I LOVE peanut butter--and, it's at least one of the good fats. However, I have never been able to justify the huge amount of calories for a small serving size, so I don't really eat it normally--until NOW.
Hubby (BobP56) saw an interesting ad in a magazine at the doctor's office the other day, (by the way, he had a GREAT check up again. His blood sugar and blood pressure were all in the normal ranges!!! and he had lost a good amount of weight since his last visit as well. In 3 more months he'll get another A1C test which we are anticipating being as good or even better than his last NORMAL reading!). Anyway, the ad was for powdered peanut butter. At first it doesn't sound that appealing, but it advertised the powdered version as having 75% less fat and 70% less calories, so it was worth checking out.
When he got home he told me about it and he looked it up on the computer. Sure enough, there it was, PB2-Powdered Peanut Butter... all the numbers were there too. Yeah it has a little less protein than full peanut butter, but only a gram or so difference, still has plenty. It does have a little of the good fat, but not the saturated fat, and even the good fats are a little less, but the big kick 'for me' was the 45, yes you read that right FORTYFIVE calories per 2 tbsp serving.
45 as opposed to 188 -- That's amazing.
Okay, we were a little skeptical about how good it would be, and it is a tad bit expensive, but you get a huge jar for the price so we decided to try it.
We got it yesterday and I quickly made a serving for each of us to have along with our nightly apple.
OMG IT'S GOOD.
It's easy to prepare, just measure out 2 tbsp of the powder and add 1 to 1.5 tbsp of water and mix. It mixes easily and is delightfully creamy.
I love it. It's worth a try if you are looking to conserve on calories but love peanut butter.
Nutritional info:
Roasted peanuts, sugar, and salt. Nutrition facts: Calories 45"Calories From Fat 13"Total Fat 1.5 g 2%"Saturated Fat 0 g 0%"Trans Fat 0.01 g"Polyunsaturated Fat"Monounsaturated Fat"Cholesterol 0.01 mg 0%"Sodium 94 mg 4%"Total Carbohydrates 5 g 2%"Dietary Fiber 2 g 8%"Sugars 1 g"Protein 5 g"Vitamin A 1%"Vitamin C 0%"Calcium 1%"Iron 0% Nutrition notes: *Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Here's a link in case you are interested in checking it out amzn.to/2inKTy5
Edited to add: Just tried IMAWRKNPROGRESS's (a friend from SparkPeople) suggestion on combining the pb2 with yogurt. AWESOME!
Friday, December 23, 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
I'm Still Standing!
Hi All!
No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth! I have been so busy. I'm sorry I haven't blogged here in so long, but trust that I am ON POINT, and really kickin' it in the healthy lifestyle arena. I haven't wavered once, which is REALLY unusual for me. However, I think I know why.
In the past, I've tried to be 'moderate' with certain foods that, while not technically 'bad' like cake or anything, they are on the trigger list for me. I am addicted to starchy carbs like rice and potatoes, and also of course, to the sugary carbs like cakes, cookies, and definitely to ice cream as well.
A lot of conventional wisdom says you shouldn't 'deprive' yourself of foods you love, but for some people (and anyone who has not had success losing substantial amounts of weight over the years very likely falls into this category) certain foods are like a drug. There is a FABULOUS article about this, one of the best I've ever read that really explains the chemical reactions and reasonings behind the addiction phenomenon. Here it is: Food Addiction is Real
So, one of the biggest problems I've had in the past is that I kept triggering myself. I'd lose a lot of weight, then try and have a reasonable amount of a desert, or even something that might otherwise be considered 'healthy' in small amounts, and go totally off the reserve. When the addiction cravings kick back in, it can take years-literally-to regain control. So, suffice it to say, that this time I haven't allowed any temptations to derail me, and unlike in the past, I've had no stalls, no ups and downs, and no complete lapse.
I'm going to update the weeks on the sidebar for weight loss and exercise. Looking at the last weigh-in entry though really highlights how far I've come in just a few weeks. My last addition was on September 29th, and I was 354.8, and as of yesterday I weighed in at 325.5!
No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth! I have been so busy. I'm sorry I haven't blogged here in so long, but trust that I am ON POINT, and really kickin' it in the healthy lifestyle arena. I haven't wavered once, which is REALLY unusual for me. However, I think I know why.
In the past, I've tried to be 'moderate' with certain foods that, while not technically 'bad' like cake or anything, they are on the trigger list for me. I am addicted to starchy carbs like rice and potatoes, and also of course, to the sugary carbs like cakes, cookies, and definitely to ice cream as well.
A lot of conventional wisdom says you shouldn't 'deprive' yourself of foods you love, but for some people (and anyone who has not had success losing substantial amounts of weight over the years very likely falls into this category) certain foods are like a drug. There is a FABULOUS article about this, one of the best I've ever read that really explains the chemical reactions and reasonings behind the addiction phenomenon. Here it is: Food Addiction is Real
So, one of the biggest problems I've had in the past is that I kept triggering myself. I'd lose a lot of weight, then try and have a reasonable amount of a desert, or even something that might otherwise be considered 'healthy' in small amounts, and go totally off the reserve. When the addiction cravings kick back in, it can take years-literally-to regain control. So, suffice it to say, that this time I haven't allowed any temptations to derail me, and unlike in the past, I've had no stalls, no ups and downs, and no complete lapse.
I'm going to update the weeks on the sidebar for weight loss and exercise. Looking at the last weigh-in entry though really highlights how far I've come in just a few weeks. My last addition was on September 29th, and I was 354.8, and as of yesterday I weighed in at 325.5!
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Garmin Vivoactive HR Review
It's time to lay it out on the table... time to review the Garmin Vivoactive HR. It's been 7 days, and I've used it for a variety of workouts, and data gathering information. It's going to be fun, because it is a fun device. It took a few days to fully get up to speed with it. There is SO MUCH information that it is a bit overwhelming at first--exciting, but overwhelming. Also, if it is a first fitness watch, it is a tad bit confusing to set up. Not horribly so, and you can stumble through it, but it will take a bit of figuring out. It comes with very detailed instructions, but I found that in spite of that, Garmin seems to pretty much assume the user is accustomed to this type of device and how it works, and sort of skims over some of the connection details. LOL
The Vivoactive HR is a constant heart rate monitor. Unlike my old fitness watch that I had to press and hold a button to see my heart rate at the time, the Garmin VAHR (vivoactive HR) shows it in real time at all times and keeps a record of it that downloads to the mobile app and computer account when sync'd. It also comes pre-loaded with many activity trackers. One is a SWIM tracker which I love since that is what I do most often.
On the face of it: The watch itself comes with 5 preloaded choices for a watch face. 2 of them are analog, the old-fashioned clock face, and 3 of them are digital. Along with the faces, they include information on battery life and steps. There are a lot more choices though. When hooked up to the computer, or through the mobile app, users can go to the Garmin "store" and download other watch faces, so you can really customize the looks of the watch and what you want to see on it at a glance. My favorite is the Big Time download. It has large time numbers, and also shows steps, calories burned, battery life and total daily mileage. The screen is a touch screen, and you swipe up to see the detailed records of steps, heart rate, calories burned, last swim, last run, last walk, last exercise, intensity minutes. There are pages and pages of watch faces, apps and data fields to download, and they are all free for Garmin users.
I have found it is VERY accurate on step counts. It does NOT add steps just for hand movements, and records very well both inside and out. It also has a GPS link for outdoor walking so you get very accurate distance details when walking, running or biking.
I love that all of the records show up on the watch for the last 7 workouts, on the mobile app for months and on the computer account too. It is a very flexible system that you can view information on in several places which is really helpful. Unlike my LifeTrak Zone this watch does need to be charged regularly. However, it has a really good battery life considering how much it does. It seems to go through about 10% of the battery each day, so Garmin's 7 to 8 day claim of battery life is probably pretty accurate. I hook it up each morning and let it charge a little bit (not fully) while I look over the stats for sleep that night, so I haven't had to charge it up fully since I first got it. Even then, however, it didn't take too long. It came with barely enough battery life to turn it on and hook it up to the computer USB charger and it only took about an hour and a half to fully charge from empty.
