Keeping Track

This last month, I've been trying to keep track of both my health and fitness a little more.  Now I've paid off my overdraft, I treated myself to a pedometer to track my steps.  It's something I've wanted for a while, but couldn't justify the expenditure. 

I didn't go for an expensive blue tooth one, as my phone is useless and wouldn't be able to connect to it.  Instead I spent just £15 and bought one that I can wear as a watch/bracelet that tracks steps, calories and sleep (although I don't wear it in bed) and so is pretty basic. 

To be honest, I suspected if I got a complicated one I might have difficulty using it or get bored with it after a short time and it would be a waste of money.  This one, however, now set up properly, is doing a great job on a day to day basis.

After tracking my steps for a few days this week, it seems that on days where I work and walk the dog I do an average of 11,000 steps.  On days I don't work and walk the dog or work but don't walk the dog, it's more like 8000.

On Sunday, I did my first class at the gym wearing it, so I was excited to see how many steps that racked up. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to pick up the steps I made in class very accurately, so I'm going to try again at my class this morning and wear it slightly differently to see if I get more accurate results.  I'll let you know.

I mainly bought the device to see how many steps I do at work, with all the running up and down the stairs.  I have to say that the days I've worn it this last week haven't been typical days, as I've been more static either on the till or stood pricing and steaming clothes, so I probably haven't done as many steps as I would in a more normal day. I'll try again this week and see if it's any different.

I'm adding the results to my bullet journal so that I can compare results on different days. It might make interesting reading on particularly busy days.

The second health tracking device I've acquired recently is a blood pressure monitor. This was a birthday present from OH (I asked him to get me one!) You can tell I'm getting on a bit now.  My main reason for wanting one is partly due to having high cholesterol and partly because a close family member has just been diagnosed and medicated for high blood pressure, so I want to be able to keep an eye on it myself at home, as I rarely visit the doctors. In addition, work can be quite stressful too, so I want to make sure it's not creeping up over time. 

So far the results have been encouraging.  I'm going to try to take it once or twice a week, once resting and once after an exercise class and see the difference.

In addition, OH has recently purchased a new set of digital bathroom scales.  He doesn't like my old ones with a dial, as he doesn't think they're accurate and he's very weight conscious being a keen cyclist.  I will probably donate my old scales to the next Give & Take and just use his.  There's no point in having two. I'll just have to get used to weighing myself in kg instead of lbs and oz.

I'm not sure how long the health tracking will go on, but it'll be interesting for as long as it does.