Why I gave up my Fitbit.

I attribute a lot of my early weight loss to my awareness of how many calories I burnt vs. took in using activity monitors.  I started with my BodyMedia arm band, which I loved, but it was huge and not attractive.  I switched and started wearing a Polar Loop monitor which was not as bulky but definitely not as accurate.  I then got a FitBit.  I absolutely 100% loved my Fitbit and the competitive nature of the app and having "friends" to compete with for the most steps taken was the icing on the cake.

 I got hooked on knowing all my numbers every day.  I was (borderline) obsessed. I uploaded and checked my status of steps taken and calories burnt multiple times a day. I wouldn't even take the FitBit off to shower. It had gotten out of hand.

The decision was actually made for me with the recall of the FitBit and my wearing it in the shower habit.  I didn't get the rash that was the reason for the recall, but I had gotten condensation in the screen and the battery life was 24 hours or less. THAT was annoying.  I took advantage of the recall and sent my FitBit back and haven't tracked my activity on a daily basis since.  It's pretty liberating.

I felt trapped and obsessed with the numbers.  If I wasn't hitting my numbers every day, I was failing.  THAT'S why I wasn't losing weight.  Had to be.  It wasn't the crappy food I was reintroducing more frequently in my life or the fact that I wasn't training for a marathon and running 20 miles a week or more.  This summer and this time in my life is different and I'm very likely not going to lose 10-15 pounds a month like I did before.

I have a trainer for a reason.  I've loved being back in the gym and lifting weights and feeling stronger. Even if I *only* lose a pound per week, which, is the way to do it and I know that, I'll still be 30 pounds closer to my goal in time for the wedding.  I have to trust him and follow the plan, because it IS working.  I was even allowed a cheat meal last weekend (and hopefully this weekend too - I'll talk to him in a few hours) and am at my lowest weight of my journey to date.  I was 188.0 pounds this morning, which actually puts me down 2 pounds from last week.  Not complaining :)

Anyway, moral of the story is that while technically weight loss is done by burning more calories than you consume, making good/better choices and just being active can help.  Slow progress is better than no progress, and my mind is in a better place without the numbers game.