Fitbit - Losing Weight by Walking Alone

Two years on from investing in my fitbit, how am I doing and more importantly - have I lost weight?

Admittedly, there have been periods since I bought the fitbit that I haven't used it. But at the start of February I decided to do 8000 steps a day for the whole month and 6 months on I've only missed one day (where I had to drive up north and back for a funeral and simply didn't have the time to walk). 8000 seems a very modest goal and really it is. My steps over a week often average a lot more but I don't want to set my goal higher (yet!) because I like to have the choice and I don't want walking to my step goal to become a chore.

In the last few months I have also started running again. I am fortunate to live very close to Swinley Forest and I love running and walking there as often as I can. My fitbit allows me to view a map of my route and compare heart rate, elevation and calories burned. I am a stats junky! If you see me with my head buried in my phone I'm probably checking out my resting heart rate or comparing recent daily steps.

So, the big question - have I lost weight? Ermmm. No. Not from walking anyway. I lost about 6lb through raw eating a couple of months ago. I believe walking has helped me keep that small amount off. But it's going to take a lot more to actually walk the weight off. I still believe this is the way forward though. Dieting is increasingly difficult for me so I see exercise as the only way. Also, walking is really enjoyable - especially in the countryside.

We have just finished a week's walking holiday in The Lake District. What an amazing week! As well as simply counting my steps, the fitbit also records elevation - great for adding 'badges' to my fitbit profile but it's never going to beat the views - which is the real reward for climbing the fells.

However, my head filled with ideas of how fit we all are now, those holiday photos again brought me down to Earth with a crash. That 6lb I lost was only 6lb. 6 months of walking and 6 days of climbing may have me feeling great but now I'm thinking the best way to lose the weight I need is to increase the steps to 16k, maybe 20k steps a day.

Losing weight by walking alone has to be possible, and I'm determined to find a way.