New Fitness Gadget: The FitBit

The FitBit

My friend Lauren (over at Dimples Does It) has had this little contraption for a while now so she is much more experienced with it.  I just got it on Sunday and used it for the first time yesterday but I will tell you what I know so far!

Basically, its a little clip on tricked-out pedometer that you can wear anywhere on your body (I wear it on my bra, TMI?  LoL).  I have the FitBit Ultra which tracks steps, calories, distance, and stairs climbed (not on regular one).  It syncs wirelessly with your computer to upload data to the FitBit website where you can see all your data (OMG graphs!!!) and log your food and other activities throughout the day.  You can make goals and have friends on the website also.  It costs $99 and I believe is available at Best Buy.

Food Log

When you start your day, it gives you a baseline calorie target for the day based on if you were to lay in bed and not move the entire day.  My target intake for the day is shown at the top here.  It shows how much I have eaten so far (178) and how much I have left (1386).

Then as you begin moving around and logging activities, it will increase your calorie intake for the day as shown in the second box.  So far today, I have moved around enough to increase my calories by 52.

Additionally, I have mine set to have a weight loss goal of 0.5lbs per week until I reach 140lbs.  "Easier" is the 0.5lbs per week.  It shows the date I should reach my goal all the way on the right.




Sleep

One really cool thing about the FitBit is that it will monitor your sleep. It really just watches how much you move around but it is still pretty cool.  Apparently I don't move at all when I'm sleeping!

I think this feature will really come in handy!  Only issue is, when do I charge it then???  Well, this morning, I put it on the charger while I was in the shower and then just tracked "Standing - preparing for bed" for 10 minutes.  LoL!

Activities & Steps

This one is pretty self explanatory.  You just track what you were doing during a certain time.  You can track everything throughout your day including things like sitting at your desk, cleaning the house, etc.  If you click on the picture to the right, you can see where I tracked standing this morning.  I will probably only track major workouts in this.  I guess it just helps to give a more accurate picture of the calories you burned throughout the day.  It works with the readings from your FitBit for better accuracy.  Below, you can see my Calories Burned chart for today so far.  You can also view steps, floors and your "active score".

Ok, now you guys can all see why I love this thing already!  Lauren has been just raving about it for months.  I wanted it but didn't want to spend the money and find out I didn't like it.  Of course I love it!  Look at all those charts and graphs!!!  But seriously, this is really going to help me get back on the band wagon.  I have been struggling a lot lately.  Here comes confession time.

I've gained 2% Body Fat and 6lbs  (7 yesterday but I lost 1 since yesterday)

This summer was emotionally rough.  Then the moving, then school started.  I just haven't been able to get into a groove.  I'm finally feeling more like myself now though and armed with my new gadget, I am totally ready to tackle this weight loss thing again!  I took my measurements immediately when I set up my FitBit yesterday morning:

My tactic is going to be the same one I used to lose the weight the first time.  I'm going to think about my calorie differential (difference between how many calories you burn during the day and the calories you ate, i.e. calories in, calories out).  And the FitBit basically does all that for you with the way it increases your calories intake the move active you are.  I'm going to concentrate a lot on building muscle so I'm going to make sure I eat at least 1500 calories per day (under 1400 and you break down muscle) and take my measurements every few weeks, not just weight.

Also, I'm just going to use the FitBit website to track everything and not Spark People.  I know!!!  I love Spark People but now its just going to be to check in with friends and maybe do some team stuff (been too busy for that lately).  I will always love Spark People but I've got to pick one place.  I am really excited though!  How many people do you know get excited about fitness and weight loss??  Here we go!

She's Alive!

I know, I skip one day of blogging and I feel like its been a month.  LoL!  I just get so excited every day to write that I feel like I'm lost without it!  Anyway!!!

What is there to say really?  I feel squishy.  Yep, you read that right.  Squishy.  I haven't worked out in FOREVER!  This cold is still lingering.  I think it has a lot to do with that fact that I am dehydrated.  Of course, today at school, they are out of water for the water cooler (and remember my Water Snob post?).  I guess I'll have to hunt down a vending machine later!

But the point is, I'm working on my water.  Right now, I just have this annoying sniffle that won't go away and a little cough.  The good news is that I am in decent shape to do my half marathon weekend!  At least when it comes to the cold.

My legs might disagree.  I am really worried about how far I can make it in this race.  It will have been 4 weeks since my last long run.  That is a LONG time!  The last one, my legs killed the last 2 miles but then again, I started off hard since I was trying to keep up with someone else.  This time, I will be on my own completely so I can set my own pace at the start.  I am thinking that I will do an easy jog to each water station and then walk through the water station.  That way I have regular walking breaks.  I can totally complete the miles, even if its all walking!  And I am excited to take part for the 3rd consecutive year!

