Remember when I got a FitBit Ultra last summer? … and loved it? and then lost it? *sigh*
Well, my Mom got me a new one for my birthday last month (actually, she got me the new Fit Bit One), and I am loving having one again. 
First off, it opened my eyes to how much less I’m walking at work now. Last summer I was in a different position at my office that required a lot more movement, and I was easily walking 5k-8k steps per day, and hitting 10k with any sort of workout thrown in. In December I was switched to a new position (the same week I cut back on nursing, coincidentally), and I realized now that I’m wearing a FitBit again that I’m only walking 2k-3k steps per day – maybe 4-5k with a workout thrown in. Um, yikes. That’s a whole lotta sitting on my ass and a 50% reduction in my overall movement during the day.
Between the decrease in nursing, the decrease in movement at work, and the increase in holiday eating and drinking, I managed to shoot up 10# on the scale right quick through December/January and be back at my HFS weight by the time of my sister’s wedding earlier this month. Not cool. 😛 On the up side, hitting that number (172#) is a guaranteed kick in the butt that gets me back on the healthy living track.
At any rate, the final boost that I’m loving from this is that my Mom and one of my sisters also use their Fitbits on a daily basis. My little sister is a ROCKSTAR when it comes to being active and working out (part of why she just got this job – HFS my sis is a D1 coach!!!), and Fitbit lets you have “friends” within the system. This means that I can see how many steps they’ve taken as well, and it definitely makes you think SHIT, I need to get more steps in today — when you see what your family members are doing.
So there ya go…I’m back on the Fit Bit wagon, and it feels gooooood.
Since we got back from MN, Charlie and I have cut wayyyyy back on the beer – partly because of finances, partly because of me being more conscious of my calorie intake again, and partly because of the illness going around, but it feels really good to break the habit of having drinks most days.
I was at 167# right before my MN trip, 172.9# right after returning, and 169.1# this morning. That means I’m down almost 4# in the past week – bloated much? Phew. My goal is to hit at least 5k steps EVERY DAY this week and to drink more water. I really want to ramp back up to 10k steps/day, but time to start realistically based on how little I move at work and get back into this.
5k steps per day + lots of water. I got this.
— Oh, one more thing. I wear the FitBit 24/7, even at night, and it tracks your sleep patters. It’s really interesting to see how much you toss and turn at night, what your “sleep efficiency” is, and how much sleep you actually got. Last night is the BEST night of sleep I’ve had since I started tracking. Whohoo!! It makes sense that I felt great this morning when I woke up. So again, I totally recommend this little tool if you are in the market for something like that.