Product Advice

I have a fitbit. It helps to motivate me to move more. It's not that accurate when I do cardio. I use my polar HRM to get a more accurate number. It also doesn't seem to be accurate when carrying things.

I have a Fitbit and absolutely love it. It has been extremely motivating for me to get up every couple of hours and log some steps. I used to work out in the AM and that was it; sedentary most of the rest of the day. Now I take a 20 min. walk after both lunch and dinner, and am conscious of how long I have been sitting and make a point of moving around more so I can make my targets.

I do wear my HRM for workouts and override Fitbit calories for that time. This combo has been extremely accurate. I figured out how many calories Fitbit thinks I am burning at rest (sitting or sleeping) and subtract that amount from my goal for the hours I will be in bed until midnight. This is my target to hit before bed. For example, Fitbit says I burn 50 calories per hour at rest (BMR), and I go to bed at 9pm. My daily burn goal is 2150 cals, and I will burn 150 cals. from 9pm-midnight while lying down. So, my target is to burn 2000 cals by 9pm. I hop on my treadmill between 8 and 8:30 and walk until I hit 2000 cals, and also 10k steps and 5 miles. If any of those are not reached I keep walking. Very motivating and helps me meet my goals.

You just have to decide if you want an on-body device like the Zip or One that you wear on your belt or bra, or a wrist model like the Flex or Force. You can compare them on the website. I have the on body and find it very discreet and accurate.

If I were choosing between and food processor and a juicer, the processor would win hands down. The juicer can only be used for juice (or soup I guess), but it removes all the fiber from the fruits and vegetables, so you're losing a lot of good stuff. The food processor uses everything and can still liquify, but can also chop, grate, etc. It is extremely useful for all types of foods and recipes.

Good luck deciding!

I recommend against the Flex. I've seen rather mixed results with it. I don't think that the wrist is a very good place from which to measure and estimate body movement. I strongly recommend the One instead (especially since the One has a display and counts elevation/stairs).

Also, lunges and squats get boring because there's no real progression. You're not training for any kind of particular goal. That's boring by nature. Start to incorporate strength training, and your goal can will be adding more weight to the bar. Look up Stronglifts. There's a ton of info about it on MFP, and even a women's Stronglifts group.

Actually never heard of doing lunges with a barbell. Do you continually increase the weight on the bar? How much are you lifting now?

I'm not fit at all. I'm actually very out of shape. I DO have a fitbit though. I have a fairly sedentary lifestyle, and I didn't realize it until I got the fitbit. I don't log my workouts anymore; I only use the fitbit calorie adjustment. I've found it doesn't work quite as accurately if I'm on the elliptical at the gym, but seemed pretty accurate for Zumba on Monday night. I have the fitbit force...which measures floors climbed, sleep quality, steps, calories burned, distance, and "very active" minutes. And has a display. The only downside is that you have to hit the button on the force to check the time, and it takes up almost a whole inch on my wrist, so wearing a watch on my left hand with the force gets bulky.