Healthy Tipping Point

I’ve shied away from the fitness tracker trend because I always thought they felt a little Big Brother-ish.  But over time, I got really, really curious about the hype.  So a few heavy-handed hints to the Husband later, I received a Misfit Shine for Valentine’s Day.  I decided to go with the Shine after hearing great things about it from the ladies in the Get Fit Blog Friends Facebook group.

One thing that really drew me to the Shine was its appearance.  It’s really pretty -  like a little jewel (it comes in a bunch of fun colors).  Some other trackers look more utilitarian, so the Shine’s, well, shiny look and pretty white lights was appealing.

I also thought it was neat that you can wear it multiple ways.  It comes with a watch band and a clip for your pants, but you can also buy this totally cute stainless steel necklace!  I want.

As you can see in the stock photo above, there are little lights around the Misfit.  The Misfit translates your daily activity into a points system, and as you approach your goal, more and more lights light up.

I really wanted a tracker because I thought that it would entice me to be more active in my daily life.  I thought if there was one more light left on the circle, I’d be more willing to get off the couch and go for a walk to make my goal.  Did it work out like that?  Well, yes and no.  It doesn’t necessarily get me off the couch at the end of the day if my goal isn’t complete, but it does make me run a little further on the treadmill at the gym or spin for a few extra minutes at the end of class – I like to see the lights fill up! 

One big thing that the Shine has taught me is that I am wayyyy more sedentary than I think I am.  WAY MORE.  I think a lot of stay-at-home moms believe that we’re constantly running around and doing physical stuff with our kids, and maybe that’s true when you don’t have a small baby in the winter… But right now, man – I sit on my ass a LOT.  The tracker does not lie!  This has been rather eye-opening for me, actually.  The tracker app presents your data as a line graph, and it is always startling for me to see that my day is often flat line-flat line-flat line-HUGE spike associated with gym time-more flat lines. 

Below was one of my better, more generally active, days (I swam 1500 yards and ran 1.5 miles, then we had an active afternoon).

The Misfit tracks everything active as a run (unless you change the default activity in the back end), but then you can go into the app later and adjust the activity to something else, like swimming, soccer, yoga, dance, and more.  Also, the Misfit is waterproof, so you can swim with it on, and if you want to use it to track a bike ride or something else where your hands are stationary (like the stairmaster), you can just attach it to your shoe.

I don’t count calories, but it is also pretty illuminating to realize how many calories I’m actually burning on a day I workout – it’s generally not as much as I would’ve thought, even though I intellectually know this stuff (I wish Misfit had a “breastfeeding options” to add in those calories, but I just mentally tack them on).  

I also like how the tracker app combines all the data into weekly views so you can see trends on a larger scale.  It’s been interesting to me to see that, even on the days I work out, I don’t necessarily reach my movement goal (you set your movement goal to be whatever you want).  For example, last week, I worked out five days but only hit my goal on three, which were the days that I really went balls to the wall with workouts.

And last, but not least, the Misfit has a sleep tracker.  Here’s a night where Claire only had one wakeup, God bless her.

Based on everything I’ve read online, the data associated with these sleep trackers is kind of wishy-washy.  The Misfit tells me my “restful sleep” hours, which I think is REM sleep + Stage 3 deep sleep (it’s not really clearly stated anywhere that I could find.  Basically – when you don’t move around a lot).  The sleep tracker strikes me as “cool to know, but now what do I do with this data?”  Knowing your total hours is great, because it can motivate you to get to bed earlier, but I don’t know what you’re supposed to do with your restful sleep data. 

Oh, my number one complaint about the Misfit is that I have a ton of difficulty syncing it with my phone. It often takes several attempts to sync, which is frustrating.  However, I dropped my phone a few months ago and damaged it, so I’m not sure if it’s my phone or the device.

All in all, I really like my Misfit.  I’ve never tried another fitness tracker so I have little to compare it to.  The biggest selling point for me is the appearance of the Misfit.  The app is pretty good but has some limitations that I wish they would sort out.   I’ll keep wearing it, though, because it sure is a fun way to track my progress, and it also encourages me to be a little more health-conscious when I can.

Do you have a fitness tracker? Which one? What do you like or dislike?

