Fitbit

my advise would be to set your steps to say 500 every hour and this will make you get up every hour and move, even if those steps are up and down the stairs or living room to kitchen and back. 500 steps every hour 12 hrs a day is 6000 steps a day. walk for you paper or to the local shop rather than drive. get off the bus one stop before your normal one i
also adds a bit with little effort.
Good luck remeber fitness is not only about what you weight, maybe eating one less potato/sandwich/ biscuit and look at what you eat and even eating the same amount of something healthier. Porridge is the best start to the day, I eat mine cold and uncooked having soaked it overnight

Used to love my Fitbit then got treated to an Apple Watch which I love too. Great for motivating you. Just start off with your normal day and then try to add a few steps each day. Half hour walk each day can be broken down into 3 x10 mins if you find this better. Good luck xx

Congratulations on your purchase. I love my Fitbit.

Why not start the new year and ring the changes, set yourself a challenge of getting the majority of those steps during the morning. Get up a bit earlier, wrap up and get outside, see how it goes, see how different things look at that time of day, breathe deep and .... good luck!

craftyone, you can get different straps for your fitbit on Ebay, I've got a silver, gold and a purpley one, all like a metal mesh type as like you the plastic fitbit ones gave me a rash on my wrist

Of course daily weighing is affected by whether you have had a morning cuppa or not, whether you have opened your bowels that day, whether you have had a wee etc etc but it is a good guide nonetheless and gives a measure of energy balance- both amount of exercise and food intake. Once you have a scales it is also free!

Thanks GH. Might get get one for my birthday plus a mesh strap

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

My husband bought us both basic fit bits last Christmas and it changed my life. I have a reminder at ten to the hour so if I haven’t done 250 steps ( ie haven’t moved from in front of the tv) in that hour I know to get up and move around a bit. . I set a lowish target of 5,000 steps a day so I don’t get discouraged if I fail but now manage to exceed that most days. I then set up the food diary so I put in what I eat and it gives me the calories consumed- it is easy to set up a calorie deficit so you know if you’ve eaten more than you’ve used, I’ve lost two and a half stone since doing this . Just makes sense to use a bit more than you eat. I charge mine for the few minutes I’m in the shower each morning so never runs out. My husband records swimming, running, cycling and gym on his- he’s much more active than me. Make it work for you, they’re quite easy to use.

I bought a cheap, basic treadmill and in the winter try to force myself to walk quickly on it for a mile every day, I listen to music while doing this and really it gets quite compulsive. Need to get some music that has a strong beat that you can match steps to, I use an old Tamla Motown CD and it works for me.

The way it works for me is that of I look at the step count after lunch and I have hardly moved I take a walk round the park/block. I make a point of doing longer walk if I know I won't be able to for a day or 2. (That's the theory anyway.....)

DH and I have found bikes with electric motors really helpful for getting out and taking more excercise

Years ago I had a very amusing book called something like "What every girl should know" - that wasn't the title, but I can't remember it. One suggestion was that a good way of keeping fit is to hoover your stairs wearing high heels. I don't know if it works, though.

Surely, Hattie could be tempted to take more walks if she got a dog biscuit or two on returning home? She doesn't look as if she needs to slim!

I put my new Fitbit in the drawer and am ignoring it whilst I finish up the left over Quality Street.
Seriously tho', if you need to shape up, I recommend Slimming World.
I'm not a 'clubby' person, so I do it online, tho' I know loads of people who love the meetings, so maybe I'm an odd-bod.
Whatever - it works and it's very easy.
They do recommend a bit of exercise, so your Fitbit might come in handy, but my nutritionist daughter says its 80% food 20% exercise for good results.

There are challenge groups in the Fitbit Community. I am not quite sure how I managed to join mine but 'competing' even virtually is good motivation.
I am also in a Facebook Group and signed up to the challenge - Walk 1000 miles in 2019 soon to change to 2020.
www.walk1000miles.co.uk
There are walkers of all ages and abilities taking the challenge. It's very supportive with lots of ideas for walks. 1000 miles sounds a lot but it breaks down to less than 3 miles a day. It has made me get out almost everyday so I completed the challenge by the end of June and recently broke the 2000 barrier.

You need to walk 2.75 miles, about 5,000 steps, to work off the calories in an average chocolate bar! Exercise is more about fitness than weight loss.
My family bought me a Fitbit about four years ago, and it has been a great incentive to exercise more. I go to a weekly exercise class, an aqua-aerobics session and visit the gym twice a week.
Having said that, I have taken very little exercise since coming to visit my family in Australia, in mid November. Unless I get out before 6am it is usually just too hot. We did have a lovely beach walk today, though, as it has cooled off for a few days. I have managed, in spite of this, to lose a few more pounds through sensible eating. Luckily my appetite decreases when it’s hot.
Enjoy your Fitbit. You will certainly feel the benefit of taking more exercise.

