Whether you are new to exercise or have been active for many years, the key to achieving a healthy lifestyle is setting and achieving fitness goals. With so much information out there about fitness and nutrition, it may be overwhelming to the beginner. Without the help of a personal trainer, you may not know how to get started. Working with a personal trainer can be have its benefits, but at a price that may be out of reach for many people.
Instead of investing in a trainer, there are other options available. You may want to purchase a fitness tracker that can guide you in the right direction. The popularity of fitness trackers have taken off in the last few years because so many more people are taking charge of their own health. Recently, Verizon Wireless provided BubbingwithEleganceandGrace.com with an opportunity to sample one of these fitness tracker – the Fitbit Charge HR. After trying the Fitbit for twenty-one days, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a better understanding of their current fitness level and how to take it to a higher level.
Getting Started Setting up and getting started with the Fitbit couldn’t be any easier. Firstly, I downloaded the Fitbit app to my smartphone and created an account. Once I created the account and signed in, I followed the step-by-step instructions on my phone on how to to sync the Fitbit with my phone and how to get started. In only a couple of minutes, I was ready to go. Out of the box, my Fitbit needed to be charged. Included with the Fitbit is a charger that connects to my computer. Charge time is one to two hours, depending on how low the battery is. A fully-charged battery will last about five days. One great feature of the Fitbit is that you will get a notification on your phone and via email when the battery is low and needs to be charged.
Jay using the Fitbit Charge HR while doing P90.
Use for the Fitbit Charge HR Fitbit offers several choices when selecting the tracker that is right for you. Each type of Fitbit monitors steps taken per day and miles walked; but I wanted one that would also monitor my heart rate; so I selected the Fitbit Charge HR. The Charge HR also monitors the quality of my sleep and allows me to add my daily water intake and weight change. Also, the HR ensures that my heart rate was within the acceptable levels while at rest and that it was elevated enough during my workouts.
Fitness experts agree that an active lifestyle leads to a healthy lifestyle. Being active means walking at least a minimum of 10,000 steps each day. With the Fitbit, its easy to see if you are on track with this number. With just a glance at the FitBit, the display monitor lets you know how many steps you have taken for the current day. Depending on how active you are, this goal may seem to easy to achieve or difficult to reach. After using the FitBit for a week, I realized that I was not getting to the 10,000 level of steps on a consistent basis and the FitBit motivated me to reach that level. I made sure that I was active throughout my day, at home and at work because I wanted to make sure that I met that goal. You can monitor the number of steps on the FitBit or on your smartphone using the app.
Screenshot of the FitBit app showing my daily progress.
A second feature that I like about the FitBit Charge HR is that it monitors my heart rate throughout the day and while I am exercising. Having your heart rate in the right zone, whether at rest or while exercising, is key to a healthy lifestyle. I recommend checking with your doctor to see what your passive heart rate should be and then use the FitBit to ensure that it stays within this level. You can also take the information gathered by the FitBit and give it to your doctor who can determine any additional monitoring is needed.
Heart rate monitored throughout the day.
While exercising, your heart rate needs to be elevated to a certain level to be considered in a fat-burning stage or a cardio stage. When setting up the FitBit, these levels are determined by your age. Once your rates are established, the FitBit will tell you if you are in the right zone when exercising. One of my regular exercise routines is the stationary bicycle. The first time I rode for 30 minutes and realized that my heart rate was not elevated high enough to be considered a good fat-burning exercise. I needed to increase the speed on the bike and then found the rate zone that I needed to be at to be the most effective for me.
Heart rate during a P90 cardio workout.
The image above shows my heart rate during a 40 minute cardio workout. Without the FitBit, I would not have known if I was in the right zone or if my exercise was effective. Based on this information, I could increase the intensity to have better overall effects.
Thought out the day, the FitBit will send notifications to your smartphone or to your email, letting you know if you have achieved a goal, or if the battery needs to be charged. This provides great motivation to keep using the FitBit and working towards a healthy lifestyle.
