Thursday April 5, 2012: Thoughts on Pedometers

Thursday, April 05, 2012

I have had many pedometers. Perhaps too many. I've had largish digital ones that clip onto a belt or waistband. I've had tiny fancy ones with minuscule buttons that calculate much more than just steps. They also clip on. I have lost or broken more clip-on pedometers than I care to remember--one just the clip part broke. The functions were fine, but it was useless because it couldn't be worn with the pendulum aligned with my knee.

So the other day I broke down and thought, "I'm going to buy a GOOD pedometer, one that won't fall off when I sit down or stand up, one without plastic parts to snap and break." I picked one that was slim, metal, digital and could be tucked in a pocket or worn clipped to a lanyard around the neck. It has a calendar, a clock, and measures steps, distance, mph and calories burned based on my weight and stride length. Did I mention it was sleek?

I happily slipped it around my neck and set off with Little Dog. Our typical around the block was just over .5 mile. (We do it multiple times a day, with variations.) I kept the pedometer around my neck throughout the day. While sitting at the dinner table, all of sudden it falls to the floor. Did the quick-release doohickey break already? NOOO--the knot in the cord that attached it to its half of the quick-release latch simply let go--or perhaps was never knotted at all.

Should be a quick fix, right? Just thread the cord through the latch, knot it and snug the knot against the base.

Well, that was 8:00 pm last night. All of three of us have tried. There are a variety of tiny crochet hooks, beading needles and other fiber tools that have tried and failed to get the cords (2) threaded through the hole in the QR latch. One of the hooks snagged the cord and made it useless. So I thought I could just switch out the cord (it's not like we don't have a plethora of stringlike objects around here) and removed it from the little corner eyelet on the pedometer. They're set at a right angle--haven't been able to rethread it.

The pedometer itself works beautifully, but the hanging it around my neck part is a complete failure. So far, the pocket seems to be accurate, but I'd like to get it back where it belongs.

ETA: Also seems to work tucked into my bra, if I have no pockets. Maybe the lanyard is just too much to ask.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

YIDDLE 4/16/2012 9:25AM

I have lost and dropped so many pedometers into the toilet, I was frustrated. I bought the lovely Sportline model from WalMarts sports department and while it is accurate, it shuts off after your wrist is calm for a period of time. It tracks steps by your natural body movement. so it was great for distances, but did not track daily total steps. I had to turn it on before each walk. This year for ValentinesDay, my DH bought me a Fitbit pedometer. It is totally awesome. You can check it out at www.fitbit.com or even order it from Amazon. It securely clips onto your bra or clothing with a STRONG spring clip, and even has a velcro closing soft wrist band with a pocket in it for the Fitbit for sleeping. Overnight it tracks your sleep pattern, and records how long you are still in a deep sleep and how often you thrash around or actually get up. It tracks your calorie consumption, stair climbing [with an algorithm], steps and miles. The Fitbit syncs with your computer to give you a daily read-out and weekly progress report. There is even a Fitbit group here on SparkPeople. If you are willing to pay for this gadget, I think you will find it is the best motivator you can buy. I have lost 7 pounds since Valentine's Day bc I want to stay active to see the calories burn off and the miles add up. The best calorie burner for me is the stair climbing. That really does make a difference. Report Inappropriate Comment

LANAMFECI 4/6/2012 7:59PM

Oh, I've washed a couple, too. Report Inappropriate Comment

BEAMBETS 4/6/2012 12:54PM

Love my Omron which can be in a wallet or pocket or attached to me. My biggest problem is washing it. I have taken it completely apart and dried it in the sunshine in a box of rice and it works again...for a while. I am on my second one and I just re-set it. I had to look online to figure out how to re-set the step total once it hit 999,999. My family laughed at me as walked about trying to witness the moment when it would hit 1,000,000. My darling gadget gurus knew full well it was at its maximum. Report Inappropriate Comment

Monday April 2, 2012

Monday, April 02, 2012

I thought I was so clever! Since we can access the Internet via our Wii, I thought I could workout with SP videos on the TV screen rather than on a laptop. Alas, the Opera browser does not support mp4 files. So then I tried to see if Netflix had comparable exercise videos. Their Sports and Fitness section featured a tiny bit of yoga and Pilates, and a whole bunch of professional wrestling videos. Good grief! So I did a yoga and strength workout on the Wii, in addition to my usual walk with the Little Dog. The Big Dog enjoyed some sunshine while I did a bit of weeding.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CODEMAULER 4/2/2012 1:22PM

Sounds crazy-good; way to be active!! Report Inappropriate Comment

Sunday April 1, 2012

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Saturdays are so busy I often miss SparkPeople. At work I can't sit down for 6 straight hours. According to some of the health articles I've read here on SP, that's actually a good thing for my health--working while standing or moving is better than being in a chair. Then I had to accompany DH to the major social/fundraising event at this school, and much to my surprise, I actually had a good time! The food was outstanding--I did eat everything, but since I didn't have lunch at work and we walked to/from the event, I don't feel that guilty. It was good, small-portioned, beautifully prepared gourmet food, rather than big heaps of junk. I'd rather have one perfect scallop and one delicious beef short rib than a whole serving of mediocre pasta or rubbery chicken. Limited the drinks, too, so all in all, I feel pretty good about my choices.

  

Day 54 Friday March 30, 2012

Friday, March 30, 2012

Well, lunch turned out to be a lot of fun, and I found that ES is truly a friend who can be trusted. It's kind of handy to have a litmus test. When I tell my story, it's easy to figure out who my friends are. What I want in life is to have people stop asking me about it and to have it be my past and not part of my present.

  

Day 52 Wednesday March 28, 2012

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Got a call yesterday from a former mentor/colleague who had heard that I was on sabbatical this year. Now, I've decided I'm never going back to my old workplace, but the public story is that I am caring for my parents who legitimately have a host of health problems. He's very worried that my job will be gone if I don't go back next year, and is taking me to lunch on Friday to talk about it. Do I tell him my real reasons for leaving--that the workplace made me so ill I had to take this year off for my own well-being; and that having regained my health, it makes no sense to go back to a place that hasn't changed? He's a terrible old gossip; I have been keeping my mouth shut for so long, I'm afraid I might explode. I'm fine when I'm in the new world I have created for myself, where I am not confronted with things that remind me of my terrible experience, but when I have to interact with former colleagues/employers, etc, I feel the anger and anxiety rise within me. I really want to tell my truth, but don't know if I should.