Hi Lee. First, good for you for getting back in the saddle! Life is lived going forward, and you've made a great choice to start again. I agree that you should break down your goals into managable steps or benchmarks rather than focus on your overall goal. That can be ovewhelming for any of us.
To share my personal experience, I used to run marathons--26.2 mile races. Of course, when training, marathoners start with a couple of miles in training, and slowly build up. During my longer training runs and the marathons themselves, I would play little games with myself and while out there, saying things like, "It's a beautiful day. I think I'll run 3 miles today!" Then after reaching the 3 mile point, I might say, "Wow! Great day to run 3 miles today!" I would break it down like this, and before I knew it, I was across the finish line--completing 26.2 miles.
I'ts difficult for me to imagine myself saying, "Oh, my goodness. I ache this morning. I'm hung over and would rather sleep in. Crap, it's cold, pouring rain, and I have to run a 26.2 mile race today."
Another example I can share is that I am a first grade teacher. I love what I do, but it takes a lot of energy and endurance, and a school year can be long and even exhausting. I try to break down the the year in my mind too into small, more manageable chunks. I even teach my little ones learning to read to not look at the entire story or even page--but to look at the story as one word or line at a time. It helps.
Lee, hang in there. I encourage you to message your friends on here regularly. It helps to keep in touch with them. The Fitbit community is so knowledgeable , supportive and enthusiastic. Tap this great resource--especially on days you are discouraged, or on days you are excited about hitting a certain mini goal. Those mini goals all add up into major goals. Keep stepping my friend! 
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Stephen, It seems as though you are a veteran in the fitness world. As a beginner, I have quite a bit to learn. I don't seem to see my interest as a topic, so I thought I would email you directly to see if you have an answer. I am totally invested in this program and working toward weight loss. I have quite a bit to lose and alway start this way, then drop the ball. Recently, I bought a bicycle to encourage me to get out and exercise. Walking is ok, but I need to have variety or I get bored. Can you explain how to calculate the exercise of riding a bike, as opposed to walking? Does the fitbit calulate the same way and add towards steps taken? Is it the same? Please advise. One day maybe I will run, but today ... one step at a time.
@Stephen1227 wrote:Hi Lee. First, good for you for getting back in the saddle! Life is lived going forward, and you've made a great choice to start again. I agree that you should break down your goals into managable steps or benchmarks rather than focus on your overall goal. That can be ovewhelming for any of us.
To share my personal experience, I used to run marathons--26.2 mile races. Of course, when training, marathoners start with a couple of miles in training, and slowly build up. During my longer training runs and the marathons themselves, I would play little games with myself and while out there, saying things like, "It's a beautiful day. I think I'll run 3 miles today!" Then after reaching the 3 mile point, I might say, "Wow! Great day to run 3 miles today!" I would break it down like this, and before I knew it, I was across the finish line--completing 26.2 miles.
I'ts difficult for me to imagine myself saying, "Oh, my goodness. I ache this morning. I'm hung over and would rather sleep in. Crap, it's cold, pouring rain, and I have to run a 26.2 mile race today."
Another example I can share is that I am a first grade teacher. I love what I do, but it takes a lot of energy and endurance, and a school year can be long and even exhausting. I try to break down the the year in my mind too into small, more manageable chunks. I even teach my little ones learning to read to not look at the entire story or even page--but to look at the story as one word or line at a time. It helps.
Lee, hang in there. I encourage you to message your friends on here regularly. It helps to keep in touch with them. The Fitbit community is so knowledgeable , supportive and enthusiastic. Tap this great resource--especially on days you are discouraged, or on days you are excited about hitting a certain mini goal. Those mini goals all add up into major goals. Keep stepping my friend!
Best AnswerHi Tricia! Congratulations on your new bicycle and on your commitment to fitness! It's a journey that takes time, so please enjoy the process, and celebrate each victory along the way--no matter how small--, knowing that it's the little victories that add up to fitness and a healthier lifestyle.
I agree that one can get bored doing the same fitness activity without variety. Cross training or doing different things is also good because you use different muscles while also burning even more calories as your body won't adjust to the same routine. And, it's much more fun!
I try to do walk at a decent pace for 3 to 5 miles on most days of the week, and walk our dogs twice per day as well. I also try to lap swim a couple of times per week--ideally riding my bike to the pool. I sometimes fall short of these goals, but keep trying! That's the key.
Regarding logging cycling (it's the same for swimming or other fitness activities other than walking or running), go into log from your dashboard. Then, choose activities. Scroll down and you'll see a box with swimming and cycling icons. Enter the activity, such as cycling, and time of day you started--as well as how long you spent doing it. Fitbit will then automatically calculate the calories you used for the cycling or other activity. You'll see the calories burned for the activity on your dashboard totaled in with the calories your burned for walking and everything else. It's important to make sure you enter the correct time and how long you spent so Fitbit overrides what you may have been doing otherwise during that particular time.
I hope this helps. If not, message me again. Keep up the great work, and enjoy the journey! It's a wonderful one.
Stephen
Best AnswerHi Tricia. You are very welcome! You don't have to take your Fitbit off while biking. It's really a pedometer. Just be sure to enter the correct start time of your cycling or swimming workout, and how long the session was and it will calculate your calories used. I would--just to be safe--take off your Fitbit while swimming. While it is water resistant, I read a couple of posts discussing damage to the device of the band.
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