Smartphone notification after achieving the 10,000 step goal.
After trying the FitBit Charge HR for 21 days and seeing what it can offer, I would recommend it to any one who would be interested in taking charge of their health and making some healthier adjustments. I found out that I was not as active as I had originally thought and that I needed to increase my cardio workouts in order to achieve a fat-burning heart rate. Without the FitBit, I would have not known these things. In addition, after talking with a friend at work about what this FitBit can do, it motivated her to purchase one of her own. Being healthy is such a key to enjoying and having a long productive life. And if a small device that you wear on your wrist can help with that, I would highly recommend it. Don’t wait until the new year to make any changes, start now. Your body will thank you.
DISCLAIMERS:
Verizon Wireless gave BubblingWithEleganceAndGrace.com the FitBit Charge HR to demo for 21 days, after which I returned it back to Verizon. I did not receive any monetary compensation to write this review. All opinions and comments are strictly my own.
With diet and exercise, always consult with your doctor or your health professional before using a fitness tracking device, starting any new exercise routines or if you have any medical issues that would prevent you from exercising.
In the past year, fitness bands have become the craze for people who are looking to track the fitness goals. I had considered purchasing one for myself, but was not sure which one would be best for me. Recently, I had the opportunity through Verizon to demo a UP3 Fitness tracker created by Jawbone.
The UP3 Fitness Tracker, courtesy of Verizon Wireless
Tracks resting heart-rate and overall heart health
Automatically logs your fitness activities
Smart Alarm™ wakes you at the optimal time in your sleep cycle
Slim compact design for 24/7 wearability with up to 7 days battery life
Wirelessly syncs with compatible Apple and Android devices
When I first received the band, it needed to be charged for about 45 minutes. A fully-charged UP3 will last you for six days, which is a good amount of time. Since you need to wear the band at all times, you don’t want to spend long amounts of time to charge it. While it is charging, you will see different lights on the band. When you see the orange light, the UP3 tracker is fully charged. The charger plugs into the USB port of your computer, the band attaches to the opposite end of the tracker. I had to get the band just right on the charger to make sure that it’s charging. After the initial charge, I downloaded and installed the UP (free) app on my phone. I created an free account and then paired the UP3 with my phone. Once the UP3 is paired, the fitness tracking begins. The UP3 band does not show your steps, but instead you need to check your phone for the statistics. If you like to see every step you take, this may not be the band for you. I, on the other hand, do not mind checking my phone. The UP3 band is chic, does not take up a large foot print on your wrist, and looks more like a bangle than a fitness tracker.
The Fit My first attempt to put on the UP3 seemed awkward. I asked my hubby and we realized that I had to adjust the fit and then attach the enclosure. After that first initial fitting, I can put on the band by myself with no problem. The band has sensors that need to be next to your wrist so that it can track your movement, but the fit does not need to be tight. The band is not water resistant, dot not get in the shower or the bath. But you can get water on it, you just need to wipe it off.
A way to reach my goals, each day, the UP3 showed my steps and how many calories I burned.
It will track when you are working out. With the stopwatch feature, you can track how long you work out, select what type of work out it is, and select an intensity level. For the image below, it shows that I completed a 45-minute Zumba workout at a Gut Buster intensity.
The UP3 also monitors your sleep patterns and lets you track the levels of your sleep: light, deep or REM each night. Having the UP3, made me realize how important it is to get adequate sleep and to rest my body. The UP3 tracks heart rate while sleeping and not during the course of the day. I have read that Jawbone may be doing upgrades in the future, we will see.
Tracking REM SLEEP
My sleep patterned was totally off in the reading below and I put the band in sleep mode before I went to bed, however that happened one time. Probably was a fluke. What was good is that I can manually go into to my phone settings and change the sleep time.
