Fitbit Challenge: Virtual Badges & Real-Life Rewards

Wow! You've earned the Skydiver badge!
You've climbed your way to skydiving elevation. That's 1,000 floors! Only 1,000 more floors until your next badge!

As a Duchesse in SecondLife, the Dragonborn in Skyrim and an Elf-Huntress in Tweenk (to name but a few but you get the picture), I'm certainly no novice when it comes to collecting virtual rewards.  I've served tea, slain dragons and raided dungeons; working my way up various hierarchies and having a marvelous time in the process.  I've also reaped a lot of real-life benefits including the friends that I've made over the years but up until now the major drawback of my virtual adventures was the ever-increasing sedentariness.  Every year it seemed a bit harder to get up out of my chair and get moving through the real world.

 

Fortunately, just as I was about to receive my lifetime membership to the dreaded Couch Potato Club, my SL sister mentioned an "electronic wireless personal trainer" that she was trying out called Fitbit.  I took a quick look, though "yeah, I could use a  good pedometer" and ordered one.  Wow!  Had I ever underestimated the power behind this little gadget.

 

 

From the moment that I snapped it on I was hooked because behind the Fitbit Ultra is a whole website & community dedicated to helping you reach your fitness goals by making small changes in your daily routine.  It's amazing how the little things can add up!

 

I realized that just by devoting a bit of time & attention to my fitness stats I could put my days of sloth behind me.  The virtual badges are fun and actually encourage me to do more than I would have on an ordinary basis; 50 floors in one day for example just to get the badge (silly as that sounds though I've probably put in a lot more time reaching the Adept Level in Skyrim).

 

I hadn't expected to use the Calorie Counting function but found I can't resist it especially since tracking Calories Burned versus Calories Consumed contributes to a leaner and therefore happier me.

 

So as you can probably tell by now, I've now added another little "virtual addiction" to my repertoire, gazing over my new fitness stats just as I do with my old Skyrim numbers.  Thank goodness this new pastime is paying off in real-life health & fitness! 

 

If you would like to join me in this exciting Quest for Fitness just give me a shout.  I'm always looking to make new Fitbit Friends :)