20,000 Steps!

Set all sorts of new personal best records yesterday.  It all began with a 5.0 mile walk, followed by a mall crawl (and bookstore visit), and shopping at Wally World. Of course, myriad dog walks plus 40 minutes on the elliptical didn't hurt.  Topped 20,000 steps just before going to bed at 10 pm.  Crazy.

Statistics for Saturday, January 30th

• Steps                                              20,101    (Personal Best)
• Miles                                              9.08        (Personal Best)
• Active                                            129 min  (Personal Best)
• Calories Burned                             3,497      (Personal Best)
• Floors                                             4

Exercises

• Walk                                               5.0 miles (Personal Best)
• Elliptical                                         40 min @ tension 4

Heart Rates

• Maximum                                       157
• Resting                                            63
• Fat Burn Zone                                 4 hr 4 min
• Cardio Zone                                    40 min (118 bpm)
• Peak Zone                                        0

Sleep Quality

• Duration                                           8 hr 11 min
• Times Awake                                   1
• Times Restless                                 3

Starting Week 5

Friday, January 29th, started at a chilly 37 degrees when I began my walk but the temperature climbed to 45 degrees by the time I finished my three mile trek.  Needless to say, a lot of fat cells wept and my exercise attire went straight into the washing machine!

Statistics for January 29th:

• Steps                                      15,232
• Miles                                       6.62
• Active                                     106
• Calories Burned                       2,720
• Floors                                      5

Exercises

• Walk                                        3 miles
• Elliptical                                  40 min @ tension 4

Heart Rates

• Maximum                                 157
• Resting                                     64
• Fat Burn Zone                           4 hr 24 min
• Cardio Zone                              0
• Peak Zone                                 0

Sleep Quality

• Duration                                    9 hr 40 min
• Times Awake                              0
• Times Restless                            0

I really dislike cold rain

It wasn't raining when I left home Thursday morning. No, the clouds bided their time, waiting for me to get far enough from home that I would be soaked by the time I finished the walk.  It should be noted that I really dislike walking in cold rain. It offers no redeeming quality to offset that cold relentless wet striking your face, obscuring your glasses.

I also learned a valuable lesson this week.  I gave in to temptation and had fried rice from a local takeout.  Ended up eating it for two dinner meals and one lunch. Result?  I GAINED A POUND THIS WEEK! That's right, my weight was 218.4 today.  No one to blame but myself.

Statistics for Thursday, January 28th

• Steps                                      12,506
• Miles                                       5.65
• Active                                     85 minutes
• Calories Burned                       2,780
• Floors                                      3

Exercise

• Walk                                        2.25 miles
• Elliptical                                  40 min @ tension 4

Heart Rates

• Maximum                                 157
• Resting                                     64 
• Fat Burn                                   2 hr 53 min
• Cardio Zone                              2 min (104)
• Peak Zone                                 0

Sleep Quality

• Duration                                   9 hr 43 min
• Times Awake                             1
• Times Restless                           1

Wednesday, Jan 27

Statistics for January 27th

• Steps                      12,591
• Miles                       5.82
• Active                     91 minutes
• Calories Burned       2,798
• Floors                     0

Exercises

• Walk                       2.25 miles
• Elliptical                 40 minutes @ tension 5

Heart Rates

• Maximum                157
• Resting                    66
• Fat Burn Zone          2 hr 34 min
• Cardio Zone             3 min (125 bpm)
• Peak Zone                3 min (145 bpm)

Sleep Quality

• Duration                   7 hr 26 min
• Times Awake            0
• Times Restless          8

Another Day, More Statistics

Statistics for Tuesday, January 26th

• Steps                                     12,408
• Miles                                      5.36
• Active                                    85 min
• Calories Burned                      2,517
• Floors                                     3

Exercise

• Walk                                      2.25 miles
• Elliptical                                40 min @ tension 4

Heart Rates

• Maximum                               157
• Resting                                   67
• Fat Burn Zone                         3 hr 7 min
• Cardio Zone                            3 min (105 bpm)
• Peak Zone                               0

Sleep Quality

• Duration                                  9 hr 18 min
• Times Awake                           1
• Times Restless                         5

Monday, Monday.

