February 28, 2013

Getting in more daily movement

Yesterday was a rest day. I was curious how it was going to go with the ActiveLink, because the ActiveLink gave me a goal of earning 3 PointsPlus per day. When I run, I earn those PP very quickly. But yesterday was the first day that I had a rest day while doing the ActiveLink challenge.

Wearing the ActiveLink has certainly gotten me motivated to move more. I love to eat, so if moving more earns me more PP to spend, then I will do it ;)  I had some errands to run yesterday, which involved me getting in and out of the car a few times, crossing parking lots (I made sure to park far away, but I do that most of the time anyway), and just moving around in general. I was surprised to see by lunchtime, I hadn't even gotten to 25% of my goal for the day!

I did laundry after lunch, and to get in a lot of steps, I put away the laundry one article of clothing at a time--ridiculous, right? Jerry was making fun of me the whole time. I had the basket of clothes on the living room floor, and I would pick up one item and go put it away before getting another. I spent at least 15 minutes doing that, and I just barely reached the 25% mark.

My house is super clean right now--I've been looking for every excuse to move, so I've been cleaning counters and floors and everything a couple of times a day. I continued with that yesterday, and by dinnertime, I was just over 50%--which was my baseline (the minimum movement I'm supposed to do on a daily basis). It was exhausting!

I was very determined to get to 100%, however, so I created a little game with the kids--and they had a blast with it! We walked single file around the house in a big loop--through the living room, kitchen, and hallway. For each loop, we added something else that we had to do during that loop--first, we had to pet each cat as we walked by; then we had to touch each chair and pet each cat; then we had to give Jerry a kiss, touch each chair, and pet each cat; then march the loop instead of walking it while doing all those things; and so on. (It reminded me of that Father Abraham song, where you keep adding a body part to move for each verse).

It sounds completely ridiculous, but both kids said, "This is the most funnest thing we ever did before bed!" and they loved it. After doing that for a while, I was at 91%. I was totally ready to just sit down and watch The Middle with Jerry and the boys, but being so close to 100%, I walked in place for the first 10 minutes or so of the show, and finally... FINALLY... reached 100%!

I cannot believe how much activity it takes to earn just 3 PP in a day when I don't run. This morning, I ran four miles after the boys left for school, and by 8:40 AM, I'd already reached 100% of my goal (3 PP). I did the four miles on the treadmill this morning, because outside is full of slush--so hard to run in. Also, I needed to get my fix of Jax on Sons of Anarchy ;)
Anyway, I don't know how people reach their ActiveLink goal on rest days! Especially when their goals are higher than mine is, at 3 PP. By the end of the challenge, I'm supposed to be earning 5 PP per day. When it gets nice out, I'll probably go for a walk in the woods, but for now, I'll have to make up silly games with my kids, I guess!

Today's run got me to my goal of 100 miles in February. Having this month be a few days short of all the other months makes a big difference in my mileage--it was tough the last two weeks to reach that goal! Two weeks ago, I saw that I was only at 40 miles for the month--so as of today, I ran over 60 miles in 2 weeks. Now I'll go back to my regular schedule.

Yesterday, Jerry and I had to go to the courthouse to pay his "impeding traffic" ticket--TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS, can you believe that? While we were out, we went to McDonald's to get an ice cream cone. I was craving something a little more indulgent, but I didn't want to blow all of my weekly PP on the first day of my week. After looking up the PP values of the flurries, I saw that a snack-size Oreo McFlurry is only 9 PP. I was going to spend 5 PP on a cone, so I figured 4 more was worth it for the splurge.

I've actually never gotten a McFlurry in my life, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I guess I pictured it to be tiny like the Wendy's miniature Frosties, but I was really impressed when I got it. It's the perfect size! Not big enough to feel guilty for eating it, but big enough to feel like you're indulging. I think it's a 10 fluid-ounce cup, so that's a perfect-sized treat. I'll stick with my vanilla cones most of the the time, but I would definitely get the McFlurry again if I have some extra PP.

I will leave you with this photo that Jerry took of Phoebe--it's SO adorable! She fell asleep wedged between the couch cushion and the back of the couch...

