A few years ago, I finally decided to buy a FitBit. I had heard about them and heard how successful others have been losing weight with them and I wanted to track my activity. Little did I know how much mine would impact my life.
I decided to get a FitBit when I began to raise money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, an organization that raises money to fight HIV/AIDS. It was started by Brian May and Roger Taylor after Freddie Mercury died due to complications with AIDS. The organization has an online fundraising platform and I wanted to walk 2000 miles in a year to help raise money for them, so I decided to get a FitBit to log the miles.
Going through and setting up my goals was a tough experience. I had to think about how much walking I actually did and what I wanted to aim for. I calculated how many miles I would have to do each day in order to reach my goal and aimed to reach these goals each day. At first, I aimed for the recommended 10,000 steps, but I began to aim higher once I got into a routine. When you buy a fitbit and see your activity, it really motivates you to do better!
It took a little bit of time to see how much it actually takes to reach the goals. However, I began to make sure I hit those goals each day, giving me something to work for. I had a couple rough days where I did not reach my goals, and though I was tempted to be hard on myself, I decided to be patient with myself and my progress, as things take time.
I got my FitBit during my time at Temple University and at that point, I was just realizing how competitive I am with myself. Receiving my first achievement badge, and realizing this was a feature on FitBit, was so motivating for me. I looked at other’s profiles and saw what badges they had received and saw what I was capable of achieving.
When I received my first invite to join a competition with my friends, I was so motivated to do as much as I do to win. Though it took a couple competitions for me to win one, I was still so motivated. I went to great lengths to make sure I did my best. I walked the long way and parked far away in parking lots to get more steps.
Nothing worth doing comes easily. This could not have truer in this case. Once spring break at Temple hit, I got a bad cold, which hindered me from getting my steps in for a little while and had to readjust to get back into it once I felt better. Then, the summer of that year, I got a nasty stomach bug, which set me back once again.
Making a comeback after these bouts with illness was tough, but I kept in mind why I was doing what I was doing and made sure I kept up with my goals. While I did not hit my total mileage in my desired time frame, I did eventually hit it and was able to raise money for an amazing charity.
Today, I am still pretty active. While I am not as into it as I was at one point, I am hoping to get back on track over the summer. I use my FitBit to help me log miles to earn points on Achievement, which is a website and app that pays users for healthy habits.
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