On the downside: It syncs okay to Spark People, but I just today finally gave up and disconnected the sync. I'll go back to manually recording the workout info and stuff. The reason: It INSISTS on screwing up my weigh ins even though the weigh-in on the Garmin is exactly what I lost, it adds a half pound to my loss when it syncs with SparkPeople. I have NO idea why, and I tried everything to make it show right. That is an important thing though. I can deal with the fact that when it syncs exercises it does it in a lump record and doesn't detail the type of exercise, why, I don't know, because it DOES show specifics in the sync with MyFitnessPal. I don't use MFP, but I do have an old account there, and I checked it out because Garmin automatically syncs with it, and sure enough, my daily exercises are updated there and show exactly what each exercise was and how much time, calories etc. were involved with each. So it is obviously possible, but SparkPeople programming won't recognize it. SparkPeople also does not accept all of the calorie burn info from Garmin stating that some of Garmin's activity minutes include BMR calories. That may be true, but it isn't totally correct. If I log in exercises manually to SparkPeople it's own calculations give me FAR more calorie burn that Garmin does in spite of what SP claims as over calculation on Garmin's part.
The second thing I don't like about it, but it isn't a Garmin specific problem, it is problem with any tracker. The heart rate monitor does not work in the pool. My old watch didn't give accurate heart rate readings when I was in the pool (wet) either, but Garmin fully recognizes this and when you enter the swim app it actually turns off the heart rate monitor completely, then turns it back on when you exit the swim workout program. Why is this bad? You don't get any "intensity minutes" recorded and the calorie burn isn't as accurate because the calculations are based on heart rate in most activities. Again, this isn't a Garmin specific problem, it is just because the sensors can't get accurate readings when the skin is wet.
It is fully waterproof, though, and works great in the pool otherwise. It records distance in yards swam, and you can program in the length of the pool you are in. The bad: it refuses to recognize my backstroke and record those laps/lengths. It only recognizes the 4 major strokes: freestyle, backstroke (traditional), breast stroke and butterfly. It works great when I do the freestyle and breast stroke and butterfly, but when I do the backstroke it just doesn't record the lengths. I have an old shoulder injury that prevents me from doing the "windmill" like traditional backstroke, so mine is more like an upside-down breast stroke, but the muscle action is reversed in the pressure, so I like the workout. The Garmin doesn't like it though. LOL. So I have to manually calculate those lengths in my head.
One extra bonus with the Garmin watch is that it gives you pretty detailed sleep data. Not just how long you slept, but what type of sleep, waking sleep (that in-between going to sleep or waking up type sleep) light sleep or deep sleep. It's kind of interesting to see the patterns each morning. I seem to get the exact same amount of deep (REM) sleep and light sleep every night, but the pattern is always a little different. Overall, I just really love the Garmin Vivoactive HR.
On the face of it: The watch itself comes with 5 preloaded choices for a watch face. 2 of them are analog, the old-fashioned clock face, and 3 of them are digital. Along with the faces, they include information on battery life and steps. There are a lot more choices though. When hooked up to the computer, or through the mobile app, users can go to the Garmin "store" and download other watch faces, so you can really customize the looks of the watch and what you want to see on it at a glance. My favorite is the Big Time download. It has large time numbers, and also shows steps, calories burned, battery life and total daily mileage. The screen is a touch screen, and you swipe up to see the detailed records of steps, heart rate, calories burned, last swim, last run, last walk, last exercise, intensity minutes. There are pages and pages of watch faces, apps and data fields to download, and they are all free for Garmin users.
I have found it is VERY accurate on step counts. It does NOT add steps just for hand movements, and records very well both inside and out. It also has a GPS link for outdoor walking so you get very accurate distance details when walking, running or biking.
I love that all of the records show up on the watch for the last 7 workouts, on the mobile app for months and on the computer account too. It is a very flexible system that you can view information on in several places which is really helpful. Unlike my LifeTrak Zone this watch does need to be charged regularly. However, it has a really good battery life considering how much it does. It seems to go through about 10% of the battery each day, so Garmin's 7 to 8 day claim of battery life is probably pretty accurate. I hook it up each morning and let it charge a little bit (not fully) while I look over the stats for sleep that night, so I haven't had to charge it up fully since I first got it. Even then, however, it didn't take too long. It came with barely enough battery life to turn it on and hook it up to the computer USB charger and it only took about an hour and a half to fully charge from empty.
The second thing I don't like about it, but it isn't a Garmin specific problem, it is problem with any tracker. The heart rate monitor does not work in the pool. My old watch didn't give accurate heart rate readings when I was in the pool (wet) either, but Garmin fully recognizes this and when you enter the swim app it actually turns off the heart rate monitor completely, then turns it back on when you exit the swim workout program. Why is this bad? You don't get any "intensity minutes" recorded and the calorie burn isn't as accurate because the calculations are based on heart rate in most activities. Again, this isn't a Garmin specific problem, it is just because the sensors can't get accurate readings when the skin is wet.
It is fully waterproof, though, and works great in the pool otherwise. It records distance in yards swam, and you can program in the length of the pool you are in. The bad: it refuses to recognize my backstroke and record those laps/lengths. It only recognizes the 4 major strokes: freestyle, backstroke (traditional), breast stroke and butterfly. It works great when I do the freestyle and breast stroke and butterfly, but when I do the backstroke it just doesn't record the lengths. I have an old shoulder injury that prevents me from doing the "windmill" like traditional backstroke, so mine is more like an upside-down breast stroke, but the muscle action is reversed in the pressure, so I like the workout. The Garmin doesn't like it though. LOL. So I have to manually calculate those lengths in my head.
One extra bonus with the Garmin watch is that it gives you pretty detailed sleep data. Not just how long you slept, but what type of sleep, waking sleep (that in-between going to sleep or waking up type sleep) light sleep or deep sleep. It's kind of interesting to see the patterns each morning. I seem to get the exact same amount of deep (REM) sleep and light sleep every night, but the pattern is always a little different. Overall, I just really love the Garmin Vivoactive HR.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
A Scary Moment
I was just watching an episode of "Extreme Weight Loss" (guilty pleasure, I don't agree with the massive 1 year weight losses, but I do like seeing the transformations, sort of like with the Biggest Loser show), but what really hit home was something Chris said to the man starting the process who weighed in at 398 pounds at 49 years old. He said, "i don't know many people who are 50 years old and over 400 pounds, because they're simply not alive anymore!"
Sit back.
Take that in.
It kind of shook me.
I WAS 54 years old and over 400 pounds (414 at the beginning of May in 2016)!
I KNEW at the time I was cheating death. I felt it daily. It was waiting for me... and not really patiently either. To hear it though was a kick in the gut. Even though I've come so far, the knowledge that I was that close to dying still hits home. I don't know if the statement was pure sensationalism or a true statement, but I do know that it was pretty true for me. I was LUCKY to have pushed through to 54 at the weight I was, but I was feeling it badly. At the time, and having watched another one of those guilty pleasure shows (My 600-Pound Life) I felt at the time like I was heading there, but in reality, I don't think I would have gotten there (not that it's a goal to strive for, but you know what I mean, if I had kept on doing --or rather not doing-- what I was at the time, I was heading there, but the way things were physically I don't think it would have ever gone more than a year longer).
I thought, however, I was a more unhealthy statistic since it seemed like there were so many 600+ people (never seemed to be a shortage of participants on the 600-Pound Life show). Maybe, however, I wasn't. Maybe I was one of the lucky few who managed to get that heavy and lived to turn it around. And now that I do think of it, not many of those people on that 600 Pound Life show were my age. They were typically much younger.
Scary stuff. I'm so glad I'm not there anymore, and so glad I am feeling the GOOD effects of losing the weight. Now, these shows are guilty pleasures, and I don't agree with the speed of loss on any of them, BUT...
