New Gear: Upgrading the fitbit

I work for a company with excellent health benefits and a wellness program that is actually quite motivational. By completing a yearly health survey, you can earn a discount on your yearly benefits contribution--100% worth it. And by doing other health-related activities, you can earn points toward other rewards as well. I love this program for a number of reasons, including the rewards themselves as well as the fact that it covers nutrition, exercise, mental well-being, financial planning, and preventive care. This year, by doing the things I need to be doing anyway, I earned a $50 Amazon gift card, and a new fitbit.

Now, as y'all know, I LOVE my fitbit, and I have been using my One for a few years. I am not a huge fan of wearing things on my wrists because I have to type all day and because it always seems to get in the way when I cooking things, which is pretty often. However, that said, I really wanted to try out the heart rate monitor, to get an idea of both what zones I am in when I am exercising and to find out what my standard resting heart rate is. After researching and talking to people who have them, I picked up a Charge HR.

So far I like it pretty well. In the past few months, I learned that, when I walk, I am solidly in fat-burning mode, and that when I am doing Zumba, I go between endurance and anaerobic training. I also learned, to my great surprise, that my resting heart rate is between 59 and 61 BPM, which is WAY better than I expected and very much an indicator that I am on the right path here. My only regret is that I kind of wish I had gotten the purple one instead of basic black. I wish I could justify having two of them, because, look how cute:

It would be nice if you could change the band color on the Charge HR the way you can on the flex, but that's not an option. Oh well--you can't have it all, right? I'm still glad I got one!

Alta

Hmmmm. I am sick and can't stop coughing, so this week has been a total wash for working out, updating, or anything else, really. However, I am keeping up with what's happening in the fitness world, even though I am down for the count. I got an email yesterday about the new fitbit Alta, and I admit, I am intrigued. While I don't really like wearing things on my wrists, I might be willing to for this thing. It has all my favorite Flex features and all of my favorite One features, and I might just have to give it a shot. My job has a wellness program in which you can earn points by walking, exercising, eating well, and doing a whole host of other activities that are designed to help you improve your overall lifestyle. The points can earn you an Amazon gift card, a fitbit, or, if you are really lucky, a year of paid healthcare benefits. I am only a few points away from a new fitbit, and i think this may be the one I get.

Preparing to Work Out at Home

By now, I have done enough of the strength training classes to know what to do if I miss class. Next week, Jason is going to The Netherlands for the whole week, so 5:45am classes are right out. In preparation for this, I went shopping. I have long had small hand weights, but I needed some that were a bit heavier. Target had just the thing with their C9 Neoprene Hand Weights. I bought 2 each of these:

Between these, the 5-pound weights I already own, my medicine ball, my resistance bands, and my yoga ball, I should be set to take care of business at home while Jason's away. Now, if I can only find my motivation... Lol.

Can't Live Without My Fitbit

I just ordered this from Amazon, and had it shipped to the beach house:

I forgot mine, and the charge on my Fitbit isn't going to make more than a couple more days. I know I'm on vacation and all, but a girl has to keep up with her steps.

What I Like To See at the End of the Day

Gear: Workout Clothes

I went shopping today for workout wear for the first time in many, many years. It's not like i have nothing--I do have a few things. But everything I own already is worn out and feels dated. I feel frumpy in most of it, and to be honest, I associate a lot of it more with sitting on the couch with tea and knitting than i do with getting sweaty in the gym. On top of that, I am required to take somewhat revealing pictures for this weight loss challenge. Who wants to do that in ill-fitting, saggy, or unattractive workout gear, right? It was definitely time to shop.

It's always a tough thing when you are battling weight gain to resign yourself to the reality of shopping for your current body. It's very easy to get caught up in the body you want and are working toward instead of accepting what actually fits the body you have right this minute. I probably own at least 5 things I would classify as "goal clothes" that just hang in my closet, unworn, awaiting the day when they actually fit. I know rationally that this is ridiculous, but there is nothing rational about the vision of your future self you have in your head. I know many other women who are caught in this same trap. So today, I promised myself not to fall into that bad habit, and to approach things more realistically.

I refuse to spend tons of money on clothing that is specifically meant to get sweaty and gross.I looked at expensive gear, gasped in shock that people spent $60 on a jog bra, and headed to target. Observe my haul:

I am pretty fired up about it. Having clothes are feel at least kind of cute and that fit well make me feel like I actually belong in the gym. My dad always said that you need to right tools for the job, and this seems like a move in that direction. I am trying these out. I think I have enough here to get through a week. If I find I am doing laundry all the time, there are at least 2 other color schemes to explore!

Gear: Fitbit One

My mother has a completely blocked femoral artery in her left leg, and yet she walks. She tries to walk 10,000 steps a day, which is what her cardiologist told her years ago that any healthy person should be able to do. It hurts her to walk, and yet, she does it because she knows it's the right thing for her body. In her words, "If I don't move, I won't be able to move," and she's right.

And here's the thing: if my mother can do it with a non-functioning femoral artery, then I  have no excuse whatsoever not to do the same.

My mother has worn a pedometer for years, and it has helped her so much. It makes her challenge herself, and it makes her keep track. When hers was broken, she found she walked half as much, so she replaced it as soon as possible. So I got one, too. I did some research, and I asked the internet for its opinion. The overwhelming recommendation was to get a fitbit, so I got one and tried it out. I LOVE it!!! There are many models from which to choose these days, but I love, love, love my fitbit one.

This little buddy clips onto my bra strap, waist band, or pocket, and it goes where I go. There are so many models of pedometer from which to choose, and it seems like most people choose the wrist band options. I actually won a fitbit flex through a wellness program at work, so I tried it for a few days, and it was NOT for me. I type all day at work, and it really bothers me to wear something on my wrist all the time. The one is my jam--it's tiny, hidden, measures everything I need it to measure with reliability and accuracy. Plus as I move more, the little flower grows throughout the day--I love to make that thing grow! I sync it in real time with my iPhone, but I can also track it on my laptop. I've been wearing it almost daily for about 18 months, and I can't recommend it enough!

It has also been enjoyable to have "friends" in the fitbit network. I know so many people with these devices, and it's really fun to see how everyone else is doing with their step goals. It's competitive in a good way, with people encouraging each other to succeed. I need more of that!

The one negative thing I about the fitbit is that the calorie counting feature on both the one and the flex is no good.They have no way of measuring workout intensity or food intake unless you enter those manually, and yet, they report how many calories it thinks you've burned every day. It's utterly inaccurate, and I completely ignore it. Otherwise--I say, get one!