Month: November 2016

I have to admit that I love my Fitbit. When I first got it I wondered if it was really possible to get 10,000 fitbit steps in a single day. There is some research that proves that 10,000 steps in a day has real health benefits.

In fact I have written about my Fibit a couple of times here on the site, and the fact that it has been on my arm for well over a year is a testament to how it has affected my life.

So since the beginning of using my Fitbit I have tried to setup my day to get my steps in

How I Guarantee Myself 10,000 Fitbit Steps a Day

Here are a few tips that helped me get to my step goal, in fact my average is nearly 12,000 steps a day and I have to assure you that it is tough work for me, and it does not come easy.

• I am not a runner
• I have a desk job
• I am a computer nerd that loves to be on Windows desktop or MacBook Pro

So with a few things against me here are a few tips that I can offer on how to get 10,000 steps in no matter who you are.

Make sure to start the day with steps – I get up in the morning and I have to take the dog out, feed the dog and cat, get my lunch together and start the car. Really what I do is get a bit of momentum in the morning so that I have a bunch of steps in even before I have had breakfast

Get short walks in throughout the day – I make sure that I have to move around at work. Being a deskbound IT guy I have the choice often to call or email someone, or just go over and talk to them.

It is much healthier to get up instead of sitting all day. In fact studys show that we should get up and move at least once an hour.

Have a long walk in the afternoon – I love to take my dog for a walk right after work. In fact we have a special route that we take that is about 25 minutes walk and about 2500 steps.

This helps me unwind in the afternoon and get ready for the evening. Also my little dog loves to get out and have me talk to her along the way (people must look at me a little weird).

Have a walk in the Evening – Often, depending on the weather I will take the dog out later in the evening before going to bed. This is the time I take to kind of reflect on the day for 10 minutes or so. Our dog Belle loves these walks too as it is dark and the smells outside are a bit different.

Joining a gym – Somehow I have 3 gyms that I can workout in right now but really I usually use the gym to do weights. If I feel like I am not getting enough cardio in though I will go and walk on the treadmill with a little jogging mixed in.

Keeping Walking On Track Through The Day

Now That I have the times for my walks, here are some stepping strategies to keep me on track at all times. To get 10,000 fitbit steps a day you need to be sure to make the most of your time and motivation.

Setup 16 hours a day for 250 steps per hour – Last year Fitbit put on a new section to the iPhone and Android apps that allows you to set a time range and it will track the hours in which you get at least 250 steps.

I think they try and pick 10 hours or so but it is customizable, so I changed mine to 16 hours that I am up.

I review this every few days just to see if there are times in the day that I am just not getting enough steps. I find that this is a great target since we should be getting up every hour anyway.

Track everyday to find holes in your daily schedule – Along with the part above I also look at my day to seen when the downtimes should be uptimes.

I always have at least a couple hours where I did not get 250 steps. These are badly designed hours in my book that I improve going forward

Think about activity all the time – Parking farther away from the building or store, taking stairs instead of elevators, making sure I have to walk around the house to get things. These all look like efficiencies in our schedule but planning some inefficient time helps us to get some more steps in and clear the mind.

Make excuses for short walks – We have a grocery store a few blocks away, maybe a 10 minute walk and if we just need a couple things I will resist driving to the big grocery store and instead just walk down to the store and back instead.

I especially like doing this in the Winter as it is cold here in Calgary and finding excuses to get out in -20 weather are really hard to come by

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Food and eating have always been an issue for me. I have at times been a few pounds over weight but always my exercise and metabolism have taken care of me.

Food is a very emotional issue in our society, we eat because we are depressed, we eat when we are happy, parties are all about food and drink.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my feelings and attitudes about food and thought that I would share them now even as my weight slowly creeps lower over the last few weeks.

My Own Eating Issues

I have always had a big appetite and a fear of a lack of food. I have never gone hungry, well maybe for a couple of weeks traveling in Australia when I lived on Mars bars and Coca Cola, but I have also eaten poorly very often.

When I first moved to Calgary my wife and I were quite poor and she promised me that we would always have food, and we have. So I have to wonder why whenever I am packing for work I need about 3000 calories of food.

I used to ride a bike to work everyday but that amount of food I used to put away is crazy.

