Fitbit Thoughts

From skwigg's journal:

Fitbit thoughts. For me to continue any behavior long term, it needs to be enjoyable, rewarding, and effective. If it's not, see ya! I ditched my first Fitbit several years ago because it became obsessive, discouraging, and counterproductive. In my case, it was because I was tracking input versus expenditure and I went bonkers. Quickly!

Now, through the magic of happy eating, I've lost all sense of calorie awareness. This in itself is miraculous. I don't read nutrition labels or casually tally meals in my head. I don't measure anything. I don't pay any attention to restaurant menu nutrition facts. I eat at other people's houses or make recipes with a dozen ingredients and I don't have a clue how many calories there are. Overall, I don't have even a general sense of how much I eat in a day because every day is so different. My appetite varies based on my activity and meal schedule that day, which means I'm not forcing a certain activity level and I'm not eating according to a clock or a schedule. I get hungry and eat however much I'm hungry for at that time. Again, whoa! If happy eater me and dieter me could somehow converse through the magic of time travel, dieter me would be like, "You do WHAT?!" LOL I'm reminded of Jill Coleman's "control is the opposite of trust" statement. I used to control because I was anxious. I thought controlling the hell out of something (namely my eating) would bring peace and relief but it never quite worked out that way. Trust has brought peace and relief. I trust that wherever I am and whatever food is available or not available, I'm fine. I'll eat the same as always - whatever I like, in a portion appropriate for my appetite at the time.

Ok, so back to the Fitbit. I've lost all sense of the input portion of the equation. The calorie expenditure is consistently pretty high, but it does vary from day to day by 500-700 calories. I never try to even that out or burn a consistently high amount every day. I actually set my goals at about half of what I normally do in a day. So, even if I'm seated in a meeting all day, or compelled to lie on the couch and watch Netflix for 6 hours, my Fitbit is still all like, "Woohoo! You rock! Goal met! Keep up the good work!"

So that's where I am now. I realize it could change. Maybe one day seeing my stats will become annoying instead of fun. Then I'll lose interest like I did with calorie counting. Same with daily weighing. Right now it's a behavior that I find enjoyable, rewarding, and effective. But if it stops being that, it's history. That may be a bit of a trust/control situation too. Seeing the number doesn't bother me anymore because I'm not making any particular effort to control it. I trust that I'm ok no matter what I weigh, and that my body will reflect my habits over time. Even though I exist happily in about a 10 pound range, it's fascinating how my body consistently returns to the middle of it, without interference from me. It likes it there! Pretty cool!