Tag Archives: fitbit

No More Slacking (or Paying Attention To My Fitbit)

Posted on October 21, 2015 | 1 comment

I have a confession to make. I have not been doing my 10,000 steps a day lately. This all started when I lost my Fitbit. When I didn’t have it, it was pretty much impossible to get my steps in for the day (my phone counts my steps, but I don’t always have my phone with me). I started to not really look at my Fitbit app, even when I got my replacement. There were plenty of days where I looked at the app first thing in the morning (to turn off the sleep tracker) and didn’t look at it again until bedtime (to turn on the sleep tracker). I didn’t look at how many steps I was getting in for the day, but I know that I was not getting close to my goal.

I was in such a habit of not thinking about getting in my steps that I wasn’t doing them. The only 10,000 step day I had since getting my replacement was when I was at Disneyland. It’s pretty easy to get in my steps there. I average 3,000 steps in an Orangetheory workout, but I wasn’t doing the work to do the other 7,000 steps.

But on Monday, I had my workout early in the morning (and got about 3,000 steps in) and with all the games in my improv class and walking around doing errands I got another 2,000 steps in. So I decided that it was time to start taking charge again and making sure I do my best effort to get to my goals each day.

Fitbit

I managed to get my 10,000 steps in on Monday. And yesterday, I was back at my old routine of doing steps in place before work while catching up on my DVR. And I got my 10,000 steps in again.

I’m really hoping that this will be the start of the trend of hitting my step goals. When I first got my Fitbit, I was obsessed with not missing my goal every day. I remember the first time I missed my step goal and how upset I was. But since I’ve lost my Fitbit and have had a couple of weeks where I didn’t get my step goal, I’m much calmer about this all. Of course, I want to reach my goal every day, but if it doesn’t happen it doesn’t happen. It’s not the end of the world.

I’m not sure how much getting my steps in helps my weight loss efforts, but I know that it can’t hurt. And the more healthy routines that I can build into my life and don’t have to really think about, the better.

I think part of the motivation that got me back into my steps was the fact that I was invited to be a part of a bunch of step challenges this week. I don’t care if I win, but I want to at least try to be in the top half of the challengers.

So, thank you to my friends who invited me to a challenge this week. Because of you all, I’m back on track.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailGiving Fitbit Another Chance (or Doing Laps Around My Living Room) Default ThumbnailExcellent Customer Service (or A New Fitbit) Default ThumbnailLosing Weight The Techie Way (or My FitBit Fail) Default ThumbnailGetting My Rowing In (or Burning Lots Of Calories) Default ThumbnailBaby Steps (or Trying To Be Proud Of The Little Victories) Default ThumbnailNot Being So Hard On Myself (or Missing A Workout Goal This Month)

1 Comment

Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health

Tagged , , ,

Excellent Customer Service (or A New Fitbit)

Posted on September 23, 2015 | 2 comments

I’ve been enjoying the Fitbit I got earlier this year ever since I got it. There was only one day that I missed getting my 10,000 steps in for the day and even then I was pretty close. I’ve worked really hard at getting in all my steps for the day and have been very happy that while sometimes it’s isn’t easy, it’s not nearly as impossible as I thought it might be.

I had been enjoying all of the challenges and social things that Fitbit offers and most days I checked my progress throughout the day to make sure I was on pace to hit my goals.

While at ENMNCon, I was able to reach my goals the first two days of the conference. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. But on Saturday of the conference, I was too busy to think about checking the app on my phone to see my progress. When I got into my car to head home, I finally checked and realized that there were very few steps recorded for the day. I then looked at the middle of my bra where I keep my Fitbit device attached and realized that it wasn’t there!

My first thought was to look around and inside my car to see if it just fell off. But the app was also showing that it was searching for the device and wasn’t able to connect so I knew that it couldn’t be that close to me. There was no way to drive all over town to look for it, so I just drove home and hoped that somehow I had forgotten to put my Fitbit on for the day and I would find it at home.

I got home, my Fitbit wasn’t there, and I had to come to the realization that it must have fallen off at some point that day and it was lost. I emailed Fitbit support and didn’t have high hopes on a good resolution. I had recently emailed them to get a new clip because my old one broke. And they sent me one at no cost and the day I lost my Fitbit was the first day I used the replacement clip.

So my email to Fitbit was more about how the replacement clip was likely defective and I wanted to let them know about it. They emailed back pretty much right away and let me know what time my device connected with my phone last. I thought back to that time and it was while I was walking near Hollywood and Highland. There is no way that someone hadn’t picked up the Fitbit and took it or that it was run over by a car. I knew it that I had to get a new device.

But fortunately, Fitbit let me know that there were going to send me a new replacement device at no cost! It was going to take a little over a week to get it to me, but that’s better than me paying $100 for a new one! I’ve heard of other friends getting a free replacement device, but I thought that since I had just gotten a free replacement clip that there was no way they would now send me a device. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong!

