’t get. I knew I didn’t get enough, but after looking at the stats, I see why I’m tired all the time. There are awake moments, which I am aware of through the night, and there are restless times tracked I’m not aware of.

I read that there is a setting to include naps in sleep tracking. I haven’t found the setting, but naps are rare, anyway. However, I believe the tracker got confused when I fell asleep watching TV at nine o’clock because it showed I went to bed at that time. Don’t I wish I went to bed at nine o’clock, I say rhetorically. If I did, I’d be up at two. No thanks.

Average sleep for the first week: 6 hours 2 minutes and includes sleep, restlessness, and waking up during sleeping hours.

Another stat I measure is water intake. Sixty-four ounces is recommended, but it’s too much for me or I’ll be up all night doing you know what, so I set my goal to forty-eight ounces and get it in before it’s too late.

Weekly miles as of this morning: 17.4. The farthest was 3.31 miles in one day.

Also, if you have time, and you’re the person who enjoys imputing the food you eat daily, there is also a place in the app to track food and input weight. I don’t. You do have to identify your weight in your account.

This tracker knows the difference between activity and steps. For example, if I am doing exercises or riding a stationary bike for more than ten minutes at a time, it records it as an activity.

Mine doesn’t monitor heart rate. I haven’t checked to see if a monitor is available for purchase.

My average stats won’t seem like much of an accomplishment to an active person who gets out to the gym or walks and runs on a regular basis.

However, for me, these numbers are fantastic because I sit at my computer many hours during the day forgetting to get up and move around. In the evening, to relax, I’m sitting again (or falling asleep) with TV or a book for a few hours before I go to bed.

HEED THE WARNINGS:

DISCLAIMER: Important Warnings come with the fitness tracker for those with heart issues, so be sure to read and heed the details.

Of course, like anything else, instructions say to talk to your doctor before using. My doctor tells me I need to exercise. She told me thirty minutes of walking everyday, will lower my blood pressure. Eating right doesn’t hurt, either. Check with your own doctor for the best advice for you. I take that as her approval. Maybe I mentioned this before, but it’s worth mentioning again. Sometimes in life, we hear or read something that acts as a trigger word or inspiration acting as a wake-up call. Mine was when after a conversation with my doctor, she said:

The best gift you can give your kids is to be healthy.

Thanks for reading.

It’s 12:02 p.m. now and since beginning the post this morning, I now have 3,139 steps equaling 1.25 miles.

*“Fitbit Inspire is a registered trademark or trademark of Fitbit, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries.”

The only images here related to this tracker is the box with the black Fitbit Inspire™ wristband tracker, which is what I purchased and the snip of “Step stats for Today.” Other image credits goes to Pixabay.