Reinvention 2013, and a new gizmo

I have never been a fan of new year’s resolutions, but I am a sucker for a seasonal re-adjustment and reinvention. Something about January begs for a little bit of belt-tightening and clean living after the excesses and chaos of the holiday season.

You might remember back in 2008, just after Lucas was born, over the course of about six months I managed to lose just over 30 lbs. I felt (and looked!) great, and I more or less managed to keep it off, but there’s been a bit of a weight creep going on for the last year or two. I’d like to lose about 10 lbs to get back to my ideal weight, or 15 lbs to get back to the lowest I achieved in 2009.

Even moreso, I’ve been getting a little too sedentary lately for my own liking. I’m a lazy creature to begin with, and one of my favourite ways to spend hours at a stretch involves me staring slack-jawed and motionless at a monitor while only my fingertips exert themselves. I need some sort of motivation to get up and get moving.

And finally, I’ve been seeing a phystiotherapist for the last few months for what I thought was a flare-up of my years-old knee problem. I love love love my new physiotherapist, though, because she’s shown me that the patello-femoral syndrome that’s been bothering me is actually a symptom of a larger problem with my hips and how I’m walking, and so I’ve been working on readjusting that, too.

My mind was swirling with this perfect storm of the desire for physical reinvention when I read Julie’s post last week about her own new year resolution to take 8,000 to 10,000 steps each day. I loved the idea – I’ve long known walking is an excellent form of exercise, and a perfect one for my lifestyle – and she had (gasp!) a gadget. Okay, it’s actually a pedometer, but it is the most fun and interesting pedometer I’ve ever seen. It’s called a FitBit and it uploads your daily steps, distance and calories burned wirelessly not just to your computer but to your iPhone as well. You can also record your food intake, something I know helped me lose the 30+ lbs in 2008.

Walking + motivation + accountability + gadgetry = perfect solution for me!!

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I’m in geeky heaven. I love stats and graphs and counting things, I really do. I got it this afternoon, and for the next day or two I’m just going to measure how many steps I take in an average day. I am guessing that will be around 6,000. If I can boost that up to 8,000, I’ll be burning around 300 extra calories a day, which will stop the pounds from creeping on. By boosting another 300 calories up to 10,000 steps a day, I should be able to carve off a pound or so each week, which means I’ll be back to my target weight for spring(ish).

Seems do-able, yes? That, and I want to do a better job getting more fruits and veg into my own diet and that of the boys. And pay down some of our debt. And swear less. And do a better job keeping on top of the household chores. And do a better job fitting in my daily exercises and stretches for physio. And be more mindful of the present, instead of spending so much time stuck to a device. And get back into my bloggy grove a little bit more. And I think I’m doing another 365 project.

Gee, it’s a good thing I don’t make any new year’s resolutions, isn’t it? *eyeball roll*

Anybody want to play along? What are you resolving (or not resolving) to do in 2013?

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

9 thoughts on “Reinvention 2013, and a new gizmo”

  1. I wrote a very similar post yesterday, right down to considering the Fitbit. So I guess we’re in solidarity. Best of luck on your non-resolutions! 😉

  2. You & Julie have got the right idea, Dani! the Fit Bit will help you in your fitness/weight-loss goals. I used to work at the Obesity Clinic at the hospital and we gave our patients pedometers and it proved to really help them reach their goals. it is FEEDBACK.. we all ned it! have you seen the new ones they are giving kids that are connected to some kind of video game where you get points based on how active you were during the day! cool!

    and remember, it’s all about a life style change. slow and steady will win this race every time!

  3. Hi Dani! Glad you and your new gizmo are playing along too! I am really curious to see how many steps you take in an average day without “trying.” I was totally dumbfounded to see how FEW steps I actually take! It was only around 3,000 a day! Gah! No wonder the weight creeps on with office jobs! (Also, “friend” me on Fitbit!)

  4. Well, it seems like I will be able to meet my goal of 10K steps easily with only 10 trips to Starbucks each day. Damn, wish I’d known years ago it would be that easy!! *twitchtwitch*

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