Around a month ago, I kept noticing something missing from my wrist that’s usually there….
My Fitbit Flex!
Unlike in the past when I’ve unintentionally lost my activity trackers, this time it was on purpose. I had been feeling the urge to stop wearing my activity tracker, but I had worn one pretty consistently for so long, that it almost felt weird to consider not using one anymore. It was almost this little fear inside of me that thought that if I didn’t track my movement, I somehow wouldn’t move as much – that not wearing a Fitbit would make me a less active person.
But then I realized that that notion was total crap. Who am I kidding? I lead a super active lifestyle. I don’t need a Fitbit to tell me that. I usually workout 6 days a week, and most of the time I do both a longer nighttime workout, along with a short yoga session or HIIT workout first thing in the morning to wake me up and get me feeling strong and energized for the day. Plus, I take my dog for daily long walks that usually are around 30 minutes long during the week, with a longer hike mixed in about once a week. A lot of the time when I meet up with girlfriends, we go for walks along the coast or meet up to do a fitness class together. Being active and moving my body a lot is a big part of my life – whether or not I have an activity tracker reinforcing the idea that I move enough or not.
My lunchtime Power Hour yesterday: a booty working Bar Method class!
Any consistent blog readers may remember that in the past, I’ve talk fondly about activity trackers like the Fitbit. It’s true, I think they’re great healthy living tools, particularly if you’re trying to lose weight or lead a more active lifestyle. But for me, I was finding the cons to outweigh the pros at this point in my life. There were a few reasons why I’ve given up wearing my Fitbit:
For one, it wasn’t all that accurate. The Fitbit is decent at monitoring actual steps taken, so when I go hiking I liked it to calculate distance traveled, but when it comes to calories burned and its activity indicators, it can be way off. I can spin for an hour, and my Fitbit stats will tell me that I mine as well have been laying on my couch. Come on now, we all now that’s not the case! I still worship my Polar heart rate monitor, which tells me otherwise, but according to my Fitbit stats it’s so. Additionally, I actually think that earlier models of the Fitbit that I’ve owned were more accurate than my latest wristband.
Thank you heart rate watch, for verifying that I didn’t just sweat profusely in spin class and only burn 20 calories, per my Fitbit’s stats.
I also didn’t like that all of the specific stats aren’t just displayed on the device itself, as had been the case with some of their past models. I downloaded the Fitbit app on my iPhone so I could check out my daily stats, which I liked more than going on my computer, but sometimes it would be delayed or take awhile to load, and I found myself checking it less and less. And in all honestly, I rely on my iPhone for about a gazillion things, and I wasn’t thrilled about adding my Fitbit tracking to the list.
Secondly, while I love crunching numbers and paying attention to stats when it comes to my movement and health – miles traveled, calories burned, my heart rate during workouts, calories eaten, percentage of calories burned that were in my fat burning zone – sometimes it can get tiring. I was feeling the desire to just go for a walk with my dog and not think about how far it was.
Lastly, this is purely personal preference reasoning, but I don’t like having jewelry or bands constantly on me. I never workout or cook with rings on or sleep with earrings, and I take my watch off right after my workouts usually. I had gotten used to the Fitbit always being on my wrist, but it still bothered me sometimes.
My new tattoo
After I got a tattoo on my wrist of my grandma’s handwriting a few months ago, I found always wearing a bulky wristband to be even more annoying. I just didn’t like having my Fitbit covering it up, and I wouldn’t consider wearing a wristband on my dominant hand all the time given my sensitivity to wearing jewelry. Once I stopped wearing my Fitbit, I kept noticing my tattoo and smiling, because for the first time, I could actually see it all the time.
Once I stopped wearing my Fitbit, I noticed for a few weeks afterwards that I would find myself mildly swinging my arm when I walked…. almost like a subconscious thing I did to ensure that my steps were being counted when I walked. That’s mildly embarrassing to admit, but how wild is that? It’s as if a walk didn’t count unless the FitBit said so.Yikes.