I think they have a good place. It was 600-Pound Life that made me realize (or wake up to the fact) that I was headed to that place at a fast rate, and made me talk about it to my husband, and made me want to change and start living healthier. Actually more than any of the other weight loss shows (I hadn't seen Extreme Weight Loss yet at that point, it would have been up there with 600-Pound Life as an eye-opener), these extreme ones were what really made me look at myself.
Scared straight? You bet your butt!
Sit back.
Take that in.
It kind of shook me.
I WAS 54 years old and over 400 pounds (414 at the beginning of May in 2016)!
I KNEW at the time I was cheating death. I felt it daily. It was waiting for me... and not really patiently either. To hear it though was a kick in the gut. Even though I've come so far, the knowledge that I was that close to dying still hits home. I don't know if the statement was pure sensationalism or a true statement, but I do know that it was pretty true for me. I was LUCKY to have pushed through to 54 at the weight I was, but I was feeling it badly. At the time, and having watched another one of those guilty pleasure shows (My 600-Pound Life) I felt at the time like I was heading there, but in reality, I don't think I would have gotten there (not that it's a goal to strive for, but you know what I mean, if I had kept on doing --or rather not doing-- what I was at the time, I was heading there, but the way things were physically I don't think it would have ever gone more than a year longer).
I thought, however, I was a more unhealthy statistic since it seemed like there were so many 600+ people (never seemed to be a shortage of participants on the 600-Pound Life show). Maybe, however, I wasn't. Maybe I was one of the lucky few who managed to get that heavy and lived to turn it around. And now that I do think of it, not many of those people on that 600 Pound Life show were my age. They were typically much younger.
Scary stuff. I'm so glad I'm not there anymore, and so glad I am feeling the GOOD effects of losing the weight. Now, these shows are guilty pleasures, and I don't agree with the speed of loss on any of them, BUT...
I think they have a good place. It was 600-Pound Life that made me realize (or wake up to the fact) that I was headed to that place at a fast rate, and made me talk about it to my husband, and made me want to change and start living healthier. Actually more than any of the other weight loss shows (I hadn't seen Extreme Weight Loss yet at that point, it would have been up there with 600-Pound Life as an eye-opener), these extreme ones were what really made me look at myself.
Scared straight? You bet your butt!
Monday, November 28, 2016
Supportive Husband and Cyber Monday Deals
What a great combination. All on his own, my husband has been a HUGE part of my success so far and on-going. Even today, his support was brought into sharp focus when I met a woman at the gym/pool who I'd seen before, she reminded me of me when I first started, mostly because she needed a walker to get around, but in my age group and all. She commented that she'd seen me a lot and said "you come here a lot don't you?" I said yes. I came 3 to 4 times a week. She looked wistful for a moment, and my heart really broke because she said she wished she could, but she didn't have anyone to bring her. That would be my problem too. No car, I can't walk 3 miles (yet), I wouldn't be able to get to the gym if hubby wouldn't take me, even on days like today when he wanted to take a rest day before going to work tomorrow... he took me! He stayed in the car the whole time reading a kindle book and doing stuff on his phone... he could have been doing any number of other things, but he took me to the gym for almost 2 hours. Thank you SO MUCH, Bob (BobP56).
Now add to that, cyberMonday and this has been a pretty cool day. I'd told hubby this morning that I'd found my next fitness watch that I wanted to get. It's the Garmin Vivoactive HR. It's on Amazon for $169.99. It does EVERYTHING and then some, INCLUDING SWIMMING tracking laps and stroke length, and all sorts of things. It has indoor rowing AND open water rowing (I love to Kayak in the warm weather). It also has indoor AND outdoor biking, and GPS tracking for mileage. Of course it tracks steps, running and is a constant heart rate monitor. It's well... awesome. Hubby asked me if it was a CyberMonday deal and I said I hadn't even thought about that. It might be since it is normally over $250, but, I said even that would be okay when I get enough saved up for it.
He told me on the way home that my early Christmas Present should be here on Thursday. Yep, I am getting that awesome Vivoactive HR!
Here's a video about it:
I will do a full review once I have it and have used it for a few workouts!
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Tough Week
It really was a hair puller this week. I suppose there's a reason that common wisdom is don't weigh yourself every day. It can get really exasperating. For quite a while early in the week I thought I was headed for another low loss week like last week. The meager .8 pound loss that I had then was still bothering me. It shouldn't. Any loss is a good loss, and sure beats going in the other direction, but where I am right now, it's just too little. So I ended up obsessing over the scale all this week, and it nearly killed me. I'm going to have to really force myself to stay away from it until the official weigh in day each week and just take it like a big girl, whatever the number is.
This week actually turned out good though. I had a 2.8 pound total loss, which is great. Sure, who wouldn't love the numbers that people on those big weight loss shows on television have, right? That's not realistic though. I exercise a lot--for a normal person. I get in at least an hour a day 2 to 3 days a week, and an hour and a half 3 to 4 days a week, with one rest day in there to let myself recover. On those shows the players are expected to exercise 5 or more hours a day. Who in real life has that kind of time, not to mention how dangerous that is for the body, the chances for injury, etc, and most of us don't have a doctor on call in the next room. There have also been a lot of rumors, even former contestants who have said they were made to do things diet-wise or take supplements that weren't condoned on air. Regardless of the whys though, any reasonable person would have to acknowledge that anything over 5 pounds a week, even for the heaviest person is probably way too fast, especially without surgery.
What really makes me laugh, thinking about those shows (and for the record, I watch just about all of them, I can't help it. I'm a glutton for punishment.) is the juxtaposition in viewpoints from one of my favorites. I love Chris Powell's Extreme Weight Loss, but on the show he pushes contestants to lose extreme amounts of weight, upwards of 5 pounds a week in some cases. However, in most of his pre-show books and writings, and even some written during the show's span, he says that safe weight loss should not be more than 2% of your total body weight per week, making my maximum safe loss 3.5 pounds. So, 2.8 is pretty close to that. Not max, but up there.
Oh, and by the way---this week's loss puts me over the 60 pound total loss mark at 61.8 pounds lost.
This week actually turned out good though. I had a 2.8 pound total loss, which is great. Sure, who wouldn't love the numbers that people on those big weight loss shows on television have, right? That's not realistic though. I exercise a lot--for a normal person. I get in at least an hour a day 2 to 3 days a week, and an hour and a half 3 to 4 days a week, with one rest day in there to let myself recover. On those shows the players are expected to exercise 5 or more hours a day. Who in real life has that kind of time, not to mention how dangerous that is for the body, the chances for injury, etc, and most of us don't have a doctor on call in the next room. There have also been a lot of rumors, even former contestants who have said they were made to do things diet-wise or take supplements that weren't condoned on air. Regardless of the whys though, any reasonable person would have to acknowledge that anything over 5 pounds a week, even for the heaviest person is probably way too fast, especially without surgery.
What really makes me laugh, thinking about those shows (and for the record, I watch just about all of them, I can't help it. I'm a glutton for punishment.) is the juxtaposition in viewpoints from one of my favorites. I love Chris Powell's Extreme Weight Loss, but on the show he pushes contestants to lose extreme amounts of weight, upwards of 5 pounds a week in some cases. However, in most of his pre-show books and writings, and even some written during the show's span, he says that safe weight loss should not be more than 2% of your total body weight per week, making my maximum safe loss 3.5 pounds. So, 2.8 is pretty close to that. Not max, but up there.
Oh, and by the way---this week's loss puts me over the 60 pound total loss mark at 61.8 pounds lost.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Found Something I LOVE
I hate carrying stuff when I walk, and even though I have a drink holder on my bike, it doesn't stay put well when a full bottle is in it. This is SUCH a cool idea. I love it.
It's a Hydration Pack with 1.5 L Backpack Water Bladder (the picture is of the back of it). The front is just straps, so it's not annoying or in the way. What a great idea.
It has a 50oz. bladder, so more than enough for any trip I normally take when out either walking, jogging or biking. It's waterproof, and it comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. That's cool. The regular price is very affordable, but it's on the Amazon.com lightning deal list today. Got to get it!
