#charge 2

[all-thestories-aretrue]

Does anyone have any recommendations for fitness trackers? My Fitbit Charge 2 is finally a bust through no fault of my own. Im looking for something similar. I am thinking about the Garmin vivosmart 4. Any advice welcome!!

[69shadesofgray]

really want a fitbit, really don’t have $150

[cinnaxfox]

So. . .my area had a flash flood warning. But the rain let up and people were still heading to the bars and clubs, so I think I did well considering I didn't get started until just before 10pm My shirt says,"Exercise? I thought you said Extra Fries" 🍟

[bmwiid]

So I got a Fitbit

Right, I got a Fitbit for my birthday from my mum - it’s a very expensive gift and I was a little worried that I wouldn’t really ever get the use out of it because I am a very unfit and lazy person, I have depression and issues with food, and I work in a call center that times your toilet breaks, so getting up and walking about is... not happening.

Anyway. I got the Charge 2:

and this was the one I wanted, because of three things:

The sleep monitor. I feel like I never get enough sleep and I’m always tired. I wanted to know how i slept at night.

The heart rate tracker - I thought it would help when I have a panic attack I could SEE proof I wasn’t about to die.

The Guided breathing - ditto for above, I thought it would help me calm down if I was on my own.

I’ve had this for 17 days. I downloaded the app.

(more in the cut)

I had to adjust the ‘pre-set goals’ because I am not going to be able to walk 10k steps a day. I set my sleeping schedule, my weight goal, how many steps I wanted to walk a day (6k) how many flights of stairs (15) and I figured that even if I just used it as a rough guide it’s still hella cool.

THIS FUCKING THING HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.

I am not kidding. You know how sometimes you think... shit, im’ really bad at this! but then you have depression so you think you are bad at all things anyway, and it’s not really THAT bad because it’s just your brain being a dick?

I thought that about my activity. I knew I wasn’t doing a LOT of moving around but I wasn’t... too concerned. 

Let me fucking tell you something - when you look at the app and you see that you didn’t MOVE for 5 HOURS once you got home, you start to realise pretty fucking quick that maybe things ARE as bad as you thought. 

I check this thing CONSTANTLY. 

I check my sleep EVERY MORNING before I even get out of bed:

I sleep more than I thought - I am awake or restless through the night though, which might be why I feel so tired all the time. 

HOWEVER, my sleep is about 92% quality sleeping, which means that as far as sleeping is concerned... I’m doing not bad at all!

The thing that I thought would help the most was the breathing exercises... used it once. It’s a great feature - it has timed breaths, and rather than rely on you looking at the watch, it gives a soft silent buzz against your arm. It means that you can close your eyes and just concentrate on the motions. I used it once, I did like it, and it DID calm me down. It comes with a 2mins or 5 mins option. It’s NOT really for anxiety though, more of a ‘cool down’ after exercising, but it helped me. 

But here is the kicker. I use the STEPS, the ACTIVE MINS and the STAIRS... 

ALL THE DAMN TIME

Thats right. After the first week where I was mostly just looking at my stats like.... what the actual fuck, Robyn, moss moves more often that you do...

I figured the best way to do something about it... was to do something about it. And you know what? I’ve been actually DOING IT. 

Monday I figured out that the best way to change was to change. Tuesday I went on a REAL WALK OUTSIDE, and wednesday I mostly complained about the burning in my thighs. I’ve not hit my goal today of 6k, but I’m not too worried about that as it was my day off, and mostly I’ve been just doing housework. 

Any walk over 20 mins registers automatically on the fitbit as ‘exercise’ and not simply ‘moving’ which is really nice to see when you think you haven’t done a lot. I’ve been using my 30 min lunch break to walk around the area where I work, and it’s been getting my heart rate really spiking!

the goal is to get into the Cardio or Peak zones. I check this a lot - some days I feel like my heart is bursting out of my chest. Yesterday, after my lunchtime walk, I was actually sweating - you can see I was in the ‘cardio’ part there - not for long, but long enough for it to feel like a workout! 

I’ve also added ‘beginners squat’ and ‘beginners ab crunches’ challenge to my daily routine - it’s not hardcore AT ALL - 20 a day, then 30, then rest, then 20, 30 and 40. I was resting yesterday - so today I was back to 20 of each. I also added in matching reps with very tiny pink weights my mum had from donkeys ago before she was in the wheelchair - I am doing the ones that look like you are pulling a lil speedboat engine start-up thing, and one that raises the arms so you look like a T. I’m sure these have names. The T one is the hardest for me, I have TINY WEAK arms and wrists, like, I’m not even kidding. 

Anyway.

You know what’s weird? I’m actually enjoying this. It’s not so hard that I feel overwhelmed with it - I’m going at a really slow pace, but I can SEE everything I do, and see how it’s affecting me. Not in my body - but in the things I can’t see, like steps, heart rate, distance and calories. 

I know that if I was going harder, with more, I’d hurt too much and stop, like I did on Wednesday when my legs were killing me. But by going on a walk at lunch, and making sure I climb 15 flights of stairs a day (its hard, but you get a lil fanfare on the watch when you complete it and it makes my day) I have started to FEEL BETTER about myself. 

I really really confident that this is a pace I can maintain. I really, really love this Fitbit. I like goals. But I LOVE achievable goals. 

[bepatientandpersistent]

Look what came today! I had to leave work on lunch so i could go get it 😂 I love it SO MUCH! Who wants to teach me how to add friends? And who wants to be my friend on there? @sensationallyadequate @youdbetterberunning 😊

[cinnaxfox]

Every time I think about quitting, I just push through it anyway. Trying to keep up good habits. Trying lol. I felt really ill earlier during work and honestly thought I wasn't going to go do anything except for drink water and nap but I knew I had to keep going. Once I start my newer schedule, I'll try to get as close to my goal in the morning and then do as much as I can after work at night.

[cinnaxfox]

Since August is my birthday month, I've decided to strive for a Green Day as much as I can. 💚After not doing much of anything for so long, even before being out a month for surgery, I'm really ready to get back to the grind. I would have kept going but I have laundry calling my name 😭 I'm determined to rock the rest of this year.

[cinnaxfox]

Finished with another Greenday!💚👌🏾 after work, I took my coworker and Theo out to walk with me (treated Theo to an ice dream from Chick-fil-a & resisted scrounging up change to get something for myself. - like their grilled chicken sandwich. So good 😭🙌🏾) Then Christye and I finished the second half of the night . Feels good. But my knee is giving me problems. Gonna look into a brace. Next week I will add weights 💪🏾