I had a profound thought while I was taking an extended walk over a more varied terrain yesterday. "Sweat is merely the tears of dying fat cells."  Not anatomically accurate, but true from a philosophical perspective, especially when said sweat is generated by physical activity.  By the way, that extended walk ended up only adding another quarter mile to my distance and, despite the hills and slopes involved, did not increase my credit for floors on iota. It also added several crossings of major roads since the sidewalks in this town are only on one side of the major streets (there are no sidewalks in our residential area.)

Statistics for Monday, January 25th

• Steps                                  14,462
• Miles                                   6.53
• Active                                 93 minutes
• Calories Burned                   2,982
• Floors                                  2

Exercises

• Walk                                   2.25 miles
• Elliptical                             35 minutes @ tension 4

Heart Rates

• Maximum                             157
• Resting                                 67
• Fat Burn Zone                       3 hr 25 min
• Cardio Zone                          17 min (121 bpm)
• Peak Zone                             4 min 

Sleep Quality

• Duration                              9 hr 47 min
• Times Awake                        0
• Times Restless                     0

End of the Weekend

The weekend is over.  My grandson has gone home, making the house seem ever so empty.  No little voice has asked to "see the train, Grandpa" or if I would play cars with him. Despite having the little guy with us, I still managed both my daily walk and my time on the elliptical.

Statistics for Sunday, January 24th

• Steps                                   12,470
• Miles                                    5.64
• Active                                  78 minutes
• Calories burned                    2,893
• Floors                                  2

Exercises

• Walk                                    2.0 miles
• Elliptical                              35 minutes on setting 4

Heart Rates

• Maximum                             157
• Resting                                 68
• Fat Burn Zone                       3 hr 10 min
• Cardio Zone                          34 min (115 bpm)
• Peak Zone                             4 min (133 bpm)

Sleep Quality

• Duration                                8 hr 45 min
• Times Awake                         0
• Times Restless                       6

A Goal Achieved

24 days ago, I started on this lifestyle change by setting an initial weight loss goal of 220 pounds, which would be a loss of eighteen pounds.  This morning I weighed 217.4 pounds, so I have lost 20.6 pounds in 23 days.  After a moment of feeling a bit of pride, I set a new goal of 200 pounds even by the end of February, roughly 4 pounds a week.  I think I can reach that if I keep doing what I am doing.

Statistics for Saturday, January 23rd

• Steps                                      14,118
• Miles                                       6.38
• Active                                     75
• Calories burned                       2,920
• Floor                                       1

Exercise

• Walk                                       2.0 miles
• Elliptical                                 35 min (Setting 4)

Heart Rates

• Maximum                                157
• Resting                                    69
• Fat Burn Zone                          3 hr 18 min
• Cardio Zone                             13 min (112 bpm)
• Peak Zone                                0

Sleep Quality

• Duration                                  8 hr 13 min
• Times Awake                            0
• Times Restless                          2

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down

What a very dreary cold day for the start of Winter Storm Jonas and the much ballied Snowpocalypse 2016.  Our temperature hovered at 33 degrees for most of the day, dipping below freezing once the sun went down. Just north of us was the ice line, where they dealt with layers of ice coating everything.  With the cold steady rain, all my exercise was indoors on the elliptical - three 35 minute sessions.  I really missed my walk! Even the dog wanted no part of walks in the rain.