It did feel weird not to have my Fitbit on me. I tried to do as many steps as I could, but I wasn’t able to get a decent count of them (my phone tracks steps, but I don’t aways have my phone on me as I’m walking around my house. Finally, on Monday my new Fitbit arrived!

New Fitbit

It’s a different color than my old device, but I was able to get it set up pretty quickly and got started back at my challenges right away! I probably won’t win challenges this week because I pretty much missed all of Monday, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t get back to my 10,000 steps a day streak! I’m excited to be back on track with my steps and to have all the steps counted (and not just counted when I have my phone).

It’s so funny how much I didn’t care for Fitbit the first time I had it, but when I was without it last week I felt lost. I’m just glad that I have it back and I’ve gotten proof that Fitbit really does care about their customers and has awesome customer service!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailLosing Weight The Techie Way (or My FitBit Fail) Default ThumbnailNo More Slacking (or Paying Attention To My Fitbit) Default ThumbnailGiving Fitbit Another Chance (or Doing Laps Around My Living Room) Default ThumbnailBeing Upset With Customer Service (or Trying Not To Be The Type Of Customer I Hate) Default ThumbnailAdventures In Customer Service (or Trying Not To Be The Bad Call) Default ThumbnailCustomer Service After The Fact (or An Update to My Experience At Performance Bike)

2 Comments

Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health, Shopping

Tagged , ,

Feeling New Aches And Pains (or Working On More Pain Management)

Posted on June 25, 2015 | Comments Off on Feeling New Aches And Pains (or Working On More Pain Management)

I’ve gotten pretty decent at managing my hip pain. I’ve been dealing with this for almost 10 years now (this coming October will mark 10 years since I collapsed in an airport and the pain started). I have a routine with painkillers and while that has changed a bit because I need to limit narcotic painkillers on Vyvanse, I’m still pretty on top of things.

But with all my workouts plus other things in life, I’m having more pain and having trouble managing it (which in turn makes my hip pain feel worse). Some of the pain is from things that I know I need to deal with. My muscles feel sore after workouts, especially when I’m pushing it with the weights I’m using. Right now, I’m dealing with a lot of shoulder pain in my right shoulder. I’m guessing it’s a combination of my workouts and maybe sleeping weirdly.

I’m also dealing with foot/toe/ankle pain. I’m guessing that that is partly due to the increased speed on the treadmill during my workouts. But it’s also probably due to me marching in place every day to make sure I get my steps in. Walking for hours at Disneyland didn’t help that either.

The rest of the pain that I’m experiencing is stuff that I know is temporary (and somewhat out of my control). Mainly sunburn soreness and feeling sickly (which makes me achy) because of the heat wave.

I’m still working on getting my mind to think about pain differently. It’s not something to stop me and make me take a break all the time. Of course, sometimes that’s exactly what pain means. But I used to always stop when I have any pain and that would prevent me from attempting to work out.

I’m not giving myself that excuse anymore. I’ve become the master at modifying my workouts. And I just have to keep that mindset for other things. Just because my feet are sore, that doesn’t mean that I can’t get my 10,000 steps done. It just means that it might take me all day instead of being able to get them all done in the morning (and then working toward 15,000 for the rest of the day). It might hurt to type with my shoulder pain (it’s weird, but true) but I have to push through it and try to take typing breaks when I can.

I know that pain is temporary, and I just have to keep telling myself that. And most of the pain I’m feeling is because I’m working so hard on improving myself and soon I won’t feel the pain anymore with similar activities.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailFiguring Out My Pain (or Staying Calm While Stressing Out) Default ThumbnailInjury After Injury (or I Swear It’s Not Because I’m A Klutz) Default ThumbnailDoubling Up On Pain (or Physical and Mental Pain Together) Default ThumbnailStill Working Through The Pain (or I’m Going To Stay Positive About This) Default ThumbnailFeeling The Pain With The Weather (or The Full Story About My Hip Problems) Default ThumbnailPain Distracts From Other Pain (or The Rain Isn’t Too Bad This Time)

Comments Off on Feeling New Aches And Pains (or Working On More Pain Management)

Posted in Fitness, Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged , , , , ,

Giving Fitbit Another Chance (or Doing Laps Around My Living Room)

Posted on April 15, 2015 | Comments Off on Giving Fitbit Another Chance (or Doing Laps Around My Living Room)

I’ve previously written about Fitbit on here. I had a pretty bad experience with them and I returned the Fitbit I bought then almost right away.

I was ok not having a Fitbit for a while. I had used a pedometer in the past and it wasn’t something that really excited me.

