7 Ways A Fitbit Will Change Your Life

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In response to Shannon's 7 reasons she broke up with her fitness tracker, I had to share my thoughts on this one too. Like Shannon I've had many (many!) days where I've let those numbers on my Fitbit drive me nuts, but I've slowly come up with a moderated way to let it help me be my best without driving me crazy.

While I exercise almost every day (and have for twenty years), as a blogger I sit a lot throughout the day. Once I finish my workout in the morning and get the kids off to school, I usually head to my office and sit down to work 6-8 hours straight without leaving the computer.

However, using my Fitbit to remind myself to get moving has seriously changed our home life. Here's the thing ~ while many of us work on computers every day in our current culture, our bodies just weren't designed for that. We were designed to be up and moving, so my Fitbit is just a friendly reminder to get that moving in. 

Curious how it's changed my life (and honestly our home life too?) Here's how:

1. I complete our laundry. (Every. day.)

Ever hour on the hour between 10 and 3, I force myself to get up and tackle a household chore that helps me sneak in 1,000 steps. The first one I start with each morning is a load of laundry, so my typical routine is to pop a load in the washer as soon as I get showered in the morning, move it to the dryer as soon as I hear it beep, then on my first hourly 1,000 steps I head upstairs, fold laundry and put it all away. 1,000 steps completed (and my laundry is done by keeping up with one load a day!)

2. My house stays tidied up.

During my second 1,000 step round (usually at 11 AM), I walk through the house and pick up anything that needs to be put away. If it needs to go to the basement I take it there, because I've got to get those extra steps in and it needs to be put away anyways.

3. Dinner plans get made.

Around 12 o'clock I figure out what's for dinner, hop off the computer, and get everything I need ready for dinner that night. Today I'm making a slow cooker recipe, so by the time I got my ingredients together, chopped everything up, popped it in Mrs. Potts and cleared the kitchen, I'd almost hit another 1,000 steps. Not only am I getting my steps in, I'm taking care of something I could so easily skip ~ such a win each day!

when I got 40,000 steps in on my birthday ~ ummm, yes, I was a little obsessed!

4. My plants stay watered & our sinks stay clean.

I am the worst about keeping our plants watered, but every day around 1 o'clock I take a few minutes to get those plants watered. While I'm at it I use Lysol Wipes to wipe down all the sinks in our home, easily eeking out another 1,000 steps.

5. The trash goes out & the mail comes in.

As you can imagine around 2 o'clock I'm ready not to hop off the computer with kids coming home all too soon, but I force myself to hop up, walk around to all the trash cans in our home and get all the trash thrown away. While I'm up I force myself to get up to another 1,000 steps  so I grab the mail, and look for anything else that needs to be done while I'm walking around. It's amazing how much easier it is to keep your home tidy when you force yourself to move each day!

6. I'm always glad to park far away at the grocery store (as long as the weather's not bad!)

Stuck with a parking spot way far away from the grocery store? No problem! I easily add an extra 1,000 steps at the store, and those far away spots just help get in a few more steps.

my personal post on FB last weekend ~ we've always tried to walk when we have a few minutes at night, but I loved that someone actually stopped us as we went when holding hands last week!

7. Any chance I get for a walk with my husband in the evenings I take.

We have so many crazy nights hauling kids around to activities, but my husband and I try to take advantage of quick walks whenever we can. He has no idea I'm using them to sneak in those extra steps, but it's a win-win for both of us.

{*BONUS* I'm also way more willing to help my husband with yard work because it helps me add in a few extra steps ~ such a simple way to make ourselves go and do the things we need to do each day!}

I no longer sync my Fitbit and do challenges with other people (I realized that made me way too obsessed!) and have never worn my Fitbit as a sleep tracker . . .  I honestly just use it to make sure I'm up and moving throughout the day, because I know my life can be so sedentary. While I'm incredibly fortunate to work at home, even in an office all day consider spending some time just making yourself walk to run an errand, taking a break from your computer every hour for a quick walk around the office, or do something to keep you moving each day.

For me, while I have definitely had days where I've allowed myself to be consumed with my steps, just using it to keep myself up more often throughout the day has not only helped my health, it's helped me balance in my life. Having our home kept up with each day is huge and the health factor is just a fun added benefit! I really do believe our bodies were designed to move so much more than they do, so this is such a great way for me to cross a few things off my to-do list each day, and take care of myself too.

This is the Fitbit I use if you're interested ~ I love it and have had it for over a year ~ highly recommend this one if you're looking for one! I'd love to hear if you've seen success from using a Fitbit too ~ leave a comment to share. 

Right now eBay has a sale on the Fitbit HR ~ just $49.99 shipped (which is the best price I've seen since Black Friday!) 

In case you're interested, we're starting a new 21 Day Fix Challenge group next Monday (May 16th). We have over 100 ladies in the group (several have lost 20-30 pounds+!), and would love to have you ~ go HERE to sign up if you'd like to join us! (Note: this will likely be my last round to start until the fall, so I'd love for you to join us if you're interested.)

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