One step at a time (or 10,000)

Hi Guys

It's been an interesting couple of weeks for me since my last post. Work has gotten extremely busy and stressful and I've noticed signs of my old 'emotional eating' habits trying to break me. I always used to be an emotional eater, and its taken me many months of discipline to break that unhealthy relationship with food. Being sad, bored, happy etc doesn't make me want to pig out on food nowadays, but something about the stress I've been experiencing at work has really triggered something. For the first time since I started this journey, I don't feel 100% in control and I am having to make a conscious effort to say "No" I will not binge because I am stressed. The food will not actually make it better. I guess the important thing is that I've recognised the signs, and I am doing something about it. My willpower has really had to step up a notch though..

On a completely different note, and to get on with the actual point of this blog post, I wanted to share with you all what my experiences have been since I've acquired myself a Fitbit Zip..which is basically like a fancy pedometer. I started using it about three weeks ago and I have worn it every day, which has been an eye opening experience to say the least!

The idea with this, and I guess any pedometer is to aim for 10,000 steps per day which is supposed to be the recommended requirement to keep you healthy and in some ways, get in some exercise even if you aren't doing anything hard out.
To me having a Fitbit and the information / knowledge I get out of it, has ended up being a bit like when I first got my heart rate monitor (which changed my life and I still love it..read about that HERE).

I've never actually bothered with a pedometer in the past, but now I really wish I had sooner.
My day job involves me sitting at my desk all day. I always knew I didn't exercise/move enough, especially prior to my lifestyle change 12 months ago, but I didn't know it was so bad!
Turns out that on days when I don't do anything else except walk to and from work (about 15min each way)... by the end of the work day I am lucky to have done around 2000-3000 steps. I might do a couple more hundred during the evening by moving around the house, but otherwise that's it!!
Horrifying.. no wonder I was putting on weight!

Even if I add on a 40min walk in the evening on these off days... I'm lucky to get to around 6000-7000 all up. So so eye opening. Seeing the number, really makes me want to move more just so I can get to that magic 10,000 number.
On the flip side, on days I do exercise, especially if I am going for a run or actually doing a class, I can get a whoooole lot of steps done in one go. Last week during an attack class I did 7500 steps in 55 minutes :)

Pros:

• It monitors throughout the day roughly how  many calories you've burned, based on your steps and also your base stats like age, gender and weight. (It calculates from midnight each night)
• It has an easy to use phone app and also a website where you can monitor all of your progress including nifty things like graphs
• The app or website allows you to set up a "Food Plan", where you tell it how much weight you want to lose/gain, and based on your calories burned at any point during the day, it tells you how much you can still eat, or how much you are over. The cool thing is, if you are having a super active day, or a super quiet day, it adjusts your requirements accordingly. Which means more food on active days...and less food on slow days. Having this in front of your face means you're more likely to do what it tells you.
• It can sync with Myfitness pal, which is something I still use and log my food/exercise on every day, so the fact that it automatically syncs with Fitbit is awesome and saves a lot of time!
• It's small - I keep mine clipped onto my bra because that way it doesnt poke out or get in the way, and I hardly notice it.
• The zip model display shows me my steps, calories burned, approx total distance with a couple of taps, so very convenient not having to log in or sync the device. 
• Add friends and follow their progress/compete with them day to day ...kind of fun :)
• Stats are saved on your profile so you can go back and see improvements, compare days/weeks/months
• It's been through the wash, and it survived

Cons:

• You can't sync the zip with your phone app if you have a slightly older device. I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and my phone is "too old" which means I can only sync my activity with my actual profile in the evenings, using a fitbit adapter..and it has to be in close proximity to pick up the signal. Not a huge problem but kind of annoying, especially because I didn't think my phone was a dinosaur!

The RRP for the Fitbit Zip is between $75-$100 in New Zealand.
  
Why buy it over a normal cheap pedometer or instead of using a phone pedometer?
The technology in the device which measures the steps is more accurate and better than anything you'd get in a cheapie pedometer. The fact that it's so small means it can be on you at all times, rather than say having to carry your phone around all day. This combined with the fact that you can set goals, have access on the device, your phone and on your computer and track your progress I think is awesome.
Seeing numbers helps keep you accountable. Being able to track what YOU are doing, rather than just going off averages or random info means you've got way more chance of actually achieving your goals.  Knowledge is power.

Hope you've found my review of the Fitbit Zip helpful...let me know if you have any questions!
Anyone have experience with the other Fitbit models? Are they actually better, and if so, why? Comment below.

Till next time...