“The longest journey begins with a single step.” I used to like that saying — until I got a Fitbit.
The Fitbit. You simply must have one! So says just about everybody.
Mine came as a gift to motivate me on my new weight loss/live with diabetes journey.
As I’m sure you know, the Fitbit keeps track of your steps through the day, calories burned, minutes of extreme activity and hours of sleep (even how many times you are restless in a night).
Well, it does all of these things ONCE you get it programmed! It took me half a day and a call to tech support to figure mine out.
It all went sideways when the technician asked me to locate my “dongle.”
“Say what?”
“Put your dongle in the port”
“I don’t think that’s happening, Pal”
A few awkward silences later, I figured out what the heck he was referring to (little black thingy plugged into side thingy of laptop).
From there it was a lot of fiddling to get to the right type of Fitbits (there’s a lot of them) and to the correct website and then setting up a Dashboard. It will track your water intake, calories and send you challenges. Okay — ummm — no challenges . . . getting the bracelet fastened on my wrist was challenge enough.
It suggests 10,000 steps a day. What? I’m not an Olympian. I set my goal low — at 3,000 steps — because I can always achieve that and when I do, I get a little green badge and the Fitbit celebrates with little virtual fireworks.
Yay me!
However, beware the evil little gadget which will also taunt you with snarky little messages and even a zap to your wrist.
“Let’s rol!l”
“Only 121 steps to go to meet your goal!”
“Hey, wanna go for a stroll?" (Hey, you wanna go for a fast trip across the room?)
Perhaps, I have not fully embraced this new lifestyle change.
Maybe if Fitbit could promise me that at the end of 10,000 steps, George Clooney would be waiting for me with a cookie, I might even walk fast!
Everything King (with Wendy King) is published every Tuesday on BarrieToday. Follow Wendy King on twitter @WendyKingNews , email her [email protected] or contact her through BarrieToday.
