Good morning, everyone! Another week of the BSC 2011 challenge is in the books, and this marks the end of the first full month. Was it a good week or did the weight loss total continue its downward slide? Let’s break it down, shall we?
After a steady decline in weekly weight loss over the last two weeks I knew I had to step this week up if I wanted to hit my goal of twenty pounds of total loss in January. I really stuck to the diet this week, eating my usual oatmeal, chicken, greens and sparse dinner while drinking a crapton of water every day. Let’s talk about that for a minute, shall we? I like water. I do. I know that I am 80% water and I need water to survive. I know that I will die more quickly from dehydration than I will from starvation. What I do NOT like is having to pee every 45 minutes. Seriously, it sucks. Constantly back and forth to the pisser. Sure, I understand that it’s my body getting rid of the crap but come on. Let’s see if we can pump the brakes a little, huh, bladder? I was recently told conversation about my urinary habits and anger towards them was “attractive”, though I’m pretty sure she was kidding. But I digress…
During week three The Simpleton came to me with an idea. While he and some of the other members of the Cosby Sweaters team were at CES they met some of the nice people at DigiFit. DigiFit makes a suite of apps and hardware that connect to your iPod, iPad or iPhone that allow you to track data from your workouts. The Simpleton had shown them the entries in the Big Skeezy Challenge and set up a phone call between yours truly and the founder of the company, Michael. We spoke last Tuesday, at which point he told me his story and why he developed this system. After the call Michael offered to send me the Digifit connect (the apparatus that acts as a receiver on your device of choice) and a heart monitor, which straps around your chest during workouts. I received it last Friday and began using it. So far I have to say I’m very impressed, though I do accidentally stop my workouts in the middle sometimes by fat fingering the music button (DigiFit allows you to control your iTunes playlists while working out). When Michael and I spoke he told me how amazing it is to actually see data about your workouts like a professional athlete would. It helps you figure out what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. After a few uses I’m already hooked. It’s like playing a big video game. Here’s a shot of my main screen, showing the three workouts I’ve done, measured in calories burned. The blue numbers at the top are my weight, from last Tuesday to this morning, and the right side of the graph represents the weight scale:
You also get summaries of your workouts when you’ve finished, which you can upload to facebook, email to friends, or connect with various health and fitness sites. Here’s an example of my first workout using the DigiFit and the heart monitor:
And this was my basketball game on Sunday. Notice the difference in the zones (heart rates). The basketball game was almost pure Zone 5, where your heart is going to leap from your chest:
Like Michael said, seeing the data is really helpful (not to mention fun). I’m enjoying using this system. They make (or partner with people who make) a bunch of other nifty sensor and toys, from wifi-enabled scales to gadgets which track distance, pace, etc. It’s a great system, and one I’m very quickly becoming a big fan of.
All of that aside, let’s get to the good stuff. How did I do? Did I hit the 20 pound mark? I got onto the scale this morning, looked down and discovered I’d lost…
…6 pounds!
For those of you keeping score at home, that a grand total of 22 pounds lost for the month of January. Needless to say, I feel great. I’m starting to notice it, too, not just in the way my clothes are fitting more loosely but also in the mirror. I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum up. Now that I’m back in the gym I figure I can keep up a pretty good pace. The goal for February is another 20 pounds lost. Can I do it? Stay tuned and find out!
As always, many thanks to everyone who’s been so supportive through this. It means the world to me.
