When Eddie got a FitBit as a gift for Christmas last year, my first thought was, "OK. Just another gadget that will find its way to the drawer of once-used-never-to-be-seen-again misfit gadgets."
Oh! How wrong I was!
The first few days Eddie started out slowly, walking several miles a day to achieve the American Heart Association's 10,000 step goal-per-day; equivalent to 5 miles.
Like most people, reaching 10,000 steps on a given day would mean putting some effort into his activities. So he got serious. Now, each day he HAS to "Jiggle" ~ his word for the sensation you feel when the LED lights flash on your wrist upon reaching your target.
"Jiggling" has become an obsession with Eddie.
Shopping in below freezing temps? Too bad. We have to walk from the furthest parking spot so he can "Jiggle". Need to drop in at the mall to pick up a quick gift? The probability is that the perimeter of the mall needs walking; to "Jiggle", of course. Elevators and Escalators are bad words. Why use them when you can maximize on steps? Going to a casual party? The hors d'oeuvres table takes on new significance. Calculated correctly, several trips could gain one an extra 2,000 steps. Or one mile; assuming your stride length is 2.5 feet long and you keep the pace and speed moving as you talk.
At times, when the weather is colder and the daylight shorter, the steps have to be taken inside. The house, I mean. While this may seem fine to most, especially since we have a state-of-the-art treadmill, it is a quandary to Eddie. He hates walking in one place. As a result, there are times at 10 o'clock, PM that is, when the daily step achievement hasn't been met. He then begins to race with the tenacity of the Road Runner up and down the hallway, up and down steps, figure-eights around the living room furniture, counterclockwise around the dining room table, round and round the little rug in our bedroom....you get the picture. This behavior wouldn't disrupt the sleeping patterns of others in the house if he did it quietly, but no, you hear him puffing, huffing and swinging those arms like a windmill. And once those steps are achieved, anyone within the 5-mile hearing range gets the "I JIGGLED!!!" update. It's amazing to see how much bliss this little doodad gives a former leather chair recliner. Think Pavlov's bell. Reinforcement. Reinforcement. Reinforcement.
To amp it up a bit, Eddie's Smartphone now has an app that tracks his calories. The new math is: Calories - Steps = Weight Lose. In addition, the steps have begun to take on another dimension. Distance travelled. To date, according to this silent surveillance, Eddie's Lifetime steps are 2,794,536. Or 1,359 miles. In other words, if he had started walking last December, he'd be in Utah today.
Perhaps he's the next Walk Across America candidate?
Who would have thought that a lightweight, silicone wristband could be the taskmaster of a single completed movement? The overseer of forward advancement? The Head Honcho of good health? I won't even go into the features it has to track your sleeping activity, patterns and efficiency (Fitbit's words, not mine), how may stairs your steps convert to or how many active minutes you've had in the day. To intensify and reinforce the experience, this little tracking tool even sends you congratulatory messages notifying you of your "Champ"! or "Overachiever" status!
Feeling a bit left out, I started looking around at wrists everywhere. On the street. At work. Grocery shopping. Even Baby Showers. Sure enough, more people than not are wearing these tracking widgets: FitBit, Jawbone, Nike & Vivofit. Keeping in fashion, Tory Burch has designed a FitBit in signature colors, patterns and designs so it can be worn as a stylish, trendy accessory. Now one can even attend a Black Tie event and "Jiggle"! Exercising has never been so chic! As a result, there's no need to feel guilty if you don't reach your daily ambition since you're at least being posh about it. No worries mate (!), tomorrow's tracking starts from scratch.
A new day. Tabula rasa.
So what's not to love about a bit of wrist supervision?
Lately, I'm having visions in my head of us both trying to keep up with this fitness management strategy (mine in Tory Burch Multi Fushia, please). Eddie and I will text all day: "Did you "Jiggle" yet?", comparing step counts, challenging each other on the Leaderboard and competing for Badges. All our conversations and activities will center around what we need to do to reach the coveted step goal. In our shared mission to become prodigies for Walkers World Wide, I see us passing each other in the hallway, high-fiving each other during our near-midnight frenzy to "Jiggle".
I'm trying real hard not to succumb to the peer pressure of it all. I keep repeating to myself: I. Do. Not Need. A. Fitness. Tracker. I. Do. Not. Need. A. Fitness. Tracker. As I see it, I have two choices: Start a support group for those of us who have to put up FTS...Fitness Tracker Syndrome or start walking and get counting - one-step, two-step, three-step, four...