It's a Hydration Pack with 1.5 L Backpack Water Bladder (the picture is of the back of it). The front is just straps, so it's not annoying or in the way. What a great idea.
It has a 50oz. bladder, so more than enough for any trip I normally take when out either walking, jogging or biking. It's waterproof, and it comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. That's cool. The regular price is very affordable, but it's on the Amazon.com lightning deal list today. Got to get it!
Saturday, October 1, 2016
The Disconnect
Watching the documentary "From Fat to Finish Line" yesterday, there was one line in one of the runner's story that really hit home to me. All of the runners in the group of people who had lost 100 pounds or more in the cross country relay race told their weight loss stories from how they began to how they got to where they were. The one man said that one day, the disconnect between the person he was on the inside and the life he was living and person he was on the outside was so obvious, and he finally felt it.
That really sums up what a lot of heavy people experience, but maybe can't put into a thought process. I know for me, it was always, I felt like I could do anything--in my head, in my mind. But, of course, when I'd try to do those things, I couldn't. In some cases, even though I could, I knew my weight was making it harder than it had to be, or should be. That should be enough to make people like I was then and still am now, stop and do better about getting healthy, but it's not. There has to be something that turns the switch on. That's what it feels like, like someone turned on the light in my head and showed me that I WAS that person I felt on the inside, I just had to bring her out. I had to make it happen, and I COULD make it happen.
I think, sometimes, that is why thin people who have never had a weight problem tend to be so hard, or even mean to people who are very overweight. They just don't understand that it is a disconnect. A physical, mental and emotional problem that needs to be overcome, and nasty remarks are only that much more hurtful.
That really sums up what a lot of heavy people experience, but maybe can't put into a thought process. I know for me, it was always, I felt like I could do anything--in my head, in my mind. But, of course, when I'd try to do those things, I couldn't. In some cases, even though I could, I knew my weight was making it harder than it had to be, or should be. That should be enough to make people like I was then and still am now, stop and do better about getting healthy, but it's not. There has to be something that turns the switch on. That's what it feels like, like someone turned on the light in my head and showed me that I WAS that person I felt on the inside, I just had to bring her out. I had to make it happen, and I COULD make it happen.I think, sometimes, that is why thin people who have never had a weight problem tend to be so hard, or even mean to people who are very overweight. They just don't understand that it is a disconnect. A physical, mental and emotional problem that needs to be overcome, and nasty remarks are only that much more hurtful.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Check Out "From Fat to Finish Line"
Hey, hey! If you have a Netflix account, check out "From Fat to Finish Line" it's out now on their streaming platform. I know a few of the people highlighted in there... well, know them from SparkPeople. They have done it, and it was inspiring to follow their journey then, and it is now. People like me, and others out there need to know that there are others with the same struggles, and that it is possible to be successful, healthy and happy in the long run, even though the process may take years, and involve a lot of dedication, sacrifice and even pain at times. It's also available on Amazon Video streaming, DVD and BluRay
Here is a trailer for From Fat to Finish Line:
Okay, so now you know what I do when I take a day off from exercise... but at least I'm staying in the frame of mind and mentally working on my progress.
Here is a trailer for From Fat to Finish Line:
Taking a Knee
I'm taking a knee today. Taking the day off. I'm still doing my thing, but only with calorie counting. Yes, I count. I track every morsel that passes my lips, and every ounce of anything but water, which isn't much since I drink water all day with the exception of one cup of coffee in the morning. I'm taking the day off from exercise today though. I didn't want to, but...
Here comes the excuses, or as my husband would say "You know what I'm hearing, don't you?" It's true though, sometimes there are just days when you have to give an excuse and take it. I fell a week and a half ago, and landed right on my left knee. It's been stiff and achy ever since. I've been working through it though, and I would have today, but yesterday I also sprained my right ankle. It hurt like crazy, could hardly walk last night and still this morning. It is getting better though, thankfully. I can walk normally now. But I want to go to the health club tomorrow and swim, so I want to be able to walk. So, I'm taking the day off and babying my ankle and knee.
It's true that the whole healthy lifestyle thing, especially during the weight loss, getting fit process can involve some pain, a lot of dedication, and tons of willpower at times, and it is all worth it. However, some days you have to know when to take a knee (pun intended. lol).
Here comes the excuses, or as my husband would say "You know what I'm hearing, don't you?" It's true though, sometimes there are just days when you have to give an excuse and take it. I fell a week and a half ago, and landed right on my left knee. It's been stiff and achy ever since. I've been working through it though, and I would have today, but yesterday I also sprained my right ankle. It hurt like crazy, could hardly walk last night and still this morning. It is getting better though, thankfully. I can walk normally now. But I want to go to the health club tomorrow and swim, so I want to be able to walk. So, I'm taking the day off and babying my ankle and knee.
It's true that the whole healthy lifestyle thing, especially during the weight loss, getting fit process can involve some pain, a lot of dedication, and tons of willpower at times, and it is all worth it. However, some days you have to know when to take a knee (pun intended. lol).
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Fear: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Fear is pretty much a built in emotion that is hardwired into everyone's brain. How we perceive it, I suppose is different depending on the experiences we've had in our lives. For the most part, fear is a very important psychological element. Good fear keeps us from standing to close to the edge of a cliff, diving into murky water, fear keeps us from getting into all kinds of dangerous situations. So when is fear bad? Fear gets out of hand when we (and I mean I here, but I'm thinking it pertains to a lot of people) let it take control and talk us out of things that are good for us. Fear can derail our plans of living a healthy lifestyle.
Now to be fair, it's not fear's fault. Fear thinks it's doing the right thing by us. It is protecting us from the emotional damage that might come from failing. It is protecting us from the physical damage that might come from doing a new exercise, or maybe from what it perceives to be the inevitable. Sometimes, we even cause our own fears from being afraid of being too happy. A friend had a post about this today. Having trouble feeling elated for long over a good weigh in, but not having any difficulty experiencing the negative feelings of giving into a craving days ago, and still feeling that emotion.
I know that fear. It is a common enemy, but the enemy is me. The little voice in my head that says, "hey, who knows you better than I do? It's been 54 years, do you think I don't know what is going to happen? You know this can't last, right? Do you think I want you to be upset if you falter? Give up now, don't put yourself through that." Or when things have been going good, and this is even more the case for me, I don't have a problem feeling good about the positives, but when a little blip happens, like not losing anything when I've been doing everything right and have been losing well for weeks. My little voice starts up with "see, it was bound to happen. You know it. I know it. Just give it up and go eat a doughnut and be happy." Not... no, no, no... but there have been times in the past where I've given up. Especially when those little blips happen too often.
That's the Ugly fear, the negative person that even the most cheerful optimist hides deep down inside. For me it's a weight issue, for someone else it might be a performance issue, a speaking in front of people issue, or any one of millions of personally ingrained issues. That fear has no useful purpose other than a perceived sense of safety. It's not real safety, and it only hurts us (me) in the long run. It stops me from trying, so today I am saying GO away little voice. You don't know me as well as you think you do. I am a lot stronger than that, and I'm not letting you convince me otherwise ever again.
Now to be fair, it's not fear's fault. Fear thinks it's doing the right thing by us. It is protecting us from the emotional damage that might come from failing. It is protecting us from the physical damage that might come from doing a new exercise, or maybe from what it perceives to be the inevitable. Sometimes, we even cause our own fears from being afraid of being too happy. A friend had a post about this today. Having trouble feeling elated for long over a good weigh in, but not having any difficulty experiencing the negative feelings of giving into a craving days ago, and still feeling that emotion.
I know that fear. It is a common enemy, but the enemy is me. The little voice in my head that says, "hey, who knows you better than I do? It's been 54 years, do you think I don't know what is going to happen? You know this can't last, right? Do you think I want you to be upset if you falter? Give up now, don't put yourself through that." Or when things have been going good, and this is even more the case for me, I don't have a problem feeling good about the positives, but when a little blip happens, like not losing anything when I've been doing everything right and have been losing well for weeks. My little voice starts up with "see, it was bound to happen. You know it. I know it. Just give it up and go eat a doughnut and be happy." Not... no, no, no... but there have been times in the past where I've given up. Especially when those little blips happen too often.