The longer you use the UP3, the more your own Smart Coach will be there to help you along the way. As a part of the app, you have a Smart Coach who helps you achieve better health goals. For example, if the Smart Coach sees that you are getting less the desirable amounts of sleep, it will provide you with tips on how to sleep more at night. Or, the Smart Coach will tell you what your step average is for the week and challenge you to walk more steps for the next week.
I am a fitness-minded person without the band. But with the UP3 band and the Smart Coach, it made me want to walk more and do more to achieve my goals. Tracking my sleep patterns was a bonus because I like to stay up late at night and it is so important to rest the body. You can also use the UP3 to track what you eat and the amount of calories taken in during the course of the day.
If tracking your fitness levels is important to you, I recommend that you try the UP3 by Jawbone. It is easy to learn how it works and you don’t even remember that you are wearing band. It will help you know if you are getting the right amount (and kinds) of sleep or walking the right number of steps. The Smart Coach gives you daily tips for a healthier lifestyle and will challenge you to take you the next level.
DISCLAIMER: Verizon Wireless allowed me the opportunity to try the UP3 by Jawbone for three weeks to write this review. At the end of the three weeks, I returned the UP3 back to Verizon. I was not compensated in anyway to write this review.
Side note: My hubby noticed that I enjoyed the UP3 and he surprised me with one of my own. I am able to continue tracking my steps and sleeps with the same account that I created initially. That data collected is now being compared with the new data from my own UP3. It is so great.
If you have tried the UP3 or any other fitness band, please let me know what you thought about it.
There are many reasons people try and get into shape, such as making sure they look their best on their wedding day. However, most people who try to improve their body fail and there is a simple reason for this. They hold false beliefs about how fitness works and what it can do for them. It is time to dispel these false truths about fitness forever.
You Should Exercise As Much As You Can
Too much exercise can result in the negative effect of you gaining more weight and weakening your stamina. If you exercise as much as physically possible one day, tiring yourself to the point of exhaustion, your body will feel different. You will wake up the next morning with toned muscles, but they will be sore, and every movement will be painful. You will not be in a position to do any more exercise for a couple of days. This means you will fall out of your exercise routine and, if you do not have strong will power, you may never start it up again. It is far better to do a little exercise every day and never to push yourself to your limit.
You Can Cheat
When people read about new treatments like surgery, diet pills and vitamin supplements, some think of it is as cheating. The people who take these options are looking for other avenues to seek results. Yet, what the critics do not realise is that even if you use these solutions, you must still continue to exercise and eat healthily, or they will not work. Also, you can buy substances like protein powder from sites like http://www.wickednrg.com.au/Protein-Powders/. But this is not cheating. It is just an alternate method of taking substances found in natural food. Check the ingredients of the protein powders and make sure they have no added fillers.
One Is Enough
As you will already know, there are many different paths that lead to getting in shape. Often, people believe that taking one path is enough. For instance, they think if they take diet pills they can lose weight while still eating chocolate and McDonalds. On the contrary, many diet pills only work if they are taken with a healthy diet and the pill mainly acts as a placebo. People believe it will work and so they adjust their diet and exercise routine to prove themselves right. The same is true for exercise. It does not matter how hard you hit the gym; you will still need to have a good diet if you want a healthy body.
It Is A Long And Difficult Process
If you are trying to lose weight it can feel like nothing is happening. You can spend days, weeks and months on the same diet and exercise routine and see no change. You start to think that it is impossible for you to lose weight. But the truth is that either your diet or routine is not matched to your fitness goal. For instance, a low metabolism will make it difficult for you to lose weight unless you do a lot of exercise on a smaller diet.
We hope we have corrected what you may have believed about exercise and that you realize it is not as hard to get fit as you first thought.
I’m happily married and loved the whole experience. Your wedding day is a precious moment in your life, and naturally you’ll want to look your best. I’ve come up with some beauty tips and have some suggestions for your pre-wedding routine.
