Exercise Would Be Nice

I've got my walking shoes packed up and in the car. I've carved time out of my schedule and plan to hit the trails again as regularly as I'm able. It's time to get my butt back into a routine of regular exercise. I've slacked for too long. My weight is steady within my normal weight range, except it seems to be hanging out at the top end of my comfort level -- with a sometimes bump over the top by a pound or two, then right back into the normal range again. But I don't like hanging out in that area and I know that exercise will likely bring me back down to the bottom of that comfort level. Plus, I've been feeling sluggish lately and it makes me wonder if I need to pump up my activity level to counteract that.

As you know, I'm a big supporter of BodyMedia Fit -- (formerly known as GoWear Fit) the armband you wear 24/7 to track your movement, calorie burn, sleep patterns, etc. My armband is several years old and is on its last legs. The writing is all worn off the face of the device and the sound doesn't work anymore. I work my old one for about a year straight and then periodically for another several months -- so I got plenty of use out of it. It still logs all the data, but it's definitely seen better days. So I've just ordered a new one!

This time around I upgraded to the BodyMedia Fit LINK - which has Bluetooth capabilities that will automatically sync with my smartphone and no need to connect the device to my computer to download the data collected as I wear it. The BodyMedia website offers this one for $149, but I bought mine on Amazon for $116 and it comes with 3 free months of membership too.

So if I'm going to be wearing the armband and logging exercise .... logically I need to be logging my food intake too, huh? So I will. I've always preached about FitDay as my food log of choice. But unfortunately, they haven't kept up with the times so I've had to ditch them. I now use MyFitnessPal because it syncs with my desktop computer and my phone. Plus it sync with BodyMedia's logging system and lets me see my daily deficit.

GOALS:

What do I hope to accomplish with all this?  Well, I'm glad you asked. Here are my goals:

• Generate more "energy" and pep-in-my-step from the increased activity and hopefully not feel so sluggish. They say exercising makes you feel more energetic, so let's test that theory. 
• Drop a few pounds. I know my body will likely rebel against this notion, so I'm not shooting for anything crazy like 40 pounds or anything (although that would be nice, I know it's not realistic for my stubborn body). But if I can drop about 10 pounds, that'd make me happy.
• Make sure I'm on track. I talk about what it means to be on track with my eating, vitamins and exercise and it's been a while since I've really logged everything to check myself. So this will give me the opportunity to make sure I'm doing what I should be doing and that my calories/activity are in line.
• Keep me out of trouble -- now that my school schedule has been greatly reduced (only doing 1 class per term going forward, but I took this term off), I find myself with more free time than normal. So rather than use up all that free time in front of the TV, it's better to be productive, right?

I'll keep you posted on how things go...

~Pam

Hello GoWear

In May I took off the GoWear Fit after wearing it for a year. I gave it to my mom so she could figure out how many calories she was burning and she wore it for several months. But I've got it back and I'm wearing it again.

My life is a bit different than it was in the Spring, so I want to get an idea of where my calorie burn levels are right now. I haven't been exercising like I used to because I've been spending a lot more time sitting in front of the computer writing my book.

So I want to see how well I'm burning calories right now and see if my eating is in line with what I'm burning. Which means I need to fire up FitDay again and start logging food for a week or two, just to make sure I am eating the amount of calories I think I am. (1200-1400 calories/day) I guess right now I just want to do a little check up on what my body is doing and to make sure I'm doing it all right.

If you haven't heard of the GoWear Fit (now actually called the Body Media) - you can read the past blog posts about it in the GoWear Fit Category. I honestly believe it's one of those tools that all WLS patients should have access to. Whether you buy one for yourself to use or rent one from a gym or clinic (they are out there, you just have to look hard for one in your area). I'd love it if surgeon's offices would have a supply of these devices and allow patients to use them for a time just so folks would have a better idea of how much to eat when they hit maintenance. So if you have the chance to use a GoWear Fit -- do it!

