Fitbit Challenges and a weekend update

Do you have a fitbit?  I started with the Fitbit Flex and while I liked it I had issues with charging it.  I also didn't like the lack of a true display and not seeing the actual *number* of steps taken.  So at the very beginning of the year I "upgraded" to the Fitbit Charge.  Not the HR. . . I'm not hip on having a constant HR monitor.  We have enough electronics in our life I don't need that kind of monitor on my wrist.  I also don't pay any attention to calorie burn cause I don't feel that's truly accurate even with a heart rate monitor.   So I used my points from my Amazon card and got the Fitbit Charge for like $9 after my points were deducted.  Score!   But as is true with Fitbit, they have quality issues and I got a dud.  The battery wouldn't even last 24 hours.  So I exchanged it with Amazon and now I have a good one.

I go in spurts wearing my fitbit.  Mostly because I know what it takes to reach 10K steps in my daily life.  I have a desk job.  I go for a 20 min walk at recess every day, but ultimately if I don't do *something* after work, I will never reach my steps.  So once I figured out what it took, the charm of the device wore off and I'd wear it in spurts.  Maybe if I had a big run/race I'd wear it just to see how many steps I took.  But I did that with one of my half marathons in 2014 and what happened???   Well I got the 10K buzz from my fitbit early on in the race and then when I synced it later it gave me way way under 10K steps.  Bogus!  What a rip off.  I have no idea why it barfed.  So . . . again - this is why I go in spurts with Fitbit.

I actually bought a jawbone in Dec on a great sale at Target, but I realized I'm tied to Fitbit because I have so many friends in the app, that if I switched I'd lose those friends.  And what I do find motivating about my fitbit are the challenges.  So last week I was in a workweek hustle challenge. Who takes the most steps M-F??   Did I mention I have a desk job? However I have to say that I rocked this challenge.  I was often leading and honestly I think I would have won, but I had commitments on Friday after work that were *not* active and I couldn't reach my goal on Friday.  I was 5,000+ short.  I didn't even make it halfway.  But I did apparently set a personal record for the workweek hustle.  I didn't even know fitbit tracked this.

I was just shy of winning by about 3500 steps.  Oh so close!  I was bummed cause I really moved and tried like heck to win this.  :)

So the same person that invited me to that challenge, invited me to the weekend warrior challenge.  Challenge accepted!!!   I had a busy weekend.  I ran both days (3 miles) and was generally just moving around. And I won this one!!!  Whoop whoop!

There weren't as many people in this one but I still kind of crushed it.  The daily recommended amount of steps is 10K and you can see I stomped that.   Not all weekends are like this.  And honestly if I wasn't in the challenge I may not have ran both days.  As I said above the challenges and competing with friends in the one thing I love about my fitbit.  There is a revolving 7 day total that you can look at to see where you rank with friends.  I have a cousin that runs her butt off and is almost always over 100K steps in any given 7 days.  I'm never above her.  Sometimes you just don't have a chance :)

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Yesterday I went to a baby shower.  My brother's girlfriend is pregnant.   I decided to try my hand at making a baby blanket.  This was a bit of a challenge because I couldn't decide on a pattern.  I knew exactly what color scheme I wanted, but choosing the pattern was stressful.  I actually chose this pattern and started with 2 rows of each color.  That looked off.  So I started over and did three rows of each color.  This is the shell stitch.  I learned a lot doing this blanket.  I learned 2 stitches I hadn't used.  I taught myself to make the top row even once I was done.  And I did a border for the first time.  A double border at that!  I think it turned out well. I have no idea how it will hold up.  I cringe at the thought of washing it - will the colors bleed?   Will the yarn hold up and dry well?  Yikes.  And if I can, at every baby shower, I try to give something horse related.  The stuffed horse is super cute, baby safe and I've given it to a few people now.  I adore it! I should buy myself one.

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Today is Day 15 of the Advocare 24 day Challenge.  My weight is creeping down slower than the last challenge.  Which is kind of disappointing.  But it is going down and I'm feeling much more confident and comfortable in my clothes.  I brought my own food to the baby shower.  It was at 2 pm so I actually had a good lunch that held me over and I didn't eat all the snacks.  The key is really preparation and not allowing yourself to be set up for failure.  That's true with any eating program/ lifestyle change.  

We tried one new recipe this weekend.  Yesterday my hubby made Beef and Butternut Squash soup while I was at the baby shower.  He had it ready and waiting when I got home.  It was actually really really good.  We'd like to add a few more veggies next time.  Maybe some celery and green beans.   But holy cow - I LOVE butternut squash in soup.  I can't wait to make this again. 

Here is the recipe.  The interesting thing I thought is the outside of the beef was pink.  I don't know if it was the broth/squash that made it that color.  I cut my pieces up smaller (we'd do that differently next time too) and the insides were well done and brown.  It was kind of the opposite of how a steak would be where the inside is pink.  I was amused by that.  It's the small things. . . what can I say? 

Have a great week peeps!!!