Review: Fitbit

The much anticipated Fitbit review! Where to begin? I can't say enough good about the Fitbit!

I first found out about the Fitbit from one of my friend's Facebook statuses. I would see her statuses daily proclaiming the number of steps and miles she walked that day and the number of calories she had burned based on her Fitbit. So I started my research....

The Fitbit is not your every day pedometer. A $0.99 pedometer generally tracks your steps and that's it.

The Fitbit on the other hand, tracks sooo much more. Let me show you...

First, the fit bit, like all other pedometers tracks your steps. Most pedometers are not accurate. Just shake em around a bit and magically you have walked an extra 20 steps. Not with the Fitbit! I have jumped with the Fitbit on, shook it around and still the step count did not move. I have also tested the Fitbit by counting my steps up to 100 and the steps were accurately recorded.

Not only does the Fitbit monitor your steps, it also monitors your distance! Again, I of course tested for accuracy. Two nights ago I took my Fitbit for a spin on the treadmill. One hour on the Treadmill I walked 2.16 miles. I had walked 0.5 miles the rest of the day to and from the fridge and around the house to my car and to the treadmill and just under a quarter of a mile after the gym. Super awesome!

The next view on the Fitbit is a pretty flower... it doesn't always look this big. The flower grows as you get active. The more active you are the bigger your flower gets. While this is not the most exciting feature it is meant to be a motivator. The Fitbit will remember how active you are and over time it will get harder and hard and you will have to do more activity to make it grow. Are you up for the challenge?

Lastly, my favorite feature! The Fitbit tracks the amount of calories you have burned throughout the day. I usually burn 2500 calories a day. This is an amazing feature because you can gauge your weight loss each day. In case you don't know, 1 pound is 3500 calories. So if the average bariatric patient takes in 800 calories and you are burning 2500, you should be losing 1 pound every 2 days, obviously more if you are malabsorbing your calories. If you are wondering how I burn so many calories... well, realize this thing monitors not only the calories burned when I am working out but the calories burned when I'm sitting on my butt writing this blog and when I'm sleeping! so 2500 calories a day!

You may have just noticed I said that my Fitbit monitors my calories when I sleep. I wear my Fitbit 24 hours a day! At night your Fitbit will monitor how much time you spent in bed, how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you woke up & how much you slept.
                                                                                                                                                                    

The Fitbit comes with a wristband that you wear to sleep with a pocket for the Fitbit, a clip for your belt that holds the Fitbit, and the base station.  

Another perk of the Fitbit is the online program that it comes with. It's free and it monitors all the stats your Fitbit picks up on. Your stats are displayed in numbers, charts and graphs. Part of the program also allows you to track your food and exercise. There is also an online forum for use and a WLS group!

You can also link your Fitbit account with Facebook and Twitter to update your friends and family daily of your results. There will be a status posted that looks like this.

"I walked 6,752 steps and 2.9 miles and burned 3,001 calories via my fitbit http://www.fitbit.com/user/22BRX6"  ~ My actual stats from yesterday posted to Facebook

Breakdown of the Fitbit:


Pros:

• Small and easy to conceal
• Accurate
• Tracks sleep, calories burned over a 24 hour period, steps taken, and miles traveled
• Wirelessly syncs with the base station anytime you walk within 15 feet
• Holds 7 days worth of data
• Battery lasts about a week. I charge it whenever I am in the shower.

Cons:

• The food tracking systems doesn't have such an extensive food list but you can add foods to the list.

Where to Buy:

You can buy your FitBit in many locations. It is sold in most Best Buy's and 24 Hour Fitness Gyms. You can also buy it directly from Fitbit.com. I suggest you buy your Fitbit from 24 Hour Fitness Online because I have given you a coupon for 10% off below. 

Cost: $99.00 ($90 if bought from 24 hour fitness no tax or shipping)
Coupon: AFPRM50101210 (Valid until Jan 31, 2011) This coupon is good on 10% off any purchase of $50 or more.

The Main question people have asked me is... Why a Fitbit and not a BodyBugg?
For me there were a few reasons.
a. COST... The Fitbit was $90 while the cheapest Bodybugg is double that price. Also, the tracking program is free for the Fitbit while you have to pay a monthly subscription of $10 for the bodybugg program.
b. SIZE... I do not want to that big thing on my arm. It is nobody's business if I wear a pedometer. I don't need anyone to know I workout or I'm trying to lose weight. I wear my Fitbit on my bra and no one but me (and now you) knows it's there.
c. FITBIT TRACKS MORE.... I like that the Fitbit tracks my sleep. I have sleep apnea and my sleep is really important to me. The Fitbit tells me how many times I woke up at night and how much time I actually spent sleeping. This helps me monitor when it's time for a CPap adjustment. The Bodybugg does not do this.