One of my core beliefs is that our body will adjust to the amount of food that we eat. If I eat a lot of food my metabolism will go up and if I eat very little food then my metabolism will go down. Of course if we overeat and make bad eating decisions often then the fuel that we eat will just turn to fat.

If I brought half as much food I am convinced that my metabolism would go down and my weight probably would not plummet.

So why with a proper thinking mind do I continue to eat so much?

I believe that there is still an emotion in me that fears hunger. I think that if I do not have a big bag of food beside me and constantly taking in calories that somehow I will suffer badly in some way.

I bet I am not the only one with these emotions of fear of loss without food.

Most people with an eating problem have that problem for one of three reasons, medical (probably only a few), eating to much, or getting not enough exercise.

If you are like me and worried that maybe you are eating to much food then maybe the best thing to do is understand that these emotions of starvation may be at the back of your mind but at the same time make conscious decisions about what you are eating and when, and as that candy bar or coke is going into your mouth try to remember that this food is not going to make you healthier or less fearful, it has no nutrients but instead it is just a waste of calories that you are eating.

Reframing the way that you look at food is critical to making better eating decisions at all times so that you don’t have to worry about your eating all the time but instead make sure you are eating only for the right reasons.

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Portion control is critical to anyone who is trying to successfully count their food intake. The person who thinks he or she can visually determine 6 ounces of meat or half cup of ice cream probably is not doing all that well on the diet.

Successful eating plans require food scales, measuring cups, and no guesswork.

For most, it’s impossible to visualize a serving size, especially if the dieter measures by hunger level versus by a scale.

Why Worry About Portion Control?

Portion control is essential. That half-cup of ice cream, if not measured, could go from 120 calories to 400 calories with one “just a bit more” scoop. Consider bagels or muffins, which were once a safe 100 calories.

Today’s supersized breakfast breads can blow anyones entire calorie count before lunchtime.

A dieter must cut back on the quantity of food eaten. That’s not easy in a country in which the perception is ingrained that large portions of food are desirable and small portions make one feel cheated.

The types of food being served can determine portion control. If dinner is a platter of spaghetti with meatballs, cook just enough for the number of diners being served. If the side dish is steamed vegetables, feel free to cook extra. The larger the portions that are served, the more people will eat (whether they are hungry or mindlessly eating).

How to Portion Food Correctly

1. Measure your food! Always!
2. If you don’t have a scale on measuring cups, consider these measurements:

•   ½ cup is the size of an ice cream scoop
•   1 cup is the size of a tennis ball
•   1 ounce of cheese is the size of a domino

3. When serving a meal, serve from the stove, versus large serving platters
4. Reduce the size of your dinner plates. Smaller plates make for smaller portions.
5. Break down your purchases into single serving packs. For example, instead of freezing an entire package of ground turkey, divide it into individual portions and freeze then individually.
6. When eating out, check the menu for portion hints. If the offering is a double chicken breast, anticipate taking half home. If the baked potato is jumbo, ask for a take home box immediately. If it’s a 12-ounce steak, anticipate cutting it in half.
7. Increase the visual portion sizes on your plate by decreasing the high carbs and replacing them with more vegetables.
8. Looking forward to dessert? Cut the treat in half by sharing.
9. Turn off your television. Controlling how much you eat requires paying attention. If you’re watching television or playing computer games, you are more likely to mindlessly eat.
10. Think visual. The more food that is in front of you, the more you are likely to eat. Consider the reaction to dining on a platter of pasta versus a single serving of pasta. You can feel full with the single serving of pasta whereas you will feel stuffed and guilty with the platter of pasta.
11. Don’t eat out of a box or bag. That popcorn should be served in a small bowl, not consumed by the fistful from the bag.
12. If available try a restaurants tasting menu. It’s fun, it offers variety, and it’s portion control.
13. Read nutrition labels: Determine the amount of food in a serving and then measure it out.
14. Don’t trust your eyes. Measure everything.

Our minds are skewed by the bounty of food that is available. Some steak houses offer a whopping 18 ounces prime rib. Faced with that large slab of beef, some diners forget that 18 ounces of meat could feed a family of four at their kitchen table. Instead, the meat eater thinks: “It is in front of me; I will eat it all.”

I know that there are lots of ways that we have opportunities to overeat so following these portion control tips are really key to getting the right amount of food, being satisfied eating, and not overeating.

Are these great tips for you? I know that there are lots of tricks that help me with portion control and I think I have covered them all here.

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