I Love My Fitbit!

I confess. I hate doing exercise. I hate it so much that exercise is in fact a dirty word to me. But deep in my heart I know for my health I have to do it. Not only I have to do it, I have to do more of it. I was not disciplined. I skipped it when I was tired, or "not in the mood". Things were not improving. I knew I needed a different strategy.

I started to look for ways to make exercise work for me. (Just do it just won't do it!) I was always interested in how human brain works and I know one way to make something stick is to associate the activity with some kind of reward mechanism for a time period. After that, your brain will automatically generate a dopamin rush for the activity, motivating you to do it even more. Easy said, but how to achieve it?

Couple of weeks ago, my friend Chinchih sent me her notes of "how to use technology to improve our health", one of the sessions she attended in "She's Geeky". I noticed Fitbit. I thought it was just an advanced pedometer, but since the device automatically log and sync up my exercise data to the cloud, I figured it would be convenient. I decided to give it a try.

A few days into it, I knew it was the solution I was looking for. I got badges when I achieved my exercise goals. This insignificant reward surprisingly was enough for me to keep going. With precise data, it was easier to push because I knew how far I had to go (ok, just a few more steps). I started to observe my sleeping patterns (which I was not able to track without Fitbit). How many times did I wake up last night? How long did I actually sleep? (I now have pretty scientific data that a high quality 7-hour sleep is enough for me.) I also designed new routines to help me reaching my daily goals. For example, I found I rarely reached the daily10-floor goal. Then it occurred to me I could improve that by using the 2nd floor restroom in my company instead of the 1st floor one I usually went. Viola, problem solved, no extra effort involved.

Now I still hate exercise when I think about it, but thanks to Fitbit I now think about the goals I can reach. Somehow, it is much more fun.

P.S. with the data recorded, I also started to experiment. What's my optimal sleeping time? Do I feel better when I exercise in the morning, or at night? If I eat a big breakfast, does it impact my weight (no)? How about dinner (yes)? I never realize it can become a science project.