By the way, on another topic ... I don't think I mentioned that I didn't take that work-study job after all? Remember this post from a couple months ago when I said I was taking this little part time job and it'd infringe on a bunch of areas of my life.  Well, I decided I wasn't willing to make those sacrifices so I called and revolked my job acceptance. I'm glad I did.

~Pam

This Week

What have I been up to this week?  It's time for another bullet point list ....

• Finals are next week - so all past-due homework (yes, there's some) needs to be finished and turned in this week. Also means that all major final projects need to be finished and turned in next week along with prepping for final exams and whatnot.
• Decided to NOT take classes for the summer semester. It was sort of decided for me (not enough credit hours to take to fulfill student loan requirements) - but now that I am faced with a full 3.5 months of no school, I"m thrilled for the break.
• But that doesn't let me off the hook for all school.  There are 6 classes I plan to try testing out of over the summer. If all goes well, that'll be 15 credit hours I got for free. Woot!
• I want to write this summer.  The Protein Book is going to get a major overhaul.
• Speaking of writing... I have about a dozen half-written blog posts ready to roll once I finish them. As soon as school is over and this golf outing is over, you guys are going to be buried in reading material.
• My exercise lately has been very very bad. Need to fix that.
• Got my hair cut and colors tonight -- it's super cute!
• Work is ramping up again (did it ever let up from the last time it ramped up?) -- I'm in charge of the Fitness Expo again this year and my vendor registration forms just went out this week, so things will be busy with phone calls and emails and (hopefully) checks in the mail in the next couple weeks.
• Did I mention a golf outing? I'm doing some volunteer work on a golf outing as their graphic designer. It's exciting to use my skills for it, but it's also a lot of work. So the next 3 weeks will be crazy with that too.
• I gave away my living room chair (to charity) in the hopes that it'd motivate me to buy a new one. So far, no chair.  Bought a new desk chair though, and that's super comfy.
• My first weeks without my GoWearFit has been strange. I keep reaching up to my arm to adjust it and realize it's not there. 
• I met with my photography club this week and after our "meeting" we did a little impromptu photowalk. Except I didn't bring my camera to the meeting... so I just walked and talked and enjoyed the beautiful night air. I'm so glad that in all my busyness and hectic schedule that I've stayed active with the photog folks. I really enjoy the creativity of it. 
• I'm the guest speaker at my surgeon's support group meeting on Monday - need to finish prepping my presentation and get materials together for that yet.
• I've got shrimp in the oven for dinner that's nearly done..... 

~Pam

Goodbye GoWear

A year ago I put on my GoWearFit armband and I've worn it 24/7 ever since. I only took it off to shower or charge it - otherwise that device has been a part of my anatomy for a whole year. It has served me well and I'm so glad I invested in it.   Last week I took it off and gave it to my mother and now she's wearing it 24/7 (and burning way more daily calories than I ever did!).


I want to do a quick wrap up of my experience with the GoWearFit (actually they changed the name and it's now the BodyMedia).

• I did not lose any significant weight using the GoWearFit. (This is one of their big selling points.)  But then again, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you realize that the whole losing-weight-thing is a whole other story in itself. But this is one of the first questions I get asked: "How much have you lose since you started wearing it?" -- technically I've gained about 2 pounds since wearing it.  I happened to start wearing it right after my grandfather died last year which was when my weight dipped down to it's lowest as a result of an extended period of time of extreme stress and lack of eating. But I don't count that low on the scale as being real.  So my answer holds true - I haven't lost any weight using the GoWearFit. 
• Knowledge is Power.  This past year I have become more in tuned with my body than I have ever been before. The science behind the GoWearFit has helped me understand my body, understand what the consequences of my activity have on how my body burns calories and understand what I need to do each day to achieve my activity goals. This knowledge alone is what makes the investment worth it. 
• Awareness. Having that armband on my arm all day, every day gave me a heightened sense of awareness for my activity. I knew that the simple act of taking the stairs or parking further away from the entrance would burn more calories.  Oh sure, we hear those recommendations all the time, but until you actually see the calorie burn number racking up on your display device you don't realize what a difference those little things can make. What amazed me most was that doing an hour of brisk power walking burned the same number of calories as an hour of brisk housework.  So we don't need a formal exercise plan to burn calories, we just need to be active. 
• Peace of Mind.  If I didn't know that I burned 2200-2600 calories a day in activity, then I'm sure I would still be struggling to eat as few calories as possible to "lose weight" and be on a strict diet. But knowing what I know about how my body works... it has given me the peace of mind to know that when I eat 1500 or 1800 calories a day (on a pig-out type of day) that I'm still in a calorie deficit. And I know that my typical daily eating plan of 1300-1400 calories is just fine. In fact, I could eat much, much more than I already do eat and still be just fine.  But I'm comfortable at 1400 and I'm happy that the GoWear gives me the peace of mind to know that I don't need to starve myself to make this new lifestyle work.

