Fitbit Flex Review

Like nearly everyone after Christmas, I set a goal to get fit and healthy for the Summer. I had been keeping up with yoga but I wasn't getting much more exercise than that and the food situation was not a good one. Plenty of takeaways, drink on work nights out and snacking on lots of chocolate meant I was getting a bit pudgy. I was in the local pharmacy and saw the Fitbit flex on sale for €79. It was an impulse buy but I was hoping it would help motivate me. I'm going to review the Fitbit Flex and the Fitbit app on my iPhone. 

Fitbit Wristband

The Fitbit comes in a several colours. I got it in navy and regret it so much! haha There were much nicer colours. But apart from the colour its perfect. I barely notice its on my wrist and no one has ever commented on it so I'm guessing other people don't notice it either. The actual tracker inside the wristband has a battery life long enough to last at least a week so you don't have to take it off every night to charge.

iPhone App

You need to download a free app to track all the information from the wristband. It uses bluetooth to connect to the phone. My advice is to turn off your bluetooth when you're not on the phone because it eats up battery life! My battery went twice as fast as usual when the bluetooth was on. On the app, there are different topics for you to track how much you're exercising, how far you've walked, how you've slept etc. Its easy enough to navigate through and it starts tracking your movements right away. You can change the settings to suit your body such as gender, height and what wrist your band is on. You can also put your weight in and your target weight. This way the app can calculate how many calories you need to eat and burn to get to your target weight.

Steps, calories and distance tracker 

Steps taken, calories exerted and distance walked are the top three options on the app. You can set a personal daily goal for all three. I find the Steps Tracker the most useful because I think it makes me get up and stop being lazy. If I still have a couple of thousand steps to go before the day end it forces me to bring my dog on a walk or do some home exercises. I think its also more accurate than the calorie tracker. I usually get my full 10,000 steps in a couple of hours of working at the bar and the wristband vibrates to let you know you've reached your goal. It's nice just to have this little achievement everyday.

Exercise tracking

Before I had the Fitbit, I used the Nike Running App to track my runs (my very infrequent runs.) I definitely recommend that if you don't have a Fitbit. But if you do have a Fitbit, the exercise tracker in the Fitbit App is just as good. It tracks running, walking and hiking. It's really handy for timing and tracking my location. I'm waiting for the weather to get nicer but I can't wait to try the hiking section out! Steps, calories and distance are still tracked while using this and it adds time to your active minutes. 

Calorie input and output

I have mixed feelings about the calorie section of this app. The positive aspect of it is, when I actually started keeping track of my calories, I lost weight quite quickly. I knew how many calories I had left for the day so I could evenly spread them out through out the day. The bad thing I found by counting calories is the constant thought in the back of my mind about what I'm eating. I've never agreed with being obsessive about what I'm putting in my mouth. When I want to eat healthy, I simply try to cut out the unnecessary crap and eat mostly healthy; good carbohydrates, protein, fruit and veg. So calories aren't my main concern and I don't think I'll stick with the calorie counting section of this app.

Sleep and water

I like the sleep and water tracker. The sleep tracker tells you when you were restless or awake during the night. Don't ask me how it does it, I haven't a clue! haha It doesn't particularly help in terms of weight loss but its just interesting. The water tracker was very useful. I did't realise I had only been drinking about a quarter the amount of water I should have been drinking so its great to keep track of it. 

Overall Thoughts

I don't think I have had the Fitbit long enough to really say whether I like it or not but I have found when I monitor the results of the app I am more motivated to be active, I'm drinking more water and I am not really eating out of boredom anymore. I have lost 2 or 3 pounds so far in the week I have kept it up, so that's a good sign! It just takes a lot of effort to keep it up which I suppose is what staying fit and healthy is! I would recommend it if you have the money to spare. If you have a Fitbit or are going to get one, let me know what you think of them :) Talk soon!

Uiscebawn x

Hot Yoga Positives and Negatives

Hot Yoga is a yoga practice preformed in a studio, humidified and heated between 35-40 C. It is an intense workout with multiple benefits but it is also very doable for people of all fitness levels. I started Hot Yoga very unfit. I never exercised and did not have a healthy diet. But I fell in love with the practice and now love the satisfaction of a good workout.

Downward Dog

In October last year, I went back to Hot Yoga. I had originally started Hot Yoga back in 2012, maybe 2011 and I fell in love! Being a poor student doing a final year project, I couldn't always afford to keep it up. So I went to it for a few months at a time and then take a break. Now I have been back for a few months and plan to stay at it, I can really feel some differences.

I'm gonna go through the many positives and the few negatives of doing hot yoga. I'm not saying a pro. I have a long way to go in perfecting my postures, these photos are just to make the post a bit more interesting.

Positives

• Flexibility: Within three or four classes, I always notice my flexibility has significantly increased. The heat allows you to move deeper into your postures than yoga in regular temperatures. After a few months back, I am very close to folding in half with a straight back!
• Energy: When I finish a class I always feel so much more energised than I did going in. It also helps me get a better sleep.
• Mood changes: Going to yoga always helps me relieve any stress I had. Whether I sweat it out during class or meditate it out at the end of class, doesn't matter. It works!
• Metabolism: Hot Yoga or any kind of exercise speeds up your metabolism. I always have less bloating as well when I keep up with classes.
• All over body tone: I was very surprised with how much body strength I built up with yoga. Just holding one posture for a few breaths can strengthen so many muscles. My core is the most notable change :D
• Immunity Boost: I feel run down less when I practice yoga. The heat is meant to boost the immune system. I used to get about four or five colds a year now I get about two at most.
• Patience, breathing, focus: This was a perk I didn't know I needed in life. Yoga teaches you a new way of breathing. During a class this breathing helps you focus and move deeper in a posture. I noticed I started to use this breathing technique out of class. When I'm in work and I have back pain I have started breathing and stretching the pain away. If my computer freezes I've started to not get as frustrated because of this breathing. It comes in so handy!
• Detox: The sweating detoxes your body of toxins. Also many postures detox your organs of all the bad stuff.
• Weight Loss: Weight loss is a small benefit compared to all the other reasons above. I began Hot Yoga for this reason and I stayed for all the other reasons.

Wide legged forward bend

Negatives

• Time: The class is just over an hour long but from the time I leave my house to the time I get home, its over two hours. Then I have to shower and with thick hair like mine, it takes forever to dry my hair!
• Dehydration: You sweat a lot in class which means you can get dehydrated easily. Sometimes its hard to get that hydration back. During class sometimes I can feel dizzy or nauseated. I just have to drink more water and take a break on my yoga mat to feel better.
• Limited times: In the Yoga studio I go to, they usually have around three classes a  day. One in the morning and two in the evening. Keeping to their timetable is a negative compared to being a gym member and going whenever I pleased.
• Price: I currently pay €150 every two months for unlimited classes. This is a lot compared to when I went to the gym and paid around €300 for the year!

As you can see I was really grasping at straws looking for negatives and they certainly shadowed by all the positives. I would definitely recommend Hot Yoga to everyone! Old, young, fit, unfit, men, women, EVERYONE! I am finally at a place in my life that I can stick with it and hopefully I can become the best I can be with time and practice. Hope this helped anyone who was thinking of joining Hot Yoga. Talk soon!

Uiscebawn x