My Health and Fitbit Journey

Here is an overview of my Health and Fitbit Journey for the first 1/4 of 2021. Spoiler: I lost 10 lbs in 10 weeks! I accomplished 1 of my “New Year’s Goals”. All thanks to my mom, newly aligned health goals and with a lot of help from my Fitbit Versa Lite! Here is my full review of how my Fitbit has impacted me since I got it for Christmas 2020 and the steps I took to lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks. This post is a blend of my journey of the last 10 weeks and a review and recommendation of having a Fitbit.

My Health and Fitbit Journey Story

My Mom and I started our weight loss journey on December 18, 2020. December 18 partly because it was time to get my butt in gear, and partly because I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions and prefer to opt for SMART Goals. When I first started this, I was 140 lbs and I think most of my weight in in my tummy area and I feel pretty pudgy and not all that confident in a swim suit. My Mom and I made a goal to lose 10 lbs between December 18 and our birthdays February 19 and 20. Counting that on the calendar, that’s 9 weeks to drop 10 lbs.

Her “rules” for losing weight are more veggies and fruit, more water, 6,000 steps a day, and 75 grams of carbs each day MAX. And weighing yourself severals times a week. I don’t totally agree with all her “rules” and some steps don’t make sense, so I opted to take a different approach and focus more on specific health goals that aligned with losing 10 lbs to start.

My Health and Fitbit Goals

1. Fewer Migraines ✔️
2. Lose 10 lbs (get to 130 lbs to start) ✔️
3. Improve Heart Health (more on that later) ✔️
4. Exercise- Often (more on that later) ✔️

How I Accomplished My Health Goals

I got my Fitbit on December 24, and immediately set it up, wrapped it around my wrist, downloaded the app and started paying attention to the information that it provides to you every single day! I was already to count my carb intake- stopped eating so much toast, breads, bagels, and opted for a lax-version of a Keto Diet- which I already know had improved my body in the past.

1. Started My Morning Right…3 Ways

As a way to decrease my carb intake, I start my morning (or try to start most mornings) with a glass of 8 oz of water before my cup of coffee (a FitBit Suggestion), I use a Zero Calorie Coffee Sweetener, and a breakfast with a lot of protein. Drinking water in the AM helps wake up your organs and makes you feel more full throughout the day. In fact, drinking 8 oz of water before each meal helps make you feel more full and then you eat a smaller meal (a FitBit Suggestion). Then I have 1 cup of coffee with my mocha flavored sweetener. My mom suggested it, I was skeptical at first because I wasn’t sure how good a fake sweetener would be, but it is keto-friendly and tasty! There are multiple flavors (caramel, mocha, vanilla) and it was only $10! It’s called Jordan Skinny Syrups– and a little goes a long way! I only need 1/2 TBS for my “double” sized Keurig cup of coffee! So 25 ml is going to last a very long time!!! I have a strong and frequent hankering for chocolate! Almost every day I feel the urge to have chocolate. Which isn’t all that great!! So I started buying Chocolate Premier Protein drinks. I get them at Costco, but Amazon prices are similar. You can get them in powder or drink form. If I drink one of these in the morning, I feel like I have already had my chocolate of the day. It has 160 calories (fills me right up!), 30 grams of protest (my favorite part)

2. Logged My Food

I do 2 things when it comes to logging my food- I focus on macronutrients (the breakdown of carbs, protein and fats), and I focus on Calorie Deficits. FitBit’s Suggestion of a Calorie Deficit, I think, is an extremely important factor when it comes to losing weight, or maintaining your weight. It’s not a good idea to limit yourself to a certain amount of calories in a day, especially if you’re working out frequently and going to do a challenging workout that day. Your body needs to be appropriately fed and sorta starving yourself isn’t going to do you any good. But Fitbit helps you set goals by 4 different levels on the app and gives you a Calorie Deficit that helps you achieve your goal weight by whichever date you want to lose weight for. The way I think about it is that I have to “buy” my calories by being “active” and that’s a good thing! It gives me another great incentive to be healthy and active.

This is screenshot of my phone with my current goal to go from 129 to 125.

3. Got a Good Scale.

I don’t recommend that you weigh yourself every morning or too many times throughout the week. It’s not healthy mentally and it can be greatly discouraging. Kyler went to our local gym and he got a full-body scan and recommendation for diet and the frequency of weighing yourself. The Diet “Thought Process” is Eat like a King for Breakfast, Eat like a Prince for Lunch, and a Pauper for Dinner. It’s kinda funny if you think of it. And I think this thought process has been working for him.

