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.
Mom also got me the Fit Bit Aria (Mom – have I mentioned that you rock? Best birthday gifts ever), and the crazy, Type-A, tech geek side of me loves having it as well. When you step on it with bare feet, it send a little pulse through your body that determines your body fat percentage. It then wirelessly syncs your weight, BMI, and body fat % numbers to your Fit Bit account. You can have multiple people on one scale, so I also have it set to recognize Charlie and Stella, just out of curiosity to watch weight trends.
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.
My husband has the Nike fuel band and I mock it everyday because it seems like a useless tool. He has no idea where or how he gets his fuel points. Something like this sounds much better!
You can enter your food intake in their database as well, and it gives you a running nudge of “your food intake is too high- move more to compensate” kind of stuff if you want too!
That is amazing!! I need one! And a scale like that!
I have been doing mfp for nearly a month now, and really into tracking data. I’m not always into tracking all things healthy, but when I’m on a kick I’m obsessive!
Good job Jos! Your mom rocks! 🙂
My brother just bought me a fitbit for my birthday last month too! I LOVE it! My goal is 5000 steps a day and 10 flights of stairs. Am home with the kids so 5000 steps just walking around the house isn’t bad… I use myfitnesspal to track what I’m eating and it syncs up with the fitbit. Love that you’re competing with your family!
Oh wow – THANK YOU for telling me this – I had no idea MFP and Fitbit connected. That is awesome, since all of my foods are already in MFP. Sweet!!
My latest experience has definitely demonstrated 80% food 20% exercise. With ,y breast feeding journey soon coming to an end I have to be super careful. Should we start sharing recipes again?
I think that’s an awesome idea, Chon. 🙂 You’re so right – it’s 80% food for me as well… working on getting better about that again.
This sounds really cool. When I was walking 5 miles a day I loved tracking my steps. I had an old pedometer from work. It eventually came to an ugly death in the jaws of my dog. I never bought another one because of the whole TTC train. This sounds like a fun way to do things…I like the nudging thing…I probably need that! More of slap on the butt, but a nudge can’t hurt 🙂 I really want that scale too. I had one that was similar but when the battery died, and we tried to replace it, pieces fell out. So we’re in the market for a new one….I think I just found it 🙂
Wow, this sounds awesome!!!! And totally something I would love, as I love tracking things and just ‘knowing’ what I am doing. I am going to look this up right now! Thank you so much for sharing this. I will let you know if I am able to get one so we can watch eachother’s daily steps 😉
Oh, how the slow down in breast feeding makes a difference. That is why we did paleo last summer, to drop a few extra pounds I wanted gone that would have been gone if still breastfeeding.
Sounds like you’re committed. That’s great! I’m excited for you!
This is such a cool tool! I might really want to look into it. And I think it’s wonderful that you have your mom and sisters to help motivate you (and you them). There is nothing like group support and group (healthy) pressure!!
Wow. Technology is crazy. And in this case, inspirational and helpful too! I feel like so many of my infertility friends are talking weight loss lately. I think we’re all in the same boat.
Wow, what a cool tool! It sounds really amazing to learn so much about your health. I’m not sure I want to know just how bad my sleep is though. :/ good for you for taking charge!
I think you’ve just convinced me to buy one of these. I’ve heard good things and was on the fence, but now I feel like I NEED IT. I’ve been using my Wii Fit as a scale, haha.
I totally love mine – walking more every day!
I have the exact same set up of FitBit/Aria/MFP – they are awesome when I’m motivated to use them!!
You are totally convincing me that I need both of these!!!
[…] month I hit my “line in the sand” weight and decided to focus on getting healthy again. My new FitBit was helping with motivation, and I ended up losing 10# before my BFP a couple of months later. Not awesome, but much better […]