There’s been a cycle in my journey to health and fitness. I start a program of exercise, keen and eager, and then, well, umm, it kinda tails off.
So right now I’m in the up cycle. My Fitbit has given my walking a little boost.
Love the instant feedback. Love the motivation with the flashing lights. Love the graphs. Love how my iPad gets the data from somewhere. (Don’t love how I can’t save the graph as a picture so I can post it here. 😦 And don’t love how I can’t upload graphs straight to WordPress. I was wong on that little matter.
My Week 1 daily average is 9,579. Just short of my goal of 10,000. But better than the weeks before when I first got the Fitbit and my goal was 8,000. (I kept quiet lest the gadget was a dud or I didn’t stick with it.)
Monday: 11,605
Tuesday: 9,671
Wednesday: 10,263
Thursday: 8,749
Friday: 7,612
Saturday: 8,383
Sunday: 10,773
Key to getting my goal: going for a walk AND doing lots of incidental walking during the day. Walk to the printer. Walk around work. Walk to speak with people rather than phone or email.
Either on their own is not sufficient to reach the goal. So free hint: get your incidental walking up. It’s good for you. And if you can’t go for a walk (too dark, too cold, too wet, uneven footpaths and low branches make it too dangerous) the steps taken for incidental walking all count!
lucinda sans 
You are doing ok Lucinda – lots better than me. You know what you want and how to go about getting it.
Trouble with retirement is we do the exercise but balk at the incidentals. There is no printer to walk to – yes I could walk round the house and garden but I tend to stop and do things. Bending to weed make use energy but doesn’t involves steps lol
Out of curiosity I had a look at the Fitbit site and saw a very nice looking gold/brass wristband which I rather fancied also a pendant thingy as well. Then discovered they actually goes over the little do dad to make it look nice! Serviceable or pretty pretty – oh decisions decisions 🙂
Take care
Cathy
Well, if lack of incidental walking is the worst thing about retirement, roll on retirement, I say.
Had a look at the gold bangle cover you mentioned. At nearly $200 it is safe from me! I pick serviceable.
I am seriously investigating a Purposeful Thingy for the exercise because the pedometer on my phone isn’t cutting it (although today it appears that it is in fact recording my steps more accurately – it’s probably only about 500 down on what I’ve walked with phone in pocket so far… I’ve walked a definite 4km, plus random wandering about the building and it’s saying 5,080 steps instead of about 5,600. Compared to yesterday when six HOURS of constant albeit casual strolling was only 6000 steps!); but hey, getting a bonus in a couple of weeks so who knows!
(I am enjoying the fact that my clothes fit me like I am 5kg lighter than the scales insist I am. Makes reaching for an Iced Vo-Vo way more justifiable!)
Purposeful Thingy makes my meanderings and incidental walking sound so much more considered and, well, purposeful. Henceforth, I shall call the ugly black thing, which makes me feel like I am in a sci-fi, futuristic world where people are tracked, my Purposeful Thing.
And Iced Vo-vos are now on the shopping list. I have a sudden craving for one with a cup of tea. Thanks!
You’re doing awesome! I’m so glad the fitbit is working for you. I’m usually tired on Mondays so those 11,605 steps are especially impressive!
Thank you for the encouragement. Today I have spent most of the day in bed, so will need to get moving if I am going to even reach 8,000 steps!
That is super healthy to be getting near the 10,000 steps daily. Very inspiring!
If you can get the images on your iPad, will a simple screen-shot work to save them so you can publish to the blog? (i.e. hold camera button down while simultaneously pressing in the iPad on/off button.)
I’m tossing up about the Fitbit idea and would love to see images of what it does!
Images will come! Now I know iPads can take screen shots. Thanks. Luckily I was trying to follow your instructions when a colleague found me and put me on the right path. Suffice to say even I laughed at my misunderstanding of your instructions. But all good. Now I can do it.
(And when I regaled my son with the tale, he asked if he would be as hopeless with technology when he is old! What! His mother blogs! And does things on an iPad!)
That is so funny. If it’s any consolation, it was my then-8 year old who taught me how to do screen-shots. And even after he showed me, I had to Google it and follow step-by-step instructions!
(And I know! We blog! We wiki! We iPad! But don’t ask me to use Apple TV at school independently. Truly…the 6 yo’s in Year 1 gently take the iPad from me and say ‘we’ll help’!)
You go gal – I really wish I knew how many steps my train walking involves. Surely not enough to justify the intake of *crap* my new office partakes in. I’m not really sure, I think it’s a more chatty office, and so our desires aren’t far from being mentioned, and then acted upon… like Maxibon ice creams today!
Yes, we are a chatty bunch this far north! Lol. My son has been told when he works in a branch of a shop around here he has to talk to each customer for at least 5 minutes. When he is in the Parramatta branch, no conversation. The customers just want to get out.
And as for junk, I fear I am indulging and using walking as a rationalisation. So no weight loss. Still, imagine if I ate without the steps!
Could you get off a stop earlier and walk more? As a young whippersnapper, don’t you have an iPhone? You could map your walk or download a pedometer app.
I could download a stepping app, for sure! Sadly the express train would make the next stop the walk to Eastwood! Or Strathfield home!! But I do need some solution!
Average 9579 – cool! I think a FitBit has to go on my December “shop for myself” list.
If I didn’t have the Purposeful Thing, I wouldn’t have been motivated to do so many steps. Knowing it will show my slothfulness in graphic glory, gets me off my lazy backside.
My youngest child was so mad at me this afternoon for walking to pick her up from a playdate. ‘But I’ve been on my feet ALL day,’ she moaned. She considers forced walking tantamount to child abuse. Funny how small children will run around all day, but refuse to walk from A to B. Anyway, mummy needs to walk from A to B more often, so youngest child will need to toughen up:)
Impressed with your progress. Glad there is a masochistic gadget to guilt you along in your journey to fitness, taking the place of a ‘mean mummy’!
I think your daughter was right. Being picked up these days presupposes the picking up will be by car! I think?
I love how Posy rationed her energy and time of her feet. She clearly knew how long she could stay in her feet and had planned that time would end when being picked up.
I have to beg Mr S to walk with me. My offspring will no longer accompany me.