Life Musings: The Little Things

A few weeks ago I posted my workout gear overhaul. I’m still working towards my goals, both with new workout gear (the ones in the last post sadly didn’t work out for me) and with my fitness regimen. As far as the latter goes, I’ve realized some things along the way and I’m teaming up with Jawbone once again to share them!

If I’ve taken away anything from using the UP, it’s that little things can have a great results. I always say it in regards to style—a small accessory or the minor change of rolling up your sleeves can transform your outfit. In the same way, minor changes in other areas of your life can make a huge difference.

Before Addie was born I walked about 4.5 to 5 miles a day. (20-30 min in the morning, a 30 min walk with Benson in the evening, and being out and about a LOT during the day.) Maintaining that rhythm with a newborn was difficult because I had less time. Like, during the time I normally walked in the morning I was tied down to nurse Addie instead.


But with the UP on my wrist and on my conscience I started finding other spaces to incorporate walking, whether walking around the house or walking in place (as dorky as that feels initially)! Two key elements were 1) trying to utilize activities I was already doing where I’d normally be standing still, and 2) it didn’t matter how short of a time span they were—because little things add up. For example, the 4 minutes I spend brushing my teeth? Whereas I’d normally lazily find a place to sit, I now brush and walk.

While a few minutes of walking here and there doesn’t seem significant, doing that through out the day has helped me consistently get back to the 4.5 to 5 mile mark. It’s not the ideal way to exercise, but any movement is better than nothing, you know? And I love that the UP helps me recognize the impact since I can actually see my steps recorded. It motivates me to see how little moments of feeling dorky while brushing my teeth and walking add up to big, big results.

My second fitness goal was to add strength training. I was initially going to do 10-15 minutes 3x per week thinking that was a doable slow start. But it turned out that for me that wasn’t a slow start when a newborn was in the mix. And I realized I need a daily goal or else I will always put it of until the next day thinking, “I only need 3x/wk, so I’ll skip today and do it tomorrow.” Instead, I’m going for ONE strength training exercise per day. Sounds little, but again, it’s better than nothing. And I have a hunch that it will turn into a habit that will grow into more strength training over time.

Whether you’re trying to workout more, eat healthier, or sleep better, I’d encourage you to start doing something–even just ONE thing!

And BTW, one awesome thing about UP now is that you can use the UP app to log food, movement, and sleep even if you don’t have the UP band!  Benson stopped using his band but still uses the UP app to count his steps, so we still have the social accountability as motivation to get moving.  (Click HERE to see how that works.)  This is great for a lot of you who were asking about the band but weren’t sure if you wanted to commit to it.  You can still use the UP app!

If you’re interested in the UP you can find it HERE and start changing your habits, one step at a time.  😉

And if any of you are going to try the UP band or app, let me know!  I want more members on my team!


This post was sponsored by Jawbone.  All opinions are mine.  For more info on PMT’s sponsorship policies see disclosure page.

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