Yes, the GoWear Fit costs a lot of money (about $250) but for me.... the rewards far outweighed the costs. 

And now that it isn't on my arm any longer, I seem to have a new sense of awareness starting to appear. It's this surreal knowledge that the GoWear is no longer keeping track of my activity levels any longer, so I need to keep track of it myself.  There is nothing to keep me accountable except myself now.  And I've been more active in the past week - by design or by subconscious? I don't know exactly.  Or maybe I wasn't really more active... just more aware?  

I highly recommend the GoWear Fit to everyone losing massive amounts of weight and trying to learn about how their body works. If you've been on a low calorie and need to increase your calories to maintain your weight loss... this device will be your life savor. Knowledge is power... and when that knowledge is based in science... life is good. 

~Pam

GoWear Fit - an update on activity levels

As you all know, I got my GoWear Fit device back in May. So I've been wearing it for about 2.5 months and I've made some changes in my life because of the scientific feedback it gives me. Some changes I'm very aware of... but others have sort of happened subconsicously. Today I'm just going to talk about my activity level. Later I'll talk to you about the difference in my eating habits and my weight loss.

This stuff is fascinating to me! I generally have 3 types of days in my life.

• Sedentary days when I work all day at a desk, then go home or to school and sit for most of the evening. These days have very little activity, just the normal live and work stuff. 
• Normal Active days when I work during the day and do a 1 hour workout in the evening, then do normal putzing around the house at night. 
• Active Days when I either work during the day and do an extended workout in the evening (2-3 hours) .... or weekends when I'm not stuck in the office and I'm just active all day with housework, shopping, playing, walking around and just being active in general for most of the day. I have noticed in the past two months a dramatic change in my calorie burn numbers on these three types of days. I have not made any specific changes in my daily activity... I didn't even discover these changed in the calorie burn totals until I was examining the data a week or so ago.

GoWearFit data in May
Sedentary Days = 1800-2000 calories burned (struggled to hit the daily target of 2000)
Normal Active Days = 2100-2300 calories burned
Active Days = 2300-2500 calories burned

GoWear Fit data in August
Sedentary Days = 2100-2300 calories burned (very easy to hit daily target of 2000)
Normal Active Days = 2300-2500 calories burned
Active Days = 2500-2900 calories burned

So, notice a pattern here?

Somehow in the past 2.5 months I have subconsiously become more active by about 200-300 calories without making any dramatic changes. Simply because this thing is on my arm and I can see the immediate feedback of my activities, it is making me move more.

More to come...

~Pam

Workout vs. Housework

Yesterday I did a little experiment with how I burn calories.

As you know, I wear the GoWear Fit and I am able to track exactly how many calories I'm burning throughout the day. Here are my averages: 2100-2200 -- non active, sedentary days 2300-2500 -- work day with a normal walking workout in the evening 2500-2900 -- active day of errand, shopping, housework with or without a formal workout.

So yesterday I decided to forego my typical 1 hour nature trail workout after work and instead dedicated 1 hour to brisk housework at home. At lunch yesterday I took a short walk (15 minutes) around the parking lot, then hit the grocery store on the way home from work. Then when I got home I cleaned the kitchen and did a bit of decluttering in the storage room, also putzed around getting lunches ready for the rest of the week and organizing cupboard a bit.

