15,000 steps a day

It feels so good when hard work pays off. We weighed in last night and I dropped 2.4 pounds. What an amazing feeling. I worked hard all week and I love that I actually get to see and feel the results. This gives me even more motivation to keep moving and working out for another week. More step goals, more boot camp classes and more running.

I am still trying to figure out this whole step goal operation because I am only now finding out how many steps I take on a normal day. For example here are my steps since Saturday:

Saturday - 19,532. This includes a boot camp class, a walk with Hila and Eli and being home all day just being a husband and father. I also hit 10,000 steps before noon.
Sunday - 20,579. This includes a run at the gym and being home all day (chasing Eli around the house is an easy couple thousand steps a day). Also hit 10,000 steps before noon.
Monday - 20,000. Went to boot camp at 6 AM but did not hit 10,000 steps by noon since I took a most beloved nap while Eli slept, and yes it was glorious. I mean who gets up to go to bootcamp at 6 AM on a day off???
Tuesday - 16,050. Three mile run and a 20 min walk during lunch. Also a work day so much of the day was spent sitting.
Wednesday - 10,011. Now this is where things get interesting. I worked all day, and it snowed so I did not take any walks. I also went to Weight Watchers right after work so there was no workout involved. This tells me that on an average, normal day I take 10,000 steps with little to no effort.

My original goal was to take 10,000 steps a day but if I am already taking that many steps a day it is not really much of a goal. My new goal will be to take 15,000 steps a day. In order to do this on a work day I have to work out. Unless I am out on a jobsite for the better part of the day, I will never get to this step count without trying to do so. I like this goal. I like that it puts into perspective when I am and when I am not moving enough.

Plan for tonight is boot camp with a mile run before hand. We have a family challenge going on right now and I am getting beat by my wife, Hila is ALWAYS beating me in fitness challenges, she is a friggin beast, so with only today and tomorrow left I need to step up my game,

Fitbit

There has been much fitness talk afoot here as of late. I have not posted in many moons but that does not mean that it has not been on my mind.  I have been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of sole searching, thinking of fitness and running (get it sole...okay I'm done) and weight loss and an all around improvement in my general health. It is safe to say at this point that I fell off the deep end the past few months. The holidays are tough regardless and not fitting in workouts only exacerbates the problem further. Needless to say we are back to Weight Watchers and back to a firm fitness plan. My last weigh in came in at a whopping 231 pounds. Wow, that is the heaviest I have been in at least six or seven years. No bueno. Time to change.

I have felt a bit hypocritical and it has prevented me from writing. I talk and write about making time and finding that balance but have not done so myself. That has bothered me significantly. Now that my priorities have changed in life by starting a family I have struggled with this balance more than I would have thought possible. I am getting closer to figuring everything out and that has only been by setting small goals and striving towards achieving them. I will write about each of these goals more in upcoming posts but a big step towards setting and achieving these goals has been getting a Fitbit. For the holidays Hila and I pre-ordered the Fitbit Charge HR, well they just came in this past week. Needless to say, this has changed things for our household. Since getting the Fitbit I have hit 20,000 steps each day. While I don't think 20,000 steps is a workout in itself, I can tell you for sure that it has motivated us to move more. I received this from Amazon on Friday evening, first thing Saturday morning I went out to bootcamp. I literally cannot tell you the last time I went to to a Saturday morning bootcamp class. BAM hit 10,000 steps before noon. My goal per day was 10,000 steps a day so this was definitely a good start. Hit the gym for a quick run on Sunday. Back to bootcamp Monday morning again. I know this is new and that is playing a part in the excitement of all this but after today I will hit four workouts in a row. A feat that has been forgotten for longer than I want to admit. All that said I have been off work for the past three days. Today may paint a different picture since I have to sit at my desk for the better part of eight straight hours. I am aware now that I need to move more. Currently I am at 2,400 steps. Maybe I will got for a walk during my lunch, needlessly walk downstairs just so I have to get up and move, or push for a longer run with Brent tonight. More steps is the result of more moving, more moving results in more activity, and more activity means better health. It's a step, or many steps in the right direction.