Clenching My Jawbone

The conversation with Mr. Ginley went something like this.

Letting your fingers do the walking doesn't count.

"You want to get a what?"

"It's call a Jawbone. It's like a Fitbit, with less gewgaws. And it's cheaper."

"Tell you what. You can get your thingy if I can buy a book."

"Sold."

And thus, the negotiations led to the arrival of the device that now resides on my wrist.

For those of you who follow my blog, you could point out that, at some point, I swore I was not going to get one of these things. I even poked fun at David Sedaris for his obsession with his Fitbit.

Alas, I have succumbed to the hype.

It may have been when I stepped on the scale to weigh myself and nearly passed out. Or the fact that my knees and back have become increasingly painful, and the need for more movement was evident.

So now, what I have come to think of as my mini tattle tale, has become my latest accessory.

For anyone who has not had the pleasure, the device tracks activity and sleep on an app on one's phone. At any time of the day, I can sync it all up and discover how sedentary I've been. Having set the goal at 10,000 steps a day (at Jawbone's recommendation), I have become serious about moving. The other night before bed, Mr. Ginley inquired as to why I was doing figure 8's around the living room/dining room. I was just a few hundred steps shy of my goal, and by golly, I was not going to be defeated. (And yes, I did that Rocky thing when my wrist started buzzing.)

Okay, David, you were absolutely right. For anyone who is even mildly obsessive-compulsive, this thing is like crack.

One of the selling features is that it tracks your sleep. This is cool. For example, last night I got 1 hour and 6 minutes of REM, 11 minutes of deep sleep and nearly five hours of light sleep. I only woke up once to hit the ladies' (unusual for me). And my resting heartbeat was 63, which, my "Smart Coach" tells me, is well within the normal range.

Yes, I have Smart Coach in my phone. Just one of the many perks. Some of the messages are helpful ("As you become more fit, your heart rate will decline and your heart will get stronger"). Others are just plain nagging ("Close your eyes early tonight to treat your body well.") Yes, I know I didn't get as much sleep last night, but give me a break it IS the weekend.

Swell, now I'm talking back to my phone.

So far, it's working. Will it be a passing fancy? As my mother would say, "we'll see." In the meantime, I have a constant reminder that no, I really don't want that donut, I need to do a workout today, and I'd better make sure I get enough sleep.

Come to think of it, this device is right at home on the wrist of anyone who grew up with Catholic (or Jewish) guilt.

Mazel tov!