Statistics

• Steps                                        9,871 (Below Goal)
• Miles                                        4.46 (Below Goal)
• Active                                       104 minutes
• Calories burned                         2,677
• Floor                                         1

Exercises

• Elliptical                                    35 minutes x 3

Heart Rates

• Maximum                                   157
• Resting                                       69
• Fat Burn Zone                            4 hr 51 min
• Cardio Zone                               0
• Peak Zone                                  0

Sleep Quality

• Duration                                     8 hr 29 min
• Times Awake                              1
• Times Restless                            1

A Change in Plans

A change in plans.  Rather than us driving to NC to care for our grandson, he was delivered to our door.  The airlines cancelled my daughter and her husband's flight to Florida, so they elected to rent a car and drive there.  So they arrived here late last night and will leave after breakfast for Florida.  With a two-year-old in the house, there will be no "deep couch sitting" (as the commercial goes.)

Winter Storm Jonas has brought us a day of cold rain.  Fortunately, our temperatures are warm enough that we haven't gotten any ice from the storm... yet.  This means no two-mile walk for me today so three elliptical sessions are in my plan instead.

Another milestone yesterday, over 15,000 steps in a single day. It wasn't planned but that's the joy of being busy.  Steps Happen!

Statistics

• Steps                                   15,740 (new personal best)
• Miles                                    7.11 (new personal best)
• Active                                  85 minutes
• Calories burned                    3,232
• Floors                                   2

Exercises

• Walk                                     2.0 miles
• Elliptical                               40 minutes

Heart Rates

• Maximum                              157
• Resting                                  67
• Fat Burn                                6 hr 20 min
• Cardio                                   8 min
• Peak                                     1 min

Sleep Quality

• Duration                               8 hr 4 min
• Times Awake                        1
• Times Restless                      3

The end of the Third Week

Here it is, January 21st, the end of my third week at this fitness and dietary change.  The results are good.  My weight this morning was 221.0 pounds, down an incredible seventeen pounds since I began. In fact, I will need to set a new weight goal in my FitBit since I am within one pound of my initial goal.  New goal is 200 pounds.  This weekend will be something of a challenge as we are heading into North Carolina to babysit our grandson while his parents travel to Florida for a wedding.  Of course, we will be doing this while skirting the edge of a major winter storm that is already dumping snow.  Fun, fun, fun.

I didn't post yesterday so I will show the stats for both days.

Statistics                                        Jan 19                       Jan 20

• Steps                                    13,015                      12,071
• Miles                                     5.88                          5.46
• Active minutes                       91                             108
• Calories burned                      3,099                        2,600
• Floors                                    1                               2

Exercise

• Walk                                     2.0 miles                  2.0 miles
• Elliptical                               35 minutes x 2         35 minutes x 2

Heart Rates

• Maximum                              157                          157
• Resting                                  67                            68
• Fat Burn (79-102 bpm)           4 hr 18 min              5 hr 27 min
• Cardio (103-132 bpm)            24 min (127 bpm)     0
• Peak (133 or greater)            12 min (144 bpm)      0

Sleep Quality

• Duration                               8 hr 3 min                 9 hr 7 min
• Times Awake                        1                               0
• Times Restless                      3                               3   

MLK Day

Started the day out with a two mile walk with my wife.  As much as I grumble about her long stride and fast pace, I do enjoy walking with her during the weekends.  I followed that up with a 32 minute elliptical session on a higher setting in the morning and another 35 minutes session in the afternoon. 

I also made dinner - the most amazing Southwestern Steak and Potato Soup. It's a relatively simple dish you throw into a crockpot but the taste is remarkable and it's only 224 calories per serving.

Statistics for Monday, January 18th:

• Steps                       13,302 (personal best)
• Miles                        6.02 (personal best)
• Active                      87 minutes
• Calories burned        3,213
• Floors                      3

Heart Rates

• Maximum                157
• Resting                    69
• Fat Burn Zone          4 hr 43 min
• Cardio Zone             32 min (113 bpm)
• Peak Zone               20 min (174 bpm)

Sleep Quality

• Duration:                8 hr 41 min
• Times Awake           1
• Times Restless         3

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest

As mentioned yesterday, I began my day by getting up with the dog and letting my better half sleep. Sadly, she had forgotten to turn off an alarm so she was up by 6:30 am.  That just meant we could get an earlier start on our day.  She joined me on the walk, bringing her faster pace and longer stride plus extending the route a little farther so we reached the two-mile mark.  Afterward we headed over to Lowes to get some new shelving for her Loom Room (a room wherein she stores her looms, fiber, yarns, sewing machines, etc.)  Once the shelves were assembled, I left her to her organizing and did a 35 minute ride on the elliptical machine.  It may appear to be a light exercise load, but the numbers show otherwise.

