So, one of the problems many realized with the social distancing and COVID was the lack of movement. The running joke after about the first year of it was the COVID donut roll, referring to the 20 lbs or so everyone seemed to gain 12 months later. Most of it, however, was very explainable. For some reason, working at home and remote ended up causing people to move around less, eating more, and gaining weight. And I'm one of them. I have basically ballooned from a high 230s to probably over 250 lbs now. It's unhealthy, I can feel I'm not in a good place, and based on all the medical research, it could kill me. So it's obvious I need to do something about it.

Why Not Make Walking Pay?

Now, like most of you, I spend a lot of my spare time either working a second job or finding ways to generate additional income online. That too ends up resulting in a lot of sitting because it fundamentally involves sitting in front of a computer. But the possibilities are high because, as well have seen repeatedly, crypto and similar online can generate a lot of financial possibilities. And the older you get, the more valuable every moment becomes to generate enough to take care of yourself, especially getting closer to retirement.

So, after hearing enough about various tools that paid crypto for moving, walking or fitness, I've decided I need to get out of my chair, as well as get moving again. But I would like to get paid doing it too, if possible. Ergo, I'm looking at sMiles. It's an app for mobile that tracks your walking and pays Bitcoin sats for progress. While I don't expect to make millions, much less hundreds, making a few dollars while exercising isn't a bad idea at all. Hell, I already make something like $30-40 a month just recycling cans and bottles no one wants. That's how I ended up with a couple hundred in Bitcoin and ETH via Venmo deposits and eventually paid for some new wheels on my truck. The point is, it all adds up if you keep chipping away.

There are also, supposedly, features for buying and receiving discounts or savings via Bitcoin sats too. I already use Lolli for this approach, so it is viable, but even that takes a while, usually about $20 a month with regular spending. And I've found as you try to use something consistently in these features, like groceries or gas, that particular vendor choice starts to disappear after to many uses. So it's only good for so long.

Now sMiles isn't just about walking. The app is a combination of other features, which is probably how it makes its money via advertising. But the walking feature is promising. The concept basically uses the phone's tracking feature to measure or count a user's walking distance and then rewards accordingly. So far it looks promising, but I haven't fully "road-tested" sMiles yet, so I would be interested in others' input and thoughts on it. 

Past Experiences Creates Skeptics

I did try a similar app during COVID, but unfortunately it turned out to be a complete waste of time with nothing in terms of rewards. That app, XYO's COIN app, was similar an audience strategy with empty promises. I made it to the first tier only to find the second tier to be four times bigger. It was, essentially an impossible ratchet approach just to continuously pitch you ads in the meantime. 

So, I don't have high homes for sMiles, but if I do lose some weight that's probably the more important benefit overall.

We'll see.