Recently I had been considering taking a step back from counting. Counting:

Appointments

Calories burned

Calories consumed

Steps

Floors

Hours of sleep

Etc.

I tracked almost everything, even my period. But for what? Some hypothetical time down the road that I’ll actually need them? I had been doing this for 4 years and never used them once.

I feel like some people need to keep track of these things for health reasons or professional athletes maybe, and that’s fine. But most of us don’t. Society has given us tools to count our way to….success? Or the latest gadget. I think we both know what.

Since I have put down the Fitbit, not logged my food, sleep, floors, and entire life, here are some things that I have realized.

I used to use my Fitbit like this:

• “Oh dang, I’m in the red on my heart rate so it’s okay to slow up.”

• “I have 400 calories left for the day so treat cho self to that cookie… x’s 8.”

• “I only slept 6 hours last night and I’m really a 9 hour girl so I’m going to be too exhausted to give it my all today.”

When I would log my food, I would actually eat way more than if I didn’t log it. Then when I would go over on my calories, I would feel bad I went over and then give up to binge eating the rest of the night and into the next morning which bled into weeks to come.

If I had gone to the gym 3 days that week, I bartered with myself internally saying “Well you said you would go Monday through Friday which would be 5 days, and you’ve been 3, so technically you’re at 75% of your goal! You can quit now.”

I didn’t realize how many excuses I was letting these statistics chain me to.

I went to get my “nice watch” battery fixed Thanksgiving weekend. Upon trying to change my battery, Fossil explained they could not get the back plate off of the watch. Bummer right? Sure – unless they offer you any watch in the store for an even trade. I will admit this watch had sentimental value as it was a gift from my wonderful husband on our honeymoon, but even he said I was crazy not to do it.

So of course I wanted to rock my new Fossil watch at work the next day, which led me to take off my Fitbit. GAME CHANGER. Not constantly checking if you’re a failure based off of your wrist was amazing! I didn’t feel anxious to do more or eat less.

I trusted myself, decision by decision and it was freeing.

Isn’t that what God teaches us? Live day by day?

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:25-27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Try not counting every aspect of your life, spend each morning in your Bible, do something creative and off the beaten path, and get outside. And get a dog. All the dogs.

Love,

B.