Today I am pleased to
have my first guest post!
My friend, Knittylawyer,
Government Name Janeane D, has written about a new device to help her track
healthier habits. I don't want to say weight loss, because that seems so
overwhelming. Healthier habits imply that a change internal and external
is underway.
Fitbit Ultra aka Getting
Fit a Bit at a Time
Ok, it’s time to lay the
cards on the table. In addition to being a black Christian wife and mother of
four, I am overweight. According to my doctor and my children, I need to get in
shape fast. My husband of twenty-two years has had fights with me before so his
response is always, “Baby, you look good to me. Do what you want to do.”
However, it is time to be honest with the woman in the mirror and get moving to
a better aka slimmer and healthier me. Recently my husband bought my son an
Xbox Kinect 360 for a birthday present and it came with something called fitbit
ultra for free. My husband did not know what it was but since it was free, he
said order it and it was on.
The fitbit ultra machine
looks like a thumb drive for the computer. The box tells you it is a wireless
activity and sleep tracker. It boasts, “Track your day. Be more fit.” The
machine keeps track of your steps and distance walked, calories burned, stairs climbed,
sleep quality and wirelessly uploads to your computer if you get within 15 feet
of the computer. I put the fitbit on my waistband and got moving. It
immediately began tracking my steps and information as it promised. You
may be saying, “Ok, so you have a pedometer on steroids. So?” But it is so much
more!
Once you set up your
fitbit ultra to communicate with your computer, you log into the website
at www.fitbit.com and
start logging in information to create a customized program. Every day
you have areas to log food intake, physical activity, changes in weight, sleep,
your mood, heart rate, blood pressure and glucose levels. You can keep this
information private as I have, or make it public. I typed in my current and
ideal weight information, which I shall not share here except to say I need to
lose 90 pounds.
The fact that I have to
log in holds me accountable like nothing else. Most foods are already in the
data base, like my Thomas’ cinnamon raisin bagels and Jiff peanut butter. The
site keeps a running total of my calories, fat, protein, fiber carbs, sodium
and water. If a food I eat is not in the database, I can add it very easily.
I love the ease of use
and friendliness of the website. I am learning portion control and good food
combinations. These are good habits that will carry me through the rest of my
life. I am excited about losing weight. I look forward to exercising so I can
log it into the system. According to the plan the fitbit website helped me
create, it will take me until December to reach my goal weight. I am excited
because by December I will have developed life long habits of eating better and
exercising on a regular basis.
It has only been four
days, but I am excited and enthused about losing weight and getting in shape
like never before. I am working out every other day at the gym. I am faithfully
logging my food intake and physical activity into the website. I am working
hard, because eating 1600 calories a day looks good on the computer screen. The
thought of seeing I have eaten 3500 calories on the screen does not feel good.
I like that I can access the log in from my computer, telephone or Kindle Fire.
I am working towards getting fit a bit at a time. I’ll follow up with you in 30
days to let you know how things are going.
Janeane can be found
caring for her four children, loving her husband, knitting in Starbucks, or
blogging at Janeane's World.
