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?

Me and my bucket

Those who know and love me well know two things about me: 1) I'm a horrible procrastinator. I think it stems from my journalist days and the excitement of deadline pressure. 2) I'm time challenged. Try as I might, I'm not the best at being timely. I was late for my expected due date ... and frankly, I hope to be late to my funeral too.

So about 3 weeks past the day of The Big 3-5...it's time to 'fess up and talk about how I did on my birthday bucket list. If you'd like a recap of why I set some of these goals, check out the blog from last year when I started the adventure:

1. Run a half marathon-Done in January. Now I'm gearing up for my second in Arizona in Jan. 2013!! Let's see if I can improve my time.

2. See a Saints game live-Done last August. Next, I want to see one in the Superdome. I've seen a Cougars game there, but not quite the same! I did also discover a great app to listen to games live while I run.

3. Finish writing the Buddy book-I did not finish this one. Buddy passed away last September. I just haven't been able to bring myself to write the rest. But I have been journaling and writing some other projects, so that makes me happy.

4. Finish assembling photo albums and scrapbooks-half done. Finished the albums in September (thanks LL!) and started the scrapbooks in November. Haven't touched them since the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe this Thanksgiving! It was fun reading some of my old newspaper writings.

5. Write my will and include planned gifts-half done. I have met with my lawyer (2 days pre-birthday, cut it close!) and shared my wishes to include my alma maters. Now it's her turn to write :)

6. Zip line over land-Done. Did this at Lost Pines last month. Soooo fun I will totally do it again!

7. All CDs into iTunes-Done in January. Enjoyed more of my library running the half, and now in my new car! Digital is the way to go. Glad I got organized.

8. Climb an indoor rock wall or go skydiving-Done. Did a wall at Lost Pines, outdoor but same concept. Also still have a certificate to skydive good until next July so I'll get that in sometime too!

9. Fit back into the heart gala dresses-Done as of the night before my birthday (really cut it close!). I'll be honest. I really can't wear them to events yet. My body has morphed some in the 6 or 7 years since I wore them last. I have muscles in places I didn't before. It's a good thing, but it means I need alterations to enjoy wearing them again. I'd rather pay for those and be a healthy girl than pay for doctor visits!

10. Help build a Habitat house-not done. I did get some emails to help with builds this month, but ran out of time.

By my count, I accomplished 70% of the list. Pretty darn good, I say! And what's not listed in these 10 are all the other things I accomplished and got to do this past year. I moved. Got a snazzy new car I love. I chaired a conference and presented at an international one. I started traveling again for fun.

And most importantly, I saw and spent time with friends and family I hadn't in recent years. And I learned a lot about myself in the process of all this. We don't ever stop growing, or stop learning. And I couldn't do that without a great network of family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances.

I guess the moral of the story is to set crazy dreams, and not be afraid to share them. You never know what you'll gain in return. Life is beautiful.

Recharging the batteries

I'm in an unusual place today. It's 1 p.m., I'm still in my pjs, and I don't have much of a specific plan for the day. Sure, I have my usual list going on the fridge of the things I need to accomplish before the weekend is out. I also have a list in my head of things I probably SHOULD do. But instead, I made the choice to get 11 hours of sleep (wow!), enjoy my coffee while reading the paper and social media, and just being. I did the same last night. After a day volunteering at an alumni event and preparing for my transition in cars, I just chilled. One of my best gal pals came over and we sat by the pool with drinks and just chatted (and discovered the pool has wifi!). A dear friend of mine pointed out that I seem to have a hard time just "being"...that even in my down time I have "things to do"...the casualty of life as a Type A Virgo, I guess. I've been trying to take this feedback and find ways in my life to just BE more. I've been spending evenings on my balcony when home chatting with my bestie on Skype and just enjoying the cool (for now) night air. The funny thing is, even though I only worked out twice this week, I dropped two pounds, almost a full one last night with the extra rest. The reason I wanted to share all this was a reminder that sometimes, we all need to just listen to our bodies and relax, before they break down and we collapse. Yes, I'll get to the gym today, knock some of the items off that list and maybe even squeeze in something else unexpected (like writing this blog). But I'm doing so feeling a little more relaxed and renewed. So when is your next break? Have you planned a summer vacation yet? Even just a day off to just chill? Other than a road trip this weekend and our class reunion in July, I'm guilty of not having planned my downtime yet. If I'm going to have a productive school year, I must. And you should too. If we don't put on the oxygen mask and take care of ourselves, we are no good to others. We should all put "schedule me time" at the top of our to do lists.