Monthly Archives: May 2015
Super Watch
Good late morning again :) This work week is flying by thanks to a the three-day weekend!
Last night I got to play with my newest toy….the FitBit Surge! This “fitness super watch” is one of the highest-rated fitness trackers on the market right now and I was so excited to upgrade from my 5-year old Garmin (which we call a computer on my wrist…it’s massive!). The Garmin has been an awesome running watch, but it doesn’t have the newer technology like a heart-rate monitor, sleep monitor, and Bluetooth connectivity for notifications and music control.
All day at work I looked forward to my evening run, a break from the gym and the treadmill for a trail run with my new watch/running buddy. We name all of our GPS gadgets that talk to us (my car’s GPS is Reggie) so I went with a coach theme and named the FitBit Eric (Friday Night Lights reference, anyone?!!) I was excited to play with my new toy and see what my heart rate is like on a steady state run, during the Alexa Jean Fitness Sore to the Core routine, and then this morning during a HIIT workout.
I thought I’d share a little intro on the watch since it will be permanently attached to my wrist for the next few weeks while I learn about my daily activity level! (And yes, my hair is darker.)
The Fitbit Surge is a touchscreen (waterproof, thank goodness. This girl sweats!) The all-day stats include:
- Steps Taken
- Current Heart Rate
- Distance Covered
- Calories Burned
- Floors Climbed
You can also set silent vibrating alarms and daily goals. You can track seven other exercise activities including hiking, biking, yoga and HIIT.
The sleep analysis intrigued me. Apparently the technology in the watch is sophisticated enough to recognize when the user is awake, restless, and asleep. In the morning, your FitBit dashboard will bring you information about the length and quality of your sleep. I’ve never slept in a watch before but I will for the next week just to see what it says.
The “flare style” clock is so fun! My Garmin was not a daily watch; I would never wear the Garmin watch when I was not running. The FitBit Surge is meant to be an all-day fitness tracker with relevant information beyond running so of course it includes an actual clock face. The “flare” style surrounds the digital time with a “wheel-and-spoke.” Each spoke represents a minute of the current hour (60 spokes) and the length of the spoke is determined by your activity level during that minute. Sleeping hours will have one dot for the spoke. An hour running will extend the spoke to the edge of the face. Average activity will end up somewhere in between. By the end of the hour, your clock will have a graphical illustration of your activity trends. I think that’s pretty cool!
It will be really exciting to watch the data grow over time. I like making charts and lists and watching trends over time (market research classes will do that to ya!) especially when the information has to do with me and running. ;) You know me, always room for improvement!
Tonight I’m going to test out it’s “treadmill” feature…apparently it can track stationary runs as well. I’ll also like having my heart rate information (last night it hovered around 150bpm for my 8-mile run and around 45bpm for my resting heart rate). But I promise I won’t bombard with any more tech-y posts in the near future. ;)
Half way to the weekend!
XOXO
Memorial Day + Skinny Mojitos
Happy Memorial Day! :)
(If you’re looking for something patriotic, I will direct you to the Skinny Berry Pies or the Red, White & Blue Kabobs!)
Last week I worked my first full 40-hour week. It included three days with 4:30am wake up calls for morning workouts, evenings at the gym and a Friday night full of chores. My point: this three-day weekend is much-appreciated.
How are you spending your holiday weekend?! It seems like we have been eating, working out, eating, working out, eating and working out. In a fun way, I promise ;) We’ve taken advantage of extra time to make colorful and elaborate breakfasts, lunches & dinners. We spent nearly four hours on a nine mile walk/hike, just taking our time to explore and leisurely enjoy the quiet Sunday morning. We squeezed in a couple of HIIT circuits, fueled mainly by guilt from our late-night frozen yogurt excursion. There was a cardio carnival at the gym and a couple rounds of Alexa Jean Fitness Sore to the Core workouts.
But I mainly soaked up the extra hours spent cozily inside, with a new book and some coffee. My brain and my body wanted a rest.