Statistics for January 17th

• Steps                      12,469 (new record for me)
• Miles                      5.63     (new record for me)
• Active                    79 minutes
• Calories Burned     2,541
• Floors                     1

Heart Rates

• Maximum               157
• Resting                    68
• Fat burn zone          4 hours, 27 minutes
• Cardio zone             8 minutes (112 bpm)
• Peak zone                2 minutes

Sleep Quality

• Duration:                 6 hr 42 min
• Times Awake          1
• Times Restless        2

A very busy Saturday

Per our custom, I got up with the dog on Saturday so my wife could sleep (and I did it again this morning since Monday is a holiday).  The result is for that metric, I failed to meet the goal of eight hours of sleep.

However, once she was up, we did the morning 1.75 mile walk together.  It was nice to have someone to share it with, but my wife has a very long stride and a fast pace, so she pushes me without words. I hit the elevated heart rates much sooner and for far longer than when I saunter along at my own pace. The 36 minute walk had me doing ten minutes in the fat burn zone, twenty-three minutes in cardio, and the final three minutes were at peak.  We then went shopping and walked the length and breadth of Michael's, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, and Bi-Lo.  In mid-afternoon, I did a thirty-one minute session on the elliptical machine that zipped through fat burn (two minutes), spent twenty-eight minutes in cardio, and one minute sprint in peak.

The actual stats for Jan 16th:

Steps:                      11,657
Miles:                       5.31
Active:                      82 minutes
Calories Burned:         3,180
Floors:                      2

Heart Rates

• Maximum           157
• Resting               68
• Fat Burn             5 hours, 8 minutes
• Cardio Zone        1 hour 9 minutes (122)
• Peak Zone          4 minutes

Sleep: 6 hours 45 minutes (awake 0, restless 2)

Friday, Jan 15th

A rainy day in South Carolina but I managed to get my walk in before the rains settled in.

Statistics of January 15th:

Steps:                 11,395
Miles:                  5.14
Active:                100 min 
Calories:              3,078
Floors:                1

Exercises

• 1.75 mile walk
• Elliptical 30 min x2

Heart Rates  

• Maximum:         157
• Resting:             68
• Fat Burn Zone:   6 hr 5 min
• Cardio Zone:      34 min 
• Peak Zone:         6 min 

Sleep:  8 hr 44 min  (awake 1/restless 4)

March of the Penguins

My FitBit awarded me the badge of the Penguins for completing 70 miles, the same distance covered by the March of the Penguins.  Not bad for two weeks of walking and spinning.  Another milestone was my weekly weigh in.  I weighed 226.6, which means I have lost 11.4 pounds in 14 days as well.  

Stats for Jan 14th:

Steps:     11,202
Miles:      5.33
Active:    123 min
Calories:  3,218
Floors:     0

Heart Rates

• Max:         157 bpm
• Resting:    68 bpm
• Fat Burn:   4 hr 28 min
• Cardio:      1 hr 4 min (129 bpm)
• Peak:        10 min (158 bpm)

Exercises

• 1.75 mile walk
• 30 min on elliptical machine x 2
• Toes touches, crunches, double crunches, leg lifts

Sleep:  8 hr, 2 min (awake 1 (pm); restless 1 (am)

Such a slacker! Stats for Jan 12th and 13th

I have no excuse for not posting yesterday.  Chalk it up to another example of an old man's brain farts.

