More Fitbit: First 20,000 Step Badge and Random Info

Woo hoo!  Who doesn't love awards?  At nearly 10pm last night I earned a 20,000 step badge for the day!

Here is what the day's activities looked like: (Click to see full-sized.)

This is the phone app version, because it is a little more bold in color.

Morning's "green:"  50 minutes of high-intensity aerobics with my girl, Jillian.

2 bars of yellow:  Walking the dog for 15 minutes (poor, old doggie is really slowing down.)

3 bars of yellow:  2 errands of shopping for groceries and...to buy a pair of pants one size down. (!!)

Yellow/green:  Around 3pm I really wanted to hit 15,000 steps, so I went for a walk by our neighborhood lake for 30-40 minutes.

Last 3 bars of yellow:  I was at 17,800 steps and I thought, heck, I can make it to 20,000. So I did again what I did on Sunday night, lots of marching and jogging in place until I hit it. But there is a reason they tell you not to exercise right before bed.  I slept terribly last night! 

Looking at this chart of yesterday shows me something else.  It is really easy to be sedentary.  Unless I'm really trying, my life is not a super active one--even though I'm moving around our big house doing laundry, dishes, cooking and housework each day.  At least, it isn't as active as it needs to be for the pounds to melt away.  I think this is the way it is for most people, unless you're running after little kids or have a very active career.  No wonder there are desks to attach to treadmills these days!

I also wanted to share the computer part of Fitbit where you log your food.  Because, remember, you're still doing all the work.  The device is just a tracker.  For someone like me, who sighs wistfully every time I pass a fast food place, logging food has been really helpful.  Above are the contents of this morning's smoothie.  And, yes, I measured everything.

As it turns out, I had been inaccurate in how much ounces of banana I was eating (I go through 2-3 bananas a day, so if you see me swinging through the trees into your yard, you'll know why.) Measuring corrected that (the inaccurate amount, not the swinging.)  The food list just says "1 banana," so I was using that.  But they also give you options for every unit of measurement, so once I knew that each banana I was eating was 4 ounces, that is what I put in, and it changed everything.  Not terribly, but more accurate.

As you can see, I'm still allotted 1401 calories to stay in a healthy range.  BUT, when I look at my "Dashboard," I'm over right now, like yesterday.  I'm not worried, because I haven't burned a lot of calories yet today.  It's only 9:25am.  Once I get going, things will even out.

By the way, I now have 2 friends who have ordered Fitbits and about 5 more who are seriously considering them.  That's awesome.  It is the most helpful tool I've ever used for losing weight. 

Lastly, I have to share this picture from Instagram:

This is from someone else's account, but it had the #fitbit tag, so I saw it and was so impressed with the variety on this plate.  Chicken, apple, carrots, almonds and ....what the heck is that yellow plasticy-looking thing? Cheese? No.  Mango?  No. A tiny little napkin?  I don't know.  But the rest looks really good!

P.S.  This morning I calculated that the Jillian video I do burns around 360 calories in 50 minutes.  :-)

P.P.S  And, you know what happens when a 43-year old walks more than 20,000 steps?  She's a little sore the next day.  That's OK.  It's a good sore.