If you have any questions feel free to leave it in the comments!
I hope you found this review helpful!
xoxo
Sleeve Pixie

Click Away, Clicka"tini" or Click"alot"!!! SALE!!

Hey all you Click protein lovers!

Amazon has 10% off Click right now. “Save 10% when you enter code CLICKES5 at checkout. Plus, save an additional 15% when you combine the instant rebate with your Subscribe & Save order–bringing your total savings to 25%. Offer valid through January 31, 2011.” 

CLICK Espresso Protein Drink, Mocha, 16-Ounce Canister

The Importance of Support...

For those of you who don't know me or may not have read my blog until today, let me take a brief moment and introduce myself. My name is Rachel aka Rachelena aka Sleeve Pixie, depending on where you know me from. I am an almost 3 year post op and a revision patient which I guess makes me only a 2.5 month post-op yet again. I am a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a Social Worker. I have run a small tight knit bariatric support group for almost two years now and I love every moment of it. I am a strong believer in support.

We always here the term "support" in the WLS community and how important it is, but NO ONE ever takes the time to define what support actually means. According to dictionary.com...

SUPPORT –verb (used with object); 

1.

to undergo or endure, esp. with patience or submission.

2.

to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction: 

3.

to maintain (a person, family, establishment, institution, etc.) by supplying with things necessary to existence; provide for.

4.

to uphold (a person, cause, policy, etc.) by aid. 

This is what we are supposed to do, right? To undergo with patience; to help sustain a person mentally or physically when they are down and to help a person maintain by providing education, ideas, love, support, friendship mutual aid etc...

I define a support group as a group of people that share a similar experience or situation. These people are able to motivate each other through the hard times and laugh with them through the good times. They do not judge them for the things they do that may not equate with the cultural norms and by culture I mean the group culture, in our case WLS. This system will generally share similar values and ideals about their situation. This is my idea of what a support group SHOULD be. 

There are 4 support groups I am active in. One, the one I run, Post-Ops Supporting Each other on  Long Island. POSE is a live support group that meets every other week. We share about our victories both on the scale and off and discuss our perceived failures. The group has a strong bond and trust one another enough to be able to motivate each other and confront each other when needed. While this is not by any means an educational group, it does serve its purpose to the members. 

The second group I participate in more of a social group. We are a bunch of people who get together for dinner once a month and enjoy the comfort of food in the presence of others who get it.

The third group I participate in is my surgeons support group. While I have only been going a short time, and I don't really appreciate surgeon run support groups, I believe it is important to give back. We have many pre-ops in this meeting and they look to us for advice. 

Lastly, the BBGC or Bariatric Bad Girls Club is an online support group with hundreds of people. The reason I cal myself a proud member of this group is because we share very similar values. Values I have not found anywhere else. The BBGC believes in reality. In the idea that THIS is now our life. Not some permanent diet we have to be on for the next 60 years. Yes you will notice our symbol involves a cupcake, the ultimate bad food... sugar, carbs and fat all rolled into one miniature cake. This does not symbolize a "badness" it symbolizes an awareness. An awareness of our food addiction, of what it took to get us here, of the reality that we all must live with on a daily basis. Some not nearly as rosy as mine or yours. 

The BBGC has been getting a lot of flack lately from all different sources because we believe its ok to eat a cupcake once in a blue or whatever your issue is with us. But for us, this is working. This lifestyle is what keeps us from being a suicide statistic or from regaining our weight. Many people don't believe its ok to make bariatric friendly "bad" food like donuts for example... but this is what keeps me away from the Dunkin Donuts drive through so WHY THE HELL NOT?

So if this is not for you, thats ok! Go find a group that is... and if there isn't one... do what I did and START ONE! There is plenty of room for all of us. 

There are many support groups in my local area and online that I do not and could not call myself a member of. Why? Because I cannot stand for the things they do or believe in or the message they put out as a group. Does that make them horrible... not necessarily. It makes them different. It makes them not for me. But maybe, for someone else, that is EXACTLY what they need. 

I hope in the year 2K11 you find yourself a group that meets your needs and that we can all start realizing that each post-op is an individual with individual needs and we need to stop prescribing a general condition for the needs of ALL bariatric patients on an emotional level.