I was using a decent price scale from Target and for more than a month it was telling me that I was the exact same weight even though it turns out that I was losing 1-2 lbs a week. It was devastating to see that my mom was making her way towards her goal, but I wasn’t making even 1 lb even with all my work….SO My mom told me to get this scale, it also has an app you can pair with that records body fat and other details. BONUS- if you open the app while you’re weighting yourself, it will automatically update the FitBit app! It was cheaper than the one I got at Target too. ALSO- Only weigh yourself once a week, or a couple times a week. I think 2-3 is a good MAX. And tell yourself that you are making non scale victories!

4. Exercise Several Times a Week!

I decided to try the Premium Subscription that goes with the Fitbit app. I currently have a 90 day Free Trial and afterwards, I bought the $75/year plan. You have 2 options of $10/mo or $75/year and compared to gym membership fees, this is worth it to me!

I get better health analytics (and the FREE health analytics are still fabulous), access to 150+ workout videos (that also help log your exercise goals), and “Guided Programs” so you can start different goals like changing your diet or toning your butt and core, or starting a running regime. When you download the Fitbit Coach app, it helps guide you through the programs! It’s awesome! Granted, you get access to a bunch of workout equipment and pools, and massages, etc. for $150/mo (or whatever the costs of a gym membership is), but I have access to plenty of full body work out videos that don’t need weights or require small weights that I can easily buy for home. And I have like 30 stair steps in my house, so that also helps. 😉😉

The Results of My Health Journey

Reduced Migraines– It just happened that on Christmas morning, I had a “Level 9” Migraine (9 as far as pain), so I didn’t get to enjoy my Christmas. As some of you readers may recall, my migraines are triggered by my epilepsy and my hormones, and my neurologist suggested that I consume fewer carbs and more fat and protein. It’s been 9 weeks since that day, and I am so excited to announce that I have had one epilepsy triggered migraine since Christmas!!!! That is seriously a 10 year record. The episode lasted about 3 days, the sluggishness slowly became a migraine and on the 3rd day, I wasn’t able to do anything more than sit in silence or nap.

Lost 10 Pounds– I did not think that that would actually happen- especially since I had a defective scale for so long and it was telling me that I wasn’t losing weight. In fact, I reached 128 lbs yesterday and it’s still off and shows 138 (how on earth is that happening!).

Improved Hearth Health & Cardio Score When I first got my Fitbit, my Cardio Score was terrible!! And I don’t understand why of all the doctor appointments I have throughout the year, they didn’t tell me that I was overweight or that my heart rate was POOR! My Cardio Score was a 27-29 in December! Which is “Poor to Fair” to Fitbit. And as of today, I am 32-36. My New goal is to continue to improve my Cardio Score with exercise that gets me Zone Minutes and doing workout videos that target cardio bursts.

Exercised More Often– As I said earlier, my Fitbit subscription gives me access to 150+ videos and coaching programs, and I have sifted through a few of the videos and saved a couple that I like to do throughout the week. I don’t know about anyone else, BUT I prefer to watch the videos in its entirety before I do the workout alongside the video. It helps me pay more attention to the positions of the videos so that I can understand how to best do the workout. After the video ends, the Fitbit asks me if I want to count it as a workout and then it records how many calories I burned during that video.

Kyler and I also have come to love that when you work out, you sleep better that night! And there is something about working out that makes me crave healthier foods. Like you worked so hard that you don’t have the desire or willingness to eat junk food and counteract all that hard work. I’ve also come to telling my body that this is what it should crave after certain workouts. I found this great graphic to remember what to eat before and after.

My New Goals

1. Get to 125 lbs- but tone my belly area
2. Continue to improve my Heart Health and Cardio Score
3. Tone my Core (which will also help my lower back pain)
4. Continue to manage my migraines.

A Recommendation

Get a Fitbit! It doesn’t have to be a Versa Lite, my mom has a Charger- it’s a more sporty looking one, and I think she got me the Versa Lite because it doubles as a Smart Watch. Fitbit always pair with your phone and their App, and continuously synchs to the app throughout the day. **Keeping the app always open on your phone drains your battery though because of Background App Refresh, so I suggest that you close it and open it throughout the day and when you are doing your workouts.