That's the Ugly fear, the negative person that even the most cheerful optimist hides deep down inside. For me it's a weight issue, for someone else it might be a performance issue, a speaking in front of people issue, or any one of millions of personally ingrained issues. That fear has no useful purpose other than a perceived sense of safety. It's not real safety, and it only hurts us (me) in the long run. It stops me from trying, so today I am saying GO away little voice. You don't know me as well as you think you do. I am a lot stronger than that, and I'm not letting you convince me otherwise ever again.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
The Martian Message
I just watched one of my favorite movies of 2015, and arguably the best one of the year--at least that's my opinion, The Martian, for the millionth time. I watch it whenever it comes on one of the movie channels even though I have the DVD. It is packed with exhilarating adventure, danger, inspiration and power. Not to be a spoiler, but the main message of the movie is easily encapsulated by the speech at the end by Mark "the Martian" Watney:
"At some point everything is going to go south on you.
You can either accept that or you can get to work.
You just begin.
You do the math.
Solve one problem, then solve another problem, and then another and if you solve enough problems you get to come home."
Of course, considering the grand scheme of the movie it is the plot outline, lol, but really it should be a plot outline for everyone in life--especially people who want to achieve a goal like weight loss. At some point everything is going to go south on you. You can either accept that and give up, or you can get to work.
BE the Space Pirate!
GET TO WORK.
"At some point everything is going to go south on you.
You can either accept that or you can get to work.
You just begin.
You do the math.
Solve one problem, then solve another problem, and then another and if you solve enough problems you get to come home."
Of course, considering the grand scheme of the movie it is the plot outline, lol, but really it should be a plot outline for everyone in life--especially people who want to achieve a goal like weight loss. At some point everything is going to go south on you. You can either accept that and give up, or you can get to work.
BE the Space Pirate!
GET TO WORK.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
How to Train (the Addiction) Dragon
A friend posted a comment on my SparkPeople page about how she could identify with my being a food addict, and she also added a quote that she had read about it that so rang a bell with me I just had to do a post on it. The quote was:
"alcoholics have to slay the dragon, while food addicts have to learn to walk the dragon three times a day."
Food addiction is as powerful and dangerous as any other serious addiction. It causes life-threatening physical, mental and emotional illnesses. Unlike any other type of addiction though, food addicts can't just quit their "drug of choice." People can't live without food, no matter how much they weigh, so food addicts have to learn to live with their addiction and control it... we have to re-train our bodies and minds... we have to train the dragon to survive.
I've often said, motivation isn't enough, it takes fear and a deadline. That is funny, but to some people it may seem harsh or mean. Fear should be a real thing for people with a food addiction though. Fear of what could--WILL--happen if the addiction isn't overcome. I had a real glimpse of that possible outcome not too long ago at my heaviest.
I had just given up for a long time, and gotten myself to the point of serious issues. I was at a point where all I did all day was lay on the couch, not because I didn't want to move, but because it hurt too much to move. It hurt to the point where I'd be there and have to go to the bathroom, but I would stall and wait to the last minute because it would hurt so bad to get up and go there--15 feet away! It got so bad that just going from couch to bedroom--30 feet away--would make me gasp for air and hurt so bad I would almost collapse.
In just 4.5 short months those issues are in the past, even though I still have a long way to go. But I have to REMEMBER those times. It wouldn't take much to be right back there again, and likely worse because pounds don't just come back, they come back with friends... fear has to be a part of the motivation to overcome addiction, but the good news is, once you have trained the dragon, the joy and accomplishment is as powerful as any addiction.
It didn't happen overnight, even though it did happen amazingly fast: I couldn't do much as far as exercise went at the beginning, but I found ways to move that I could do. Chair aerobics lead to swimming and finally the ability to get on the floor and do some floor exercises. Walking is still my enemy a bit, but I'm working on improving that. However, now I incorporate all kinds of exercises into my weekly schedule, and am up to swimming laps 1.5 hours 4xs a week. I can never let myself forget though, and I have to remain constantly vigilant of the certain foods that are trigger-foods for me. Food addicts have a slightly different issue when it comes to dieting/healthy lifestyles.
Most people can eat "bad" (for want of a better word) foods in moderation, food addicts have some foods they may never be able to eat safely again. I know what mine are: cake, ice cream and pizza... okay, never again may be too far to go, and those weren't the only foods I ate in excess, but I have to always be aware of those foods, knowing they are the gateway to relapse. Those are the foods that fire up my dragon. They turn on my addiction, and cause me to lose sight of my goals, eating anything else in my path, especially high carb foods. If I choose to eat them even in moderation, I have to make sure they don't take control. For right now, for me, and for most addicts still in the process of getting to a goal, they aren't an option.
"alcoholics have to slay the dragon, while food addicts have to learn to walk the dragon three times a day."
Food addiction is as powerful and dangerous as any other serious addiction. It causes life-threatening physical, mental and emotional illnesses. Unlike any other type of addiction though, food addicts can't just quit their "drug of choice." People can't live without food, no matter how much they weigh, so food addicts have to learn to live with their addiction and control it... we have to re-train our bodies and minds... we have to train the dragon to survive.
I've often said, motivation isn't enough, it takes fear and a deadline. That is funny, but to some people it may seem harsh or mean. Fear should be a real thing for people with a food addiction though. Fear of what could--WILL--happen if the addiction isn't overcome. I had a real glimpse of that possible outcome not too long ago at my heaviest.
I had just given up for a long time, and gotten myself to the point of serious issues. I was at a point where all I did all day was lay on the couch, not because I didn't want to move, but because it hurt too much to move. It hurt to the point where I'd be there and have to go to the bathroom, but I would stall and wait to the last minute because it would hurt so bad to get up and go there--15 feet away! It got so bad that just going from couch to bedroom--30 feet away--would make me gasp for air and hurt so bad I would almost collapse.
In just 4.5 short months those issues are in the past, even though I still have a long way to go. But I have to REMEMBER those times. It wouldn't take much to be right back there again, and likely worse because pounds don't just come back, they come back with friends... fear has to be a part of the motivation to overcome addiction, but the good news is, once you have trained the dragon, the joy and accomplishment is as powerful as any addiction.
It didn't happen overnight, even though it did happen amazingly fast: I couldn't do much as far as exercise went at the beginning, but I found ways to move that I could do. Chair aerobics lead to swimming and finally the ability to get on the floor and do some floor exercises. Walking is still my enemy a bit, but I'm working on improving that. However, now I incorporate all kinds of exercises into my weekly schedule, and am up to swimming laps 1.5 hours 4xs a week. I can never let myself forget though, and I have to remain constantly vigilant of the certain foods that are trigger-foods for me. Food addicts have a slightly different issue when it comes to dieting/healthy lifestyles.
Most people can eat "bad" (for want of a better word) foods in moderation, food addicts have some foods they may never be able to eat safely again. I know what mine are: cake, ice cream and pizza... okay, never again may be too far to go, and those weren't the only foods I ate in excess, but I have to always be aware of those foods, knowing they are the gateway to relapse. Those are the foods that fire up my dragon. They turn on my addiction, and cause me to lose sight of my goals, eating anything else in my path, especially high carb foods. If I choose to eat them even in moderation, I have to make sure they don't take control. For right now, for me, and for most addicts still in the process of getting to a goal, they aren't an option.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
The Proof is in the.... Doctor's Visit
I am so happy today. Hubby is on this journey with me. He has never had as serious a weight issue as I have, although he is overweight. His big problem has been Type II diabetes and high blood pressure. Since we both decided to be serious about changing our bad eating habits and exercising several hours a week, we've both seen improvements, but the real proof was at hubby's first doctor's visit since beginning our program of changes on September 15th.
His A1C was 5! FIVE!!!! That's so great I was so happy.
His blood pressure was 120/80! A normal reading! For him that's amazing.