(source)
I may bring my Fitbit back if I want to know the distance on a particular day or hike. Hell, I may even decide in a year or a month that I feel like wearing it again, but for now, I’m happy without using an activity tracker. According to my Fitbit app, I haven’t moved a muscle in weeks and weeks, and I am perfectly okay with that. Because I know that I’ve walked, hiked, ran, boxed, cooked, shopped, played, cleaned, and got my yoga and strength training and barre and Pilates on. I’ve even managed to sleep every night without my Fitbit telling me the next day that I woke up 27 times (Sigh, I’m a bad sleeper!). My body has carried me many miles in this past month, and for the first time in years, I don’t feel the need to have an activity tracker tell me that.
And so I think the lesson here with my Fitbit use, and with everything in life really, is that different things work for you at different times in your life, and it’s okay to let go of the things that no longer serve you. I once loved using my Fitbit, but once I recognized that I just wasn’t getting a lot out of it anymore and lost the desire to wear it, I parted ways with it. While I’m no longer marching my tired body in place next to my bed to get my last 50 steps in and reach my goal of 10,000 for the day (yup, true story – that took place countless times!), I am 100% confident that I am no less active without my Fitbit. I still take the stairs, walk daily, break a sweat almost every day, and love living a healthy, active lifestyle!
What are your thoughts on the Fitbit and other activity trackers?
What’s something you let go of in your life recently that was no longer serving you?
Oh my gosh, thank you!! I just made a similar post … I bought a FitBit on a Monday, and had returned it by Thursday! I just thought it was a really expensive, pretty inaccurate pedometer. Not my style either!
Wow, you decided quick that it wasn’t for you huh? I’m all about going with your gut, and it sounds like you were able to quickly decide that it wasn’t working for you.
This is such a great post Nicole! I personally love wearing my Fitbit, but then again, I’m not nearly as active as you are! thats so funny that you found yourself swinging your arms to count the steps. I think wearing a fitbit is kind of like counting calories… really good at the beginning, but not necessary when you begin to find what works for your body naturally! Great post!! I def support your decision!!
Thanks so much, Cailee! I appreciate the love.
First, thanks for the honest post about your FitBit. It’s much appreciated! I almost cried when I saw what tattoo you got. What a beautiful, beautiful sentiment! You definitely don’t need to have an armband covering that up!
Thank you so much!! I honestly love it, and my sister and cousin also got it too, so the three of us – me, in California; my sister, whose in school in Pennsylvania; and my cousin, whose living in Florida – have the same tat for our grandma 🙂
I love this. I just got another tracker after having lost my Fitbit and going without for months. It was a really good thing for me to lose it – I’d definitely become a salve to it (think running stairs at 11:30p to hit the goal). This time I have a much more balanced approach… and I know the signs if I start getting crazy with it again.
On another note, I LOVE that tattoo!
That’s such a good point – it’s all balance! If you get too wrapped up in it, you’ll know it’s time to pull back on your Fitbit monitoring 🙂
Thank you!
As someone who sits at a desk all day I still am enjoying the stats to remind me that a walk outside is better then sitting down and watching junky tv after work. I definitely see your views though, I do have the fitbit charge so I can see my stats on my wrist I was not at all interested in getting the flex. I went back and forth over the Charge and Charge HR, which at time I do wish I would have gone that route instead since the HR is supose to provide you with a better calorie burned count.
And that’s EXACTLY what the Fitbit and other activity trackers are great for… reminding you to move when you haven’t, and motivating you to do so! That’s great if your Fitbit motivates you to get up and get moving even if you’re tired. Who knows, maybe some day I’ll bring my Fitbit back if I find myself taking the lazier route more often and am needing some extra oomph!
I have done the walk/jog in place many times to get my steps in for the day:)
I agree – it is frustrating that the Fitbit doesn’t track everything – my workout this morning was pretty intense but I only got about 1000 steps.
That’s BS! Ha. It totally used to annoy me when my Fitbit would dramatically under-calculate my movements.
I bought a Fitbit last year and returned it within 30 days. I didn’t like it at all and I felt like it made me neurotic. I also wasn’t a big fan of the user interface and I thought it wasn’t really easy to get the band itself to switch from sleep to awake mode. I found it kind of clunky. Fast forward to earlier this week when I bought a Jawbone UP Move. I wore it for the first whole day yesterday and realized just how little I move. I work at a desk job and am lucky to get outside for a walk on my lunch break. It would be a stretch to say that I take 3,000 steps on weekdays. So, being able to see that in number and graph form is enlightening for me. I’m glad to have the knowledge! I am looking forward to increasing my daily steps to get as close to 10K as possible. I’m glad to have the reference and the goals, but if I forget to put it on one day, I don’t think I’ll freak. The walk still counts 🙂
YES, the sleep / awake mode switch is totally clunky! Wanna laugh? I noticed that every time I went food shopping and was pushing my cart in the bumpy parking lot, my Fitbit would just keep switching on and off from sleep mode hahaha or if I was clapping at an event or something, the same thing would happen. Weird right!