Thanks for that link Emelle (www.walk1000miles.co.uk) - I have joined that group now and hope to start on the challenge next week. Looked up a local Walking for Health group and will try and join in with that. I’ve recently discovered I have high blood pressure, so hope more walking will help.
Good luck Maw!

Lisagran - That is good news! I am sure you will enjoy the group. I have enjoyed it so much that I have set new challenges for me and my cocker spaniel. The plan is to walk in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lakes more often and get up my local hill, Pendle at least once a month.

I like to walk first thing in the morning so in the winter dark mornings I use the Wii fit instead. It can get boring so I listen to pod casts or audio books while I'm stepping

I got a Fitbit for Xmas and I’m slowly learning how it works. I wanted to know how far I walk everyday day and have been surprised how quickly I reach 10,000 steps. I’m a bit doubtful how accurate it is. ?. I also wanted to see how I sleep - how long and how many times I wake up with restless periods. I haven’t been able to see my heart rate yet. I’ll ask one of the youngsters in the family. ??

Which Fitbit should I get? Are they complicated to set up?

If you are really serious set yourself a target step count. Mine is 1000 steps a day. I either go to the gym, or sometimes like yesterday, I just go on a shopping trip and walk until I've completed my allocation. I can complete it at home too if I garden, clean and am on my feet most of the day. If 1000 steps is too much initially (it will depend on your basic fitness), set your target at 9000 or 8000.
When I go to the gym I have a target pulse rate of 140 I like to reach, as I know I will burn calories if I elevate my heart rate to this. And the raised calorie consumption continues long after you have cooled down and left the gym. In fact I believe if you visit the gym about 3 times a week your calorie consumption and metabolic are significantly raised throughout the week..

How about signing up at a Local Authority Leisure Centre? You can pay a monthly fee that includes everything. I find this motivates me because you sign up for classes in advance. I do Pilates, all I can physically manage. The more classes I do the cheaper the membership seems - a great motivater! Signing up is a commitment and becomes part of your routine so you stick at it. You meet people, another bonus. Swimming is often included in the price. It might be worth trying! Good luck, and don't weigh yourself too often it really doesn't help and muscle weighs more than fat anyway.

The reminder to do 250 steps an hour's is great, mine usually tells me at ten to the hour if I haven't done them. Easier to do on time off than sat on reception at work although a great incentive to do errands, tidy tables in the cafe etc is to.get extra steps in.
My mil says she's does about 2000 in the morning just getting ready, putting washing in a more dry washing away, rubbish out, washing breakfast things.
And I am always amazed how many steps I do doing jobs in town after work or in days off.
I drive to town but park about 1/2 mile away so that's a mile done in two easy portions.
Taking two small dogs for a ten minute walk twice a day is about 1,000 steps each time, I do walk quite quickly. But got to say with the dark nights and mornings leading into christmas.my walks got less and dogs spent more time in the garden, and steeps did fall.
Try and.get a group of friends.to have a weekly competition it all adds to the fun.
I will be back on it once I can get rid of the this damm head cold and get me strap fixed.
Good luck, start at 5,000 steps a day and then work your way upy brother in law does over 20,000 is almost 60 and has lost and kept off about 5 stone over the past few years.x

GrannyHall29
craftyone, you can get different straps for your fitbit on Ebay, I've got a silver, gold and a purpley one, all like a metal mesh type as like you the plastic fitbit ones gave me a rash on my wrist
I also had problems with the supplied rubbery plastic FitBit strap and bought a magnetic multicoloured strap on eBay which I find much more comfortable. It is much lighter and not sweaty like the original. Sadly it hasn’t made me any more active and I still do far less than my 6000 target on many days. Maybe I can go for daily walks when the better (drier) weather arrives.

I am very interested, exercise has become minimal since I finished digging my patio out. Not many places to walk around here, I would rather walk in countryside but shops and back home would do. I can make a loop of it. My old fitbit used to be very inaccurate, amazing how many steps I did when I was going somewhere by car

I am happy with my basic equipment here: kettler stepper in the kitchen, cycle in the lounge, stairs, rebounder in the garage. My trouble is that I get bored so cycling while watching a film is perfect. Maybe I can set something up on a phone or tablet, so I can watch while rebounding gently

Is there any watch type recorder that counts in a stepper or cycle ride?

Any of you older ladies want to join a workweek hustle challenge for motivation? If so message me and I will try and 'friend' you on fitbit