Week 3 of the Bodymedia Fitness Challenge is now complete. Time sure does fly when your are having fun!
This was a tough one for me. I started off with tired legs and aching feet. Not a good sign... I had to tweak my strategy so that my legs would make it through the week. It's important to give your body rest when it needs it. Otherwise you run the risk of being injured.
This week I did more walking than running to give my legs a rest. I tried to get creative with my exercise so one day I walked a few laps around the mall. It was fun and only set me back about $50, a personal best for me! ;) In addition to walking I did some extra stretching. The foam roller became my best friend.
What I couldn't take a break from were the multiple Spin classes I teach per week, but I managed okay. I guess you could say I "slacked off" and used less resistance than I normally would. The fact that I slowed down with my activity meant that it took me more time to hit my daily goals; a mental challenge to say the least, but a much-needed rest for my body. By the end of the week my legs were feeling great, I was running and feeling stronger than ever.
Here are a few of my personal bests since last Tuesday:
Monday 2/20 - 2,587 calories burned
Monday 2/20 - 19,469 steps
Tuesday 2/14 - 3:36 hours of physical activity
The lesson here; more activity doesn't necessarily mean you burn more calories or take more steps. The more vigorous the activity, the more success you will achieve in a shorter amount of time. As we say at Corpbasics, it's all about quality; not quantity.
These were my bests in regards to sleep:
Wednesday 2/15 - 7:44 hours of sleep
Saturday 2/18 - 96% sleep efficiency
Here you can see that a longer duration of sleep doesn’t always lend itself to a good night of sleep. Over these last 3 weeks I’ve found that I sleep much more efficiently on the nights that I sleep less.
Interesting isn't it? I'm learning so much from wearing this armband!
I did really well this week. I averaged 14, 815 steps and 2:57 hours of activity. I either made or surpassed my goal of 13,000 steps every day but one. On Sunday I fell short by about 1,500 steps. It was my birthday, so I have a good excuse. Other than a joyful walk with my sister and niece, I didn't do much physical activity on that day. Everybody deserves a pass on their Birthday.
To see my progress for the week, click over to befitwithkristen where I've posted some charts.
Since I'm on an honesty kick here, I must also confess, I ate many more calories this weekend than I'm sure I burned. And this wasn't just on Sunday, but on Saturday as well. It was a weekend full of Birthday celebrations. There was great food, cake, and ok maybe some wine too. So I caved. Now I’m not saying I went out on an all out binge here, I managed to control my portions in control. But still, calories do add up quickly! As a result, I did not log my food intake for those two days. I didn't even want to make a guess at how many calories I consumed. The 2 calorie surplus reported in my chart is underestimated number. But as long as I don't gain any weight this week, it's all good. Remember my goal is to maintain my weight over these 6 weeks. My fingers are crossed!
I feel as energetic as ever. I look forward to working hard to reach my goals again this week. I kindly remind you that you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter to keep me in check. Your feedback keeps me going. I also encourage you to check in on the 5 other amazing women participating in this challenge. I’m sure they would love to hear from you too.
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Here is some more detail about the BodyMedia FIT armband, taken straight from the source.
BodyMedia FIT automatically tracks the calories burned during your daily activities — from pumping iron to using an iron — and monitors the quality of your sleep, an important factor in weight loss. Add in the easy-to-use food log and you have the information you need to improve your weight loss.
The 3 part system includes:
1. An Armband that automatically captures data
2. An optional Display device or free downloadable mobile apps that give you up-to-the-minute readings throughout the day
3. An online Activity Manager* that analyzes raw data, allows you to log food and presents info in an easy-to-understand way (*subscription required)
Disclosure: Device and accompanying online Activity Manager subscription was provided by BodyMedia via EmpowHER. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of BodyMedia or EmpowHER.