Review of FitBit Flex

A couple people wanted to know what I thought of my new FitBit Flex, so I did a little Review. 

Pros:

I’ve lost 2 lbs because it’s making me think about it more about what I’m doing.
I don’t have to worry about a pedometer falling off my pants
It’s always with me so I don’t forget to grab it like my phone.
It’s comfortable.
Waterproof for swimming up to 32 ft depth
It gives me a ton of data

Cons:

Not very stylish
Have to sync it with my computer or cell phone.
Have to look at my cell phone to get data
No data from device directly
I still have to decide what to do when I see the data

I’ve had it one week but here are my thoughts on it:

It certainly doesn't do the work for you, but it does make you more conscious of the work or lack of it you are doing. It helps if you read directions and put it on your non-dominate hand so you don’t rack up steps from things like dealing cards.

The website shows you the following graphics:

Activity: This is your steps by the time of day you were doing them.

Calories: This shows the number of calories burned so far in the day.

Distance: This shows how many miles you've walked in a day.

Steps: This is the number of step today

Friends: Shows the number of steps this week and gives you the option to connect with friends who are also using the fit bit.

Very Active Mins: This shows the number of very active minutes

FoodPlan: The website allows you enter your weight loss goal and timeframe. Then it will calculate the number of  calories you can have in a day to reach your goal, the cool thing is it also adjusts this number for your activity  level. The graphic shows how many calories you have left for the day when you enter what you've eaten.

Calories In vs Out: This graphic looks like a half circle thermostat with an arrow showing when you’re over your calories at a point in the day, under or right on target.

Water: When you enter your water consumption, this shows number of cups of water you have drank and how many you have left to make the recommended amount.

Sleep: When you tell the fit bit that you are going to sleep by tapping the device and telling it when you get up in the morning, again by tapping it. It tracks the amount of time you slept, how long you were in bed, how long it took you to get to sleep, how many times you were restless and woke up during the night. I haven’t found the restless and waking up in the middle of the night information to be 100% accurate, but it does give good enough information to get an idea of if you’re getting enough sleep. I realized even though it feels like I’m up a half dozen times during the night, in reality, it’s probably only once or twice and then only for 1 or 2 minutes.

So to summarize, I love mine.

I hope this helps. 

Day 2

My goal today is to clear this mess off of my treadmill so that I  use it.

I was 5 points over my daily points allotment due to being attacked by a bag of potato chips after work.  But I got a 30 min walk in during lunch.  Then when I got home I got the treadmill cleared off.  I jumped on it for the first time in a couple months and did one of the 30 min programs. 

Progress is progress.

From Flabby to Fit

I feel like I've been trying to lose weight for quite sometime.  When it has really only been since i quit smoking about 7 years ago. I'm not sure just why I haven't been successful in losing and keeping the weight off.  I consider myself lucky, in that I have a lot of moral support.  My Mom and two of my aunts are also trying to lose weight and we've have supported each other.  But my weight still fluctuates, never resting where I want to be.

Last night I wrenched my back while bowling. I know, funny right. I shouldn't be hurting myself over anything like that. So, this morning while I waited for my hot water bottle to work it's magic and after I called into work, I decided that before I turn 46 I want to lose the weight for good and get healthy.  That is only 5 months away.  Needless to say I spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out how to make that happen.

I came to the conclusion that the only way this is going to work is if I'm held accountable. This is where you come into the plan. I'm hoping that if I have to post my successes and my failures that it will force me to be more mindful of my choices. I really don't want to have to come to you with failures.

I plan to post most days about what has gone well and maybe not so well, whether i went over my Weight Watchers point or stayed on target and finally when I exercise or slipped up.

I hope this will be a successful journey, and maybe if I'm lucky I'll inspire you as well as myself.

 Day 1 - I did what I set out to do today. I started my journey. I stayed under my WW points. And as an added bonus, I did 15 minutes of yoga to gently stretch my back. I have to say that it worked quite well.

Goals

I wasn't very active last week.  So I'm recommitting myself to a couple mini goals.  They are:

1. Doing more than 20 min of yoga every morning.
2. Walking every work day at lunch.

My ultimate goal is to be able to run.  I want to be able to run a whole mile.

Yes, there is a story behind that goal.  In highschool gym class, 25 + years ago, we were supposed to run a mile in a set time limit to pass the class.  I couldn't do it, although the gym teacher took pitty on me and passed me anyway.  I guess that was an A for effort moment.  It was embarrassing and humiliating not to be able to run more than 1/2 way around the track without losing my breath and I was only 17. My friends came out just to encourage me to keep going after they had finished, walking and running with me.  They were wonderfully supportive.  Now all these years later, it still really bothers me that I wasn't able to do that one thing.  It is important to me to finally know that I can do it.  I can run a mile.