That’s great that the Jawbone has helped you to realize that you need to up your game during the week as far as activity goes…and that is why I do love activity trackers! It’s certainly helping people to lead more active lifestyles, and I would never bash that. For me, I’m just at a point where I need a break from it, ya know?
I love my heart rate monitor, but ehhh, don’t really have an interest in a fit bit.
Agreed, I absolutely adore my heart rate monitor! I love to see how hard I’ve worked during my workouts.
I hear you! I love my fitbit one because no one can see it or even know I have it on but me! I track my steps daily but some days I honestly forget it. I often see people getting a bit crazy with steps, sharing them on SM etc but to each’s own! I’ve had my fitbit since before the popularity of them hit so it would be hard for me to part with mine. I definitely don’t want a charge or flex–my one is perfect!
Sounds like you have a good thing going with your activity tracker, Nellie! I wish I still had my clip-on Fitbit, which I had probably 4 years ago, but it broke unfortunately. I used to just clip it on my bra inside my shirt and forget it was even there until the end of the day. Loved that!
I hear you on this one. Thanks for this post.
I have had a fitbit for nearly 4 years and even though I have loved it, I have found it distorting my fitness to be being all about the steps rather than the enjoyment of the particular activity!
I still wear it daily but lately I have forgotten it on purpose and have been a-okay with that.
xx Jen
Yes, sometimes I think using activity trackers makes you sort of forget about the enjoyment of the activity and focus a lot more just on the numbers… I agree that sometimes it’s good to lose it!
I know a few people that have ditched their fitbits as they have felt like they were becoming a bit too obsessed with them. I still love mine and I have a happy balance, but if it becomes too much, I will definitely get rid of it.
Glad to hear that you’re enjoying your Fitbit and have a happy balance with it, Dannii!
Great post! I have an activity tracker but I don’t really wear it consistently. I hate having to wear this big band on my wrist when I have a nice outfit on. I do love my heart rate monitor though! I feel lost without it.
Agreed, the Fitbit wristband isn’t the most stylish thing ever, especially since other prettier ones have come out in the market…. and I 100% feel weird when I workout with my heart rate monitor! Love it.
I loved reading this post! I actually just ditched all of the apps, etc. that tracked my workouts. I work out 6 days a week, but I found tracking them made me push for more and more. Leading me to lose my love for fitness. So I took a week off, ditched all the trackers, and am back to doing what I love. I too, don’t need a device to tell me I am fit. Thanks for this!!!!
That’s awesome, Desiree! It’s great that you recognized it to be an issue that was hindering your enjoyment of fitness, and made a change to get back to how you wanted to feel. Thanks for reading!
Good for you. I”m not gonna bash the fitness trackers because I know they are probably really beneficial for some people, but ever since they first came out and became the latest rage, I just couldn’t wrap my head around WHY?! Sure, I sit all day, 40 hours a week, but the rest of the time i’m up and active and working out 5-6 days a weeks. I realized that they were probably really good for the population that needed to START being active and get an idea of just how much they DON’T move and need to. So I just never saw a purpose for one for ME. My hus and mom track their steps on their phones and they both walk an average of about 5 miles a day at just their jobs, but I think, ok, that’s great, but if you are trying to lose weight (my mom isn’t trying), then obviously that’s not enough because if you are walking those miles everyday and not losing, then you need MORE. So what is tracking your steps gonna do? That is just your everyday life stuff…I dunno, maybe i’m not making any sense lol…If they get people to START moving and get healthier, so be it! 🙂 And you ARE already super active!
I totally get what you’re saying! I think that part of me likes tracking my activity, even though I know that I’m really active, because I’m just a number cruncher that likes looking at stats. I think it’s wonderful that activity trackers are helping some people to move more, but I would guess that most people that wear Fitbits and other trackers are probably already active to begin with. Perhaps we’re all just number obsessed?!