I lost My Pedometer and Stopped Walking

Last updated on: November 20, 2013 at 12:36 pm by Kathy Tuan-Maclean

I lost My Pedometer and Stopped Walking 2013-11-20T12:36:21-05:00 Kathy Tuan-Maclean

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Several weeks ago I lost my Fitbit pedometer somewhere between BJs, the Party Store, Michael’s, CVS and Marshalls—it was quite the day of shopping. And I felt a sense of desolation that doesn’t seem appropriate for a thumb sized plastic object. That I’m blogging yet again about a pedometer also seems not quite right—but there’s no device other than my laptop that’s affected my life more!

Ever since Scott brought home that first Fitbit, we’ve had a friendly step competition with a variety of friends. With the goal of 10,000 steps/day, or about 5 miles, we’ve walked to town instead of driven, run up and down our one flight of steps, parked farther away, and hiked more.

The infamous Statue of Liberty Fitbit day–we put in 30K steps that day!

I’ve been crazed about my Fitbit, even attaching it to my underwear on a mother/son trip to the Statue of Liberty because it didn’t fit anywhere on my strappy sundress. Unfortunately, getting it off my underwear before security while standing among 400 other tourists in the open air ended up being one of those moments my teenage son wishes he could block out of his mind forever.

The media’s been commenting on our culture of measurement and how maybe that’s not so good. But my inner competitive spirit compels me to at least try most days to hit that 10K mark. And with all the research out there that sitting is the new smoking, I assume it’s been good for my body.

When my sister “friended” me on Fitbit, she said she hoped our sibling rivalry issues wouldn’t explode over steps. Well, our sibling rivalry issue—that she “beats” me at everything—has held true again. She routinely walks 15K more per week than I do. She usually even beats Scott, who runs 6 days/week. Her secret? 90 minutes of tennis 5-6 times a week. We just can’t keep up.

One night when she first joined, we watched her increase her steps online while we watched a movie. Determined to not let her best us, Scott and I marched during the movie in an attempt to keep up. But these days her superiority of stepping has so overwhelmed me that as in all other areas of life, I’ve conceded.

I’m Fitbit “friends” with several others. When a friend who usually hits 70K/week instead sported 150K, I “cheered” her. She wrote back—turns out she took a niece to Disneyland and walked 15 miles/day. Who knew Disneyland could be so good for you?

I ordered a new Fitbit the day I lost the old one, but it hasn’t come yet because in an attempt to save money it turns out I ordered it from Belgium. The month long reprieve from measurement has not been good. I just don’t make the extra effort without the reward of seeing those numbers go up. The friendly competition helps me get healthier even if my sister beats me every week. So Belgian Post, will you please deliver?

Uncategorized

culture of measurement

Previous Post

November 14, 2013

Evil Brings Me Closer to God?

Next Post

December 7, 2013 Welcoming Advent--and Win the Chance for a Free Advent Book!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month January 2015 November 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 October 2010 May 2010 April 2010 February 2010 January 2010 October 2009 September 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who did God call to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joseph Moses David Aaron