The proof that this works is all around in many little different things, but this was the icing on the cake.
I'm so proud of him for sticking to it all, and getting his numbers so under control.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Even though this wasn't MY victory, it showed some very important things. Living a healthier lifestyle changes EVERYTHING. I found this picture on a friend's page at Spark People and it is soooo true.
I've only lost about 25% of the weight I have yet to lose, and already I am sleeping MUCH better. At my highest weight I would wake up with a start regularly feeling like I was gasping for air. Hubby told me I often scared him when I was sleeping. I used to swallow antacids like candy every day too, and right from the start of my healthy eating plan that eliminated all simple carbs, I haven't had to take ANY at all. Instead of buying a large bottle of bargain brand antacids every week, I haven't bought a single one in 4.5 months.
His A1C was 5! FIVE!!!! That's so great I was so happy.
His blood pressure was 120/80! A normal reading! For him that's amazing.
The proof that this works is all around in many little different things, but this was the icing on the cake.
I'm so proud of him for sticking to it all, and getting his numbers so under control.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Even though this wasn't MY victory, it showed some very important things. Living a healthier lifestyle changes EVERYTHING. I found this picture on a friend's page at Spark People and it is soooo true.
I've only lost about 25% of the weight I have yet to lose, and already I am sleeping MUCH better. At my highest weight I would wake up with a start regularly feeling like I was gasping for air. Hubby told me I often scared him when I was sleeping. I used to swallow antacids like candy every day too, and right from the start of my healthy eating plan that eliminated all simple carbs, I haven't had to take ANY at all. Instead of buying a large bottle of bargain brand antacids every week, I haven't bought a single one in 4.5 months.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
I Had a Dream
If you think this is going to be an inspirational post... well, maybe not so much, LOL. I did have a dream though. Last night I dreamed about food and exercise. Now, the dreaming part that centered around exercise, that was good right? Right, it was. However, it's the food part of the dream that went a little sideways. I wasn't dreaming about eating salads and such, no, no, no... I was dreaming about Pizza and Chinese food... oops. LOL Now, this type of thing does seem to happen to me when I'm making a drastic lifestyle change no matter how much for the better it is. Several years ago when I quit smoking I would dream of clouds of smoke, sitting in a room full of cigar smoking men (like that's a good thing, even when I smoked I hated the smell of cigars). In my 30's when I was on a serious goal-oriented diet like I am now, I dreamed of eating marshmallows and woke up to find the edges of the pillow were suspiciously damp. Luckily, my pizza and Chinese dream didn't result in any gnawed on bedding, and I'm still on track with my calorie/nutrition goals still. I could do without the eating part of the dream though. I am going to have to focus more on thinking about the exercise side of my goals when I go to bed from now on, and hopefully my dreams will stay on the same healthy track as my waking hours.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Monday, August 8, 2016
Thaat's What I get for Living a Healthy Lifestyle
Living a healthy lifestyle can be dangerous. Thank heavens for GREAT neighbors (thank you Dave and Sharon Pavey ) for taking me to the hospital and picking me up agsin when it was over. Even worse, and yes, there is worse, no swimming for a week, going to hve to settle for using the recumbent bike and doing leg strength exercises st the gym for s bit. Sorry, my pinky isn't working right yet, so the a key isn't alwsys pressed.
Lost my bslance and grabbed the fence -- top hsa metsl spikes sticking up, caught on it, and still fell, ripping the palm wide open down to the bone. Luckily, missed tendons asnd the srtery by millimeters. So, ll in asll could have been worse.
Funny thing, when it hsppened i didn't even really feel it. just concerned with getting bsck up agsin, wasn't until i sat down i realized i needed stitches. now it hurts though. lol
Sorry for ll the typos
Update:
A week and a half ago I sliced open my hand on a fence and got stitches. I was told I couldn't go in the pool until the stitches came out---yeah, I cried. That poor doctor didn't have a clue, although as I explained how hard I'd been working and what a big part of my routine was swimming, he did take pity on my situation. He even ended up saying as long as I don't get my hand wet, he wouldn't tell anybody. However, once I got home, I decided that it would be better safe than sorry, and I would do as much as I could of other things during this time of healing and pool restriction. In some ways it has been quite liberating. I found that I could indeed now ride a stationary bike for as much as an hour total (broken into three sections with a minute rest between each). Last night went and rode the bike when hubby got off work and could drive me... but it was just so painful, I only managed 45 minutes, my rear and my knees had taken all they could of it over the past 10 days. It will be GREAT as an alternating routine so I am not in a rut of only swimming, but I'm not up to it as a singular activity.
So.... even though I am supposed to go to get the stitches out tomorrow, today was my regular gym day, and I just decided to go for it. I wrapped my hand up in waterproof surgical tape (over the bandage), and put my suit on. I did keep my hand out of the water (almost as much of a workout as running the pool). I just jogged the laps instead of swimming. What a workout, but soooo enjoyable. I sure did miss that pool.
Like I said above, I am supposed to go to the doctor tomorrow, but I don't think the stitches will come out, not all of them anyway. The middle and left "branch" of the laceration look like they have healed well, and the stitches will probably come out of that, but the right branch and the center where it all comes together are still really groady looking. LOL But, at least I know that the surgical tape works well to keep any random splashes from getting the bandage wet, and I can run the pool for a good workout. I'll still do the bike as an alternate now that I know I can, just not as a sole form of workout. You just gotta do what ya gotta do sometimes. :)
Update #2:
Got my stitches out yesterday. A little bummed that the one area that i mentioned the other day is still opened too much to go swimming (technically, lol), but I'll just do what I did the other day. On the plus side, this doctor wrapped my hand up much better than the emergency room one did, and showed me how to do it that way, to keep the area closed more. I changed the bandage today and it really has made a lot of improvement. As they say--Patience is a virtue... too bad it's not one of mine. LOL I've never been particularly patient, but I am trying to improve on that.
Lost my bslance and grabbed the fence -- top hsa metsl spikes sticking up, caught on it, and still fell, ripping the palm wide open down to the bone. Luckily, missed tendons asnd the srtery by millimeters. So, ll in asll could have been worse.
Funny thing, when it hsppened i didn't even really feel it. just concerned with getting bsck up agsin, wasn't until i sat down i realized i needed stitches. now it hurts though. lol
Sorry for ll the typos
Update:
A week and a half ago I sliced open my hand on a fence and got stitches. I was told I couldn't go in the pool until the stitches came out---yeah, I cried. That poor doctor didn't have a clue, although as I explained how hard I'd been working and what a big part of my routine was swimming, he did take pity on my situation. He even ended up saying as long as I don't get my hand wet, he wouldn't tell anybody. However, once I got home, I decided that it would be better safe than sorry, and I would do as much as I could of other things during this time of healing and pool restriction. In some ways it has been quite liberating. I found that I could indeed now ride a stationary bike for as much as an hour total (broken into three sections with a minute rest between each). Last night went and rode the bike when hubby got off work and could drive me... but it was just so painful, I only managed 45 minutes, my rear and my knees had taken all they could of it over the past 10 days. It will be GREAT as an alternating routine so I am not in a rut of only swimming, but I'm not up to it as a singular activity.
So.... even though I am supposed to go to get the stitches out tomorrow, today was my regular gym day, and I just decided to go for it. I wrapped my hand up in waterproof surgical tape (over the bandage), and put my suit on. I did keep my hand out of the water (almost as much of a workout as running the pool). I just jogged the laps instead of swimming. What a workout, but soooo enjoyable. I sure did miss that pool.
