Tag Archives: Technology

Giving Up Facebook

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I have decided to give up Facebook.

I have found that the constant supply of information about what people are doing is impacting on my mental health. I compare myself to others too much and one way to reduce this is to not access the information that gives rise to those bouts of insecurity.

I decided this on Sunday and signed out of site on my laptop and moved it to a bookmark folder I rarely look at. I also deleted the app from my phone. This has taken away the instant access of the site and although I reach for it, it makes me think why I have made it hard and then I don’t bother.

It feels weird not checking my phone for updates, but it also feels good. I don’t get distracted as much and I definitely don’t have as many low points as I was having even last week.

I am not getting rid of my account as I do like to go on and put my photos on there and see other people’s photos. I am just not going on it everyday or even once a week. I am thinking of trying to only go on after events or when people tell me there is something on there. I have turned off the notifications so it will be purely my decision to look if I want to.

I am keeping twitter as it doesn’t have the same impact and I don’t go on that everyday. I like it as a distraction while I am waiting somewhere and it is fun when big events are on like the Olympics. But I don’t have the need to go on there all the time and most of the people on there I don’t know personally and don’t compare myself to.

I found a fantastic pin on Pinterest yesterday, but some reason didn’t pin it and now cannot find it! It was about status updates being more important then feeling life and I thought ‘I don’t want to be one of those people’.

Sometimes you have to leave the herd to be happy :)

 

Ki Fit BodySmart Diet

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The Ki Fit BodySmart Diet is a 6 week diet plan I signed up for in conjunction with purchasing the Ki Fit when I returned from my trip.

The plan consisted of:

  • Welcome Pack
  • Weekly feedback from a Ki Scientist with help and advice
  • Themed fact sheets
  • Daily Recipes
  • Access to group forum discussion board

You must have a Ki Fit and subscription to take part. This is the most costly part of the diet. However as I had used a Ki Fit before through my Personal Trainer, I knew it worked for me and therefore purchasing one was not a hard decision. I decided to sign up for the diet at an extra cost in order to learn how to make the most of the data the Ki Fit gives you. It made sense to me to get help learning about my data specifically and how I can make changes for the better, based purely on me and my body, rather than a generalised idea and structured diet plan.

I really enjoyed the last 6 weeks. It did not feel like I was on a diet. It felt like I was learning about myself. I know what foods are good for my body and mind. I am starting to learn what foods are good for my exercise routine and what doesn’t work. I know what foods I like that are fine as an occasional treat, but are not good for me.

I lost a total of 8 lbs on the diet and feel great. I have a long way to go but feel like I have made a great start after 2 months of travelling.

I find the data fascinating. I love looking at the calories I burn over the course of a day, especially the differences between very active days and very sedately days. I also find the sleep data very interesting and am working on improving my sleep.

One thing I would find useful with the Ki Fit is a comment or diary section to keep track of emotional eating or to make notes on unusual eating occasions. I think I would find this useful when looking back at my data in the long term. i can look at what did and didn’t work then that could help me plan for future similar events or circumstances.

The Ki Fit BodySmart Diet was fantastic and the Ki Scientists have been a great help bother through email correspondence and the forum. I felt like they really wanted to help and even tool the time to read my blog to help with my time on the diet and using the Ki Fit. They recognised that life sometimes gets away from you, but the best thing is to keep going and learn from it. When I felt disappointed, it didn’t last long. The feedback I got from the scientists helped me look at the positives and learn from negatives. I was able to be kinder to myself. It wasn’t all about what number was on the scale at the end of the week. It is about more than that. The data I get my the Ki Fit helps me realise that activity, sleep and consumption all play a part in how I feel. Also stress and other external influences play a part in my life and it is up to me to learn how to deal with things and find other coping mechanisms rather than turning to food.

Overall I would recommend both the Ki Fit and the BodySmart diet to anyone who wants to focus on fitness and nutrition, rather than just losing weight. I have learnt so much already, but still have lots to learn and new habits to create and old ones to break, but I feel like I am on the right track :)

March Fitness – All About the Ki Fit

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March is going to be all about the Ki Fit!

I have really struggled with motivation for fitness and taking proper care of myself in the last year, but I have come back from my break with a renewed sense of myself and my goals for life. So I was proactive at the end of my trip and ordered the Ki Fit and enrolled on the Ki Diet Plan.

I used the Ki Fit for my Kilimanjaro Training back in 2010 and found it was a great motivator for my fitness and eating habits. I rented that one off my personal trainer, but this time I have bought my own :)

The Ki system consists of an armband monitor, an on-line activity manager and a display unit to look at data in real time.

The armband measures:

  • Calorie Burn
  • Steps Taken
  • Physical Activity
  • Sleep Duration
  • Sleep Efficiency

You then sync the armband to the online activity manager which allows you to input your food intake and analyse data such as:

  • Daily Calorie Usage
  • Daily Calorie Intake
  • Calorie Balance
  • Total Physical Activity
  • Sleep

The armband works by using a number of sensors to monitor:

  • Motion
  • Galvanic Skin Response
  • Skin Temperature
  • Heat Flux
  • Steps

There is more to it than just the bullet points above, but all the information can be found on the website.

The Diet Plan is new. I decided as I haven’t got my personal trainer looking at my data this time it would be nice to have someone else helping me understand what the data shows and the best way to get the results I want. I was very lucky that the next start date for this was right as I returned from my trip. It is a six week programme where I get advice and motivation from the Ki Scientists and the group taking park. We will receive emails and have access to a forum in order to get the most out of Ki Fit.