First, let's look at the 12th.  I decided to walk to the pharmacy to get my medicine refill and along the way discovered something about my fitbit and the terrain.  It's a 0.6 mile walk to the CVS, mostly downhill, but that means the walk back in mostly uphill.  My fitbit credited me with seven floors.  I checked and the fitbit determines changes in elevation by alteration of barometric pressure.  The elevation difference between the CVS and my home is the equivalent of seven stories!  I believe it after walking up those grades on the way home.  Explains why my home was safe from "the millennial flood" we had in Sumter last October.

                       Jan 12                     Jan 13

STEPS:          12,282                    11,698

MILES:          5.55                        5.28

ACTIVE:       89 min                    98 min

CALORIES:  2,941                      3,034

FLOORS:      7                             0

EXERCISE:   1.5 mile walk          1.5 mile walk

                       1.2 mile walk          30 min elliptical

                       30 min elliptical      30 min elliptical

HEART RATES

• MAX           157               157
• RESTING    67                 67
• FAT BURN 5hr 5min       6hr 13min
• CARDIO      6 min (107)  22 min (105)
• PEAK           0 min            2 min (116)

SLEEP:          9 hr 8 min              8 hr 59 min

Stats for January 11th

Almost forgot to post this!

STEPS:  11,453
MILES:  5.18
ACTIVE: 90 minutes
Calories: 3,112

Exercises:

• 1.5 mile walk
• 1.25 mile walk (with Patti)
• 30 minutes elliptical machine

Heart Rates:

• Resting: 65 bpm
• Max: 157 bpm
• Fat Burn: 4 hrs, 49 min
• Cardio: 24 min, 132 bpm
• Peak: 9 min, 173 bpm

Sleep: 8 hours, 7 minutes (0 awake, 0 restless)

Statistics for Sunday, Jan 10

NOTE:  Comments are now open to all.  Please keep them clean (and merciful).

STEPS:  10,120
MILES:  4.58
ACTIVE:  90 min
CALORIES:  2,932

SLEEP: 8 hr 39 min (awake x0, restless x1)

Exercise:

• 1.5 mile walk
• 30 min elliptical machine
• 20 min elliptical machine

Heart Rates:

• Maximum: (220-age): 157 bpm
• Resting:  65 bpm
• Fat Burn (50%-69% of max): 2 hr 44 min (99 bpm)
• Cardio (70%-84% of max:  20 min (126 bpm)
• Peak (85% of max or greater): 6 min (157 bpm)

A Side Effect of Shopping

It is a tradition here that I get up with the dog on Saturday mornings so the my wife can have one morning to sleep as late as she wants (usually no later than 8:30).  Unfortunately, the dog gets accustomed to her early morning schedule during the week, so I was awakened at 5:27 am to start my day by taking the Chow for her first walk of the day.

Best part of the day, however, was sharing my neighborhood walk with my wife.  She's a fast walker, so it really stepped up my game (pun intended) to be with her. Pushed the heart rate up into both the cardio zone and peak zone, which is good.

Stats of Jan 9th:

STEPS:       11,596
MILES:         5.24
ACTIVE:       55 min
CALORIES:  3,111

Heart Rates:  (Max Heart Rate equals 220 minus age, which is 157 for me)
Resting or Still Heart Rate:         66 bpm
Fat Burn (50% to 69% of max):  3 hr, 25 min
Cardio (70% to 84% of max):     15 min (115 bpm)
Peak (85% or greater of max):    17 min (162 bpm)

SLEEP:  5 Hours, 26 minutes (awake x1/restless x1)

Highest number of steps taken yet an active period under an hour.  The primary reason for this was choosing to only do one 30 minute session on the elliptical.  Why?  Because we went shopping after our walk. I knew that walking the length and breadth of Wal-Mart plus Bi-Lo would seriously jack up the step count but would not drive up my heart rate.  Funny thing.  We bought a week's worth of groceries and spent under $100.  Amazing what happens when you cut out junk food, beer, alcohol, and soda.

And on the seventh day, he rested

Well, sort of rested.  I took a longer walk and cut back on the elliptical time while adding more tension to the mechanism.

