Making Time for the Important Stuff: Exercise

Sure, I knew I needed to exercise.

I've been going to a wonderful personal trainer for years now — but just exercising with her once a week was obviously far from ideal. A gym membership didn't get me going; I wound up canceling it, so I didn't waste the money. Classes didn't work, either. Nothing seemed to get me into the exercise habit.

And then I got my Fitbit - the one shown above.

A number of women I know are using the Fitbit, and it's working well for them. They do their 10,000 or more steps per day, and are seeing the results in weight loss and overall fitness. And I figured that peer pressure (and peer support) might be just the thing to get me going. For $60, it seemed worth the gamble.

And sure enough, there's something about seeing how my steps compare with everyone else's — and knowing people can see what I've done, or not done — that gets me out and walking even when I'm feeling lazy, or when it's a bit chilly, or when I have any of the many excuses I could come up with for not walking.



I'm not at 10,000 steps yet, but I'm moving in the right direction. I committed to at least 6,000 steps per day this week, and I've made it every day. Today I hit my personal best, at 7,685 steps.

Yes, I know that steps taken isn't a perfect measure of exercise. It doesn't capture much of what I do with my trainer, for example: lunges, crunches, squats, the stuff with the weights.

But the group support has me moving every day, and that's a darn good start.

Anyone else using the Fitbit and want to connect? Send me a request!