Welcome to 2014!!
2013 was the year of change for me! Not all of it was good but it was definitely all necessary. On NYE I was reflecting over my fitness journey in 2013 and it was pretty crazy. I officially started working out and changed my eating habits January of 2013. No one thought I was going to stick to it or lose weight. Even me lol...But as I kept going and seeing results it motivated me and made me stay committed. Then in February I decided to start this blog to REALLY hold myself accountable and let other people in on my journey. Starting this blog was one of the best things I did in 2013. Even if no one reads it but me its awesome to look back on my old posts and see where I have come and the progress I have made.
Now that 2014 is here and I am back on track with my fitness I am so excited to see how my body is going to change and develop! This week I finally got the new battery for my heart rate monitor and I am IN LOVE! This Polar Ft7 heart rate monitor is like the BEST thing yet. I had no idea I was burning so many or so little calories during workouts. It really puts into perspective the amount of effort you are putting in. Previously I would jog and use an app to track the miles and went off of whatever amount of calories the app said was burned depending on the amount of time it took me to complete the miles. This method SUCKED! And I didn't even know it! lol..For example, I hiked 5 miles this week and tracked it on both my Polar Ft7 and an Iphone App called Runtastic. At the end Runtastic reported that I had burned 500 calories completing my 5 miles, whereas the Polar Ft7 stated that I had burned 1,042 calories! This is a HUGE difference. While Runtastic is great for documenting the amount of miles you complete I would NOT suggest using it for calorie calculation. During that workout I jogged/walked most of it but also tackled several HUGE hills with very steep inclines. These inclines caused my heart rate to skyrocket hence making me burn more calories. Long story short the Polar Ft7 is AWESOME and I definitely recommend it for anyone who is tracking their calories burned during workouts. It can be kinda expensive if you buy it from the store so I bought mine from eBay!
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Another tool I am using heavily these days is the MyFitnessPal App! It also rocks!! I have been inputting my exercise and food everyday and it is great! It keeps track of everything so I have a better hold on what I am eating. Even though I'm eating healthy there can still be too much of a good thing! For example I LOOOOOOOVE peanut butter and almond butter. These things aren't bad unless you eat like 4 servings! Then the calories start to rack up lol...MyFitnessPal is helping me keep a better check on my serving sizes so I don't overdo it with my fav healthy foods. I recommend that you download the app and add me as a friend! The other neat part about the app is that you can see how your friends are doing and keep one another motivated. This journey is all about accountability so don't try to do it alone!
MyFitnessPal
USERNAME: Chozengirl15
So my workouts this week were really good! I did lot of jogging and outdoor trails. The use of my Polar Ft7 pushed me to work really hard. There's something super satisfying about knowing that you just worked off over 1,000 calories! I also did an "At-Home" workout this week! Since it gets dark so early and I don't have a gym membership I have been trying to come up with alternate ways for me to workout on days that I don't go in the morning before work. After doing a little research I realized that my Wii plays YouTube videos! So I immediately found a great YouTube account called POPSUGARfitness that has TONS of workouts from different celebrity trainers!! It's awesome! I loved the quick workouts and will definitely be using this again as well as my Nike Training Club app! Fitness doesn't have to be expensive so use what you have available to meet your goals!
One of my goals this year is to really brand and expand Carbs Don't Kill My Vibe! I would love suggestions on way to improve the blog, make it better, or suggestions on things you guys would like to see me post about. Let me know what you want to see! I would love for #CarbsDontKillMyVibe to become a movement!
So as I am writing this post I just got the HUGEST craving for something sweet. I remembered I had some Greek yogurt in my fridge and decided to make this amazing "Cookie Dough" recipe I had seen on Pinterest. If you have a sweet tooth like me you will LOVE IT! I just devoured mine in 5 minutes hahaha...
8 or 6 oz yogurt + 1 TB Peanut Butter + 1/2-1 TB Honey + 1 TB Milk Chocolate Chips + 1/4 tsp Vanilla. Freeze & tastes like peanut butter-chocolate chip blizzard.
*I substituted the honey for two Stevia packets and didn't freeze it because I was hungry now lol..
I hope everyone has an amazing week and a great start to 2014! Workout, eat healthy, and stay committed! You got this!
<3 BRI
I LOVE my heart rate monitor. I have an FT4 and it's one of the greatest things ever! I really can't imagine not being able to workout with out it!
ReplyDeleteI also love the fact that you can still run outside and that nice weather. It's freezing here in NY and can't even run outside if you wanted to! So I just take it to the treadmill. I might have to wait until March to start running outside.
Oh and that treat looks so GOOD! I can't wait to give it a try.
SlimIntoONEderland.blogspot.com :)