ESWD

This has been a tough week. I got back on the bandwagon with a diet program, went to a seriously tough barre class, and have punished myself with a large amount of food porn. While I write and create my content for myself and an audience, this one is really about keeping me motivated while I acclimate to changes.

I don't crave sweets much, but when I do it is intense. Luckily, I really chia pudding and this chocolate version looks like it would definitely hit the spot when chocolate dominates my thoughts. I am trying desperately to drink more water, but between having to run to the bathroom constantly and getting bored of the taste I don't stick with it. Detox or infused waters will most likely do the trick and many tasty combinations actually make your water even better for your body. 

Is there such a thing as activewear envy? If so, I have it. I'm in that awkward stage where I don't really want things too form fitting, but I am looking forward to the day when I will gladly throw on this very cute tank, cut outs and all, and rock that bad boy. Yep, I'm going to be that broken record and talk about my love of home workouts with yet another. Whatever your reason for wanting a work out that can be done outside of a gym/studio you have to try this full body barre workout and find out what all the fuss is about.

Got 7 Minutes? You've Got a Full Body Workout!

I'm at the particular stage in my fitness cycle where the idea of going to the dentist sounds more appealing than hitting the gym. I know, it's that bad. Even doing Jillian Michaels' "Ripped in 30" becomes daunting to me because honestly who wants to be uncomfortable for 30 whole minutes? Not me.

While exercising my right pointer finger scrolling through Twitter one day, I came across an article that appeared in the New York Times Magazine called "The Scientific 7-Minute Workout." This sounded way too good to be true, but I was intrigued and went ahead and read the article. Quoting a scientific study from the American College of Sports Medicine's Health and Fitness Journal the article states that "In 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall, it fulfills the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort — all of it based on science." 

This sounds like my kind of workout. No gym. No equipment. Just 12 exercises and 7 minutes. Sounds totally doable, right? I'd like to build up a list of options for physical activity for those days when I don't want to leave my couch. What are some of your go to workouts for when you just have no motivation to get a good sweat on? 

Photo by Pop Sugar

Becoming Accountable

We've all been there. You've had a long day, you are mentally and physically exhausted, and all you want to do is couch surf and zone out when you get home from work. But what happens when this becomes a pattern of behavior? Weight gain...that's what happens. I won't pretend that I have too much going on, or that there are not enough hours in the week to accomplish everything I should on a regular basis. What I will tell you is I have gotten lazy and unmotivated when it comes to working out. 

I, like many, go through regular cyclical phases where I am super active, love the gym, and can't wait to dive into a salad. Unfortunately, there is an ugly side to that cycle where I don't move nearly as much, eat crap, and generally just don't want to work out. I work a desk job which makes it even easier to slide into this "comfort zone." What I needed was to become aware of my lack of inactivity and to find a way to become accountable. I have a coworker that started using a FitBit to track her steps, activity, and make her more aware of how little she was actually moving. This sounded like a great idea because what's more motivating than seeing you have only walked 20% of the steps you should be walking in a day? I finally pulled my head out of my butt and bought one last week. 

 What you get in the box:

- FitBit One Tracker
- Sweatproof silicone clip
- Wristband to track sleep/silent alarm use
- Wireless dongle to sync the tracker 
- USB charging cord
- How to download the user interface & app

FitBit One Screens:

- Steps Taken
- Distance Walked
- Calories Burned
- Not pictured : steps climbed













So far one of the things I like most about the FitBit One is the online interface/app that easily depict your progress through the day. The clean interface and graphs help to see what you have accomplished and how much more you need to do. 

Hands down though, the coolest feature of the FitBit One is the sleep tracker & silent alarm. You wear the wristband provided and slip the tracker onto it. This tracks how long it took you to get to sleep, the amount of time you were asleep, number of times you wake up, periods of restlessness, and takes all that information to calculate the actual time spent sleeping. The silent alarm feature allows you to set an alarm and be woken up by gentle vibrations from your tracker rather than jarring loud beeping first thing in the morning. 

I am really excited to start using this thing to it's full potential. All ready I feel like I have to answer to this little machine for not moving my derriere enough. How do you stay motivated and accountable? I'd love more ideas on staying active!