Saturday 17 August 2013

What's small, green...

...and exceptionally judgemental?

I'm talking about the fitbit, not the Plink. 

Finally got one of these, ironically after watching one of those BBC pseudo-medical documentaries that I normally run screaming from. This one was talking about gadgets and monitoring and how we could improve our general health by keeping an eye on what we do. 

Hmm. Okay. So far, so pedometer. Alright then. But the other part of this little device is it tells you how many calories you've burned. There's an associated mobile app which lets you plug in how many calories you've consumed too, and the online 'dashboard' will figure out if you're in deficit or if that slice of delicious cheesecake was a bit too much for the moving around you've been doing and you need to get off of your fat butt now, mister.

Well, I have to say that my job is pretty active. I'm more or less on my feet all day, except for brief periods of perching on a chair to write in some notes before being inevitably moved on. I've often wondered how far I walk in a day, and I guess now I'm going to find out! My new hospital has some very long corridors and I'm spread over three floors a lot of the time. But I'm not as healthy as I'd like to be. I've got a tendency to come home and snack, then eat late, not go out for exercise at the slightest excuse (it's raining/I'm tired/my nose hurts), my hydration is crap and a rather nasty ankle injury about a month ago got me out of the habit of forcing myself on a run three times a week whether I liked it or not. I'm not putting on loads of weight; all my 'slim days' clothes still fit nicely, but I'm not feeling as good as I have done in the past. 

All in all, I think my judgemental green friend is going to work for me. Firstly, I'm a bit competitive and I respond well to goals. The daily 10,000 steps will be a good thing for me to try and achieve. Secondly, the concept of having to tell the fitbit when I've been a bit naughty and snacky is probably going to be enough incentive for me to put down the chocolate or not reach for a second glass of wine. Thirdly, the irritation of having to plug every mouthful of food into my phone will definitely put me off eating! 

Incidentally and completely by coincidence, the Long-Suffering Boyfriend ordered a copy of the Hairy Biker's second diet book, which arrived today. I am completely in love with all the recipes we've tried from the first one, (the 'fakeaways' section is SUPERB. Best curry I've ever tasted) so am looking forward to trying some more of their low calorie recipes. 

No panic. I'm not going to get all preachy. I'm a big fan of enjoying life and enjoy it I will, regardless of trying to be a slightly slimmer monster. I've set a goal of losing 8kg on the 'medium' setting (as opposed to the 'bloody hard' setting). Fitbit reckons we'll be there by the start of December. I'll let you know! Better get the trainers out... 

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