Here is a solution I have discovered to help me accurately gauge where I am really at in balancing calorie burn with calorie intake. Meet Exerspy - my favorite "tool" in a quest for better health!!!
Seriously, this little gadget is AWESOME! Worn on the tricep, it has sensors that record heart rate, core body temperature, perspiration....it even works like a pedometer and counts your steps. It can tell when you're sleeping and how efficiently you are resting. (I have tested this - when I wake up during the night and stir, I will look at the clock by my bed. When I look at my sleep data the next day, I can see in my sleep pattern the exact time I woke up and how long it took me to fall asleep again. That is way cool!)
What does this mean? Why is this so important?
Well, for starters - I can download the data to my computer (thru a USB port) and tell immediately how many calories I am burning, minute by minute throughout the day. It indicates whether my physical activity has been moderate or vigorous. I can see if I am on target for my 10,000 steps each day - and know if I need to take another walk or bike ride in the evenings to reach that goal.
As part of the DotFit program, I also log in all the food (and drinks) I consume every day. The program tells me how many calories I have consumed and breaks it all down into a nifty bar graph showing my Fat/Carbs/Protein intake. This is really helpful in my efforts to balance carbs and proteins (because I am a carb junkie!).
To make this program even more user-friendly, it summarizes both my calorie intake and calorie burn on a summary page (the "dashboard") and lets me know where I am at any given point. I can see instantly if I have an appropriate "calorie deficit" for the day - this might mean I need to eat a snack if I'm too low on calories. But, most often it means I need to skip a snack because I'm too high on calorie intake and too low on calorie burn! Finally, it projects where my weight should be based on all this information. I've been amazed at how accurate the projection is when I weigh in each week.
I have been using the Exerspy for over 12 weeks now and surpassed my goals for that first 12-week period! Working slow and steady - aiming for only 1 pound of weight each week - I did it the "smart" way. No crash diet - just lots of exercise and eating right. (Trust me, you're much more careful about what you put in your mouth when you're having to log it all in!) It's all about healthy foods, eating in moderation and developing a lifestyle that will allow me to maintain weight loss without starvation - no more yo-yo dieting!
Now, I am entering a 6-week plan to loose just 6 more pounds - nice and steady. After that, I will continue to use my Exerspy to make sure that I am taking in enough calories - and in the right balance - to maintain my weight.
When I first started wearing the armband, I was a little self-conscious, but that quickly passed. People would come up to me at the grocery store and ask me about it. It doesn't bother me at all now - I even sleep in it. Of course, it makes for a sorta funky tan line - but I can live with that!
So, that's my Exerspy - and now you know why I love it! That and my gym membership are the best investments I've ever made in my health.
Til next time...
Jane
Hello Jane!! Thanks for popping by! Love the new page layout....very nice!!!! That gadget sounds really good. I need to lose a few pounds around my tummy.....any tips? You sound like you are doing very well.....health should be top of every ones list....You certainly have made me think that I need to be a bit more healthy! Well done to you! Just going to have a read now of your other posts that I have missed!As always a pleasurexxx
ReplyDeleteKaren, we do lots and lots of crunches in both of the exercise classes I attend. Mostly we lay on our backs and have those legs up and moving while we are crunching. It's amazing how many varieties of crunches they have come up with to torture us. LOL. But, they seem to be paying off.
ReplyDeleteI googled the exerspy and your page came up. I just bought mine along with the dotFIT membership from my local gym. I'm curious though, did you buy the display piece? Do you think it's worth 100 extra dollars? This will be my first night with it on and I'm excited to wake up and see my sleep patterns! Thanks for sharing *there aren't too many reviews on the exerspy yet*
ReplyDeleteCasey, thanks for stopping by The Porch!
ReplyDeleteAs for the Exerspy display piece, I wasn't even aware of it until I found it on the dotFIT website after getting my Exerspy! (In fact, my gym doesn't offer them at all.) So, I do not have one.
I usually download my sessions 2-3 times a day now - more, if I'm just really curious about how many calories I burned on a particular activity. I'm sure it would be great to be able to see heart rate, calories burned, etc... as it occurs. But, I don't think I have been at a disadvantage because I don't have it.
It basically boils down to whether or not you want to invest the extra $. If I had the extra $, I probably would have jumped at the display piece in the beginning. LOL.
I know you will love the whole program - it really works, girl! I hope you will keep in touch and let me know how it goes. You can click on my profile under "About Me" and link up to my e-mail.
Best of luck!
Jane
This is my favorite tool too! A friend of mine told me about it. Her husband is a professional athlete and the training staff swears by these. It's been the best investment of this journey for me!
ReplyDelete