In love and support,

Sleeve Pixie

When You Can't Afford Your Health... Bah Humbug

As the holiday season is upon us, and everywhere you go the Christmas songs are playing, the world is usually in holiday spirits... As for me, all I have to say is "Bah Humbug". This morning I awoke to find myself in a familiar predicament. As we were sitting around the table eating breakfast my step-dad shared that he had been laid off from his job. Aside for the fact that jobs are scare to begin with, my step-dad is a Jeweler and with the passing of Christmas the Jewelry market essentially shuts down for the month of January. This means for us, that he has no chance of getting work til the end of January early February. Although my mom works, she doesn't make enough to cover the mortgage, the house bills, the food etc... We are all scared, especially me.

For a period of time when I had my lap-band, my husband and I were living in an apartment we couldn't afford and we were lucky to have one meal a day. We just couldn't afford to eat. As a result, the small amounts of money we did have usually wound up being spent on pizza or fast food because it was way cheaper that buying salads, chicken, fish etc.. I remember nights where we would turn the apartment upside down looking for lost change to buy food. This led us to having to move in with my mom a year ago because we just couldn't keep ourselves afloat. Well, here we are again. My parents are talking about what to do if they can't make the mortgage and it just takes me right back.

Healthy food is sooo expensive and there is so little I can actually get down. I don't want to fill my sleeve wit Pizza and junk food. I want to succeed. I NEED to succeed. I am afraid I will no longer be able to afford my vitamins or my health insurance. I already had to give my license plates back to the DMV due to an old lapse in insurance coverage. The second one in the last 3 years. I am afraid I wont have money to go to the gym and its just way too damn cold to go out walking.

What do you do, when you just can't afford to be healthy? Well, I refuse to fail. I refuse to let this get me down. I can't be that person anymore. So I have come up with a meal plan that will have to work for me, until this passes... This too shall pass...

My New Meal Plan 4 of these meals every day:
Chobani Yogurt w SF syrup
Egg Beaters with Organic Veggies
Canned Tuna with I tsp on RF Mayo
Organic Salad with Tuna
Protein Shake made with Skim Plus
1 slice of chicken breast with 1 slice of part skim cheese

This will bring my weekly grocery bill for just myself to $45 a week or $6.43 a day. This is less than the cost of a value meal at the local fast food joint. It's Healthy, full of protein and vitamins and minerals and will help me succeed. I AM A WINNER!! Granted I would also have to add approximately $25 a month to buy protein powder but it just so happens that I have one tub at home to start with. So that will save me some money for now.

Whenever things seem bleak and you don;t know how you can move forward... know there is always a way. Clip coupons, shop online for the best deals before you visit the stores, so whatever you have to do to make this work!

Wishing you all a happy holiday season!
xoxo
Sleeve Pixie

You're Worth Cyber Monday Sales!

How many years have you spent all day on Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday shopping for Mom and Dad, Hubby or Wifey, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, kids, nieces, nephews, the mailman who delivers your mail promptly every day and even his new baby girl? When was the last time you actually bought yourself a holiday gift? 


Maybe you saw that hot new dress in the window of your favorite store on your way to Toys R Us and you even paused for a second and thought about buying it. In your head, you may have thought, "It's a waste of money because I'll only be able to wear it once or twice before it gets too big" or "I don't have money" or "I gotta get so many gifts today"   or one of a million other excuses. The reality of it is that you are saying to yourself. I AM NOT WORTH IT. I am not worth that dress or that gym membership or that new mini donut pan you have been coveting (oh wait thats me coveting the mini donut pan :-P) 


Today there are some great Cyber Monday deals happening. I must have gotten over 100 emails, twitter messages, Facebook messages etc telling me about all the great deals happening. I have decided today that I am worth something new!!  


I just wanted to share some of the Cyber Monday deals I have found and got excited over and maybe you will decide today that you are worth it too!  

Fitbit Wireless Trainer - This device automatically tracks your daily movements and sleep cycles to help determine if you are getting enough exercise and sleep.
Save $10 with this code - AFPFBIT24






















        Slimpressions - Shape wear to slim out our post surgery imperfections
        Save 40% on all shapewear with this code - CM40

BJ Bariatrics - Sells loads of products that meet all of our Bariatric needs!
Save 16% on any 2.1lbs tube of Syntrax Nectar with this code - ORANGEDECEMBER
Save 30% on any fit and fresh products with this coupon code - 

CYBERMONDAY

Ample Goddess - Creates beautiful Jewelry in all sizes! Make sure you     

check out her selection of plus size bracelets and anklets :-) 

For 25% off use coupon code - CYBERMONDAY 

HAPPY CYBER MONDAY!!