MyFitnessPal-a great buddy in getting healthy

So as I shared earlier this week, I'm doing my best to get healthy as a lifestyle, not just as a diet to lose quick weight. The Fitbit has been a great start, but I was hoping for a more extensive food database like I was used to on Weight Watchers.

Enter MyFitnessPal.

Actually, it was down to MFP and SparkPeople, both supported as partner apps by Fitbit. And just as I did when comparing the Bit to other similar devices, I did a quick Google search. MFP seemed to be what was coming up every time I did a search for "nutritional information for X restaurant." So with this information, and the recommendation of some friends using the site, I jumped in.

The best part? It's FREE!! Free! So I can get healthy and save money? Whoa.

Like FB or WW, MFP has a website and mobile apps, so no excuse for not tracking food and exercise on the go. It also links with RunKeeper, which I use to log walks, runs, bike rides and elliptical tours. So an entry on RK goes to MFP which then pushes to FB. Talk about efficient...3 for 1!

The key is that all food and exercise has to be entered on MFP and it will automatically push to FB. Easy enough, except for water. MFP counts by glasses, not ounces. So I still use FB for that (even though I still want them to up the goal!).

Like FB, you can link up with your friends on MFP to encourage each other on weigh ins, being under calorie goal on your day, etc. There are also extensive message boards for those wanting more encouragement or tips on the site or food ideas.

I'm enjoying that many foods I eat are already in the database, as foods entered by other users can be added to the master database. On WW, it was just my own personal adding and I had to add a lot of custom foods. But...this means you also may want to double check the nutritional label as sometimes human error occurs!

I also like the nutritional analysis. I am like a hawk on this, ever since I researched the relationship between sodium, potassium, and heart disease. I work daily to watch these levels, as well as my fiber intake. My trainer would be proud! (And she also probably wishes I was using this when we worked together last summer, as the reports are amazing!)

Like any other program, there are days I stick to the plan well, and days I go over. Each night when I mark my journal complete, MFP tells me "if every day were like today, you'd weight X in 5 weeks." Sure, it's an estimate. But it helps me keep it in check if I have a day where my weight is the same or more based on my results. If the number is less, I'm going in the right direction. Just can't have too many plateau or over days, but at least it allows you to breathe a little!

Let me know if you decide to give MFP a try and I'll send you a friend request so we can cheer each other on!

How the Fitbit changed my thinking about "dieting"

As I shared yesterday, the Fitbit has rekindled a desire to keep my wellness in balance. The nice thing about their products is they are nearly ready to go out of the box. Download software and apps for mobile devices, and charge the tracker for 3 hours, and you're set.

Once you slap it on, the FB constantly tracks your steps, distance walked, etc. This is the core function, and you don't have to ask it for any more. 

But like anything in life, it's what you make of it, and it also has additional functionality for sleep tracking, an alarm to wake you (a buzzing bracelet is hard to ignore!), plus ways to input weight, plus food and water intake. 

I also bought the FB Aria scale, so my daily weight would automatically upload. By logging this, and setting a weight loss goal on the FB website, it estimates how long it will take to make goal (but personally, partner app Trend Weight does a better job of taking the daily up/down from a bad meal out of the equation). 

While I wasn't surprised my BMI was slightly overweight, I was surprised to see I am about 1/3 body fat!! That's a sign right there that we can watch what we eat, but exercise is as or even more important in fitness. 

I like how the FB adjusts your consumption goal based on activity. More active one day? It's ok to eat more. This makes sense. Also, it's a calorie based system, so there's less scrambling because I don't know the Points for an item. 

Like any product, there are less than perfect parts. The food database is limited (which I'll expand on in tomorrow's post on My Fitness Pal). And the daily water goal is set at 48 oz and can't be changed. You are allowed to go over, and I often do. I do like the game of filling up the water girl :)

There's also a good listing of partner apps, which is what led me to look into better food databases. I like Sleep Debt for catching up on my ZZZZs. And the FB website has additional features not in the apps, like body measurement tracking, blood pressure and diabetes tracking modules, and the ability to add one custom tracker on the free site (premium comes with more reports). Anyone can have a FB account, even without a device. 

So armed with some nutritional analysis, I was hungry for more data on what I was eating. Tomorrow, I'll tell you how I found it with My Fitness Pal. 

My living science fair project

As an adult, I have the opposite problem of my teenage years. Then, I would routinely gain 15 pounds each summer when drill team practices waned. Start dancing again in fall, and the weight was gone.

The past few years, I've actually used my summers as a time to get on track and work to lose the same 10-15 pounds I seems to put on during the school year, when work and volunteer commitments keep me hopping. 

You may think, "well, that's just part of adult life." But, yo yo dieting is not good for us. It messes with hormones, which mess with heart disease, which I have to watch due to family history. And after discovering last year I have a blood clotting disorder (on top of my thyroid disease), I don't need to mess with hormones! 

Many of you know I've been a long time Weight Watchers member. I started the plan right after graduating college, and made Lifetime in 2004. But I was a good 15 pounds over that mark at the end of spring semester. My highest ever weight stared back at me from the scale. I needed to do something different. 

One of the benefits of my work environment is being surrounded by technology and data fans. So after some really positive reviews (thanks Art, Ray and Susan!), I decided to get a Fitbit to help monitor how physically active I am. I wore pedometers before when working for the American Heart Association, and it helped me see how sluggish I was being on certain days. Weight Watchers has a similar device, but it requires another subscription and only speaks in Points data. I wanted more "real" numbers.

