GRRRR!!! I had just started this post, and went to my files to find a picture of the fitbit, and poof! I closed the wrong window. Goodbye, witty blog post! So in its place, you will have the following post instead. Let's all have a big "sad panda", while I try not to do that again:
If I had been paying attention, the first part of this blog would have been a nice little rant about all the big jerks who keep telling me I need to exercise, like I don't already do that. There was a fabulous metaphor about how multiple tools are needed to accomplish a job, and it was completely brilliant. But now that I've finished my panic attack, I'm over my vent, and it's just not as effective any more. Sorry you missed my fabulosity. I promise I'll make more!
Now on to the point: Right now, working out for me doesn't look quite like it might if I were in better shape going into this game. I have every intention down the line of sending the buffest of meatheads to the corner to babble mindlessly and sob into their sweat towels while they marvel at my mad skills and wish they were me, but for the moment, it's baby steps.
When you look at the fact that I was winded after climbing a flight of stairs 4 months ago, I think I'm pretty much a freaking rock star, mmmkay? Sometimes, it's all relative.
I mentioned something about needing a tool box to get the job done. Well, here's what's in mine:
The Fitbit
I'm only half kidding when I say that any mention of the name of this amazing little gadget should be accompanied by the finest of Heaven's angels singing the "Hallelujah Chorus". I seriously credit this invention with saving my ever-loving life. You're going to want one of these after you read about it, if you don't already have one, so here's where you can get it:
www.fitbit.com . They're also sold at Target and Best Buy stores. They'll set you back a little less than $100 most places, but the sheer volume of fun little apps and trackers and general goodness you get, combined with the best customer support I've ever seen in the event something should go wrong (perish the thought!), makes it well worth the money, as far as I'm concerned.
OK...I'm going to hit the save button before I post the picture this time!
Good deal. I'm covered. This is what the fitbit looks like:
It's about the size of your average flash drive, and you just clip it to your belt or put it in your pocket. Some women wear theirs on their bra, but I check mine like every. Five. Seconds, so I decided that's probably not the best place for me. It comes in black, accented this nifty silver, pink, or blue. I have the pink one, because everything's better in pink.
The concept is pretty simple: the more you move, the happier your fitbit will be. The little flower graphic on the front starts out as a tiny little bud, and grows to be a truly epic vine if you give it enough "fuel". The fitbit tracks the steps you take, the calories you burn, and the number of stairs you climb in a day, as well as how many hours of sleep you get and how many times you wake up in a night if you use the included wrist strap to wear it while you sleep, and compiles all that data into a neat little webpage where you can chart your progress. It links into a number of other apps, including
My Fitness Pal and my personal favorite,
earndit.com (more about that later), providing interactive feedback that works with those sites to create some seriously cool rewards. There are social aspects to their log page, where you can compete with your friends to see who's done the most mileage or burned the most calories. AND it says fun things to you when you pick it up, like "Faster" or "Love Ya". All in all, it's a genius motivational tool.
Make no mistake, this thing may be tiny, but it motivates like a fiend! I find myself constantly trying to outdo my totals from the day before. I may or may not have once or twice refused to go to bed until I had walked up and down the halls and 3 flights of stairs, just to reach a new goal. I seriously doubt I'd move nearly as much as I do now if I didn't have it. I love this thing!
Canine Walking Buddy
I'm of the firm belief that everyone needs one of these, but not everyone agrees with me. Personally, I just can't beat the motivation that comes with this face ready to go on a new adventure with me every morning.
Her name is Jetta, and I got her from a local rescue. Please consider a shelter pet before shopping from a breeder. It's one of the best things I've ever done. She makes all the walking fun, and provides an inability to wiggle out of my workouts that I've never had before she came along. Accountability is everything, let me tell ya!
Wii
I know, I know...some people say active video games are not an effective workout. I'm even inclined to agree that they shouldn't be your sole form of calorie burning. But as a quick way to squeeze in more activity, or a jumping-off point on the way to being more active, I don't think they can be beat. My favorites are dance-based games like
Just Dance and
Zumba Fitness.
Motivational and Tracking Websites
I can't do anything without electronically exclaiming about it, so these are key tools for me. My favorite, besides the fitbit dashboard, I mentioned earlier. It's called
earndit.com. It's a reward system where you track your workouts (mine sync automatically from my fitbit...handy!), and are rewarded with earndit points that you can redeem for gift certificates to a variety of sports- and active lifestyle-related sites, or to donate to charity. I have donated my points to pay for schooling for a girl in Kenya, and I've cashed them in once for $10 off an ID band from
Go Sport ID. It's so much fun to see your hard work pay off!
(Speaking of Go Sport ID, I can't stress enough how important it is for everyone to have reliable identification in the event of an accident, especially if you have any medical concerns. You never know when you might not be able to speak for yourself. Go get one so you stay safe and come back to read my blog, ok?)
OK...so those are my tools. Now what am I doing with them?
Well, that part is surprisingly short, compared to all that information above. I never let a day go by without moving in some way. Some days, I dance with the Wii. I usually do about 45 minutes of that, 2-3 times a week. Since Jetta joined the family, I'm out every day, twice a day, walking her at a fairly good clip for as far as we can get in 30 minutes. Most days, that's a mile and change. After all is said and done at the end of the day, I average around a 400-calorie burn on a good active day. I try to string as many of those good days together as I can. I'm not perfect. I don't make it every single day. Some days, I only burn 150-200 calories. Other days, I burn 600. It's all a process.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that it really doesn't matter HOW you burn your calories. What's important is that you do it. Eating right is only part of the battle. Nobody knows better than me how hard it is to get started, especially when you don't feel good. But you're not going to feel better until you do it. It might suck a bit at first, but I promise, it gets easier. I started with just 10 minutes a day, and I'm already up to an hour or more in less than 4 months. The crazy thing is, now my body actually craves the movement. I find myself fidgeting in my chair if I don't get up and do something. If you'd told me a year ago that I wouldn't be able to go a whole day without adding movement in some way, I'd have laughed you out of the room.
Now, if we could just work on convincing me to get out of bed earlier in the morning...
So that's about it for today...I don't know what I'll talk about next time, but I promise it'll be riveting!
Love,
ME
