My Journey With Health And Fitness – I Admit I Am Obsessed

Ok, I found out why there were so many birds in the bay on Tuesday. Turns out there is some sort of herring/sardine/anchovy/smelt run happening (there’s some debate on what type of fish they actually are). Now, we have the seals and sea lions in the bay getting their snacks. It’s great when the tide is in but I can assure you when the tide goes out many of those fish get left behind on the shore and that is when the rats come out to dine. I shall avoid being near the beach when that happens.

Today was once again a run day. I checked the weather before I headed out and it was raining lightly. Ok, I thought, we can get a little wet. So off I went on the initial walk then just before I got to the promenade I started to run. About 10 minutes in the rain changed and got heavier. By time I got to the pier it was just teeming down and I was soaked. Despite that I kept going because I was bound and determined to get a run in without having to use the dreaded treadmill (my husband even reached out to me offering to come pick me up but I ignored him). I finished that run absolutely soaking wet and extremely cold but I still did it. I haven’t yet decided if I am determined or completely friggin’ insane.

But here’s the problem, my Fitbit is refusing to record my runs. It hasn’t done one in over a week. I used to tell it I was doing a workout during the before and after walks (it doesn’t like acknowledge it when you walk then run then walk) then switch to run in between. Last Saturday I went to switch it from run and found it had turned itself off. I decided Tuesday, ok, I’ll just track the run but again when I went to end it on my Fitbit it had again turned itself off. Same thing happened today event though I synced it to the app before I started running.

I have reached out to Fitbit but they were little help as they fixated on my battery. There is nothing wrong with the battery, the app and the operating system are up to date, it just simply turns itself off. My frustration is the fact Fitbits aren’t cheap yet of the now 5 that I have been through none have lasted more than about 18 months. I have a spare which I am charging up but it will be my last ever Fitbit.

But here’s the problem, I am obsessed with my daily results especially now that I am back in training. I can barely function without knowing my steps, distance, calories burned, cardio load and zone minutes. Seriously, in my head, despite knowing that I walked/ran for 2 hours today it doesn’t count because it is not showing on the app. I know I will technically meet all of my goals today but again, it’s not showing so my brain tells me it doesn’t count. Trust me I become absolutely crazy obsessed with all of these numbers and freak when they aren’t right.

Ok, the rational part of my brain tells me that I have met all of my goals regardless of what my Fitbit says but the irrational part tells me the workouts don’t count because they are not showing. I know I will get in 20k + steps today but my Fitbit will likely only acknowledge 1/2 of them. I know I will burn more than 2,300 calories but again I won’t get acknowledgement for all of them. Arggggghhhh!

Right, deep breath and remind myself I am training and putting in the right amount of effort everyday. I know what an hour of bootcamp, walking and running equates to in terms of distance, step and calories. I know I am meeting all my goals. I know I am crushing all of it. Maybe what I really need to do is toss this Fitbit along with my obsession and just keep doing what I am doing.

Sadly, for me that is easier said than done.