Several months ago I got a Fitbit Flex, which I thought was AWESOME. I loved it! While I was super excited to measure my steps/activity, I was really excited to monitor my sleep… I am a really bad sleeper and spend a lot of time exhausted. I feel like a whiny baby about this so having something that could keep track and tell me seemed helpful.
I was loving my Flex. Seeing her there, on my wrist, motivated me to get moving… I was up and busy constantly, (though not out walking, as the extended Michigan winter was a little tough to live with.) and averaging about 2-3,000 steps a day. I figured, because I knew that I was staying active, that this was good.
Until…
Until our good friends jumped on the bandwagon, and a couple of days later my husband, succumbing to peer pressure, boarded as well.
Suddenly they are all getting 8-12,000 steps a day and I’m stuck wondering what the crap is wrong with me, and why am I so miserably lazy, as I frantically run up and down stairs to do laundry, etc. Then, one deceptively sunny day in March, my husband and I had the rare gift of a “same day”. By this I mean, we did the EXACT SAME THINGS. Neither of us walked anywhere, without the other. When we realized this, we logged into our apps to see our steps. While his was showing 12 steps under 8,000 steps, mine was showing 2211 steps. Thus proving something was off.
I did loads of research, because I am a research queen, and learned about setting my stride. I did that and it improved some, but we will still intentionally start some days out the same, to test it, and he averages thousands beyond me. According to what I’ve been told, some people glide, and I must be a glider.
Whatever.
Who cares anyway, right? Which is sort of true. Before I had any friends with Flexs of their own, I was really motivated and proud. Now, when I look at the list of my friends and I’m at the bottom with my ridiculous step counts, knowing that it would be IMPOSSIBLE to be more busy most days (plus, I go to the gym) it’s super discouraging.{Example: last week my husband hurt his back at work and was home for a day. I had to take him to the doctor. He walked from bed to the living room, from living room to the car, car to dr, dr to home, home to bed. Maybe throw in a few trips to the bathroom and that’s his day. Meanwhile I walked the dogs multiple times, was up and down three flights of stairs throughout the day, all day, went to the pharmacy TWICE (at Target), went to the grocery store, took Gen to school, did cleaning, etc… And his fitbit showed him at more steps than I had. HOW???? How I beg you?)
But, I need to stop caring about that. And while my friends, who I essentially talking into getting FBF’s (it’s a growing list, btw) all see me ranking the bottom of the list and relish in the irony- I just need to shrug it off, do what I do and be happy that it accurately monitored the 2 hours and eleven minutes of sleep I got last night.
Rainy Day in May... 
So frustrating! I was in a fitbit challenge last year with a friend and had some of the same issues. We would go on a bike ride TOGETHER and hers would show twice what mine would. I placed it
on every surface of my body to figure it out :) Finally, I just made every step pretty deliberate and with purpose to make it count and decided that had benefits of its own! I killed the contest by the way. Won by a TON but had to work my butt off (literally) for it!
that’s cool. I’ve tried that but it just doesn’t seem to make a difference! :(