Fun with my Fitbit

Well, I found a great deal on a Fitbit Charge HR and jumped on it.  I've been wearing it for a couple of weeks now and I have to say that I'm impressed.  This is a fitness system I can do.  I'm not pushing myself to diet or build a workout regimen, I'm merely tracking what I am doing and building from there.  The biggest thing that I have learned is that 10,000 is a lot of steps!  I have always thought myself fairly active but now I see how things really are.  The big thing that I  promised myself is that I won't worry about pushing myself on rest days.  I accept whatever number of steps I get to.  On my good days, I push to my goal, even if it means walking laps in my living room for those last 500 steps. 

The other features of it are important for me, too.  I have found it interesting to monitor my heart rate and see how stress affects it.  Getting a running tally of calories burned is pretty neat.  It's encouraging to wake up and see 500 calories already burned!  I'm not counting calories in what I eat but being aware of what I burn makes me aware of my food choices.  Perhaps the best feature is the sleep tracking.  I already knew that my sleep was probably crappy since my rheumy told me at the first appointment that sleep issues and fibro are intertwined.  I know that 7 hours is my minimum for sleep.  I haven't been hitting that much lately and my chronic fatigue has been rough.  I am hoping to start tracking a pattern in my sleep cycles and restlessness to see if I can find clues to lead me to better sleep.  I don't want to rely on pills for it, though.  It will be a process and I have some ideas, though I know some of them will be tough.  My bedtime routine needs work.  I am hoping to see improvement in my daily well-being. 

My next step is to get some Fitbit buddies to work alongside and share ideas with.  The goal is a healthier lifestyle instead of quick and drastic body changes.  I figure if I'm getting better sleep, making better food choices, and staying active that the rest will fall into place.  I'm looking forward to a happy and healthy 2016.