Start Early My first tip for a good pre-wedding beauty routine is to start as early as possible. If you’ve been slacking on skin care and healthy eating, start now! Start making changes at least three months in advance and you’ll feel great for your wedding.
Work On Your Skin There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have beautiful makeup for your wedding. But to ensure that your makeup looks great, you need to take care of your skin. Make sure that you are following a skin care routine suited for your skin type. Your routine should include moisturizers, cleansing and exfoliating when needed. If you have skin issues that are not clearing up, you might want to try a treatment at a medical spa. Healthy skin makes makeup much easier to apply!
Eat Better One of the best ways to improve your skin is to eat a healthier diet. Increase your intake of fruits and veggies and drink plenty of water. All these things will help to promote healthier skin and a better physique. Try not to binge on fatty foods but don’t cut them out completely. Allow yourself the occasional treat and make healthy snacks. If you’re not good at sticking to a diet, go and visit a dietician or nutritionist. They can help create a plan that is personal to you, so it fits your lifestyle.
Hit The Gym
JT exercising with the Kettlebell
Start working out as early as possible. If you want to lose weight before the wedding, don’t leave it until last minute. You’ll just end up feeling stressed and not putting as much effort into your workouts. If you need some help, get together with some girlfriends and train together. You could even join a boot camp for some serious exercise!
Relax Relaxation should take on a large part of your beauty routine. Wedding stress will only make your skin feel worse if you let it build up. Spend a day relaxing at home or go to get a massage to feel renewed. You could even rope your hubby-to-be into treating you to a day of relaxation!
Get A Facial A facial is a great way to treat your skin before the big day. A decent facial combined with the proper massage technique can help to reduce any fine lines. Facial give you a deep cleanse so if you wear makeup regularly you’ll want to consider having at least one before the wedding.
Wear The Right Makeup
JT applying mascara
It’s essential you wear the right makeup for your skin, especially when it comes to foundation. Make sure that your foundation suits your skin type for the best results. You also want to check that all your beauty products aren’t leaving you with any breakouts. If anything starts to affect your skin, stop wearing it! You might want to spend some time with a beauty expert and make sure all your products are right for you. Good makeup will make sure your skin looks it’s best at your wedding.
What would you include in your pre-wedding beauty routine? Let me know!
I could not get a six pack until I cut these five foods out of my diet. Trust me, I worked really hard to get lean. I have been exercising since I was 13. When I was in my early 20’s, I competed in full contact kickboxing. I trained and worked out so much that I needed 6000 calories/day or I would lose weight, and I still didn’t have much of a six pack. Then I stopped eating these five foods, and I got shredded in a few months.
#1 Food That Make Us Fat: Processed (Refined) Sugar Before buying anything in a box, bag, or bottle, read the label. If sugar is listed in the first 3 ingredients, don’t touch it, it will make you fat guaranteed. Sugar digests almost instantly and goes directly into your bloodstream. Your pancreas responds by secreting massive amounts of insulin into your blood stream. Insulin makes your body to convert the sugar into fat.
Sugar makes you fat kracked
The Bottom Line: Eating refined sugar forces your body to store fat. Stop eating it!
Like most super villains, sugar goes by many aliases. Don’t be fooled. All of these will make you fat:
— Sugar
— Brown Sugar
— High Fructose Corn Syrup or Corn Syrup
— Dextrose (if it ends in “ose” it’s bad)
— Artificial Sweeteners – They don’t contain any calories, but they still trick your pancreas into dumping insulin in your bloodstream which will make you fat.
I LOVE SWEATS. WHAT CAN I EAT INSTEAD OF SUGAR?
The sugar that occurs naturally in fruit digests much more slowly and won’t make you fat. I Personally love honey; it’s fantastically sweet and has a low glycemic index. Another one of my favorites, ripe Mangos have a low glycemic index and taste absolutely decadent.
