Two Month Wellness Update

It's been about two months since I became motivated and finished making adjustments to my daily life in order to become healthier. I figured now was a good time to give my blog a bit of an update.

Unfortunately, it's not a great one. My Fitbit has been sitting on a shelf in my closet, my elliptical machine hasn't become a clothes hanger yet, but is dangerously close, my personal blender is getting a lot of use ... thanks to my husband, and I'm dangerously close to becoming the "mayor" of the closest Steak 'n Shake on Foursquare. So, it's time to get re-motivated, step it up, and eat better.

I've managed to avoid any sinus infections this Spring, so far, but I'm sure that's luck and has nothing to do with a healthier lifestyle.

First Exercise Goal Achieved!

Since in my past I haven't exercised much at all, when I decided to make my lifestyle changes, I promised myself I would take it easy at first and slowly increase time and intensity as I go in order to keep me from getting sick (which has happened in the past). I started by excercising for 15 minutes a day with the goal to grow to 30 minutes a day.

I would like to announce that I have now reached that goal of 30 minutes! Next, I will work on increasing the intensity of my workouts.

Elliptical Machine

After acquiring my Fitbit One, it became obvious just how much exercise I wasn't getting. As a woman who gets sick far too often, I'm a bit of a germaphobe. Therefore, the idea of going to a gym is out. I also have a slightly twisted tibia bone, which makes it hard to find running shoes that will keep my knees from taking a beating if I try running. So, I had to bring the gym to me.

After some research and reading a lot of reviews, I decided to get the Sole Fitness E35 Elliptical Machine. I ordered it on Amazon and got free delivery. However, when they delivered it, due to insurance reasons (or so they said), they wouldn't take the 215 lb monstrosity beyond the garage.

Bless my poor husband and my friend Brandon. They had to haul the heavy equipment still in its box up a flight of stairs and into our bedroom. Once that was done, my husband spent a few hours putting it together.

Once it was together, I was very impressed by how quiet the machine was. The last one we had was pretty clunky, so I can appreciate a smooth and quiet stride. After it had some continual use, however, it got a little noisier. There's a slight clunking noise and some squeakiness to it.

I've used it every weekday so far and on most Saturdays since I've had it. I haven't seen much of a result weight wise, yet, but I'm keeping my exercise routine simple and easy right now and slowly increasing the intensity and length. I want to do this right and I know that a slow start is the way to go.

Fitbit

Now that I had a personal blender to help me get more antioxidants in my diet, it was time to move towards fixing my lack of exercise issue. My first step was to go to my local Target and buy a Fitbit.

Fitbit is a series of devices that you clip onto clothing or strap to your wrist and it tracks your steps throughout the day. We've all heard of these types of pedometers, so what makes this one so special?

I went for the Fitbit One. It can clip to my belt or slip into my pocket and is small enough that I don't really notice it. There are some watch options, but I don't really like wearing items on my wrist because they usually end up at my elbow.

This pedometer, however, doesn't just count your steps. It calculates how many calories you've burned throughout the day and even tracks any restlessness during your sleep. Since sleep is also an area I'm looking to improve, this was definitely the device for me.

iPhone screenshot

The Fitbit takes all the date it collects and the syncs it with your computer and an app you can install on your phone. It will also let you see the progress of your friends (if they allow that in their settings) so that you can see how you compare and how your friends are doing.

After only having the Fitbit One for a week, I went back to the store and picked up a Fitbit Aria. This is a scale that syncs with the Fitbit dashboard so I can track both devices in one place.

I've had my Fitbit devices now for over a month and so far they have confirmed what I already knew, I don't get enough exercise. As I work to change this, the Fitbit will be a great tool to track how much I've progressed.

Chrome screenshot