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Jan. 17th, 2013 12:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitch25So since i haven't posted anything of substance here in ages, I should play a little bit of "catch-up". And I think I'll do that over the course of various topical posts.
Today, I wanted to talk about how while I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions, this year, my efforts of various change are oddly coinciding with this end of the year.
I believe this is in large part due to being exceptionally busy for the past 6 months and really not having enough in me to pick my head up far enough to do the assessment and evaluation necessary to make significant change. The end of the year just provided a slow-down point where I've decided to now implement various things that had "been on hold".
Among them was buying and using a Fitbit. A fitbit is an electronic pedometer which can also track stair climbing that syncs to your computer and uploads to a website that can keep track of your stats. There is also a social component where you can share part or all of your stats with "friends" in order to build a tribe sense.
I've had mine for several days, and I think the advantage over run-of-the-mill means to track movement and fitness is that this device makes it easy to keep track. It takes a bit of the manual process out of it. And, speaking for myself, taking away some of the tedium of manually tracking things makes it more appealing.
And on the whole, I think the entire process begins to work because it raises awareness. And if you subscribe to the social part of it, it creates a "tribe" of folks looking out for each other and providing motivation and support to continue down a preferred path. That, too, makes it appealing.
As for how its worked for me, the awareness of it alone has already had me deliberately trying to increase my step count by avoiding elevators or unnecessary driving. And in some cases, eschewing the "shortest distance between two points" mentality. I get to see my progress throughout the day and it reminds me to move a little more. Which, even at this stage, is what I need.
I've also been trying to get into the habit of food tracking. There are lots of places to do that, and I chose MyFitnessPal which also integrates with Fitbit. I find that if I am honest about what I eat, and track it as diligently as I can, the simple awareness of it has me choosing better foods, and I find it easier to resist things I shouldn't eat when I know I'll have to track them later. At this point, it isn't perfect, but it's progressing.
Today, I wanted to talk about how while I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions, this year, my efforts of various change are oddly coinciding with this end of the year.
I believe this is in large part due to being exceptionally busy for the past 6 months and really not having enough in me to pick my head up far enough to do the assessment and evaluation necessary to make significant change. The end of the year just provided a slow-down point where I've decided to now implement various things that had "been on hold".
Among them was buying and using a Fitbit. A fitbit is an electronic pedometer which can also track stair climbing that syncs to your computer and uploads to a website that can keep track of your stats. There is also a social component where you can share part or all of your stats with "friends" in order to build a tribe sense.
I've had mine for several days, and I think the advantage over run-of-the-mill means to track movement and fitness is that this device makes it easy to keep track. It takes a bit of the manual process out of it. And, speaking for myself, taking away some of the tedium of manually tracking things makes it more appealing.
And on the whole, I think the entire process begins to work because it raises awareness. And if you subscribe to the social part of it, it creates a "tribe" of folks looking out for each other and providing motivation and support to continue down a preferred path. That, too, makes it appealing.
As for how its worked for me, the awareness of it alone has already had me deliberately trying to increase my step count by avoiding elevators or unnecessary driving. And in some cases, eschewing the "shortest distance between two points" mentality. I get to see my progress throughout the day and it reminds me to move a little more. Which, even at this stage, is what I need.
I've also been trying to get into the habit of food tracking. There are lots of places to do that, and I chose MyFitnessPal which also integrates with Fitbit. I find that if I am honest about what I eat, and track it as diligently as I can, the simple awareness of it has me choosing better foods, and I find it easier to resist things I shouldn't eat when I know I'll have to track them later. At this point, it isn't perfect, but it's progressing.