GLYCEMIC INDEX: WHAT IS THAT?
The glycemic index measures how quickly carbohydrates digest to sugar. Besides a few exceptions, foods with a high glycemic index will cause a large insulin response and make you fat.
Look up the glycemic index of a food here.
#2 Food That Make Us Fat: White Flour
This includes white bread, crackers, pasta, and cereals. Read the label. If “unbleached flour,” “bleached four,” “enriched flour,” or any other type of “flour” is listed in the first 3 ingredients, don’t touch it unless you want to get fat. White flour digests to sugar just as fast as table sugar and produces a similar insulin response.
Flour makes us fat
The Bottom Line: Eating white flour forces your body to store fat. Stop eating it!
But I love bread & pasta! What can I eat instead?
Best Option: Eat whole rolled oats and brown rice – they are super foods. They are loaded with nutrients and digest slowly giving you a steady supply of nutrition and energy for hours. Bread an is best avoided all together as even 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain bread still have a relatively high glycemic index, but if you must have bread, crackers, or pasta definitely get the 100% whole grain version.
LOVE MEXICAN FOOD? CHOOSE THE CORN TORTILLAS
When ordering or cooking Mexican food, always go with the soft corn tortillas. They are made from coarsely ground corn and have a low glycemic index. Don’t touch the flour tortillas unless you‘re trying to get fat.
#3 Food That Makes Us Fat: “White” Potatoes
Is the potato white on the inside? Don’t eat it. Potatoes have an ultra high glycemic index meaning they digest to sugar very quickly and cause an insulin spike. You guessed it:
Eating “white” potatoes forces your body to store fat. Stop eating them!
No Potatoes? What can I eat instead?
Sweet potatoes and yams are delicious and are another super food. They are bursting with vitamins and minerals and are a very slow digesting carbohydrate. Please don’t put sugar on them, it insults one of nature’s most awesome foods (and it will make you fat).
#4 Food That Makes Us Fat: Anything Deep Fried
Most deep fried foods are breaded with white flour, or they are potatoes (french fries). White flour and potatoes quickly digest to sugar which causes your pancreas to dump insulin in your blood turning your body into a fat storing machine. If that weren’t bad enough, the food is also dripping in high calorie saturated fats.
Deep fried food makes you fat
Eating Deep Fried Food turns your body into a fat storing machine while supplying it with gobs of calories to turn into fat.
Eating deep friend food is probably the most effective way to get fat as quickly as possible. Unless you’re trying to get fat in record time, stay away from it.
But I love French Fries! What can I eat instead?
Don’t deep fry; bake or grill instead. For a french fry substitute, slice sweet potatoes into fries and bake or grill them. Brush on some olive oil, sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese, and bon appetite. These fries are both good for you and delicious.
#5 Food That Makes Us Fat: White Rice
Just like white bread, white rice is another refined grain that digests to sugar very quickly. Eat too much, and you will get fat.
No White Rice? What do I eat instead?
Why brown rice of course! It’s one of our super foods; it’s delicious, and it’s inexpensive. I buy my brown rice at Costco, 25 pounds at a time, and I’m single. That whole bag is for me. Brown rice is that awesome.
So That’s Why Americans Are So Fat…
By now you’ve probably realized that most Americans eat A LOT of these 5 foods, and this is precisely why 74% of Americans are overweight or obese! 74 percent – that’s insane! If you are part of the 74%, you now know exactly what you are eating that is making you fat and exactly what you need to stop eating to get your normal, healthy body back.
When you stop eating these foods, you will notice that you start losing fat like crazy (it’s almost scary). You will also notice that you can eat A LOT of good unprocessed food (as much as you want, anytime you want), and you will still be losing weight.
Maybe you know these foods are bad for you, but they taste too good, and it’s hard to stop eating them. It’s hard to change. You need an action plan to change your habits. You need to start small and change progressively because changing everything all at once is extremely difficult.
