Very long post, so be warned.

A few months ago I started a modest program of
increased activity and decreased calories. I had been knocking the idea around
and finally got started after spring had peeked in. I have had a Fitbit One for
awhile but had never revved it up, and decided to put it to use to see if that,
if even the novelty, would help.

I had a lot of different thoughts going on about this so I thought I
might share, FWIW. I have thought of myself as an active person but in fact, I really
had become very inactive except for weekend warrior yard work, which isn’t even
possible every weekend. I love
weight-lifting ( on a pretty minor scale compared to some of y’all) and
resistance exercises but didn’t keep up a consistent program and progress. Work-work had
expanded over the years, sedentary habits, and then more recently some painful musculoskeletal injuries and issues played into all this. Regarding diet, I am
a good omnivore, and I love, grow and prepare all sorts of veggies, but also am a “ hearty eater”. My downfall is second helpings, portion size,
and any kind of all-you-can eat restaurant.
I know this is not on the scale (pun intended) of very serious health
problems, but in looking ahead, it did not seem like it would be good for
another few decades.

I wanted to start doing more and
also wanted to see if I could lose some “fluff and muff” that had crept in, or
on, over a decade or 2.

The thing was, I had all these what-if thoughts that seemed to have kept
me from getting started . What if “it” doesn’t work. What if I start but quit.
What if I’m too—lazy, tired, hurts. I
know I have some “grit” because I had to use that to do many things in my life,
but I seemed to have misplaced my “health and fitness grit “. What if the math
of more activity and less food doesn’t apply to me, what if my metabolism is
messed up. What if , what if.

So, what- if mess that I was, I got started. I added several 10 min
walk breaks during the work day, took stairs, worked on being more consistent
with a small morning exercise routine, and used the season—daylight savings
time—to do small chunks of gardening after work some days.

I picked a kind of calorie intake target less than expenditure and
worked on portion sizes, careful snacking, all the usual. Got an inexpensive
digital scale to help keep me honest and get certain targets fixed in my brain.

I use the Fitbit tracking mostly for “active minutes” and for food calorie
tracking and the overall +/- calorie
estimates.

So far I have found this both easier and harder than I thought, if
that makes any sense! I have lost some weight and lost some squidge. I can tell a difference in some of my
endurance and some strength. It all seems so obvious and I have NO IDEA why now
and not before. I do credit the Fitbit .As Angie said, though, I can foresee a time,
maybe, where I can just use the concepts and not have to have a digital track
record of everything—but I think my habits are still not fully ingrained and I
am still enjoying using it. Or, later might use it
intermittently for a “booster shot” .

For the style side of things, in losing some fluff and muff, now some of my
clothes fit better and some fit worse, and it’s funny, some are predictable,
and some other items and outfits just
don’t look right. I may post some of that stuff on the regular style forum.

So I am still not sure about many of my what-if’s, further goals and
“maintenance”.

Also, this did not and does not make me a “better person”. Surprise! So
in addition to “what if”, there is “so, big deal, NOW what?”

Thanks for reading! Not sure if any of my experiences resonate, but would be happy if it encourages someone
else in fitness goals.