21 comments:

  1. Congrats on the 100 miles! And wow, I'm impressed you state with it all day. Go girl!

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  2. I love McFlurries! I worked at McDonald's during college, and I would eat those all time...until I gained 10 pounds! Congrats on your 100 miles this month!

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  3. That's quite the rest day, ha!
    Your talk about Jax makes me want to start the current season soon :)

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  4. I'm always amused to see what my dog finds comfortable. Some of the positions he contorts himself into are so funny!

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  5. I love the game you created! I will use this idea the next time I see my granddaughters. They live on the west coast, and I'm on the east coast. I look forward to seeing them and making great memories with them!

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  6. See, I don't understand the activelink AT ALL! You say at 50% you hit your baseline? I have to hit it at 100%! So in doing all that I do all day(sedentary job, but try to get up every hour to move), and a 60 minute zumba class, my AL tells me I only earn 4-5 points for the whole day. I don't understand why your baseline is 50%, but mine is 100%??? It is so confusing to me, and my WW leader didn't explain it well to me. One day, I reached 215% of my goal, and I *only* earned 6 APs! I don't get it! rawr.

    ANYWAY! Awesome job on moving more and what a cute, fun little game with your boys!! Go Katie!

    V

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    1. It's completely individualized for each person as far as your goal goes. My assessment showed that I was earning on average 3 PP per day. So my 100% became the 3PP per day. Your assessment probably showed that you were earning less, which makes THAT number your 100% mark. In other words, it takes my doing a lot more movement to reach my 100% mark than it would take you to reach 100%.

      Your baseline number is a fixed number determined from your height, weight, age, and sex. That will always stay the same (unless you lose weight, or have a birthday). But the challenge goal will change based on your activity--so right now, your 100% mark might also be your baseline. But as you get more active, that may change. It's very hard to explain, but I read through the entire website with a fine-tooth comb to make sure I understood it ;)

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  7. I have a Fitbit and it's just impossible for me to reach 10K steps on my rest days... it's hard any other day unless I do a 3 mile walk or more because I have such a sedentary job. But it does encourage me to try to get up and move more, for sure!

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    1. I have a fitbit too Jennifer... on rest days forget it. I work retail, but do HR so I'm half and half office. Monday is all office pretty much where Tuesday is no office... anyway... on my non-run Mondays, I'm lucky to hit 8500 steps. And floors... I'm lucky to get to one on a non-run day (I only run outside!)

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    2. I have a Fitbit too...on a rest day I usually try to walk to the grocery store or library to make sure I hit my goal. Weekends are actually hardest for me, I just get into lazy mode.

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  8. I have a Nike Fuel Band. I need to earn 2000 fuel points a day to meet my base goal which is pretty easy. Today I did a 45 minute strength training class at the gym and 8 miles on the treadmill and I have earned 5500 fuel for the day. The fuel band is a fun gadget. It also counts steps, calories, and is a watch.

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  9. I use a Bodymedia Fit and am the same way! Today I didn't exercise, so I cleaned the bathrooms and just looked for stuff in the kitchen to clean. All just to make sure I hit my calorie burn goal!

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  10. great idea for a game with the kids! :)

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  11. I just started watching Son of Anarchy too, I'm on episode 8, it took a few episodes to grow on me but now I'm hooked!

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  12. I want to know what Phoebe looked like when she tried to get out!

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  13. How cute Phoebe looks!

    I love that game you did with the boys - it's such a sweet reminder of how such simple things can be such joy for kids.

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  14. Meliss (@mrsridley)March 01, 2013

    OMG! From a fellow 4 cat home, so dang cute! =)

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  15. I can't EVER get my fill of Jax!! Just sayin'...

    ~~Aundrea P.

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  16. Haha, I got a good chuckle out of the individual piece laundry story and the game you made up with your kids. Amazing how much it takes to even try to get close to the benefit of one 4-5 mile run!

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  17. Congrats on getting the 100 miles in!

    I've been reading your blog for awhile but never commented (no clue why, lol) and I just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration you've given me to get off my lazy butt and start getting in shape. I still have a LONG way to go but starting to blog about it and Sparkpeople are helping keep me accountable for everything. So, thank you for that little push I needed to finally start!

    Btw, your cat is adorable. :)

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  18. I LOVE JAX TELLER TOO! <3333

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