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Originally Posted by lisaly  I was so happy to read this, Nancy, and to be of help to you. You have helped me so many times through the years and so many others.
I am exploring more now about how I can use my Fitbit better. I have to up my goals a little more and to take things more seriously. I'm so focused on health for Katie and even improving my husband's health, but it has only been less than three weeks since I've been off of work for the summer, and I rarely focus on my own health. I was extremely stressed, didn't have enough hours in a day, and was in such a state of exhaustion that it's surprising I didn't collapse. I was surviving on less than two hours sleep a day most of the time, but I still managed to get Katie out walking a few miles a day. Her excitement and happiness exhilarates me. We also play fetch and games that I can't monitor.
I want to focus on healthy eating more and some weight loss. I'd like to lose a little weight, but it's not my biggest concern. I just think I'd feel better, particularly since I'm having problems with my back and ankle. Any loss of weight should help my back pain a bit and also my stomach issues (Barrett's Esophagus). With the exception of when my ankle is really bothering me, running up and down the stairs seems to be my most regular exercise other than walking.
I hope it helps you to feel better and to achieve your goals. You look beautiful to me from what I've seen in photos you've posted. The blog has some good articles. I'm just now having the time to explore things. The Foodtrainers blog looks interesting, too.  Foodtrainers |
Oh wow, I can't believe how little sleep you were getting, there so much evidence that suggests not getting enough sleep and also stress elevates cortisol which messes with your blood sugar and insulin which can make you gain weight. It's like the body goes into survival mode and holds onto fat.
My husband decided to get one last week and he's doing great with it and we are having all these little mini competitions. One interesting thing I learned was when I was on the elliptical most of the calories when to cardio very few were fat burning, with the walking I'm using all the calories as fat burning. I feel like this gives me so much more control now, if I want to eat a treat, all I do is walk a little more. I'm definitely feeling much more energetic and yesterday, I was up to 17,000 steps a day! At first 10,000 was hard, but I wanted an ice cream bar last night, so I just walked until I could eat one without feeling guilty. I just walk in back and forth in my living room, it's too hot for me outside, but I can't wait until I can do more walking outside. The dogs are actually following me for some of the walks so maybe they'll get some exercise out of it too. We decided to get the scale that goes with this and it measures you weight as well as your fat weight, and uploads it your charts, so you can't cheat. I'm hoping to lose a little weight too and right now I feel very hopeful that this can do it for me, I'm trying to manage my diabetes without medication, so diet and exercise is very important.