I am feeling very positive about this and am looking forward to getting back into fitness. It will be great to see accurate data and help with developing healthy eating habits in tune with my body, rather than my brain.

My plan is to update on this every week and share a summary of my data to see the progress I make.

In the last few days of February before the Ki Diet started these were my stats:

Saturday 25th FebruarySunday 26th February
Calories Burned30762693
Calories Consumed19452524
Calorie Balance1131169
Physical Activity76 Minutes53 Minutes
Steps Taken69586590
Sleep DurationN/A8hr 24min
Sleep EfficiencyN/A71%

Fitness Gadgets

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Ive been thinking about fitness a lot recently and all the gadgets you can get to help with your workouts.

I like having equipment and gadgets, especially for swimming. But I like them to be useful and actually benefit my technique as well as performance and fitness levels.

For example for swimming I have various floats, a set of paddles, a set of fins, ear plugs, hats, goggles, nose clip. All of which have their own use during swimming.

However I like numbers and all I get from swimming at the moment is the number of lengths and the time it takes for the session. I do break it down further but this normally done on the spot for sprints or stroke counts. I’m not able to remember everything to reflect on after.

I’ve been looking at swimming watches for a while and now I’ve finally decided to get one. Well asked for it for Christmas from my parents. I have a Poolmate coming which records, lengths, strokes, efficiency, sets, calories and more. I can’t wait to try it out. It will be great to take away with mon my trip as I am rubbish at counting lengths on my own and I don’t plan to do any set schedules while I’m away, but I would like to record my sessions. Once I have used it for a while I’ll let you know how it goes!

Last year while training for Kilimanjaro I had a personal trainer for a few months and he using the Ki Fit system (I think it is the Body Fit in the US). It’s an arm band you wear all the time, except while swimming or showering, which was the main downside for me. It recorded calories burned, steps taken and sleep. They describe it as having a personal trainer on your arm as you can see what you are doing and make decisions based on information, rather than feelings and thoughts. It was a real eye-opening and I seriously considered getting one of my own. I still do, but the that puts me off is the subscription you have to take out to use the data recording.

It’s the black armband in the photo of me and Helen in front of Kilimanjaro!

I also got a Heart rate monitor last year. I got the Polar FT7 as I like the features. However I hardly use it now. While I was training with Gary it was great and helped so much with running, but I really don’t enjoy running. I’ve read blogs where people where it to the gym so maybe I should start doing that.

I really like the data that gadgets record so have been looking around at new ones that have come out recently. There is the Jawbone Up and the Fit Bit. These both record very similar data to the Ki Fit but are one-off payments, rather than subscription services, which makes them quite appealing.

I’m thinking about investing in something when I return from my trip as I really want to start training better for my open water swims in 2012 and begin to progress towards a 10km swim. I think something like this will help me progress as its a bout having a balanced lifestyle and something like this focuses on food, exercise and sleep. I am usually good with one or two but the other gets left behind and forgotten about and recently that has been food for me. For me it’s about having a bit of help.

What do you think? Do you like fitness gadgets or are they too much information? Have you used any of these? If so let me know how you’ve got on!

One to One

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Today has been a good day.

I have consumed 1757 calories. 48% from carbohydrates. 17% from protein. 35% from fat. I haven’t had chance to go through everything yet, but I want to alter my nutrition profile a bit.

I started out with some dates and cashew butter and apple and cherry juice before my good 2850 metre swim.

Then I headed off to Bristol for my first one to one session at the Apple Store. I needed coffee so had one on the go out of my oldest travel mug. Also my very first travel mug bought back in 2004!

I dragged my Mum along but let her go shopping. It was a really good session. Matt took me through the basics of what my Mac can do, but was impressed with how much I have learnt on my own from just playing around and googling. I’ve already booked in for another session in a couple of weeks. It’s great I paid a one off fee for a year of one to one sessions. I am going to be making the most of this!

We went for lunch at Cafe Gusto and both of us couldn’t decide between the Vegetairan Omelette and the Mushroom and Halloumi Omelette. So we got one of eat and split them :) They both came with toast as they were off the breakfast menu but neither of us ate that. We also had coffee while out, I had a skinny latte.

We then headed home and I had a yogurt. The low fat ones are not as yummy as the the normal ones.

I’ve spent the afternoon on my blog as Ryan from Revive My Blog and author of No More Bacon transferred me to an my own domain and to self host :) Thanks Ryan! I’ve got a lot to learn so please bear with me while I sort things out. Also ideas are welcome for how to make my blog better! I feel it’s cluttered, but I’m not sure if that is the colour scheme.

So for dinner I cooked! OMG Amazing I know :)

I threw together a recipe based on things I like. I made Goats Cheese Stuffed Mushroom. I mixed goats cheese, cooked potato and chives together and grilled them. I served it with a salad. I’m sure I want to blog complete recipes but if you want it I can send you details.

I am impressed with myself. I normally have to follow a recipe but I threw this together and really enjoyed it! I hope to continue this as I really enjoyed making and then eating it. There was something special about creating a meal from stretch. This needs to be part of my healthy lifestyle.

Just finished watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with Sian. Also had a Dorset Cereal bar as my stomach was making noises.

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