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 :)
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.
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!!!
I had been thinking about this for some time. But I was too stubborn because I felt like they are somewhat of a gimmick. I know you can't get an accurate calorie count without a heart rate monitor. And even then - how accurate is it? I mean I get more calories with my Polar Heart Rate monitor than with my Garmin for the same distance run. I'm sure there are many algorithms a certain company can use to determine calorie count.
Well in regards to the fitbit I decided I needed some motivation. I knew going in that this would be a "relative" thing for me. I knew that I would look at a pattern of activity and not hard core numbers. I thought that it would motivate me to move more - to maybe park farther away - that kind of thing. I was also very interested in the sleep tracking. . . I was unsure about a wrist model because how can something on your wrist track your steps? And there are problems with it, but I know that going in. So I think I have reasonable expectations.
So there it is! I got the black model cause I knew I'd want a black strap regardless of the other colors I have. Target had a deal with a free three pack of straps with purchase. All my local stores were out so I ordered online. I have the redcard debit card, so I got 5% off, I found a coupon online for $5 off, there was free shipping. . . so I came out with a better deal than I had I bought in the store (cause of the $5 online coupon).
I should take a moment to say I researched a lot of bands. The Jawbone Up would have been my band of choice but there was so much online about how they just quit in a couple months. People have been going through 3-4 bands in a year or less! So I didn't want to have to deal with that. When I was in KY my friend had a Jawbone Up. She showed me the interface. She loves it. But it was her second one. At that point I didn't question that piece of information, but after reading reviews I think those things just crap out. Jawbone does not have any quality control clearly.
So here I am with the Fitbit Flex. I ordered it Wednesday and it arrived the next day! I was so excited. I set it up last night. Set up was really easy, but there are things I can configure that I haven't yet. For example the default goal is 10,000 steps. While I'd love to reach that goal I don't think there is any way I will with a desk job. But for now I'm leaving it and I'm just going to watch my trends for a few days.
I put it on last night as I figured it was charged and on (it's not like you can turn the thing off). So if it's tracking anyways lets track my sleep. Here are the results:
I was definitely awake at that red line as I got up to use the bathroom. I'm intrigued by the period of restlessness early on in the night. I can't wait to see my sleep pattern.
I will have more to say about the fitbit as I use it. Since I haven't had it 24 hours I don't feel comfortable saying much more. Right now the goal is to move more. For example yesterday when I got to the barn I had to get my horse out of his turnout lot. The configuration is so stupid in that you have to walk past the whole turnout to get to the gate. Lately I've been climbing over the fence where ever I see my horse, getting him and then walking to the gate. Yesterday I didn't hop over the fence. I walked all the way to the end, through the gate, and back to my horse. These are the things I'm hoping to improve. Stop being lazy and MOVE! I gotta get back under the 200 lb mark. Even though it's hard to tell I've put on a few lbs and my clothing isn't tight I'd like to get back under that mark. Then I'd like to lose 10-15 more lbs to get back into some of the clothing I was wearing when I had hip surgery. It's an uphill battle to say the least. This is just one tool to motivate my lazy bum. Cause since I ran the half marathon I've been pretty lazy! (oh - it will be interesting to see what the fitbit records when I am riding my horse!)
Have a great weekend!