Killer workout with my buddy Brandi yesterday!

We wanted to swim, so I pulled up my Pinterest of Swim Workouts and selected one that I haven’t done in a while.  This workout was SUPER fast.  I haven’t swam 1500 yards in for-ev-er and probably would’ve struggled to just straight swim that distance – but the workout really broke it up mentally and made it seem more attainable.  I actually haven’t swam at all since BEFORE Claire’s birth, so I was proud of myself for going so far.

(I also have a fun list of Track Workouts, Elliptical Workouts, and Stairclimber Workouts).

After our swim, Brandi and I quickly transitioned and headed to the track for a run.  I ate a packet of Gu that I found in the bottom of my gym bag – I kind of feel like Gu never expires?  It may have been there for a while…

We did 1.5 miles on the track.  We were planning to do a mile but went a little further!  It is so nice to have a friend who is also into triathlons – I’ve had lots of running buddies but never a tri buddy before! I can’t wait for our races.

After our workout, we went to a Purim carnival hosted by the Jewish community center.  It was super gloomy and chilly yesterday, so outdoor play was out, and it was awesome to have something like this to do!  It was so much more fun than I was expecting.

The kids had a blast.  A BLAST.  They went on the obstacle course bouncy house over and over and over again until the workers actually deflated it and kicked them off.  Hah. 

Claire sat on the sidelines.  Maybe next year, dearie!

Book A Week

Man – I owe you a review! Last week, I read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.  I read this book quickly – in two days – but I kept on forgetting to write my review.

Station Eleven is centered upon an event that wipes out humanity as we know it: the “Georgia Flu” swiftly kills 99.9% of the population, leaving few survivors to grapple with a world with no electricity, no Internet, no government, etc.  The book jumps back and forth in time between a handful of people.  Their stories intersect in odd and interesting ways, but at the center is Kirsten, an actress with the “Traveling Symphony,” a group that roams the Great Lakes region, performing Shakespeare and music to small communities.  It’s “a novel of art, memory, and ambition [that] tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.”

I love apocalypse books, so this one ranked favorably with me.  It was a quick, engaging read, and I really liked the characters (and trying to figure out how everyone related to one another when it wasn’t so clear).  The author did a great job scene-setting and fleshing out the characters. 

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.  If you like end-of-the-world novels, you’ll like this one.

Here are all my books of 2015 – can’t believe I’ve read 8 so far!

Ahh! She’s three months old.  I can’t believe.  Time flies when you have a baby, but a SECOND baby?!  Time goes even faster (you must fall into a black hole after the birth of a third or fourth!).

As Claire turns three months, we mark the end of the so-called “Fourth Trimester.” And she’s hitting so many milestones that indicate to me she’s no longer a newborn – she’s laughing (it’s this funny coughing noise with lots of big smiles), sleeping in her own room, trying so hard to sit up, eating her hand like it’s her last meal, and tracking people with her eyes.  Guess who is her favorite person?  Yup.  Big Brother Henry.

Progress Report – look at how she’s grown!

And, just to compare, let’s check out Henry’s 3 month photo and Claire’s…

You can definitely tell they are related, huh? As someone who doesn’t have a sibling, I especially love that my kiddos look alike.  It’s so cute.  They have the same blue eyes and the same cheeks.  The biggest difference is their face shape – Henry was long and lean, even as a baby, and Claire’s is this perfect little circle. 

Mind After Baby

Truthfully, I get super stressed out with trying to juggle it all. I think that’s probably natural.  On really busy days, I feel like I’m just FLYING from one task to the next and barely have time to breathe.  I get this heavy feeling in my chest – it feels like I will never get everything done and keep everyone happy.  The bottom line is that, no matter whether you work or stay at home or do a combination, raising children in a lot of hard work.  There are lunches to pack, bottoms to wipe, mouths to feed, tantrums to be soothed… Over and over and over again.  And then there’s work, taking care of the house, being a wife and friend, and taking time for myself.

