I climbed the neck of a tall giraffe!

That's the message I got when I logged into my Fitbit today. Unfamiliar with a Fitbit? Basically, it's an electronic pedometer. But it does a whole lot more than just count steps. It tracks the flights of stairs that you've climbed. It tracks the miles you've logged. It tracks the calories you've burned. It also tracks your sleep pattern and tells you the quality by percentage of your sleep. I wore it last night and found out that I actually woke up 18 times. My sleep quality was only 83%.

The Fitbit syncs with your computer---and there's an app for that. You can log in your food and water. It keeps track of everything.

Mindy was the first one in the family to get it. She liked it so much that she talked Steph into going in with her to buy Butch one for his birthday and Father's day. It's $100. Steph got a good discount on hers ($72.00) through her work---you know how all businesses are encouraging fitness these days.

I was on the fence about the Fitbit because physically, I cannot do what Mindy does (or Steph or Butch either). Besides Curves every morning (before she started traveling) she ran and even did a boot camp at the Y. After running the stairs at the park, she got the message: "Congratulations! You have just climbed the equivalent of the St. Louis Arch!" I wanted to know if it takes your weight in to consideration when achieving goals. I want a message when I walk from my parked car to the mall entrance like: "Congratulations! You have just walked the equivalent of the Miracle Mile!"

It doesn't quite work like that. You choose your own goals---10,000 steps, 10 flights of stairs, or 5 miles a day. Right off, I was mad about that. Those are too lofty of goals for me. When you first register it, you put in your height, weight and age. There's one other category that makes it all worthwhile for me--your active score. That gives you a percentage of how active you are for the day. That's where it takes in to account your weight to activity ratio. The symbol on the Fitbit is a little flower---that grows throughout the day if your activity level is higher than expected. No one told me about that. I discovered it on my own. That's where I do well every day. This morning, my flower grew the longest I'd seen it yet. In a way, this thing makes you want to do more stuff (you can also log any other activity that you do when you aren't wearing it---like swimming). I just want to see what messages come up.

The Fitbit greets me each morning with "Good morning, Barbara!" It's almost like a little pet. Today, I dropped it on the marble bathroom floor. I though, "uh oh, that can't be good." I picked it up and it said, "hug me!" Poor baby, that fall must have hurt.

Already, it's motivated me to get back on the treadmill. I'm lovin' it (not the treadmill, the Fitbit). Of course, this family can't do anything without turning it into a competition. Butch and Mindy put together an "Eads Family Group." We're each ranked. Currently, I'm in last, but this is really my first week to take it seriously. I ended up taking it off last week at the beach when I almost got in the pool with it on.

Since I've been off the prednisone, I've lost 19 lbs. I've got a long way to go, but I lose at the rate of 6 lbs. a month without doing anything. Maybe with the motivation of the Fitbit, I can make that 10 lbs. a month. Only 50 lbs. more to go. All of a sudden, that doesn't sound so bad. I'm pumped! Of course, the message I'll get when I reach that goal will be something like: "Congratulations! You've reached your goal. Too bad you have that loose elephant skin!"

Check it out for yourself here: Fitbit