Member-only story
(Subtitled: The Tyranny of Movement)
I’ve had a Fitbit tracker since they first came out, so probably since 2008 or 2009. (Before that, I had a BodyBugg, which no longer exists, not really.) I’ve always used the ones that are clipped to my pants pocket. There have been studies done that show that in terms of step counting, a Fitbit is within 1% accuracy when worn there.
When I lived in the actual city of Seattle (on Capitol Hill) I found it relatively easy to get my 10,000 steps in per day. Though I had a car, I rarely drove it anywhere. Instead, I’d walk to the grocery store, to the coffee shop, to the park, to the museum, to downtown, everywhere. Because I worked from home, for every break I would take a walk. When I had phone meetings I would walk as well.
If I found myself shy of steps, I would take what I called my “evening constitutional” and I would walk a mile after eating dinner. Or even when I already had my steps, as it was so nice to do some days.
However, then I moved out to the middle of nowhere. I love where I currently live, the trees, the quiet.
I have to admit, though, that it isn’t easy to walk here. For example, I had it planned out how far a mile was in any direction from my house in the city. Here, it’s difficult to do my usual mile. The path through…