Statistics for January 7:

STEPS:   9059 (under AHA 10K goal)
MILES:  4.09
ACTIVE: 50 min
CALORIES: 2721

SLEEP: 9 hr, 17 min (awake x1, restless x3)

NOTE: I was awakened by my wife's backup alarm at 5:10 am and had to find it, figure out how to shut it off before going back to sleep.  She has discontinued its use.

In keeping with my once a week weigh-in philosophy, I also weighed in yesterday:

Starting weight:   238.0 pounds
Weight on 7 Jan:  230.8 pounds
Total weight lost:     7.2 pounds

Not too shabby, a pound a day.  My doctor told me to lose six pounds, so I have surpassed her goal.  My initial goal is to get below 220 pounds, which will slide down in 20 pound increments until I reach 160 again.  Of course, the last time I weighed 160 pounds was 34 years ago when we lived in Italy!

Another 10K Day

Hit the 10k mark at 6 pm, which was kind of cool.

Stats for Jan 6

STEPS:    10,815
MILES:    4.89
ACTIVE:  81 Minutes
CALORIES:  2,802

SLEEP: 8 hr 40 min (awake x1/restless x2)

Exercises: 1.25 mile walk, two 30 minutes sessions on the elliptical machine, plus numerous times walking our dog.

Another day over 10K

Yet another day exceeding 10,000 steps - again breaking the barrier as I walked the dog for her last outs before bed.

STEPS:          10,480
MILES:          4.73
ACTIVE:        83 minutes
CALORIES:   2,765

SLEEP: 9 hours, 9 minutes (Awake x 1/Restless x6)

Exercises: 1.25 mile walk, two 30-minute sessions on the elliptical machine, walking the dog many times

Best Day Thus Far

There is no doubt that yesterday was the best day.  While I was walking the dog before bed last night, my FitBit went crazy - buzzing, vibrating, and flashing lights to inform me that I had walked over 10,000 steps.

STEPS:          10,336
MILES:          4.72
ACTIVE:       73 Minutes
CALORIES:  2,777

SLEEP: 9 hours, 5 minutes (Awake x 1, Restless x 6)

In Search of a New Me

Life on the Bench had an unintended side effect - weight gain.  I became so dissatisfied with my weight that I made a resolution to do something about it.  The first part of the resolution was a change in diet.  Gone are the sweets - jelly beans, M&Ms, cookies, sodas.  Also gone is my beer and alcohol. We already practice portion control, but we'd allowed fast food but that's now gone.

The second part of my resolution is daily exercise. Every day, in addition to the dog walks, I added a walk around the block, which is 1.25 miles.  On top of that, I do two 20-minute sessions on the elliptical trainer. I am slowly adding calisthenics to the mix.  Pushups, situps, crunches, toe-touches, etc.  Have I mentioned the last time I participated in daily exercise was Basic Training in 1970?

My wife bought me a FitBit Charge HR for Christmas, and it has been a blessing at tracking what I have been accomplishing.  The American Heart Association recommends 10,000 steps every day, but I recognize that I have been too sedentary for far too long to just start off at those levels. Active Zone is when your heart rate is above 50% of the maximum for your age.  This is divided into three areas: Fat Burn (50% to 69% of maximum), Cardio (70% to 84% of maximum) and Peak (above 85% of maximum).   I plan to log my progress here.  Note: It also tracks the quality and duration of your sleep.

JAN 1:
     Steps:  6,785
     Miles:  3.07
     Active:  20 minutes
     Calories:  2,489
     Sleep:      7 Hr 21 Min  (Awake 3/Restless 8)

JAN 2:
     Steps:  8,878
     Miles:  4.01
     Active:  21 minutes
     Calories: 2,638
     Sleep:       7 Hr  (Restless 2)

JAN 3:
     Steps:  8,100
     Miles: 3.66
     Active: 55 minutes
     Calories: 2,498
     Sleep:  8 hr 52 min  (Restless 6)