Like I said above, I am supposed to go to the doctor tomorrow, but I don't think the stitches will come out, not all of them anyway. The middle and left "branch" of the laceration look like they have healed well, and the stitches will probably come out of that, but the right branch and the center where it all comes together are still really groady looking. LOL But, at least I know that the surgical tape works well to keep any random splashes from getting the bandage wet, and I can run the pool for a good workout. I'll still do the bike as an alternate now that I know I can, just not as a sole form of workout. You just gotta do what ya gotta do sometimes. :)
Update #2:
Got my stitches out yesterday. A little bummed that the one area that i mentioned the other day is still opened too much to go swimming (technically, lol), but I'll just do what I did the other day. On the plus side, this doctor wrapped my hand up much better than the emergency room one did, and showed me how to do it that way, to keep the area closed more. I changed the bandage today and it really has made a lot of improvement. As they say--Patience is a virtue... too bad it's not one of mine. LOL I've never been particularly patient, but I am trying to improve on that.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Checking Back In and Reporting on my LifeTrak Zone
I mentioned a few days ago that I got a new LifeTrak Zone fitness monitor. Of course, like any new toy, it was fun and exciting, and I was very exuberant in my letting you all know how cool it was. I am just checking back in to give a real review of the product, and let you know how it works.
Okay, I'll just spill it right now--I love it!
Is it perfect-No, but it is pretty close.
I was actually REALLY hard on it in my review on Amazon, but only for one reason, the biggest fault this watch has is that it is VERY hard to read in dim light (read that as normal house lighting unless the watch face is directly in line with a turned on lamp, even in the middle of the day). Even then I might not have been so hard on it except for the fact that on the Amazon page, the picture of the product showed the "newer" version (I found out about the versions through a little research after-the-fact) with a white background and black readout. What I received was a watch with the black background and gray readout, the initial version of the watch. The newer black on white version is easier to read (at least it is reported to be). So I was miffed about that.
However, when it comes right down to actual function, I LOVE this watch. It really is pretty cool. It tracks steps reasonably well in the house (there may be a few steps it doesn't pick up, and it picks up when I roll in a chair while working, but I figure pretty much those two instances kind of cancel each other out). It picks up steps when actually walking outside, shopping, or regular walking around the house quite well.
The calorie burn counter is pretty neat too. I can't help thinking it is a little overly optimistic, but it is supposed to be based on your stats (you can add your sex, age by birthday and current weight in to help it base it's BMR on) and you are supposed to track your heart rate regularly, which it also uses to judge added caloric burn.
Not only does it track steps, it automatically calculates daily mileage, and both steps and miles can be separately calculated during workouts that are also added into daily miles and steps.
Of all of the tracking functions, the sleep one is the only one I find kind of frustrating. Either sleep is one illusive thing for me, or it over does the tracking of tossing and turning, or moving around during sleep. I was in bed for 9 hours last night, and I know it didn't take long for me to "lights out." I'd give a half hour to getting to sleep, but I really don't even think it was that long. I did get up twice to go to the bathroom... old bladders suck, lol, but I went right back to sleep... not according to my tracker though. According to it I only got 4.5 hours of sleep. That's last night. Some nights it says I've gotten about 7.5 hours, some in between the 4 and 7 hour mark, it just depends I guess on how much my arm moves when I'm sleeping. I must really flail around in bed more than I thought (sorry Bob, I've always known you put up with a lot with my RLS but I must have been really beating the crap out of you at night for the last 33 years.)
The heart rate monitor is a fingertip pulse button, and it works really, really well. It's kind of fun to watch the "EKG" line run while you take your pulse, lol. What I really love is all of the features, including the heart monitor work great IN THE POOL. The band is secure, and stays on even during the most rigorous strokes, and I can keep track of my heart rate to get a good idea of how well I am doing in intensity.
All of the functions: sleep, miles, calories and steps have a bar graph available for comparing hourly, daily and monthly totals.
I hope that helped anyone who is interested in the fitness watch. It is as reliable as any, I do not use the phone app so I can't report on how well that works, my phone isn't good enough to do it. I don't really miss it though. I probably wouldn't use that much anyway.
I got my LifeTrak Zone C410 for about $75 from Amazon, so it was a very reasonably priced fitness monitor compared to Fitbit and other similar types of watches. It also does have, by the way, a time and date readout on the face, lol, so it is also a watch. I like the looks of it better than the band style Fitbit type monitors as well.
Okay, I'll just spill it right now--I love it!
Is it perfect-No, but it is pretty close.
I was actually REALLY hard on it in my review on Amazon, but only for one reason, the biggest fault this watch has is that it is VERY hard to read in dim light (read that as normal house lighting unless the watch face is directly in line with a turned on lamp, even in the middle of the day). Even then I might not have been so hard on it except for the fact that on the Amazon page, the picture of the product showed the "newer" version (I found out about the versions through a little research after-the-fact) with a white background and black readout. What I received was a watch with the black background and gray readout, the initial version of the watch. The newer black on white version is easier to read (at least it is reported to be). So I was miffed about that.
However, when it comes right down to actual function, I LOVE this watch. It really is pretty cool. It tracks steps reasonably well in the house (there may be a few steps it doesn't pick up, and it picks up when I roll in a chair while working, but I figure pretty much those two instances kind of cancel each other out). It picks up steps when actually walking outside, shopping, or regular walking around the house quite well.
The calorie burn counter is pretty neat too. I can't help thinking it is a little overly optimistic, but it is supposed to be based on your stats (you can add your sex, age by birthday and current weight in to help it base it's BMR on) and you are supposed to track your heart rate regularly, which it also uses to judge added caloric burn.
Not only does it track steps, it automatically calculates daily mileage, and both steps and miles can be separately calculated during workouts that are also added into daily miles and steps.
Of all of the tracking functions, the sleep one is the only one I find kind of frustrating. Either sleep is one illusive thing for me, or it over does the tracking of tossing and turning, or moving around during sleep. I was in bed for 9 hours last night, and I know it didn't take long for me to "lights out." I'd give a half hour to getting to sleep, but I really don't even think it was that long. I did get up twice to go to the bathroom... old bladders suck, lol, but I went right back to sleep... not according to my tracker though. According to it I only got 4.5 hours of sleep. That's last night. Some nights it says I've gotten about 7.5 hours, some in between the 4 and 7 hour mark, it just depends I guess on how much my arm moves when I'm sleeping. I must really flail around in bed more than I thought (sorry Bob, I've always known you put up with a lot with my RLS but I must have been really beating the crap out of you at night for the last 33 years.)
The heart rate monitor is a fingertip pulse button, and it works really, really well. It's kind of fun to watch the "EKG" line run while you take your pulse, lol. What I really love is all of the features, including the heart monitor work great IN THE POOL. The band is secure, and stays on even during the most rigorous strokes, and I can keep track of my heart rate to get a good idea of how well I am doing in intensity.
All of the functions: sleep, miles, calories and steps have a bar graph available for comparing hourly, daily and monthly totals.
I hope that helped anyone who is interested in the fitness watch. It is as reliable as any, I do not use the phone app so I can't report on how well that works, my phone isn't good enough to do it. I don't really miss it though. I probably wouldn't use that much anyway.
I got my LifeTrak Zone C410 for about $75 from Amazon, so it was a very reasonably priced fitness monitor compared to Fitbit and other similar types of watches. It also does have, by the way, a time and date readout on the face, lol, so it is also a watch. I like the looks of it better than the band style Fitbit type monitors as well.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Tracking the Numbers
How many steps do I take each day? I really don't know, well, I didn't. Today I got a fitness watch that hubby ordered for me. (How many times can I say thank you, baby? Not enough for sure.)
It came in the mail and I set it up. Along with looking like a watch (unlike some monitors) it has a watch built-in, it also tracks sleep time, calories burned (including BMR calories) and it tracks workout times, steps taken and how much daylight I'm getting.It is also a heart rate monitor which is really cool.
This is the actual watch in the color I got. There are other colors available.
The set up included regular stuff like setting the time/date/month/year etc, and also setting goals for calories burned, steps taken, and it also allows you to log in weight, age and sex to more accurately judge the different areas. It was very reasonably priced (as fitness monitors go). Much more affordable than the fit bit, and it looks just like a (large) watch. The band is even reversible (black or blue) and there are a bunch of other colors that can be purchased.
The company makes several levels of fitness tracker watches, but I got the LifeTrak Zone C410 -- so far I really like it. The one thing I would have to say could be better is the screen is black with a gray readout, and it is hard to read, even with the so-called backlight, in low light areas. In direct light it's fine.
