Over 2 months ago, I wrote about getting a Fitbit to help me along in my health journey.
The most important thing for me was to make sustainable changes. So when I said I would prioritize my health, that didn’t mean drastic diet changes, spending an hour at the gym every day, or anything else that I’ve already figured out doesn’t work for me. An hour at the gym sounds great if you enjoy it — I don’t.
If I set a goal to spend an hour at the gym 5 times per week, I’d be setting myself up for failure, and that’s not how we succeed in anything.
Prioritizing my health and wellness
I had a revelation this year about physical fitness. Recently, I’ve found myself looking at very fit people (or pictures of very fit people) and wondering how they did it. I mean, I understood the basic mechanical requirements, but being able to actually do what was needed seemed like such a mysterious thing. I kept asking myself, How? How did they do it?
One day, I suddenly figured it out: They made it a priority. They decided that this was important to them, and they made time for it. It was much like when I prioritized sleep last year after nearly 2 years of stress-induced insomnia.
Maybe this isn’t news to anyone else, but this was the piece I’ve been missing. Looking back, I saw that my health always seemed to be something I would worry about later, like when I had more time and energy, when everything else was done, etc. Taking care of my physical body somehow dropped to the bottom of my list, which meant it never got attention.
Realizing this changed my life and my attitude towards taking care of myself.
I’ve read lots of advice about how to lose weight or get fit, and many people suggest things like adding a workout as an appointment on your calendar or to your actual to-do list. That might work for some, but it didn’t work for me. I still pushed them off to the next day or deleted them entirely.
I feel like I tried all the tricks in the book, but for me, it was more about shifting my mindset from “I can do that later” to “I’ll do this before anything else.”
Because “later” often didn’t happen, or when it did, I was busy, too tired, or not in the mood. By shifting my health to the top of the list, I pushed other things off for later that are fine if they don’t get done, like TV or video game time.
Shifting my mindset also prevents falling into the trap of feeling like I’m forcing or restricting myself or sacrificing anything important to me, and that’s made a huge difference too.
It’s not about losing weight
Another important differentiating factor in this journey than previous ones is that this isn’t about losing weight — I mean, yes, that is a nice benefit, but that’s not the goal.
Whenever I had that goal in the past, it felt like a destination. When I reached that destination, I would stop taking care of myself. Of course when I stopped, I would gain the weight back, and I ended up in this cycle of weight loss and gain… and gain.
This time, it isn’t about forcing my body into a certain shape or trying to fit into old clothes. It’s about feeling better about myself, feeling comfortable in my own skin, feeling strong and confident, and taking care of my body.
Based on my past experience, I know that when I focus on taking care of my body, I naturally lose weight.
I got rid of clothes that didn’t fit
One day, I was suddenly struck with the feeling that keeping ill-fitting clothes became unacceptable. I realized I had to let go of the clothes that were too small if I truly wanted to take care of myself. Many of them hadn’t fit for at least 4 years, and I decided it was time to let them go for a couple reasons.
- I have lost weight before, and they still didn’t fit. Thus, instead of celebrating my win of losing weight and feeling better, these old clothes made me feel like the progress I made wasn’t enough.
- When I lose weight, I can buy clothes that fit me in that moment.
Saying goodbye to these clothes, which had survived many other declutterings, was a bit sad but also liberating. I felt relieved to let go of what felt like an impossible goal and holding on to the past. This process also freed up an entire drawer under the bed, so I was able to move a few items out of the overstuffed closet, which felt good.
Why Fitbit is the perfect partner for me
Throughout this journey, Fitbit has been the perfect partner to help me prioritize my health in my own way. Like I said, I want to make sustainable changes that I can maintain throughout life, and Fitbit does a great job allowing users to go at their own pace.
Everything “counts”
I had this strange idea that exercise has to look a certain way for it to “count” towards my health.
Recently I found out I’m not the only one: A friend told me she felt like she couldn’t log a workout because she only did half of the video. I’ve had that exact same thought! But the 25 minutes she worked out definitely counts, even if the video was 50 minutes.
This is the real beauty of exercise goals in the Fitbit app. I have mine set to 5 days per week, and all that matters is that I log any workout. That can be an hour of walking or 10 minutes of yoga. It all counts, and that’s absolutely the attitude I want for myself and my wearable companion.
That’s why I like to say “movement” instead of “exercise.” The latter conjures images of sweating bullets and being sore the next day, while the former can literally be anything.
Basically, I looked at what I like to do and what I’m already doing (yoga and walking) and just leaned more into those activities. This is a more easeful and natural way to increase movement without feeling like it’s too much change.
Step goals are attainable and motivating
The attitude that anything counts is also why I like the step goal. Cleaning my apartment counts towards the step goal, but I’m also more likely to walk to the store instead of driving.
Walking is one of my favorite forms of movement. It’s totally underrated but super effective. It’s a lot easier to walk more if you live in a walkable city and when the weather is nice, but I have been walking around my neighborhood while I listen to audiobooks, and that’s been fantastic. Listening to something interesting makes the walk more enjoyable, and it’s a special treat since I haven’t done much of that since I started working from home.
I also am fortunate to live in an area with lovely hiking trails, so my husband and I have been exploring those, which has been good quality time together away from screens.
It meets me where I am
Fitbit is great for beginners, but when I’m ready to advance, I have access to more intense workouts by Fitbit, and I can track them with the Sense 2.
But the Fitbit doesn’t push users to do a certain exercise or reach certain goals. It’s pretty good at being a cheerleader without adding guilt or other negativity that I don’t need or want in this journey.
In closing
I’ve been tracking my cycle since 2015, so I’ve been interested in quantified-self and habit tracking for years. Tracking is an effective tool for me, though I could see how some people might find it too overwhelming. I find that Fitbit keeps me engaged just the right amount: I’m not obsessive about it, but I still engage daily.
The Fitbit app is far from perfect (I’ve talked about initial growing pains and my wishlist for the Fitbit app), but it has been the perfect partner to help me prioritize my health and wellness in a way that feels good for me. I already feel physically better, and I look better too.
I’m also feeling better because I’ve been eating differently, which wouldn’t be possible without all the work I have done over the years, most recently with the help of kakikata.
I love how Fitbit has helped me build fitness into my life in a way that fits my style, and it’s helped me have better balance in life overall. I’m still on this journey — and I will be for life — but this is what feels good right now.
For more about Fitbit, check out the related posts below:
Teena Merlan 