I opted for the Flex model, which is worn as a bracelet. I thought I'd be more consistent with this. Little did I realize it's the newest model and hard to come by. I was able to snag one to be delivered about 5 days later to my local Best Buy. 

I thought it would simply tell me how active I was, and maybe a little more about how well I sleep (though Sleep Time has been doing a nice job of this). 

Little did I realize I would discover more about why I was in the unhealthy boat again, and finally be armed with the data to make a lasting change to a healthier lifestyle. 

(Tomorrow: the Fitbit helps me see the burn)

Four rounds with my floors (or how I don't do it all)

People tend to ask me often, "how do you do it all?" Well the truth is, I don't. As much as I wanted to be her growing up, I'm not Wonder Woman. I am far from perfect.

I was reminded of this washing my floors tonight. I honestly can't remember the last time I did it. I know, that sounds horrible...but we've all been there, right? Between work and activities and the return of allergy season creating havoc with my sinuses, I just kept putting it at the bottom of the list. I would guess its been about two months...and since I haven't had anyone over in more than 6 weeks, I wasn't as motivated to worry about it (yeah I know, me not worry is hard to believe!).

So somewhere between sweeping, dry Swiffer, wet Swiffer and then Swiffer wet jet rounds, it hit me ... Maybe it was the joy of tackling a nagging task (which Gretchen Rubin promised in her book would bring me happiness)...maybe it was too many Swiffer fumes (I used a WHOLE box of Wet Jet pads, which I guess is two months' worth) ... I decided to do the Brene Brown thing, be vulnerable and share my shortcomings.

Why? Because being honest can mean better health, and that means starting with ourselves. A recent study from the University of Notre Dame found people who lied less, even just "little white lies," had fewer mental and physical health complaints. So basically, keeping up the appearance that we are superhuman just adds to the stress of it all.

So I admit it. I had dirty floors. I'm going to try hard not to let it get out of hand again, but it could happen. I just need to start inviting people over more often to keep me motivated.

What's your shortcoming?

(And PS tile is the devil, not foosball...I am seriously considering investing in more mats and rugs for the kitchen!)

Sleep more, lose weight?

I haven't worked out since Wednesday. Almost a week off! That's not like me. But what I have been focusing on the last four nights is my sleep. And the scale shows I'm about 2.5 pounds lighter than my Saturday weigh in.

What gives? Is sleep more important to weight loss than exercise?

Maybe not, but it is critical. First off, lack of sleep leads us to poor choices. According to WebMd, it can also affect our metabolism, because the balance of hormones leptin and ghrelin are out of whack. As a woman, I have enough issues dealing with hormones since I had to quit birth control due to a blood clotting disorder (that's subject for another post). I certainly don't need to add to it.

But we've all been there. We're tired, we crave sugar, we eat bad stuff, we are too tired for the gym...you get the point. 

It's not as simple as getting more sleep and doing nothing more, though. A study cited in the Huffington Post from Laval University notes that it is part of the important diet+exercise+sleep equals weight loss equation. But many people focus on the first two and don't think about the last, myself included. I've been known to burn the candle on all ends before. 

So how much sleep do we really need? The National Sleep Foundation says every person is different. Most adults need 7-9 hours. Personally, I've gotten a little more than 7 hours the last two weeknights, and I've noticed a big difference in my ability to be productive. Heck, I'm writing this blog before I head to the office. I'm never so chipper in the morning! So much for thinking I could get by on 5.5-6 hours (which is noted as a level to make weight loss difficult in this Prevention article.)

Also, I've been using a new app called Sleep Time to track my cycles. I've learned I'm more of a light sleeper, and the nights I get more deep sleep, I'm better rested. It's been neat to track how often I may wake up in the middle of the night too.

So if you do one thing to take care of yourself this week, think about your sleep. Even just a little bit more every night may make a difference in your overall health! 

Closed doors and opened windows

Those of you who've known me for a while know I'm a planner. I like to know what I'm doing and where I'm going. I don't do so well when something out of my control makes me adjust my life plan. I like being in the driver's seat with the pedal down!

It's a skill I've been working on a bit this past year. One strategy that helps me is the closed door/opened window philosophy. We all know the quote, "When God closes a door, he opens a window." The point is that a change, a disappointment or a challenge can bring something even better. We just have to have faith and trust Him.

If I had stuck to my original plan, I'd be in Arizona today. I would have finished my second half marathon yesterday. But I didn't make the trip.

When I signed up for the race last summer, it was an exciting opportunity. I had no one to tell me I couldn't do it. In fact, the last year of my life, that's where I'd comfortably settled. I had no one complaining if I dined out too often, spent too much on new clothes, wanted to travel more, or didn't like the decorations I bought for my home. I was very comfortable in this place.

It's what made me jump on the registration without thinking it through. I didn't think about the expense of the trip. The fact I'd likely be going alone. The amount of time I'd want to take off work to really enjoy the sites. The closer it got, I realized I'd save myself a lot of time, cash and stress if I forfeited the little registration fee. So I did, and I signed up for a half in Galveston this Sunday, where I will have the out of town experience with friends to cheer me on.

I was sad about this at first. I was looking forward to seeing a new part of the country. That is, until other opportunities presented themselves. In the past few days, I was able to present to my professional association, rehearse for Charity Ball (loving dancing...this may be a future blog post), and spend time with family and friends (which included checking out a fun driving range).

I wouldn't have traded any of these experiences. I'm just glad I could step far enough back from the closed door to see the opened windows in the corner.

How have you turned a closed door into an open window of opportunity?