The phrase “Skinny” cocktails is like saying a “short” marathon… It is a bit of an oxymoron because alcoholic beverages don’t offer much in the way of nutritional value. However I believe a healthy lifestyle includes moderate indulgences like ice cream, sushi, and the occasional cosmo. Personally, I like to save cocktails for the special occasion or social event because they are often “empty calories” and can have negative effects on my fitness goals. When I am splurging…I love me a good mojito :)
Since turning 21, I have become the bartender on holidays. (Remember the Thanksgiving Fire Jolly Rancher?) Memorial Day is no exception, and I tried my hand at an easy Skinny Girl Mojito concoction:
To be perfectly honest with you, I eliminated the rum from my jar…which leaves a sparkling lime and mint water. Still wonderfully refreshing and feel free to do the same if you are looking for a non-alcoholic party drink!
Skinny Girl Mojito:
- Bottle of Skinny Girl Mojito (32 calories per 1.5 fl. oz.)
- 1 lime, cut in wedges
- handful of mint leaves
- ice cubes
- Sparkling lime water (I used Perrier but several other sparkling water brands now have lime flavors)
- Extra lime wedge for garnish
- Pretty straws if you’re feeling festive
This recipe eliminates sugar, and substitutes Bethany Frankel’s line of Skinny Girl bottles for straight rum to reduce the calorie and sugar content.
1.) Put 5-6 mint leaves, 1 lime wedge and the juice of 1 lime wedge in the bottom of your glass. I used little mason jars with handles. “Muddle” the mint with a long utensil, crushing the lime and mint leaves.
2.) Put a handful of ice cubes over the mint mixture.
3.) Pour in 2 ounces of the SG Mojito; then pour in 6 ounces of lime-flavored sparkling water.
4.) Stir with a straw, add a lime wedge to the rim, and enjoy!
Easy, right?! This drink is so refreshing because it’s not too sweet but the mint and the lime are very flavorful. It’s also just a pretty drink.
After we sipped our cocktails and mocktails, we started planning some summer adventures….
It’s gonna be a good one & I can’t wait to share!
Enjoy your weekend and don’t forget that today is about remembering our nation’s fallen heroes. <3
Chunky Monkey DeLites
Yesterday morning I dropped my mom off at the airport at 5:20am. She always picks the earliest flight so I was prepared for the dark drive. Since the airport is so close to my work and I don’t have strict hours, I decided to just start my workday at 6:00am. I had a thermos full of coffee and actually opted for no music instead of my usual morning country. The office was practically empty and so quiet, it was kind of nice. I did hit a wall around 1pm and fueled up with some apple slices and peanut butter. I had a gym workout that night that I wanted to be energized for! It’s always a little more difficult for me to run in the evening than first thing in the morning. That’s why this morning I planned a 5:00am treadmill session, logging 5.85 miles during the morning news before the sun came up.
On my lunch hour, I drove one block to the mall to walk a lap and stop at GNC for my favorite Quest bars. (Always nice to give the eyeballs a break from the computer and move the legs!) This little guy (I just assume it’s a boy) was sitting so patiently in the truck next to me, I wanted to hug him! So I just took a picture instead. So serious :)
Dinner was a quick salad that we threw together with leftovers, made fancy with avocado and feta and blueberries.
But I’m really here to share dessert!
Chunky Monkey Ben & Jerry’s is tempting but I had more than my fair share of ice cream in the last couple of weeks of school. The compromise: frozen banana slices with PB Fit and mini chocolate chips.
PB Fit and other similar powdered peanut butters dehydrate the peanut by squeezing out the oils, thus removing about 90% of the fat content. Yes, fats from nuts are healthy and I enjoy regular nut butters regularly! But sometimes when using peanut butter for dessert or extra treat, it is helpful to reduce the calorie and fat content. Plus I genuinely like the flavor and the texture of the powdered pb. I used one large ripe banana, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter powder mixed with 1.5 tablespoon of water, and 2 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips; this dessert is 2 servings at approximately 160 calories each.
I sliced the bananas and laid them out on a plate, mixed together the peanut butter powder and water and measured out the chocolate chips. I put a little dab of peanut butter on each banana slice and sprinkled a couple of chips on each. Then I popped the plate in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes until the bananas were slightly frozen. *Best enjoyed with an episode of Grey’s Anatomy while I try to play catch up with my Hulu account. (When I logged in for the first time in a while last week, I had over 70 episodes in my queue! Someone missed the entire season of the Voice #sadday)
Since I had to walk to the store after dinner to buy the bananas, the 2 mile trek nearly cancelled out the calories from the treat. Victory! I’m a little tired from the past couple of 4:20am wake up calls and I have another one coming tomorrow so I’m turning in early tonight. Goodnight!
