My Fitbit Gave Me the Wake-Up Call I Needed
Updated: Jul. 16, 2019
My fitness tracker taught me a valuable lesson.
I may work at a health and wellness magazine, but my job is still a desk job, which means I, like many Canadians, sit for most of the workday. Sitting disease is real, people. This became abundantly clear to me after testing out the new Fitbit Charge 2.
I usually work out an average of 4-5 days each week. My workouts involve a combination of running, spinning and bootcamp (or whatever unique workout I happen to be testing out that week). I’ve run a couple of half marathons and consider myself to be a pretty active person. However, I’ve since learned that I was relying a little too much on my evening workouts and not moving as much (read: hardly at all) during the day. I was shocked when I saw how few steps I was taking during the day.
It wasn’t until the third day of wearing my Fitbit that I actually broke 10,000 steps (roughly 8 km). And that’s only because I went for a 6 km run that morning.
On days I didn’t have a scheduled workout, I was averaging just 5,000 steps with less than 2,000 before lunch. I’m certainly not alone though. According to an Angus Reid survey conducted for ParticipACTION, 63 percent of Canadian office workers are worried about the amount of time they spend sitting at work.
It’s a common scenario: Rush to work, grab a coffee on your way into the office, sit down at your computer to start the day and barely move until lunch.
Since I’ve become more aware of how little I was moving during the day (especially in the morning), I’ve made a conscious effort to get up more often, whether it’s to go get a coffee after arriving at work (as opposed to on the way in) or to refill my water bottle more often. Lunch hour strolls have also improved my step count, not to mention my overall mood and productivity.
What’s also helpful is an hourly reminder to move. Thanks to the latest Fitbit app update, a little buzz on my wrist reminds me to get up and hit at least 250 steps every hour. It’s not always possible (like when I’m in a meeting) but it’s a helpful reminder.
Are you moving enough? Get inspired with our roundup of simple ways to stay active during the day.