Anyway, on to other news, I picked my Marathon Training plan!  Sort of...  You all knew I would end up doing my own thing, right?  Cause I'm predictable like that!  Anyway, I did lay out Hal Higdon's Marathon 3 plan on my google calendar as a guideline.  I will follow the rules I laid out in my other blog (First Marathon, Help!).   Here is the basic outline again:

• Monday:  Strength/Cross Train
• Tuesday:  Medium Length Run
• Wednesday:  Strength/Cross Train (or rest)
• Thursday:  Speedwork
• Friday:  Rest day
• Saturday:  Long Run
• Sunday:  2-3 miles (or rest)

I got some other really great advice from my wonderful friends that I will keep in mind throughout the training too!  Next up is to figure out how I'm going to fuel my body through all of this.  I know how to eat properly but I also want to make sure I'm eating enough/not too much.  I don't want to gain that 5lbs that every marathoner seems to gain.  Just because I run doesn't mean I get to eat whatever I want!  Anyway, I really want a plan too because my eating has been way off where it should be.  I don't know yet if I'm going to worry about macronutrients (how many carbs? how much protein??  what about fat?!)  because it gets overwhelming!  But having a plan keeps me in line!

So there are my random thoughts for today.  I must go because its still midterms week!  I have one more take home midterm due tomorrow and then I'm done (and then the homework starts again anyway!)  Let's hope this weekend is light on homework because I am REALLY busy again.  Surprised?  Me neither!  LoL!  Have a good Tuesday!!!

Weekend Excitement: No Rest Again!

Wow it was yet another crazy weekend!  I don't know how to be mellow I guess.  LoL!

Friday, I was just itching to get out of the house.  I had had a long week and really just wanted a night out with Rob.  We decided to head down to the outlets to look for new cleats for him and running pants for me.  Rob wasn't successful but I got some new running gear.  I really want to go back and get this shirt.  I did get myself some really nice running tights from Under Armor.  They had the best options and I am really going to need them this winter!

After that, we decided to head to Tun Tavern for dinner since its right next to the outlets.  The food was ok but the beer was excellent.  I got apple stout and loved it!  It is seasonal so we got a growler of it to take home.  Yum!






Saturday was again a bit crazy.  I had to get (more) gifts for my friend Callista's baby shower.  Usually I am on top of these things but it snuck up on me!  I headed out and got back home to wrap them.  I had enough time to head over to the Irish festival with Rob for a bit (he was there with his rugby buddies selling shirts and recruiting). 

Then it was off to the baby shower and wish Callista well.  She is just the cutest pregnant woman ever.  She is only 5 months along but she is still tiny.  She looks lovely!  It was a nice party!

 I went back to the Irish fest for a bit to walk around with Rob.  We went to my two favorite shops (Historic Smithville is like a little old fashioned shopping area).  I got some good things!

Dutch Chocolate Coffee
Pumpkin Spice Coffee
Granulated Honey
Hawaiian Sea Salt
Horseradish Cheddar

We finally got home exhausted but went out to eat with Jess.  See, we go nonstop!  Finally, we got home, relaxed for a bit and crashed.

Today has been spent cleaning, cooking, and doing midterms.  I have two take home midterms due tomorrow.  I worked on them and whenever I needed a break, I did something around the house so it worked out well!  I started my day off with a nice hot cup of "pumpkin latte" coffee.  Pretty good!  But a lot of the pumpkin settled on the bottom.  I also tried my first version of savory oatmeal.

It was really good!  I loved the flavor.  I made my usual oatmeal but without the milk.  I used a little less water but I think next time I need to use the whole amount.  Anyway, I made an egg over-easy.  I added some tomatoes to the oatmeal, pepper, and olive oil.  I then topped it with the eggs, some of the horseradish cheddar and a sprinkle of the Hawaiian salt.  It was DELICIOUS!!!  The oatmeal still had a "this should be sweet" flavor but I will definitely do this again, especially since I'm trying to cut down on my fruit addiction.  LoL.  I can't wait to have it again tomorrow!

Anyway, we had quite a few things going on today.  Rob decided to bake up a storm because we had like 6 dozen eggs in the refrigerator.  Time to get cookin!  The first task was homemade pasta.  I convinced Rob to make Butternut Squash Ravioli.  We found recipes in my two cooking-from-scratch type cookbooks and got started.  We both worked on them together.

They were pretty good!  The pasta was a little too thick though but we don't have a pasta machine so I had to roll it out by hand.  I did the best I could!  They were still pretty darn good!

