Activity trackers are all the rage right now.  There are ones that track your steps, your sleep, your heart rate, the number of stairs you take, and even vibrate whenever you put chocolate to your lips.  I kid, I kid about the chocolate warning.  But seriously these trackers can do some amazing stuff!

I’ve worn both the Fitbit Flex and the Fitbit Charge HR (HR stands for heart rate).  I started small with the Flex for a few months, but then upgraded to the Charge HR a few weeks ago.  I gave the Flex to J to wear so he and his family could do challenges against one another.  I’ve never seen a more competitive family than his.  They call and text about each other’s steps or when someone is slacking.  It really keeps him motivated trying to beat his sister all the time.  I guess I won’t complain since he’s moving!

I upgraded for a few reasons – first, I really wanted J involved and it was easier to tell him that I wanted a different one and he could just take my old tracker.  That way I wasn’t spending money specifically for him and he knew that eventually I would upgrade.  Second, I Crossfit.  If you’re familiar with Crossfit at all then you know it’s not a lot of walking around.  I mean it’s hard work, but I’m not running across the gym the whole time.  There are a lot of movements where I’m standing in one place deadlifting or cleaning.  The Flex is not going to track those movements very well.  I kept finding myself done with the workout feeling like I just had my butt handed to me.  I would check the tracker and it would say 40 steps.  It was frustrating.  I needed something that would tell me more about my workout.

I really liked the ease of the Fitbit Flex, their app and even their customer support.  I had a problem when I first got the Flex (mainly because I think I have the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active and it wouldn’t sync all the time) and I e-mailed support.  They were great!  Explained everything well and were willing to ship me a new tracker, no questions asked.

I researched different products and thought the Charge HR would be a good fit.  Of course it was on back order for 3 weeks.  That was kind of a bummer, but it was worth it!

Here’s my honest reviews on the Fitbit Flex vs Fitbit Charge HR:

Flex:

Pros:

– less costly at only $99
– tracks steps and sleep
– holds a 4-5 day battery charge
– syncs with J’s Samsung S4
– fully charges in 2 hours
– more slender design so it doesn’t bother me as much
– easily gauge your progress with progression dots on the tracker
-easy to read desktop dashboard on the computer

Cons:

– not as in-depth as the other trackers
– if your activity doesn’t involve a lot of walking than it won’t be accurate
– difficult to switch into sleep mode sometimes
– didn’t want to consistently sync with my Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
– hard to track certain activities (such as weightlifting)
– doesn’t tell time

Charge HR:

Pros:

– more in-depth tracking capability, such as: heart rate, number of stairs climbed, can pinpoint a specific activity
– automatically goes into sleep mode when it senses you resting
– fully charges in an hour and a half
– vibrates and scrolls name of someone calling me
– tells the time, exact number of steps, current heart rate and amount of stairs I’ve climbed directly on the tracker
– seems to be more accurate with the amount of steps I walk in a day
– easy to read desktop dashboard on the computer

Cons:

– bulkier wristband, it takes some getting used to after wearing the flex for a few months/
– only a 3-4 day batter charge, but still not bad
– to go along with the call notification, it seems to alert me on the last ring so I usually miss the call anyway (but I have a habit of leaving my phone on silent, so that’s nothing new)
– more costly at $149

Here’s a comparison of what the Fitbit Flex dashboard looks like to the Fitbit Charge HR dashboard.  You can see there is more options and in-depth tracking with the Charge HR.  Now you can pick and choose which tiles you want displayed.  The Flex is J’s from a few days ago.  See, he walks a ton compared to me.  The Charge HR is mine from a few days ago.  I blocked out my friends’ pictures and names just to be nice.  I don’t walk nearly as much as J!

Overall, I am glad with my Charge HR purchase.  I was willing to pay more for a tracker that offered more features.  It was also a win-win because J now wears my old Flex.  He walks so much more than I do in a day, but now I find him moving a little more in the evening to stay even with his sister.

I survived all of the holiday craziness.  Barely.  I feel like all I did was eat, sit around and study, and play board games with my family.  Actually, that is all I did the past week.  I tried, I really tried to eat better, but those damn cookies got me.  I still didn’t do as bad as previous years, so for that I’m thankful.  This is the last Weight Loss post of 2014.  Next year there are a slew of possibilities and lots of faith in myself for doing better.  2015 will be filled with a lot of healthier options, better choices and being more active.  I’m excited!