This article was written by Kurt Boyd, fitness fanatic, and director ofStrength Stack 52. We have recently developedWeight Loss Stack 52, a game that helps you break bad eating habits and replace them with healthy ones.
Everlast Nutrition recently supplied BubblingwithElegance.com with a complimentary packet of its VP PRO Vegan Protein mix to review. My hubby and I are always looking for healthy meal options, so we thought it would be great to try. Protein shakes are not just for fitness-minded people or for people looking to lose weight. They are also great in the summer time if you want something cool to drink or if you want a quick and easy, but a nutritious and light meal.
My hubby making a fruit smoothie with Everlast VP PRO Vegan Protein Mix
When selecting a protein shake mix, my hubby and I consider four main factors:
1. Does the mix contain fillers or artificial sweeteners?
If we see that the mix contain ingredients that we can not pronounce or that we have to look up to find out what it is, or has artificial sugars, we will not purchase it. We want only natural ingredients that provide health benefits.
2. How does it taste?
In the past, we have tried some shake mixes that were so sweet (with natural and artificial sugars), that was all we could taste. Or, in some instances, the flavored mixes did not taste natural. We have steered away from those mixes because we want the smoothie to taste great and not sweet. We recommend taking a look at the ingredient list on the package. If the first or second ingredient is sugar, or a sugar alternative; look for another product.
3. Does it provide a long-lasting energy boost? When the smoothie or protein mix contains so much sugar, the energy boost is short-lived because it really is a sugar-high instead. We prefer mixes that are protein-based because proteins are known to keep you feeling full longer and give you an natural boost.
4. How easy is it digested and does it cause any issues on your stomach? I have a sensitivity to some lactose products. So, unfortunately, some of the smoothie mixes did not agree with my stomach and I had challenges digesting the smoothie. I make sure to check out the ingredient list for any milk or lactose products. If the mix has these ingredients, I have to carefully sample the product before I can use it regularly.
I went to the Everlast Nutrition website and the nutritional values are listed below:
EVERLAST Nutrition facts
The directions from the package states that you can mix contents in eight to twelve ounces of water or your favorite cold beverage or smoothie. My hubby loves to add frozen fruit, flax or chia seeds, and peanut butter to add to the nutritious goodness.
Everlast VP Pro Vegan Protein Mix with Strawberries, Mangoes, Bananas and Peanut Butter.
For this sample, he used coconut water, frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, frozen mangoes, peanut butter. He mixed the ingredients together in our Ninja and I have to say that I enjoyed it. The vanilla flavor was very tasty without any odd or strange aftertaste. I would recommend the Everlast VP Vegan Protein Mix for anyone wants a great tasting shake. The mix is naturally sweetened with Stevia,instead of sugar or sucralose. One serving of the mix contains 22 grams of protein from three plant proteins (pea, rice and hemp) and it contains only 110 calories and no cholesterol, gluten, lactose, soy, hormones or GMOs. It is a winner in my book. You can purchase the protein mix by clicking HERE!
JT doing Kettlebell workout
When working out, with my kettle bell or doing one of my other routines, adding protein into my diet is needed. It is great to have a Everlast protein mix to give me the necessary energy and fuel to be swinging my kettle bell. Gio (my beagle) is making sure I am using correct form. Gio is my coach but he’s looking a little sleepy there. Ha Ha!
DISCLAIMER:
Everlast provided me with a free sample of the protein mix and I was compensated for this review. However, all statements about the protein mix are truly my own opinion. Please check with your doctor to determine if this protein mix is the right one for you.
Learn More About JT Bubbling with Elegance and Grace is a place for life long learners. The Bubbling With Elegance And Grace team was created 14 years ago. A passion for fashion sparked a lifestyle blog for our Elegant Community to enjoy. We are thankful and in gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for those who have been with us from the beginning and those who have just started riding with us on this lovely journey.
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