Sparkblog 3/6/16 'counters'

Long ago I got a 'step counter' that you would clip on the waistband of your pants. First you had to mark a 5 foot area (maybe 6, I forget) and then walk normally and count how many steps you took. You then had to somehow input that into the counter so that it would correctly count your steps. Bam! I did that and then clipped the counter on my waist. I hadn't used it a week before I used the bathroom and in the processing of pulling down my pants... you guessed it, it fell right in the toilet.
I think I went through this process a couple more times before I decided step counting wasn't for me.
Fast forward a few years.
I got an iPhone and discovered the Runkeeper app. It tracks your walk using GPS. Since I now do most of my walking in the pool, I put my phone in a plastic bag and then under my swimsuit strap, didn't want my phone to get wet, you see. What I found was the small circle that I made going round and round for an hour in the walking channel at the Y was too small to be recognized by the Runkeeper app. It didn't think I had gone anywhere. Darn!

Then the Spark activity tracker came out. Finally a tracker I could clip on my shoe or Okabashi slide and wear not only as I walked but also as I did water jogging at the Y, it would sync with Sparkpeople AND I didn't have to try to set my step stride before I could use it !!!!! Wonderful! I bought 2 of them, both fell off my slide/shoe at some point and never were found again.

I have the Garmon Vivofit2 now. I had the first edition, but you guessed it, the band fell off my wrist when I wasn't aware of it. I believe it is still here in my home and that sometime or other, I will hopefully find it eventually.

So I really like the Vivofit. It takes 2 watch batteries so I don't have to charge it and can be worn in the pool (big plus for me). I'm not sure how it tracks but I do think that it does encourage me to move. And that is what really "counts".


End of rant inserted here.... lol.