HRM and Fitbit, Overkill?

Maybe

Okay, so I like both things for different reasons.  The Fitbit is small, compact, and I can clip it to my shirt, my pocket, or my bra strap and just go.  I don’t need anything extra, although I keep my ipod handy so I can sync the data, and it then directly syncs in with MyFitnessPal to calculate extra exercise calories!

What I don’t like about it is that I feel like it’s overestimating the amount of calories I burn.  I know it’s supposed to calculate ALL of your calories, even the ones you burn while sleeping and doing nothing, but it’s a little after 4pm right now and it says I’ve burned 1400 calories so far (I did take a walk today so I expected a larger amount than if I was just sitting, but that seems a bit high).  One thing I did read is that it constantly calculates your exercise, so as you wear it more, the better it is at calculating and adjusting as needed.  Maybe I just need to give it time.

The Heart Rate Monitor is a beast.  I have this hard plastic piece sitting just above my breasts and strapped around my back, and a wristwatch to show me the details.  I wore it last night for a few hours to get a feel for it, and it didn’t seem uncomfortable, just very noticeable.  I’m not going to forget it’s there.

It also doesn't match anything

I’m still trying to understand how to read all the different functions, and the booklets are kind of like reading German, so it’s probably going to take me a while.  One thing I do like is knowing if my heart rate is up…I want to get my heart rate above 140 for a sustained amount of time to get the most out of my workout.  While I don’t get this while walking (I hit about 120bpm), I know I hit it after about 15 minutes on the elliptical, so I am above that 140 range for about 45 minutes on those workout days.

I guess two days really isn’t enough time to really tell about both of these devices, so my opinions may change as I continue to use them.  One thing I am excited for is all the information I’m getting from them.  It’s interesting to know how many steps I’ve taken, or how many calories I burned, or how fast or slow my heart rate is. If I get nothing else from these devices, I’d be okay with that.

Food Diary for 7/16/13:

1 Tall Skinny cinnamon Dolce Latte-100 calories

1 Lean Cuisine Steak and Portobello w/ Broccoli-150 calories

1 pouch starkist light tuna-70 calories

1 whole wheat tortilla-120 calories

1 laughing cow light cheese-35 calories

1 Special K chocolate drizzle bar-90 calories

1 Skinny Cow Divine Caramel-130 calories

5 Sunsweet Prunes-100 calories

1 Serving Cinnamon Cream Cheese Dip-213 calories

1 Serving Cinnamon Pita Chips-179 calories

Total calories-1187

I worked out on the elliptical yesterday for an hour, although it was split 35 minutes and then 25 minutes.  The elliptical machine showed me using 544 calories combined, but my fitbit showed me burning only 388 calories.  Since I know the workout machines can overestimate calories burned, I’m going to go by what the fitbit says and say my NET calories was 1187-388=799

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Dip and Cinnamon Pita Chips

Just seeing this makes me want to make more

So I found these recipes in my Hungry Girl 200 under 200 cookbook, and they sounded so tasty that I had to try them.

Cinnamon Pita Chips

Ingredients:

1 Pita Bread

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon splenda no-calorie sweetener

Cooking spray

Directions:

-preheat oven to 350 degrees

-line a baking sheet with foil, and spray lightly with cooking spray

-cut the pita bread into 6 slices, then carefully pull the slices apart to give you 12 pieces

-place the slices on the baking sheet, interior side up, and spray lightly with cooking spray

-in a small dish, mix the splenda and cinnamon together, then sprinkle lightly over the pita slices

-bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes until toasted

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

¾ up fat free cool whip

¼ cup room temperature fat free cream cheese

3 teaspoons splenda no calorie sweetener

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

-Blend all in a bowl, then chill for about 10 minutes before serving

So, the pita chips were awesome!!  I used to spend close to $5 for a bag that maybe gave me about double the amount, but for that same price I can get about 6 slices of pita bread and make it at home.  Easy peasy.  The cream cheese dip says that it serves 4 people in the cookbook….yea, no.  I could see it being split in half, maybe, but it is so damn tasty (tastes kind of like cheesecake) that I just ate it all. 

Music Addition

Today’s Addition is Somebody that I Used To Know by Gotye!

Enjoy!