I Am AcCOUNTable

Over the past few years anyone who knows me has been told how mad I am at myself for getting so out of shape and adding so many unneeded pounds.  I am holding myself acCOUNTable!

It's no ones fault that I sit idle for so many hours.  It's no ones fault I eat enough to fill a grown man twice my size.  It's my fault.  I am accountable.

I have grown tired of hearing myself say "I need to get these pounds off" and "What happened to my thighs".  I am acCOUNTable.

Time has come for a change!

First step:  Getting ahold of my daily diet routine

In order to get a realist idea of what I'm doing wrong I decided to chart my calorie intake.  The problem was I didn't want to have to carry a notepad to write it down then head to the computer to look up calories for individual foods, drinks and snacks.

I found an excellent smart phone app called My Fitness Pal.  You can find it in the app store on Droid and iPhone.   This app allows to you connect with friends to see their progress and offer encouragement.  No, you don't see their weight or other personal information unless a person chooses to make it public.  I of course did not and will not make that information public.   After entering your starting weight and your goal weight it will tell you how many calories you need to consume to maintain your metabolic rate and still lose weight.  It also has a fitness tracker which will adjust your calories with fitness to give you a net consumption for the day.

I was shocked at what I was consuming without realizing it.   Now I think about am I eating because I'm hungry or just bored.

Since starting my daily calorie counting, I have been surprised what I have learned about my eating habits.  Now because I'm aware of my consumption I am making healthier choices.   And believe it or not at the end of the day I'm usually scrambling to find something last minute to eat because I'm under my daily metabolic calorie count.

I am now acCOUNTable.


Second step:  Get moving

With each decade a persons metabolic rate slows down.  In order to keep that from happening a person needs to move.  I was under the impression that with all the movement I general make during the day since I'm a fidgeter I was probably not too bad off.  I have read many times in order to improve your health/metabolic rate a person needs to walk 10,000 steps a day.

No problem...I was sure I was doing that with all the up, down, in and out of my daily routine.   

WRONG!!!

I purchased a Jawbone UP band.  The UP band has an app on Iphone and iPad but not on Droid.  It tracks all steps taken during a 24 hour period.  All you do is plug it in to you phone or iPad to sync.

I found out I was only taking about 3000 steps a day with my daily routine.  I was shocked!!

Time to get moving.

Taking walks by myself was something I didn't like to do and made every excuse in the world to not do it.  Now it has become my own personal challenge to take those 10,000 steps a day.  After all I am acCOUNTable to myself AND this is for ME.

I have discovered if I take a 40 minute brisk walk I can add about 5000 steps to my 3000 daily count.   I want those 10,000 steps for ME.   I deserve 40 minutes of ME time.

The UP band has a "timer" which makes the band vibrate if you have been inactive for too long which reminds you to get up and move.  Plus it has a sleep mode you turn on as you go too bed to chart your sleep cycles.  If you don't get enough sleep you are hurting your metabolic rate too.

All in all, I think I'm on the right track and I'm having fun with it.  Both are now a part of my daily routine and I'm making slow progress.  It took me years to get where I'm at so I don't expect a quick fix.  Slow and steady will get me the changes I need and want.   This is for ME.

I am acCOUNTable.