So in the end I put in a total of 1 hour of dedicated housework, then another 20-30 minutes of putzing around later.

Here's the comparison on calories burned:

2500 -- what I probably would have burned for the day with the 1 hour walking workout
2380 -- what I did burn without the formal workout and doing housework instead

Not bad, huh? And the best part?

I woke up this morning and walked into a gleaming kitchen. That's enough to put a smile on my face and give me a good start to the day. So today I'm going to mix it up a bit more. Going to see where I end up if I do about 30 minutes of a walking workout and 1 hour of housework. My goal is to find a balance that will keep me up in the 2500-calories-burned range.

Lately I've been feeling like I spend too much time out and about, running around or working out or at meetings and not enough time at home doing what needs to be done to keep a neat and clean home. I feel like lately I've literally just been sleeping at my house - not really living there. I get home late (8-9pm), drop my stuff, grab something to eat and head to bed within an hour or two of getting home. Then weekends are packed with either obligations or going out and playing or doing stuff. My housework has suffered and my goal of decluttering and purging hasn't been worked on at all. So I'm hoping this new balance will still give me the calorie-burn that I want, but also give me a balance in my life that makes me feel like I'm an actual home owner.

I'll keep you posted.

~Pam

GoWear Fit -- My First Week

UPDATED: June 26, 2009 Ok, so it hasn't yet been a full week of wearing the GoWear Fit. But I'm going to do an update anyway.

THE ARMBAND
Many have asked me if it's comfortable to wear or if its feels restricting in any way. No, it is definitely not restricting and now that I've worn it for several days, I really don't even notice it's there. The device came with a size medium band and it fits my flabby arm just fine - batwings and all. If you have bigger batwings than I do (my arm is 13"-or so) you might want to order the larger band that you can get directly from www.gowearfit.com.

THE DISPLAY DEVICE
Some have asked if this is really necessary. Technically no, you don't need it for the armband to work. However, I feel this is an essential part of the system because it gives you immediate feedback on your activity and calories burned. It updates instantly by syncing with your armband through magic. It tells you your calories burned, steps taken and total time accumulated of activity - both moderate and vigorous activity, plus it has a clock with the time. The device can either be worn on a wrist band (like a watch) but it's really ugly and doesn't go with my business attire -- or you can attach the device to a clip that you can wear on your waistband like a pedometer, which is what I do. I had to walk down to my car to grab something and I was watching my steps go up as I went. Without this little display unit I don't think the whole system would have the same effect on my desire to move more.

INSTALLATION OF THE SOFTWARE & ONLINE MANAGER
Ok, I admit it... the software and device set up on the computer was a big fat pain in the butt! It took me about 3.5 hours of fighting. I'm pretty tech savvy but I still had to call on my best friend - an IT tech - for help. The online Activity Manager doesn't play well with the latest versions of Internet browsers and of course, that's all I had installed on my system. So I had to figure out how to downgrade from IE8 to IE7 (which is a whole other rant of its own) and when that wasn't working well, I tried to downgrade from Firefox 3 to Firefox 2. And my Java version was too new as well and I had to downgrade to a lower version. Then after all that I still couldn't get it working and realized that I needed to manually install the device drivers for the armband. Unfortunately the GoWear Fit website doesn't have a good troubleshooting section on how to get things to install or sync initially. Lots of troubleshooting for other issues, but not this one. I dunno... maybe it was just a fluke and it was my computer that was causing the problems, but I was in a seriously pissy mood by the time it all got settled. BUT... now that it's all set up and stuff, it works great. In fact, I'm able to access the software through my prefered browser (Google Chrome) even though it's not a supported browser. But the initial set up needed to be done through the older browser versions.

UPDATE: I must be the oddball on installation. Virtually everyone else I've talked to has a super easy install with absolutely no problems or glitches.

