I remember a time (barely a week ago) when I could go out for a normal walk and be satisfied, even if I'd only walked for half an hour. Not any more. Now I have a Fitbit and a walk will never again be just a walk.
The first day I wore the Fitbit, I felt I had to meet the 10,000 step goal. I did. In fact, I made it to 16,665. I felt so proud. What a feeling of ecstacy to have done so well! I should have noticed the 666 is this number. That was a big hint.
The next day, 10,000 wasn't enough. 16,665 wasn't going to be enough either. I needed to beat the previous day's number. Once I did, it still wasn't enough. I wondered how I might feel if I could make it to 20,000, so I kept going. That's the problem with addiction. You keep needing more and more to get that special feeling. I knew this was madness, but I couldn't help myself. I made it to 20,199.
You can guess what happened the third day. 20,000 wasn't going to be enough.
At the end of the day, with over 26,000 steps, I was giddy, but also experiencing something a little different. By the end of the day, instead of experiencing the vim and vigor of an athlete, I felt like a 90 year old woman who had been hit by a mack truck, broken her hip, and then been smacked around by thugs. Oh, and did I mention I was walking in the pouring rain for a good bit of those steps?
You'd think that would be a supreme lesson and would be enough incentive to get this monkey off my back or at least cut back to something reasonable. Sadly, no. I'm telling you, the addictive power of this little gadget is insane. This morning I woke up feeling fine, but all I wanted was to get outside and get some good step numbers. I did a morning walk and this evening rushed home for my second walk. I walked until it was so dark I couldn't see. I didn't want to stop. I'm only at 19,663 steps. That's a good number, but am I satisfied? NO! Now I'm going to have to walk around my house til I have at least 20,000. And that will still not be enough to achieve my "Fitbit high".
I know I have a problem. I can't believe it's progressed this quickly. It's affecting all sorts of areas of my life. One look at my laundry will give you a clue just how dirty this addiction can be. I mess up two full exercise outfits a day. I take two showers a day. I just don't know where this will end.
I thought about maybe tossing the fitbit off somewhere (not really, but that sounded good, right?). I know it would be no use because there are Fitbit dealers at every turn. I can't believe these are legal! You can just walk in a store and buy one. There's not even a waiting period!
My friends might try an intervention, but it wouldn't do any good. With the shape I'm getting in, they might not be able to catch me. I'm totally hooked and I don't think there's anything to be done about it. By the way, my niece, Carly, got me started. Can you believe it? Family. Unbelievable.
You might be thinking about getting a Fitbit (or another similar gadget) yourself. You might think you are different and could handle it. Don't say you weren't warned.