Next up was Angel Food Cake.  First, we had to make "medium peaks" with the egg whites... without a hand mixer.  You heard me right, we whipped up egg whites for about 45 minutes, taking turns between Rob and I, to get a nice meringue going!  I'm counting it as an upper body workout for today.  LoL

We didn't have cake flour so we used whole wheat.  We also didn't bake it quite long enough so it came out kind of strange.  It tastes really good though.  Its more moist than angel food usually is.  Still tasty! 

Now, I'm just relaxing with a glass of the apple stout (even better out of the growler!!!).  In other news, I'm feeling a lot better but I still have a lingering part of the cold.  I stopped taking the medicine I was using and I think that actually helped.  Tomorrow, I really need to work on getting in all my water.  I have been bad about that and I can feel it.

My eating was much better this weekend.  We ate out but I really felt like I controlled myself.  I didn't go crazy at any point and didn't have any ice cream (which was an issue last week because its in my freezer!  How did that get there?)  I think feeling better from the cold helps a lot.  When I am sick, I get pouty and cranky which leads to a lot of splurging!

Hopefully I can go for a little run tomorrow and see how it goes.  I think there will be a lot of sniffling and maybe some minor coughing but nothing terrible.  Half marathon is next weekend!

To end, some pictures of the cute kitties.  They were just being adorable today and the lighting was great in the apartment for photos!

Importance of Rest

I have felt great this week!  I mean, I do have a cold so not 100% but I have felt different this week.  I haven't been getting tired on my drives home, I haven't been cranky or unable to concentrate.  Actually, my concentration is really high which is good since its midterms week at school!  I have just felt really peppy and sharp this week and I think it has to do with last weekend.

Did you notice I didn't have a huge blog update about the five thousand things I did last weekend?  That is because I didn't do much of anything!  We just had Rugby and that was really it.  I got a lot of rest time last weekend and I didn't stress over things (been doing a lot of that lately). 

Also, this week, I got to bed by 9 a couple of nights.  Wednesday and last night, I got to bed late and I felt it all day yesterday and had a hard time getting up today.  Lesson learned.  I really need that extra hour of sleep!  Even if it means I'm antisocial!

This weekend, I just have one thing to go to (I will tell you what later).  I wanted to go to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair but I just won't have time with 2 take-home midterms due on Monday.  I might have to miss it (again) this year.  :(  But if that is what I have to do!  I also plan on maybe hitting the outlets with Rob.  He needs new cleats for rugby and I need some winter running gear.  I don't want to go crazy though.  Just a couple essentials!

That's all my babbling for today.  I still am not working out due to the cold being in my chest.  I am thinking about going for a bike ride tomorrow if it isn't too entirely cold out.  Rob and I might go to Smithville for their Irish festival too.  We'll see!  Like I said, take-home midterms to do! 

Anyway, to end, this is what I come home to every night.  They just love me so much!  (Spooky doesn't love anyone and hates the other kittens, hence why she is not in the picture, lol)

Water Snob

Source

I have a confession.  I'm a water snob.  I've tried and tried but just can't do it.

I can't drink the water from the fountains at school.

I've tried!  But it just tastes terrible, almost sweet, but a strange sweet like chemicals, not like sugar.  Every day, I take my Blender Ball bottle filled with water down to school.  It is about 3 cups so it only lasts me so long.  And then I refill it while I'm there and usually by the time I get home again (minimum 2 hour drive), it is still 75% full.  Its not helping my water intake at all!  And I don't want to buy bottles of water while I'm there because that will add up (financially and environmentally).

Source

What's a girl to do?  I've tried packing multiple bottles but they end up getting really warm to hot in the car, and then in the winter, I'm sure I'll have some freezing issues.  So it is time I broke down and got a new water bottle.  I hate the idea of that because I love drinking out of my Blender Ball. I am really picky about the type of bottle I will drink out of.  Some of the bottles I've had turn musty quickly.  Others make your water taste like plastic.  And the cap is a whole other issue for me too.  If I subconsciously don't like the cap, I gradually don't drink as much water from it.  Weird.  So I have to shop around but it looks like I'll be getting one of these:

What a concept!  I was so excited when I saw these come out but figured I wouldn't need one. Well now I do.  It has a filter built into it so you can fill it on the go.  I recall the filters being kind of pricey.  I will have to figure out the overall cost of the filter per refill verses the cost of buying bottled water.  Also, what is the environmental impact of the filters?  Can they be recycled like plastic bottles?  Lots of things to consider!  I am going to research it more but it looks like I get a new health-related gadget!  And I do love my gadgets!!!


Are you a water snob? 
Do you think its better to use bottles that can be recycled or filters?