J’s family came down the week before Christmas and we had tons of food, lots of cookies and cake.  After they left I struggled with it being in the house.  It was like that damn Red Velvet cake was calling my name.  I woke up one morning and was just disgusted when I walked into the kitchen.  So I threw out what was left of the cake and cookies.  I didn’t need it.  Christmas was only a few days away and I knew there would be loads more around me.

This year we spent actual Christmas day with my family, which meant only a 5 minute commute.  It was so nice because I didn’t feel obligated to take home any leftovers.  We kept them all at my parents so they did not enter my house.  I was proud of myself for not taking home any cookies.

I’m envious of J – we went back over to my family’s house to play Cards Against Humanity and J had like maybe 1 cookie – a small cookie, actually.  I had like 6.  I couldn’t help it.  I was sitting next to them and they were just there.  I shouldn’t of done it.  I felt so sick the rest of the night.  It wasn’t worth it.

I have some goals for next year that I am going to post later this week (maybe tomorrow if I can finish them) and I’m pretty excited for what 2015 has to offer.  2014 was a big year for us and I know with each year we’re just getting better.

I decided to start Whole30 on January 2nd.  I’m going to have a post later this week with why and my meal plan for the next week.  I’m pretty excited.  I think it’ll be good to reset my body from the inside out to start 2015 off on a good food.

I guess it’s about time I step on the scale to see where I’m at.  I’d like to set specific goals to work towards.  I would also like rewards for reaching those goals.  Not food rewards, people.  More tangible items like shoes, a massage (which I realize is not tangible, but it’s still leaves me feeling great), new clothes, a new book, etc.  I think it’s important to make the rewards things I normally wouldn’t go out and buy myself.

Nothing went right last week at all.  Wednesday night I started getting sick, I pushed through work Thursday coughing, and by Thursday night my fever spiked well above 101.  I was up most of the night coughing and in pain.  I went to the doctor first thing Friday morning and I was the second person between 8 and 9am that had a high grade fever.  GREAT.  I don’t like being that kind of winner.  I’ve had the flu shot, but if you’ve been watching the news then you know how this year’s flu vaccine isn’t that great.  So I was nervous, but my body didn’t ache as bad as the flu does.  So I was given antibiotics and told I probably have a sinus infection.  I went back home and slept the rest of the day.

I broke down and bough myself my favorite sick food – ice cream.  I scooped out one itty-bitty scoop to eat with my medicine.  I had one bite and couldn’t stand the taste of it any longer.  So I took a nap instead.  Usually when I’m sick the only foods I want are the bad ones, but this time I didn’t want anything.  I have barely ate the past few days.  I’ve actually done really good on not over-eating or eating anything too bad because it hasn’t sounded good.

I couldn’t let my sickness stop me because this past weekend was a busy one.  We drove 3 hours to Springfield, MO to visit friends then drove straight to St. Louis on Sunday for the Garth Brooks concert then came straight home (a 2 hour drive) so J could be at work by 6am on Monday morning.  It was long and very tiring.  Now I just want to catch up on sleep and veg out on the couch for the next week!  BUT I know that’s not going to happen.

Here’s where I compare my goals of last week to how I actually did:

1) prep at least 4 meals – success!  We went grocery shopping on Monday night and purchased all the food we needed for the next 2 weeks so I could have enough meals in case I wanted to change my mind on the plan.  That way we had options and didn’t not resort to eating out.
2) crossfit at least 3x – well… I went 1x.  I ended up getting too sick to go.
3) write in my journal – I have been consistent with this one.  I purchased a sketch book on clearance from Hobby Lobby weeks ago and have transitioned it into my thought-keeper.

Goals for next week:

1) celebrate my sister’s wedding
2) get back on track when we get home Tuesday
3) don’t splurge too much while gone
4) Crossfit at least 3x next week

I’ve laid out my 4 goals for next week.  What are your goals?

Oh and here is a nice little snapshot of J and I.  His family had pictures done a few weeks ago and this one is one of my favorites. 🙂

 photo by: Lisa O’Heron.