One Percent More a Day

[Pintofool]

Hello Everyone,

I just got my fitbit Surge last week, and I'm addicted!.  As a process engineer, operations management type, I'm consumed by numbers, and one thing I know works is to push for small incremental changes.  When we make changes at work this way we look up and are amazed how far we've come in the last year.  When we talk for 6 months about a big change we want to do, nothing happens.

So I'm going set a minimum step count for myself 1% higher each day starting at 10,000 steps.  I'll just see how far this takes me.  By my birthday - (10/18) I'll be approaching 20,000 steps in a day.  Here's my progress so far:

Feedback, encouraging words, and general heckeling to inspire that "I'll prove your wrong" feeling are appreciated.

Bill

Starting Weight: 262 lbs

[shipo]

@Pintofool, I have to tell you, a "best mile" time is something I ALWAYS coach away from.  Why?  Unless one has trained many-many miles and can easily run say a 5K, then going all out for a single mile will almost always end in injury.

[Pintofool]

@shipo

Thank you for chiming in.  Maybe my use of "best mile" isn't accurate either.  I did not push myself to any level of distress from one attempt to another.  Maybe "last mile" is a better phrase.

I certainly don't want to NOT run in any capacity either.  Would you a reccomend a shorter distance until some milestone is achieved?  Or not to exceed a certain heartrate for X amount of time?

I feel some push on my cario system is very good for me, however, an injury will likely wipe many gains.

Thanks for your advice.

Bill

[shipo]

When I coach folks either beginning to run and/or beginning a weight loss routine, I coach toward distance.  Why?  I am an advocate of LSD (Long Slow Distance) as a means of coaxing the body to develop as a unit instead of piece meal.  The thing is, the muscular, cardiovascular, and respratory systems develop much faster than do the body's joints, connective tissue (ligaments and tendons), and skeletal systems.  By keeping your running pace slow, as in barely faster than a fast walk, and extending how far you can run in one shot, you teach your body to adapt to the rigors of running as a unit, and as such, you run a far lower risk of injury.

So, what kind of speed/distance metric would be a good measure of your progress?  I would say how far can you go at a slow run, regardless of time.

[GershonSurge]

@Pintofool

Congratulations on your first week's success! Well done.

I agree with @shipo completely. There is nothing to be gained by risking a mile run test.

If you are doing a longer walk of two or three miles and want to have an indication of fitness progress, I suggest monitoring calories per mile to see if your efficiency is improving. 

[Pintofool]

Good morning.

Well another week down - I had no issues with my steps.  The most noticeable part was I bumped the goal line on my Surge from 10,000 to 11,000 to now 12,000 and my brain freaked out when it didn't get the 10,000 buzz about when it expected (I was at 10,700).  That's amazing to me that the subconcious is keeping tracking of steps for me.

As for the eating portion - I did terrible!  On Friday evening we had a family game night and I ate like I was in college and felt sick all day Saturday.  While the math says I should have lost another 2 lbs this week, I am back up to my starting weight (262).  I'm not overly worried as my clothes still feel better, I'm sleeping better, and I trust math.  However, the bloat doesn't feel good and I'm looking forward to it passing in a few days.

I had a really busy day Saturday - farm chores, then out to the beach where we had to park a mile away, then multiple trips to the car for forgotten items, then an evening show - so a new step record was achieved without any planned walk /runs.  This gives me a lot of confidence in maintaining the growth through 20,000 steps per day.

Here's the chart:

Have a great week!

Bill

262 lbs (again, for now) +4

[USAF-Larry]

Sounds great, @Pintofool!  The steps do add up quickly, don't they? Don't worry about cheating one day, especially for a family day - your body will recover from it when you're back on track. Keep on Stepping!

[Pintofool]

I hope everyone (US) had a great Labor Day Weekend!  I found it was much harder for me to get my steps in on these longer breaks - the normal day routine for me involves many more steps than my weekend routine.  However, I did get some good run/jog/walks in - increasing my distance before walk (DBW) from 0.28 miles when I started to 0.75 miles.  I'll probably have a slow grind from there as my next 0.15 miles is a very steep uphill on my normal route - but it will be a good challenge.

Weight wise I haven't moved despite staying consistently in the 1200 calorie below burn, but my wife commented how much better I'm looking - so I'll take that as a better gage than a scale.

I did have a surprise 20,000 step day as well.  I got my run early - I had the house to myself, so I fully planned on just napping in the hammock since I had my 12,000 steps in for the day already; when a friend showed up needing help with some projects, which inspired me to do some projects, and when I looked down I was at 19,800 - so of course I had to finish that badge off! 

Have a great week everyone!

Bill

[GershonSurge]

Nice work getting your steps every day. I'm confident you will figure out the weight thing soon.

[Pintofool]

Yes, I'm fairly certain the answer is Fitbit overestimates my calorie burn,
and I need to put a hard limit on calorie intake not to exceed X - when I
burn "5000" calories and eat "3500" calories I don't feel like I'm winning.

[USAF-Larry]

When first starting to workout, @Pintofool, measurements are a much better guide to changes in your fitness level than weight it. If your wife says you are looking better, it is because you are firming up your muscles. This will change your measurements, but won't show much difference on the scales. Then, suddenly the weight will start dropping after the muscles are firmed up.  Just keep on keeping on!  Best of luck with your continued journey!