Tuesday 28 July 2015

What Is A FitBit?

I love my FitBit. I got it from eBay for £45. It's just the basic 'Flex' one, but it has really helped me to realise how sedentary I am. (That's posh for 'lazy'). It's also made me think much more about what I eat.

Here's the thing, there's a very simple equation to weight loss (or gain!):

Calories In - Calories Out = Weight Gain/Loss

So, if you can get a handle on what you're eating and how many calories you're burning, you'll crack this equation. Calories in = what you eat/drink. Calories out = what you burn off through exercise and generally being alive. Simples.

My FitBit is synced to my phone and to my laptop and I have set it to losing 2lbs per week. I have plugged in my weight and I can list the food I eat so it can tell me how many calories I've consumed. It let's me know if that's more than I should have, or if I have some wiggle room. If you've over-done it with the food, you can move around more and watch the calories being worked off.

Because you wear your FitBit, it monitors the steps you take and it recognises when you're moving faster too. I've watched the steps as they register on my phone and I have to say that it's surprisingly accurate.

Even if it wasn't 100% accurate, it has made me see when I've not moved enough. My job involves me sitting at a desk. Some days, I sit here from dawn until... dawn actually. I've pulled numerous all-nighters to hit deadlines. This week is particularly busy for me and so I'm very conscious that I'm spending far too much time sitting on my backside. Yesterday, I spotted that I'd only done 700 steps all day and so I went marching around the block and got them up to 6,000. Not quite my target of 15,000 (!), but a lot better than it could have been. Today, I have forced myself to walk to the supermarket and have just returned from another brisk walk around the block. Bish bosh, that's 8,000 steps done on a day where I would otherwise not have done a tenth as much.

I even managed to lose some weight overnight - 0.6lbs gone. That's over 2lbs in 2 days. Bloomin' marvellous. The holiday weight will soon be gone.

You could do all of these things without a FitBit, or with another similar product, but I have truly found it to be a fab way of getting a handle on the weight loss equation.

Other cool functions on the FitBit are being able to challenge friends to walking duels, and being able to monitor your sleep patterns. It shows periods of restlessness and waking. I have 99% sleep efficiency which seems to mean that I slip into a coma at night, or just die. Either way, I sleep very well :)

There are other more expensive FitBits that show your step count on the wrist band and that measure your heartbeats. Mine doesn't. Mine is just the basic Flex one.

Menu plan

Breakfast: Apple (I got up really early to work and missed brekkie, so just had an apple. Not ideal, but this is my real life.)
Lunch: Missed. As above.
Dinner: Will make sure I eat a decent sized salad with some salmon this evening and a grapefruit. I do love grapefruit.
Snack: Ovaltine Options hot choccie drink. Might have that now as a matter of fact.
Drinks: 1.5l of tap water

This little lot adds up to about 420 calories according to FitBit. Not really enough, but I don't feel hungry, so it'll have to suffice. Don't suppose I'll fade away. I will endeavour to do better tomorrow.

FitBit Stats From Yesterday

Steps: 6,337 - pffft.
Distance: 2.5 miles
Active minutes: 47

My Stats

Current weight: 11st 9.4lbs
Next weight target: 11st 7lbs (pre-holiday weight)

TOMORROW: 'Being Good To Yourself'

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