Post by QueueMistressMags on Apr 27, 2016 17:26:46 GMT
And I'm loving it!
A few weeks ago, I purchased the brand-new Fitbit Alta. I had fitness trackers before (see below for the tl;dr) and they didn't really motivate me very much, but I'm finding the Alta very motivational. The main feature it has, and the reason I bought it, is the Reminders to Move. Ten minutes before each hour during the day (you set which hours you want the reminder), if I haven't walked at least 250 steps--about 2-3 minutes of walking--it gently vibrates and gives me a motivational message. "Take me for a walk!" "Ready to stroll?" That sort of thing. I get up from my desk and do a lap or two around the cubicles and it vibrates again to tell me I "Nailed it!" or "Crushed it!" or "Won the hour!" Having a sedentary job, it's been great--I don't sit there for hours consumed in the computer and then walk like an old lady when I get up because I'm so stiff and sore from just sitting.
I find that I'm finding excuses to add more steps during the day. I might be going across the street to the food court for lunch, but instead of just walking across the street, I'll walk around the block, and then do it again on the way back. Going to the ladies room, I take the long way around the elevators, and then back again. It all adds up.
I'm also getting up early most mornings and walking on the treadmill for 35 minutes or so. I plan to increase time and intensity (speed/incline) as time goes on. On the weekends, I've been checking out local walking trails. Valley Forge National Historical Park remains my favorite place to go walking (can I call it hiking? It can be hilly). I recently took part in the Revolutionary Run (I did the 3-mile walk) at the park.
Now I just have to do better with my diet, and I think I may be on to greater things!
Here's the tl;dr from my fitness tracker saga. I am working on a blog post but it's sooooo long. When I bought the Alta, I already had a Fitbit One, which I liked and didn't like, and before that a Xiaomi Mi Band, which had the virtue of being super cheap. I lost the Mi Band, and had some issues getting a new one (they are not sold in the U.S. and have to be imported from China, usually via eBay, and the seller I chose sent me a counterfeit band and it would have cost more than I paid for it to send it back), so I thought I'd hold off until Christmas (this past one) and get an Android Watch instead with my work bonus. For various reasons, mainly that I think the price/value ratio for smartwatches is not quite there yet, I decided to get the Fitbit One instead.
I liked it well enough. Sandra will tell you when we were in Utah in January, when it was still fairly new to me, I found to my amusement that when we went to Park City (~7,000 ft elevation) from Salt Lake City (~4,200 ft elevation), that evening the Fitbit said I'd climbed 26 flights of stairs! Well, Park City's main street IS a little hilly. Then Monday morning we had a few hours to kill before I had to be at the airport, so she drove me around the mountains (<3) and through the canyons. Did NO walking at all. Arrived at the airport and had to take off the Fitbit to go through security. Before I put it back on, I went through the stats and was amused to find that I had climbed 15 flights of stairs. The flights are tracked using an altimeter and barometric pressure, so that makes sense--and you can make adjustments in the app--but I thought it was hilarious. The Alta doesn't have an altimeter, so it doesn't track flights, and I kind of miss it. But it does automatically track sleep and exercise, which you had to remember to activate on the One, and half the time I didn't remember. So overall the Alta is better. I'm just waiting now for the stainless steel bangle bracelet!
My point in posting all this (yes, I had one) is to ask anyone if they want to be Fitbit Friends? Let me know and we'll hook up. I don't have any friends right now...
A few weeks ago, I purchased the brand-new Fitbit Alta. I had fitness trackers before (see below for the tl;dr) and they didn't really motivate me very much, but I'm finding the Alta very motivational. The main feature it has, and the reason I bought it, is the Reminders to Move. Ten minutes before each hour during the day (you set which hours you want the reminder), if I haven't walked at least 250 steps--about 2-3 minutes of walking--it gently vibrates and gives me a motivational message. "Take me for a walk!" "Ready to stroll?" That sort of thing. I get up from my desk and do a lap or two around the cubicles and it vibrates again to tell me I "Nailed it!" or "Crushed it!" or "Won the hour!" Having a sedentary job, it's been great--I don't sit there for hours consumed in the computer and then walk like an old lady when I get up because I'm so stiff and sore from just sitting.
I find that I'm finding excuses to add more steps during the day. I might be going across the street to the food court for lunch, but instead of just walking across the street, I'll walk around the block, and then do it again on the way back. Going to the ladies room, I take the long way around the elevators, and then back again. It all adds up.
I'm also getting up early most mornings and walking on the treadmill for 35 minutes or so. I plan to increase time and intensity (speed/incline) as time goes on. On the weekends, I've been checking out local walking trails. Valley Forge National Historical Park remains my favorite place to go walking (can I call it hiking? It can be hilly). I recently took part in the Revolutionary Run (I did the 3-mile walk) at the park.
Now I just have to do better with my diet, and I think I may be on to greater things!
Here's the tl;dr from my fitness tracker saga. I am working on a blog post but it's sooooo long. When I bought the Alta, I already had a Fitbit One, which I liked and didn't like, and before that a Xiaomi Mi Band, which had the virtue of being super cheap. I lost the Mi Band, and had some issues getting a new one (they are not sold in the U.S. and have to be imported from China, usually via eBay, and the seller I chose sent me a counterfeit band and it would have cost more than I paid for it to send it back), so I thought I'd hold off until Christmas (this past one) and get an Android Watch instead with my work bonus. For various reasons, mainly that I think the price/value ratio for smartwatches is not quite there yet, I decided to get the Fitbit One instead.
I liked it well enough. Sandra will tell you when we were in Utah in January, when it was still fairly new to me, I found to my amusement that when we went to Park City (~7,000 ft elevation) from Salt Lake City (~4,200 ft elevation), that evening the Fitbit said I'd climbed 26 flights of stairs! Well, Park City's main street IS a little hilly. Then Monday morning we had a few hours to kill before I had to be at the airport, so she drove me around the mountains (<3) and through the canyons. Did NO walking at all. Arrived at the airport and had to take off the Fitbit to go through security. Before I put it back on, I went through the stats and was amused to find that I had climbed 15 flights of stairs. The flights are tracked using an altimeter and barometric pressure, so that makes sense--and you can make adjustments in the app--but I thought it was hilarious. The Alta doesn't have an altimeter, so it doesn't track flights, and I kind of miss it. But it does automatically track sleep and exercise, which you had to remember to activate on the One, and half the time I didn't remember. So overall the Alta is better. I'm just waiting now for the stainless steel bangle bracelet!
My point in posting all this (yes, I had one) is to ask anyone if they want to be Fitbit Friends? Let me know and we'll hook up. I don't have any friends right now...