My Mom was very tech savvy so when she died, she left behind and assortment of technological gadgets for all of us to adopt. My brother took home a 4 Alexa devices, including 2 with screens. My family ended up with one robot vacuum cleaner, 3 generations of iPads and an Apple Watch.
If only Mom could have seen us all trying to learn how to work her technology she would crack up.
I almost didn’t keep the Apple Watch because I thought you had to have a data plan to use one. That’s how dumb I am/was about Apple Watches. I knew nothing. Now I don’t understand why you need to pay for a data plan! I have yet to have a problem with functionality without a data plan because I always have my phone on me or my phone is on the same WiFi so I’m still getting texts and calls etc.
BUT ANYWAY.
So I am an Apple Watch user now. That means I now obsess over those DAMN RINGS I’ve been seeing referenced forever.
Here’s the thing. If you’re trying to develop a healthy relationship with fitness that doesn’t trigger thoughts of dieting or obsessive documentation of calories, these rings HIDE ALL OF THE NUMBERS FROM YOU. I mean, there are numerical goals. Right now my three goals are what the phone recommended and I thought: I think I can do that.
1) Exercise: 30 minutes a day
2) Stand: Stand and move around for a minute once every 12 hours
3) Move: 350 calories of movement.
Now, outside of that initial setting of numbers, all I have to do is look at rings now! It’s all about the pretty colors! And after 2 weeks of using the watch I inherently know how much I need to do to meet those goals and so it’s not hard. As a matter of fact, I really need to up the Movement goal because just exercising 30 minutes a day and living my life as a person who cooks/cleans/shops etc…I’m doubling that movement goal every day. Next week I’m moving it up a bit. I don’t think I need to do more, my general activity level is adequate every day because I don’t have a desk job. So just setting my target closer to what I actually do is a good idea.
But I like it because - to me? These are all goals that equal HEALTH. And that is how I’m trying to frame EVERYTHING I do now. But it’s hard when counting calories or miles is so VERY triggering. But now? I’m just looking at rings baby! As a matter of fact, one the weekdays my exercise walks aren’t even 2 miles to get to that 30 minute mark and old me would have just not done anything because: WHAT IS THE POINT IN ONLY TWO MILES?
But now I gotta close that exercise ring!
Now: Full disclosure. My very casual walk does not register as “exercise” on my Apple Watch. It took me a few days to figure out kinda where my heart rate needs to be for my Apple Watch to log it as exercise and not just “movement.” So when Donnie and I do a 30-minute walk with the dog it doesn’t always count the whole thing because we stop and do training with Zoomie if people cross our paths. BUT! If I hike straight up the trails behind my house I can hit that mark easy because uphill definitely gets my heart rate up high enough.
Here’s fun fact: I sat on the ground outside to put on my trail shoes yesterday and well…I’m 45 and don’t do a lot of yoga or exercise anymore. PLUS, I carry a lot of my weight in my belly (I really look pregnant in some clothes and keep waiting for someone to ask) so bending over while sitting down to put on shoes is NOT AN EASY TASK. After I did it yesterday I noticed my watch had given me 3 minutes of exercise credit.
So last week when I started doing a lot of my daily walks on the trails behind my house, I set out with a goal in mind: To reach a certain intersection up the mountain thinking that would definitely be close to 15 minutes, probably a little further.
Welp, turns out I was not as “fast” as I thought I was. I couldn’t even make it to that intersection in 20 minutes. Instead I would just turn around at the 20-minute mark.
But yesterday I reached the first intersection 2 minutes faster than I normally do so when I made it to the one I had set as my goal, I made it in under 20 minutes! I was so excited! It’s about .85 miles from my house but it’s a 370 ft climb so the elevation gain means that walk packs a punch. I was so proud!
I mean, not as proud as when I put my shoes on for 3 minutes, but close!
I’ve been struggling the last couple years since Nyoka and I trained for that half marathon together: How do I set myself fitness goals (because I’m not motivated without them) that will inspire health but not obsession? How can I track my fitness in a way that will get me moving but won’t trigger any weird dysmorphia or compulsion around tracking things? And it turns out? All I needed was Mom’s watch. At least right now. Sometimes things don’t stick but I’m really enjoying this method of tracking things and it doesn’t seem to be messing with my head in any negative ways.
I’m keeping the 30 minute exercise goal for March but I think I’ll up it 5 minutes every month until I’m at 45 because that’s kinda always been my “heart health” goal. I am mentally trying to double that on the weekends simply because I have more time and so I want to take advantage of longer hikes. And I think I’ll increase my movement goal so I’m not DOUBLING it consistently every day. But otherwise? I think I’m finding a good forever rhythm for fitness. Or at least forever until Kim can maybe set bigger challenges that won’t trigger another spiral into the land of compulsive tracking, binge eating, and body dysmorphia.
This is the first thing I've read that has made me want an Apple Watch. It sounds so doable without the obsessing part.
Love my Apple Watch! I can't remember what they call it, but I'm "connected" to my sister and a few cousins. We share our workouts. There's nothing better than going for a long walk and then getting a funny (or encouraging, or snarky) comment from one of them (there are tons of pre-programmed comments, or you can write your own). There are days when I'm feeling lazy and think I'll skip working out, and then I get a notification that my cousin just finished a bike ride, and it motivates me to get out and do something. Might be too competitive for you right now, but if you want one non-competitive anonymous 62 year old in Connecticut to help encourage you, I'll send you my user name!