A Jen Too Many

"I’ve had cheap pedometers and expensive pedometers, and I just must walk weird, because I’ve never yet had one that was remotely accurate." (Quoting myself, from a comment over on Segullah. )

My first pedometer was a very nice one, a gift from my mother when I was complaining to her about my post baby weight. It was nice, but I had the darndest time keeping it on. It had a very small clip and had a tendency to flip off my waistband every time I bent over, and since (as a mother) I bend over many, many times during the day... I kept using it longer than I would have, just because it came from my mother (Hi, Mom!) and her thoughtfulness really touched me.

Then we moved, and it disappeared, so a while later I picked up another one, cheap. Very, very cheap. It was also the best one I've ever had, as long as I wore it on my pocket instead of my waist band. That way it managed to count about 7 or 8 out of every 10 steps. Unfortunately, a pocket is not the most secure location. One day I went to look at my numbers and the pedometer wasn't there. I went back to the store to buy another one, but they weren't selling that kind anymore.

Since I was already there, I bought the replacement cheapo, but it was horrible. I could take 10 steps and wind up with the pedometer counting only 1 step. Or 3 steps. Or 4. (Never as high as 7 or 8, though.) It didn't matter where on my waistband or pocket I put it - the only way I could get an accurate count out of it was to hold it in the palm of my hand. Not exactly convenient for someone who rarely goes 10 minutes without plunging her hands into hot water.*

My fourth was more expensive, but just as inaccurate as the cheapo, with a tendency to reset itself at unpredictable intervals. And so it has gone with every pedometer since then, leading me to conclude that either I am doing something wrong with the pedometers, or I walk weird.

I'm inclined to the "walks weird" hypothesis.
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*Just life - not OCD. The results of doing things like wiping off counters, cleaning toilets, wiping off messy faces, preparing an inestimable number of meals, snacks, and drinks, mopping floors, washing dishes, doing laundry - seriously, have you ever considered just how many parts of motherhood involve water?