{"id":1910,"date":"2014-02-21T09:15:31","date_gmt":"2014-02-21T13:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mikejandreau.com\/?p=1910"},"modified":"2014-02-21T09:16:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-21T13:16:00","slug":"why-i-stopped-using-a-fitbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mikejandreau.com\/why-i-stopped-using-a-fitbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Stopped Using a Fitbit"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s not secret that Fitbits are taking over the world. \u00a0Everywhere you look, someone’s got one on their wrist or in their pocket. \u00a0It’s a great little invention and one that’s being made by dozens of other manufacturers now.<\/p>\n

If you don’t know, a Fitbit is essentially a glorified pedometer. \u00a0It counts your steps, calories burned and stairs climbed and syncs them (through either your computer or your smart phone) to the web. \u00a0You then get pretty graphs about how far you’ve traveled, how many flights you’ve climbed, and a bunch of other stuff that’s supposed to motivate you to be healthier.<\/p>\n

Here’s what a random day in January looked like for me. \u00a0Yes, I blurred out my weight, ’cause I’m chubby right now. (We’ll get to that shortly.)<\/p>\n

\"Fitbit<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve had one for about four years now. \u00a0I started with the original on, putting it in my pocket every day, feverishly checking my steps to see how far I’d gone. \u00a0I upgraded as new ones came out and they got smaller and smaller. \u00a0They now have bracelets that you can wear, but I’m not big into that idea, so I never got that one.<\/p>\n

About six weeks ago, I looked at my step history. \u00a0It was clear which days were weekends and which days I was out of town for business. \u00a0On an ordinary day, since I work from my home office, I didn’t walk all that much. \u00a0Most days less than 4,000 steps. \u00a0Which, for working at home, is still a lot.<\/p>\n

The reason I stopped wearing the Fitbit was because it didn’t do anything for me. \u00a0I wasn’t motivated to walk more or be more active in any way. \u00a0It was just this thing that sat in my pocket and I’d occasionally go to the Fitbit site and see how poorly I was doing. \u00a0Some days, when I’d go out shopping, I’d break 10,000 steps. \u00a0Health professionals say that 10,000 is the magic number to stay healthy, but it’s kind of insane if you work an office job. \u00a0For me, a mile is about 2,000 steps based on my height and my gate. \u00a0That’s 5 miles a day that you should be walking. \u00a0FIVE MILES. \u00a0That’s a lot of freaking walking\u00a0every single day<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The other reason I stopped carrying it? \u00a0I keep things in my pockets. I’m a guy, that’s normal. \u00a0Left pocket is my iPhone, right pocket is my keys. \u00a0Imagine worrying that you’re going to drop this tiny little device every single time you reach into your pocket to take your keys out. \u00a0Losing it’s a bit deal, too, because it runs you about $100 for one. Here’s the one I was last using for scale (mine was black, but you get the idea)<\/p>\n

\"Fitbit\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s pretty freaking tiny. \u00a0Imagine the panic every time you reach into your pocket and it’s not there. \u00a0You feel like you’ve essentially thrown away a crisp $100 bill. \u00a0Granted, not using it is essentially like throwing it away, too. \u00a0But at least I can re-sell it and get some of my money back.<\/p>\n

In the years that I wore the Fitbit I stayed relatively the same weight. \u00a0More than I want to weigh, hence having this little device to try to help me be healthier. \u00a0The fact that I didn’t lose any weight at all is a testament that this little guy\u00a0isn’t for me<\/strong>. \u00a0Will it work for other people? Sure. \u00a0Could it work for you? Maybe. \u00a0Did it do anything for me? Not a thing.<\/p>\n

I’ve fluctuated +\/- 5 pounds over the last 3 years, but have stayed relatively the same. \u00a0Fitbit didn’t do much for me that I couldn’t do on my own. \u00a0Keeping track of my steps and my eating and calories I could easily do on my own, I just don’t care to. \u00a0I’m not that type of person.<\/p>\n

Is the Fitbit a good product? Sure. \u00a0I never had any troubles with them, and the one time I broke part of it, their support sent me an entirely brand new one. (Great experience with their support team, that one time, three years ago.) \u00a0For now, Fitbit (or Fitty, as I called him) shall sit in a drawer and collect dust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s not secret that Fitbits are taking over the world. \u00a0Everywhere you look, someone’s got one on their wrist or in their pocket. \u00a0It’s a great little invention and one that’s being made by dozens of other manufacturers now. If you don’t know, a Fitbit is essentially a glorified pedometer. \u00a0It counts your steps, calories burned and stairs climbed and syncs them (through either your computer or your smart phone) to the web. \u00a0You then get pretty graphs about how far you’ve traveled, how many flights you’ve climbed, and a bunch of other stuff that’s supposed to motivate you to <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1,174],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I Stopped Using a Fitbit - MikeJandreau<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mikejandreau.com\/why-i-stopped-using-a-fitbit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why I Stopped Using a Fitbit - MikeJandreau\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s not secret that Fitbits are taking over the world. \u00a0Everywhere you look, someone’s got one on their wrist or in their pocket. \u00a0It’s a great little invention and one that’s being made by dozens of other manufacturers now. 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