Why I Ditched My Fitness Tracker

So, my UP Band decided to crash and burn last week. I was extremely annoyed with the fact that I use it as an alarm and I woke up 45 minutes late and had to cancel my 5:30 a.m., kettlebell group. Lucky for me the ladies are all amazing and awesome and completely understood.

I mostly used the band to track sleep, because after all, in my opinion sleep is the most important aspect of fitness, health and recovery. It is very interesting how you start to rely on these little gadgets that become a part of our body. I mean, seriously, we have them on ALL-THE-TIME. I started thinking about that months ago. I started wondering how safe they actually are. It started to make me a little bit irritated. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted one of these anymore. They aren’t that cheap either. I’ve bought several different brands of these little trackers. I mean it’s fun to track certain things, but at the same time it can also make a person psycho.

To reinforce my decision, I was talking to my friend, Heidi, and telling her about my band dying. Now this is the very cool part. I love how other people’s minds work and this is a classic example of how we let shit run out lives that shouldn’t be running our lives. Heidi said her daughter, Alexi (hi girly, congrats on your college graduation), doesn’t like the bands. She said why do we need to know how much we DIDN’T sleep or how much we DIDN’T exercise, or how many steps we DIDN’T take. Right?! Isn’t that a brilliant way to look at it. Why not listen to our bodies. If you are tired, go to bed a little earlier than normal. If you jeans are fitting tighter, eat a little less, exercise a little more. What’s wrong with this way of tracking things? I actually love this idea. Let your body be your tracker. After all, you know your body better than anyone else or any old fitness tracker.

It has been a week since my UP band died and I actually am grateful for that. I already feel better. I don’t feel pressure to get more sleep, more exercise or more steps. I am happy with how my workouts are going, my clothes are fitting better and I feel like I am sleeping more soundly. Bye bye UP band. I don’t need you anymore.