But parenting is so fun and lovely.  You know that book I read – All Fun and No Joy? I think about the chapters on the joyful aspect of parenting so much.  The dance parties in the living room at 7 PM, the wonder when Henry makes a joke (an actual  joke!) or Claire cracks a grin, the adventures building snowman, the sound of a baby cooing from a crib… So much joy.  My heart sings when I look at my kids.  It’s so worth it.  It’s SO much work, but I can’t imagine my life without these children.  

So it’s great, but it’s challenging, and I guess that’s what life is all about, huh?  I’ve been de-stressing with lots of this:

And this:

I’m also getting better at delegating tasks.  I think this is going to be huge for me.  There are tasks I can’t delegate and ones that I can – why not delegate what I can?  I hired a cleaning service to come once a month (HUGE!) and I have decided to pay someone to complete a big blog task that’s been on my To Do List for months and months (okay – years), which is to organize all my recipes into one easy-to-search widget. 

Body After Baby

I have a post sitting in my Drafts folder about loving my post-partum body, and I really need to finish it and share my thoughts.  I love my body.  It’s the only one I will ever have! 

I’ve been thinking a lot about how so many of us end up unhappy with our bodies simply because they change.  We get pregnant, we gain weight, our breasts sag, we age, we get wrinkles, etc.  Our society wants us to stay the same forever and ever.  Even when I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, shit is going to look different (and function differently) – know what I mean?  Hah.  I’ve realized that it’s not realistic to fight the changes – I think I’d just end up unhappy.  Hi, I’m not 22 anymore.

I’m embracing where I am at, and looking forward to where I am going, no matter what that looks like.  I’m trying to get stronger and lose the baby weight – I only have ten pounds to go! – because I would sure love to be able to wear my closet full of clothes and kick ass during my summer triathlons.  But on a day-to-day basis, I work out because it makes me feel SO MUCH BETTER when I am stressed or sleep deprived.  I try to focus on that, and it really motivates me to get to the gym.

So that’s where I’m at.  It’s a good place to be, mentally and physically.  <3 <3

Yay!  So excited to pass this deal along… I have a great TOTALLY FREE offer for readers looking to jumpstart their spring cleaning!

Although I can’t tell by the snow outside my window, spring is right around the corner.  And that means it’s nearly spring cleaning time.  I didn’t realize before becoming a homeowner how many tasks there are to do to keep a home ‘healthy’ – cleaning the gutters, washing the windows, emptying the dryer vents, and switching out the air filters.  There’s a lot to do, and it’s honestly hard to keep track of everything (and find time for it all).

I have a thing for subscription services because they really do seem to make life a little easier.  I get razors delivered, clothes delivered, snacks delivered, crafts delivered – it eliminates a trip to the store and makes going to the mailbox a lot more fun.  That’s why I am pumped to share the news about FilterEasy – it’s a subscription air filter service that mails new air filters directly to your house.

Perhaps air filters aren’t the most thrilling delivery, but I’m willing to bet you’re a lot like me when it comes to air filters.  I go eons where I forget to change the filters, and then I finally open the vent and the old filter is DISGUSTING.  Then I go to our stash in the garage and… I’m out of filters.  Whomp whomp.

So I like the idea behind FilterEasy because not only does it eliminate a trip to the store, but it also reminds you to actually change the filters.

The other cool thing about FilterEasy is that you only have to do the ordering process once.  So you always get the right size.  How many times have I called my husband from Home Depot and asked, “Is the tiny vent in our room 14 X 14 inches or 12 X 12 inches?!”

AND the filters are priced well, too – the same or less than your local hardware, including the free shipping.

With three pets and a lot of carpet, I know I should change my filter more regularly – a good air filter removes allergens, pet dander, dust, and bacteria, which I have no doubt is important for Henry and Claire’s (and our) lungs. 

Okay – here’s the awesome freebie.

Every reader who CLICKS THIS LINK will get an ENTIRE MONTH’S worth of FREE air filters from FilterEasy.  The offer is for the first month’s order to be completely free, so that you can replace all the filters in your home.  Some important notes: you have to enter your email to get the discount applied to your cart, and you sign up for the subscription with your credit card, but the first month is free and there’s no obligation to continue using the service after the first free month.  However, I think you’ll find it’s a super convenient way to keep the air quality of your home healthy.

This post is sponsored by FilterEasy.  Thanks, as always, for supporting my blog.