I've taken just over 1,000,000

steps since my sweet hubby bought me my Fitbit One back in January. Granted, if I'd been managing to average my 10,000 or more steps a day all along, the number would be a lot higher. I'm not going to dwell on that though. I've been steadily increasing my daily counts. I've started hitting my goals more often than not lately and am hyper-motivated to keep it up.

ONE MILLION STEPS is a lot of steps. It means that I've walked nearly 500 miles. It takes a good chunk of a day to DRIVE 500 miles.

That's really all I have to say right now.

I hit a milestone.

It felt good.

I want to do it again.

One MILLION steps in the right direction.

I like...

a lot of things that aren't good for me. I like pizza. I like chocolate. I like cake and pie and donuts and pastries and cupcakes and cookies. I like potato chips and french fries. I like chicken fried steak. I like fresh baked bread with tons of butter. I like burgers. I like bacon. This list could go on forever.

Thankfully, I also like a lot of things that ARE good for me...love them even. I like a beautiful salad. I like fresh fruit. I like lean grilled meats. I love sashimi. I like how I feel when I eat things that are healthy for me. I like how I feel when my Fitbit gives me a badge for hitting a goal. I like how I feel when I finish a workout that I almost didn't start in the first place.

I do NOT like how I feel when I ignore my body's need for healthy fuel. I do NOT like how I feel when I ignore my body's need to MOVE MY ASS. Ignoring these needs makes me feel sick. I have plenty of health problems already. I've had thyroid cancer. I have fibromyalgia. I have discs in my back with a mind of their own. The little f**kers are constantly slipping in and out. I've refused surgery so I have to live with the fact that a slight twist in the wrong direction at the right time will put me on the ground. Being overweight has caused damage to my knees and ankles and feet. It often hurts to walk so much that I can barely manage to get out of bed in the morning.

There are a lot of days when I use all my health problems as an excuse to endulge in things that I "like." See how the cycle self-perpetuates?

I feel like crap so I ignore my body's needs and feed it crap...which makes me feel even crappier...and so on.

Lately, though, I've been trying to remind myself how good I feel when I take care of myself and how crappy I feel when I don't. I've been asking my friends and family to remind me too. It's helping me make better choices. It's helping me make little changes.

Enough little changes will eventually add up to something big.

Enough little changes will eventually SUBTRACT something big off my ass! ;)

Is February 2nd...

too early to be thinking about heating up the pool?!

I am logging my food. I am eating smaller portions of healthier things. I am dragging my ass up and down the stairs at least ten times a day because my FITBIT won't give me my stairs badge if I don't. I've been walking at least 10,000 steps a day. I've been doing pilates and yoga and lifting weights. I'm losing pounds slowly but steadily.

I am BORED.

I hate climbing stairs. I hate walking when I don't have an actual place to go. I don't mind pilates and yoga and weight lifting and I LOVE losing pounds...BUT, I AM BORED.

I love to swim laps and the damn pool has been too cold since late October to swim. I am beginning to get a little whiny about it. I am officially asking my dear husband not to give me flowers or jewelry or art or, God forbid, candy for Valentine's Day. All I want is a warm swimming pool!! Pretty please with sugar kisses on top!!!

Swimming is MY thing. It's the form of exercise I actually enjoy...even love. It's therapy for me...both physical and emotional. I miss it even though it's only been a few months.

Have you found YOUR thing? If you haven't, I highly recommend trying NEW things until you do. You'll KNOW when you find it.

Oh, by the way, Happy Superbowl Sunday if that's your thing. I almost forgot because it's most definitely not mine. ;)

I have lost...

4.4 POUNDS since December 30th. I think that's a pretty darn good REstart.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my younger son (who has a body fat percentage of maybe 5% but came home from his first semester at college feeling "chubby.") I'm so proud that he's aware of and concerned about his own health and knows what it takes to be HEALTHY. He's been a great influence on our family's eating habits...even taking it upon himself to grill massive quantities of chicken breasts.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to whomever invented my FITBIT. (Yes. I like it more than the BodyBugg. I don't care that it might not be quite as accurate.) This little marvel of technology and the instant feedback that it offers has me doing things I NEVER would have considered doing a week or so ago....like walking laps around the kitchen island at 11 p.m. just to make sure I get all my steps for the day. The only thing that could make it a more perfect device would be if it were waterproof. I'm going to be bummed when the weather turns warm again and I can get back in my pool to not have it counting laps for me too!

Like I promised myself and all of you, I've been logging my food - religiously - BEFORE I put it in my mouth. It's making a big difference. I'm managing to maintain about a 1000 calorie per day deficit which mathematically means I should be losing about 2 pounds per week....which means that this time next year I'll be lighter than I've been since before my oldest son was born (two decades ago!)

I don't have anything particularly profound to say. I'm just working on being consistent. I'm working on moving my ass more. I'm working on finding myself again. I'm working on reminding myself that this isn't an overnight process. I'm working on learning better ways to handle my stress without drowning in a bowl of ice cream. I'm working on me.