Edited to add: DUH, I forgot to mention one of the most important parts for me about this tracker--it's WATERPROOF! It is waterproof up to 30 meters (90 feet) so swimming with it is fine, and I'll finally be able to see if I am actually reaching a good heartrate when swimming!
It came in the mail and I set it up. Along with looking like a watch (unlike some monitors) it has a watch built-in, it also tracks sleep time, calories burned (including BMR calories) and it tracks workout times, steps taken and how much daylight I'm getting.It is also a heart rate monitor which is really cool.
This is the actual watch in the color I got. There are other colors available.
The set up included regular stuff like setting the time/date/month/year etc, and also setting goals for calories burned, steps taken, and it also allows you to log in weight, age and sex to more accurately judge the different areas. It was very reasonably priced (as fitness monitors go). Much more affordable than the fit bit, and it looks just like a (large) watch. The band is even reversible (black or blue) and there are a bunch of other colors that can be purchased.
The company makes several levels of fitness tracker watches, but I got the LifeTrak Zone C410 -- so far I really like it. The one thing I would have to say could be better is the screen is black with a gray readout, and it is hard to read, even with the so-called backlight, in low light areas. In direct light it's fine.
Edited to add: DUH, I forgot to mention one of the most important parts for me about this tracker--it's WATERPROOF! It is waterproof up to 30 meters (90 feet) so swimming with it is fine, and I'll finally be able to see if I am actually reaching a good heartrate when swimming!
Sunday, July 31, 2016
It's Like Riding a Bike
Actually, that's exactly what it was like... riding a bike. I did 2 miles on the stationary bike at the gym today, and got a wild hair (well, in truth, I've been having desires to ride a bike again for a couple weeks now), to try riding a regular road bike. I no longer have a bike, but my son's 26" mountain bike has been dormant in the garage for years... pump that baby up and see if it will hold me. It did. Getting on isn't a small feat though. Mounting over the saddle is a big swing for this old girl, even though I always road boy's bikes when I was younger. I never cared much for the low bar on a girl's bike... right about now it would be a good thing I'm thinking.
Managed to get on, and wobble around for a bit on my tip toes down the gravel driveway. Then tried to pedal. One foot down, so far so good... now hoist that second foot up to the top pedal as it comes around---- um, nope.
Nope on the second try too.
Finally on the third I managed to scrunch it up there, and road for several feet before stopping.
Again-- road a little further.
Again--road half a block down the alley.
Turned around and struggled to get the foot back on, and road back 1/2 a block to the garage.
That was enough for the day. I was huffing and puffing, and my heart rate was 148, so time to rest, and try again tomorrow.
What kind of surprised me is that actually riding was not hard. It was fun, and I didn't have any balance issues which had kind of scared me. My problem was the on/off and the start up each time. I think after a few (dozen) days like today, I might even have the courage to go around the block a time or two. I don't mind slow, as long as I have a little progress each time, I feel good about it. Riding a bike really is like "riding a bike." You don't really forget I guess, but you do get a little rusty (and old, and fat, and old haha).
Managed to get on, and wobble around for a bit on my tip toes down the gravel driveway. Then tried to pedal. One foot down, so far so good... now hoist that second foot up to the top pedal as it comes around---- um, nope.
Nope on the second try too.
Finally on the third I managed to scrunch it up there, and road for several feet before stopping.
Again-- road a little further.
Again--road half a block down the alley.
Turned around and struggled to get the foot back on, and road back 1/2 a block to the garage.
That was enough for the day. I was huffing and puffing, and my heart rate was 148, so time to rest, and try again tomorrow.
What kind of surprised me is that actually riding was not hard. It was fun, and I didn't have any balance issues which had kind of scared me. My problem was the on/off and the start up each time. I think after a few (dozen) days like today, I might even have the courage to go around the block a time or two. I don't mind slow, as long as I have a little progress each time, I feel good about it. Riding a bike really is like "riding a bike." You don't really forget I guess, but you do get a little rusty (and old, and fat, and old haha).
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Relish the Journey
When you have a lot of weight to lose, like I do, it's easy to get caught up in one of two emotions even when things are going well, and you've been successful. The first emotion is, man, I have so much weight to lose, so what that I've lost 31 pounds in 2 months, big deal, that's NOTHING... no it's not, and just about anyone would say it's not, but mentally, the journey ahead is SO much longer, that it is just a drop in the bigger bucket. The second emotion is disgust that you've done something so terrible that it will take years to rectify, and you are going to have to be strong and resolved to keep it up and end up being successful. And because it has certainly taken years to get to this point, you know (and I'm talking "me" when I say "you") there have been plenty of other attempts to reach the ultimate goal, that ended up failing... so the second emotion is sort of a "sigh" can I make it?
Both of those emotions are dangerous to success, but the good news is, both are defeatable. I think the best way to defeat them is to learn how to love the process, and enjoy the journey for what it is. There's nothing that can be done about the past. Although, there is a benefit, even to multiple past failures. You can learn from them and use those to help avoid the mistakes that happened.
I've had several minor victories, a pair of shorts I found that I hadn't been able to wear in several years, and just the week before were too tight to wear even though I was able to fight them up for the first time in years. Yesterday I was able to wear them comfortably, no heartburn, sleeping better, walking around the house freer, and most of all, being able to go to the health club and walk all the way from front to back where the locker rooms and pool are without a walker. So, I decided to go "deep closet diving" today again. And low and behold, I found several more items, shorts and a pair of pants I hadn't been able to wear in years, and now I can wear them. A couple are tight but wearable, a couple are totally wearable, but all of them were a great feeling of success. I also found several more items, shirts, shorts and pants that were okay, not yet, but give it another 10 or 15 pounds and you've got it, so they are my new goal for the next few months. And there are plenty of others in the closet still that will be future goals. Every little pound (or as in this week, half pound) of loss is a celebration to relish, and the journey, while not short, should still be something to enjoy and find happiness in.
The road to health may not be a short one, but we still have to remember to live in the moment and love life as it improves, and get the most out of it. I know I can't wait to live two years from now. I have to live now, and love my life and myself... that's success.
Don't misunderstand me. It is the past "failures" that have made this journey a little better. Even though there are times those two emotions I mentioned above creep in to my head, I am feeling more powerful knowing them for what they are, and understanding that I have to learn to relish this journey.
Both of those emotions are dangerous to success, but the good news is, both are defeatable. I think the best way to defeat them is to learn how to love the process, and enjoy the journey for what it is. There's nothing that can be done about the past. Although, there is a benefit, even to multiple past failures. You can learn from them and use those to help avoid the mistakes that happened.
I've had several minor victories, a pair of shorts I found that I hadn't been able to wear in several years, and just the week before were too tight to wear even though I was able to fight them up for the first time in years. Yesterday I was able to wear them comfortably, no heartburn, sleeping better, walking around the house freer, and most of all, being able to go to the health club and walk all the way from front to back where the locker rooms and pool are without a walker. So, I decided to go "deep closet diving" today again. And low and behold, I found several more items, shorts and a pair of pants I hadn't been able to wear in years, and now I can wear them. A couple are tight but wearable, a couple are totally wearable, but all of them were a great feeling of success. I also found several more items, shirts, shorts and pants that were okay, not yet, but give it another 10 or 15 pounds and you've got it, so they are my new goal for the next few months. And there are plenty of others in the closet still that will be future goals. Every little pound (or as in this week, half pound) of loss is a celebration to relish, and the journey, while not short, should still be something to enjoy and find happiness in.
The road to health may not be a short one, but we still have to remember to live in the moment and love life as it improves, and get the most out of it. I know I can't wait to live two years from now. I have to live now, and love my life and myself... that's success.
Don't misunderstand me. It is the past "failures" that have made this journey a little better. Even though there are times those two emotions I mentioned above creep in to my head, I am feeling more powerful knowing them for what they are, and understanding that I have to learn to relish this journey.
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