The battery is draining as I write this…well actually, I got an email notification that by Fitbit Flex has a “low battery”. Last week I read a blog post by Amy at Crazy Mama Runs. Her post “Why is my Fitbit on my Dresser” caught my eye. I read it and then read it again. I totally got what she was saying.

I got my Fitbit Flex Dec 27th and have worn it every day since; trying to reach my daily goal of 10,000 steps. Most days I hit that goal and some days I don’t. One of the main reasons I got it was to track my sleep since I thought I was getting very little sleep. Tracking my steps couldn’t hurt, right? Turns out, I sleep okay but have to little ones that wake me up a lot. So really, I’ve learned nothing new. I wrote a review for my Fitbit a few months ago.

There were days when I was so closed to my 10,000 steps that I would literally walk around the inside of my house just to get my goal! Crazy, eh!!!!

After reading Amy’s post to essentially “take a break” from her Fitbit for a month, I thought…I’d like to do that too – or at least take a week off and go from there!

The sleep function doesn’t always work and really….with my day job {Regional Physical Activity Consultant with the Province}, I know how much activity I should get in a day or week. I know I should get up from my desk and sit less, I know that walking at lunch time even for 15-20 minutes is good moderate activity. AND, I know that on those days I work out/run, I get a heck of a lot of steps at a VIGOROUS intensity.

Steps are steps. I could walk around my house all day and not go outside once and still reach my 10,000 step goal. Remember, steps are steps. I have done this by chasing after my girls, going up and down the stairs, using my stand up work station, making meals etc. The key here is they are just steps. On days like these, really…what health benefits am I getting by hitting my 10,000 step goal if it’s just steps around the inside of my house. Not to mention, there have been NUMEROUS times I’ve “reached” my 10,000 steps by the following:

• Changing a diaper
• Bathing the girls
• Washing dishes
• Lifting my arm in the air

Don’t get me wrong, I know these tracking devices do different things and are motivating for lots of people. Heck, it’s motivating for me to…at times. However, some days I was getting so focused on my steps that it was starting to become silly. I loved the challenges mainly to keep me accountable. I never needed to “win” them but enjoyed reaching my daily goals.

So after all that….on Sunday I woke up with my Fitbit put away in a drawer and yes I’ve thought about it. On Sunday {Mother’s Day} I was walking up the stairs swinging my arms naturally and thought “yes, I’m getting my steps in” and quickly realized NOPE, I’m not. While we played outside with the girls on the bike that afternoon, I thought “this would have been a lot of steps!”. Again, they weren’t adding up because I didn’t have it on.

So far, I don’t miss it and actually enjoy having nothing on my wrists but a hair elastic {runners problems} when I sleep. I’m enjoying the freedom. I know I should get up from my desk and sit less, I know when I should move and that being active is a healthy part of my life. I don’t miss the trying to get my steps in or having to reload my app to get it to update…that’s more time off technology which I kinda like.

I might wear it on the upcoming weekend since Lilly is running her 2k run, I’ll be on my feet all day or I might just forget it at home! That’s where I’m at and you bet tonight after I do my treadmill run and PT exercises that I’ll probably think “those steps would have sent me over my daily goal”.

Again, this opinions are my own. I’m just an injured runner changing it up for the week and will see if my Fitbit Flex makes it back on my arm or not!

Do you disconnect from technology often?

Are you concerned with how many steps you get in a day?

Do you know the difference between moderate and vigorous activity?