Fitbit
I’ve been wearing my fit bit, security tag style for a couple of months now thanks to hubs and his ingenuity.
There are two kinds of information you get from the Fitbit app. Firstly the raw data and secondly the information it gives to you in the form of ‘insights’.
Raw data
So according to the gizmo, I now know that in an average week I walk 8000 steps per day and burn 2000 calories. I’m in bed for 8 hours per night but it thinks that I’m only properly asleep for half that time.
I can see that my worst days for steps are when I have an office day at work, my best days are when I’m busy at home. My very best days are those when I go for a walk or run- but there have only been 2 of those since christmas!
Insights
The insights it has shared with me really centre around the sleep issue. It has told be that people of my BMI often get less sleep (because poor sleep leads to weight gain and vice versa) and sends me top tips about doing more exercise, drinking less alcohol and not eating before bed time. (It doesn’t know what my eating and drinking habits are!) To be fair, I can see that more sleep correlates with more activity- but is that because one has more energy for exercise after a good night’s sleep, one sleeps better after exercise, or a bit of both?
Does it help?
Yes, I think that it does help. Honestly I had no idea of how different a day sat at the desk (5000 steps) and a day of housework and shopping (20,000 steps) were. So now I do feel more motivated to do things to get my step count up! I try to take the stairs and when I can only get a parking space in the furthest possible point from the office, I just think ‘great I can get some steps in!’.
More recently the sleep has been nudging up and I think that there may be a correlation with exercise.
Yoga
I’m taking things gently on the exercise front. I’ve signed up for a weekly yoga class which I’m enjoying. It’s surprising how much progress you can make in the space of an hour! At the beginning of the class, if we do say a cobra pose, (above) I can barely lift my chin off the ground, but by the end my back arches comfortably and I can lift my whole chest up. Sometimes I find I’m a bit wobbly trying to hold a pose and the next day I will feel it in my muscles! I don think know if that is ‘good’ because I’m using muscles that I don’t normally and so I’m building strength in them, or ‘bad’ because I’m tensing them instead of ‘relaxing into the pose’. Of course, in the ethos of yoga I dare say there is no good or bad, simply what is and the important thing is to be aware and learn…… I’d be interested to hear what you yoga buffs out there have to say on the subject!
Running.
I’ve managed to go a whole week without a run. Next week I have a busy schedule too so I don’t think that I will be able to get another one in. However, 1 yoga class and 1 run per week is much more than I have done for the last couple of months, so if I can keep that up as the minimum it will be a good base to build on. Mind you, it’s the 10k in 11weeks!
Today I put my trail shoes on and decided to run down to the river. There is a small suspension bridge across the river which has been closed since floods a couple of years ago. I was disappointed that I couldn’t even get down to the river because someone had blocked off the pathway with wood and barbed wire, so I had to follow my nose and take a cross country route instead. There were signs for the ‘Ribble way’ so I followed those. I eventually found my way back home but was surprised to find that I’d only gone 3.5 miles! It was good running weather, 2*C, bright and dry, the mud was frozen to a nice firm texture underfoot! It was a bit chilly in the wind though. Lots of walking breaks natch.
That moment where you think, I know that home is out there somewhere…..
Diet/weight.
Weight is steady, no gain, no loss.
Trying to separate carbs and fats in meals is not easy to do – especially if you are trying to avoid processed foods- it takes planning. So an up and down week which included a binge on liquorice allsorts (picture to follow for the non british – I don’t think that Bertie basset is an international traveller). So the remainder of the day includes a plan to make a batch of ratatouille for the freezer.
Binging on Liquorice allsorts… Hmmm, that’s different! At work, (yes, I can still remember those days – just) we used to measure almost everything to check on progress, or lack of it. So counting steps and sleep I think is probably a good thing. Good luck with your training. 🏃♀️
The liquorice all sorts were a gift from a patient, so I just happened to have a box handy! It would have been rude not to eat them- they were given with a good heart(and a box of chocolates that I gave to my secretary)!
I was more motivated to move when I wore my FitBit. Now I have an apple Watch, It records my steps but I don’t look until the next day.
I have been looking for a correlation between exercise and sleep. Still looking. I am a poor sleeper and I never know if I will get a good night’s sleep. So I just do what I need to do and have my glass of wine and run when I am able to fit it in.
Looking at the positive – NO lbs gained. or in your case kilos.
8000 steps per day is quite good.
I have wondered the same about sleep & exercise. Is it a coincidence that the 2 days I slept really well this week were the days after I ran? Or that I got sick after a horrible week of sleep (mostly due to circumstances beyond my control ) which included a visit with my parents who both had colds?
Even though my Garmin tracks sleep, I’ve taking to writing down in my running journal whether or not I got a normal, below, or above normal night’s sleep. Just to see . . .
There’s no doubt that after a bad nights sleep you have a low resistance for high energy food and not a lot of energy – all those nights on call taught me that! But I expect that you have to tackle both simultaneously to get the benefits!
It was great to see green in the pics of your run. It is snow & cold here in WI. But the days are getting longer so I cannot wait so most of my runs can be outside. I have never wore a tracker on my ankle. I guess it would be less annoying.
The smell is good too, grass and mud – I’ve missed it!
Dave always tells us when we should be ‘engaging’ either the core, butt, mula banhda , thighs etc… in the various poses… when to breath in/out etc… I am blessed though he is THE best teacher I have ever had!
If you get the shakes in a pose I would say you’re pushing your body to far. Its more beneficial to pull back before you get to that point… and slowly try again to JUST before and then next time you body will remember where you’ve been and happily go there.
🙂 well, that is what I believe…. train the muscle to enjoy the stretch and take a little further each week. I think if you don’t, the muscle thinks OH F*** she’s going to hurt me now gets shaky and thats when little tears happen and so you get stiff…
ok, I am off ski before i write too much 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
ps… just LOVE the FitbitOnTheAnkleThang!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Sleep affects weight? Who knew! To be honest the battery died in my sclaes and ive decided not to replace it, not because I dont care but I figure its how I feel. Love those photos, looks a great place to run. I love streams like that, just soooo relaxing!
I wear my fitbit continuously (or continually), mainly for the steps and sleep info . It often shows me awake for an hour at night and having just 15 mins deep sleep, both having no felt or obvious repercussions. I feel I get good sleep by and large.
Sounds as if you’re getting into a better pattern of activity. Consistency is the goal rather than quantity.
Is your ground pump heating system working okay in these current very low temperature conditions?
Heating is going well! Turned the thermostats down last week as we were too hot and happy to put a jumper o if cold! Now minus 5 outdoors. House not cold but I have a blanket over my knees tonight!