THE ACTIVITY MANAGER
This is the online program that you use to upload the data from your armband and input your food for the day. Each evening (or morning) when you upload the data from your armband you plug it into a USB connection, click a few buttons and the software reads the data and then populates the report. It shows you a graph of your daily calorie burn for the full 24-hour period. You'll see spikes for when you were active and burning more calories per minute ... but even when you're sitting still or sleeping, there's still a calorie burn of about 1 to 1.5 calories per minute. It's fascinating to see little spikes during the day. Like that trip down to my car will show up as a little 4 minute spike of activity around 10:00 a.m.

MODERATE VS VIGOROUS ACTIVITY
This is one of the super cool features that the BodyBugg doesn't have. The armband knows the difference between moderate activity and vigorous activity. Most of my stuff is moderate with walking and yoga and stuff. But when I do the walk/run things on days I'm feeling energetic those little running episodes show up as vigorous activity. So my 6 mile walk this past Saturday actually recorded about 4 minutes total of vigorous activity while I was doing some running and I could see on the graph where those run spikes happened.

SLEEP EFFICIENCY
This is also a feature that the BB doesn't have. This one amazes me! Wear the armband to bed and it knows you're laying down. Then it also knows when you're actually sleeping rather than just laying there awake staring at the ceiling. And if you wake up in the middle of the night, it knows that too! The other night, for instance I laid in bed for 8 hours but only slept for something like 6:45 and my sleep efficiency was around 85%. And a strange pattern I'm seeing is that I always wake up at 4:00 a.m. for about 15 minutes, then go back to sleep. I wonder why that is.

FOOD LOGGING
The GoWear Fit software has two options for food logging. You can do a 3-Day Nutrition Assessment where you just enter 3 days work of food during a week and the software uses an average to determine your typical calorie intake. Or you can do daily food logging and it uses exact numbers each day. You change this setting in your preferences section. The food database seems pretty extensive with lots of different foods and brand name items. You have to enter food by meal though -- breakfast, AM snack, lunch, PM snack, dinner, late snack -- so that gives you 6 meal times throughout the day. But sometimes those labels just don't fit my lifestyle, so I just enter food into whatever makes sense. I do not plan to keep using the food log inside GoWear Fit though, but for now I'm using it to get a sense of how the software works and get some baseline information. I much prefer FitDay and I have 3 years worth of custom foods in my account. I wish there was a feature in GoWear Fit that allowed me to manually enter my total calorie intake for the day.

UPDATED: I have continued using FitDay as my food journaling option. There IS a way to manually enter my total food intake from FitDay into the GoWear food logging system. At the end of each day after I've entered my food into FitDay, I open the GoWear food log and create a new custom food for "breakfast" -- this food includes the totals for my entire day as a single food entry. I name it "06.26.09 Fitday Log" and include the stats from FitDay for the day. The only glitch is somehow GoWear doesn't calculate carbs the same way FitDay does. So you have to subtract your Fiber gram total from your Carb total before entering it into GoWear -- this will still give you the same number of calories, but your carb/fiber totals will be off. But this doesn't bother me since the only thing I care about in GoWear is my calorie totals. My nutrient balance is dealt with over on FitDay. DO I LOVE IT??

Yes! Absolutely love this thing! It's like a little game with myself to see how many calories I can rack up throughout the day. Instead of writing an email to ask a question of someone down the hall, I'll get up and walk down there instead. It is making me much more conscious of my activity for sure. But more importantly, it's giving me hard data about what my body is doing and what it needs.

How many posts have you seen on this blog saying I'm changing my calorie intake -- based on advice from a nutritionist or some research I've done or just to experiment with what'll happen. But now it's not a guessing game anymore. I know for 100% certainty how many calories I'm burning per day and I know how much food I'm allowed to eat and still achieve the deficit I need to lose weight. I haven't changed anything yet.

I'm still in data-gathering mode right now. I'll give it another few days to see how things look after a full week or normal activity and eating. Then I'll determine if anything needs to change or if I'm on the right track.

I'll keep ya'll posted.
~Pam