365 Days of Exercise

One year ago I got an Apple Watch. I had already made up my mind that I needed to get more exercise and generally live better, but I needed things that would do so with little behavioral friction. The Apple Watch seemed to fit my need for auto-tracking movement and exercise, but do so in a way that not only fit my lifestyle, but gently push me to do more.

And did it.

Today I accomplished something that I thought I’d never be able to do: reach 365 consecutive days of reaching my activity goal. For those that don’t know how Apple Watch works in tracking your activity, it works like this:

The inner blue ring is for tracking standing for 1 minute each hour for 12 hours in a day. The middle green ring is getting exercise each day for 30 minutes. The outer red ring is a calorie activity goal. There is a “Longest Move Streak” achievement badge that is for the longest consecutive set of meeting the activity goal:

The infinity loop is especially important here: to me it represents an unbreakable desire to keep moving and living an active life. It has changed the way I eat, the way I exercise, and the way I view each day moving forward. It has helped me lose 65 pounds. The one year mark is especially significant with the publication of a study that suggests that I year of dieting and exercise tends to promote lasting weight loss.

So with that, give daily activity a try. Go on leisurely walk for a half hour. You’re body will thank you.

As for me, my next milestone is 500 days, which coincidentally falls on Labor Day this year. See you then.