But lately, more and more of my friends have been talking about competing against each other on Fitbit. I learned that I could use the Fitbit app and have  my steps counted by my phone. So since that was free, I did it.

But I realized that all the steps I take at Orangetheory didn’t count since I wasn’t holding my phone while I worked out. So I started looking into getting a Fitbit device again.

I looked at the ones you wear on your wrist, but it didn’t seem right for me. First, I already wear a watch so I didn’t want something else on my wrist. And secondly, it probably wouldn’t count my steps on the treadmill at Orangetheory because I have to hold onto the treadmill (balance issues).

So I decided on the Fitbit One. It’s pretty small and I can either wear it on my pants on in the middle of my bra (I’ve been going with the middle of the bra choice since it’s totally out-of-the-way).

Fitbit One Size

During my workouts at Orangetheory, I’ve been putting it on my pants since my sports bra goes up much higher than a normal bra.

It’s nice to count all my steps during the day. And the app on my iPhone is super easy to use and read.

Fitbit Tracking

But what I’ve been loving the most about Fitbit this time (besides the fact that it’s working and syncing perfectly) is the social and competitive aspect of it.

You can be friends with different people on there and see how you rank against each other over the past 7 days. Since I just started using the Fitbit, I’m pretty low in the rankings but I’m moving up.

And through the app they also have a bunch of different challenges that you can do with your friends. Right now, I’m doing a weekday challenge with 9 other people (including my agent). But over the weekend, we did a weekend challenge.

Fitbit Competition

I didn’t win that one (and I don’t think I’ll win the weekday one either), but I had a lot of fun doing it. And it’s really motivating me to get as many steps during the day that I can. I’ve been doing laps around my house between customers at work or while I’m watching tv shows that don’t need that much attention. And since I live in such a tiny house, my laps are only like 5 steps each way.

But every step adds up and since Saturday (when I got the Fitbit), I’ve hit my target of 10,000 steps each day! And all of those steps equal more calories burned, so it will be helping me to reach more goals. This is all wins for me.

Are any of you on Fitbit? I’d love to have more friends to compete against!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailExcellent Customer Service (or A New Fitbit) Default ThumbnailNo More Slacking (or Paying Attention To My Fitbit) Default ThumbnailLosing Weight The Techie Way (or My FitBit Fail) Default ThumbnailWorkout Clothes Addict (or Didn’t I Used To Complain About Workout Clothes?) Default ThumbnailFinding A Community (or Online Motivation) Default ThumbnailTough Workout Week (or I Made It Through My 4 Workouts)

Comments Off on Giving Fitbit Another Chance (or Doing Laps Around My Living Room)

Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health, Weight Loss

Tagged , , , , , ,

Losing Weight The Techie Way (or My FitBit Fail)

Posted on August 3, 2012 | 1 comment

I like techie things. I love my computer, I might love my iPhone too much (I sleep with it next to me), and my brother just got me an AppleTV for my birthday. Ok, so maybe I don’t just like techie things, I love them.

So when I heard about the FitBit, it sounded awesome. It counts your steps, it keeps track of how active you are, and it’s so tiny, that even I can clip it on my bra without it being seen.

So I bought one yesterday, and it’s been nothing but trouble. Sorry to any FitBit people who read this, but it’s true.

It took me 2 hours to get it set up. For some reason, the dock would not recognize the device. And it’s never been able to sync. I try to force sync it, and nothing happens. I’ve done everything in the troubleshooting to fix it, but it still doesn’t work. And their customer service is only available by email, no phone calls or online chats.

I decided even with all those fails, I’d still try it today. Maybe I got a defective device and then I’d exchange it instead of returning it.

Nope.

When I rode my bike (inside on a stationary bike), somehow the FitBit thought that I had walked over 7,000 steps. Maybe you can’t wear it when you are working out? Seems weird. It still won’t sync. And the iPhone app only works if you can get the device to sync.

The only positive it had was that I could use MyFitnessPal to track food. But honestly, that’s not enough to want to keep it.

So I’ll be taking it back to the store tomorrow. If any of you have techie weight loss/workout things you love, please let me know. I love competing against myself and others and a plain pedometer just isn’t enough (plus, since I ride my bike as my main workout, the pedometer doesn’t register it).

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailExcellent Customer Service (or A New Fitbit) Default ThumbnailSeeing What Other People See (or Losing Weight Without Losing Weight) Default ThumbnailI Really Am Doing Everything Right (or It’s Frustrating Not Losing Weight) Default ThumbnailLosing Some Weight (or Confused If This Is Good) Default ThumbnailGiving Fitbit Another Chance (or Doing Laps Around My Living Room) Default ThumbnailIt’s Not Really A Transformation Challenge Fail (or Trying To Be Less Competitive With Myself)

1 Comment

Posted in Fitness, Shopping, Weight Loss

Tagged , , ,