...or at least how he starts motivating himself!
I've been faffing about umming and ahhing over getting back into shape for about the last six months. False starts here, good intentions there, but nothing concrete. With the coming of spring I have finally started to do something properly; and those who follow my
Twitter stream will have noticed the odd
runkeeper report starting to creep back in.
Baby steps so far, a few 1.5 mile runs initially; a couple of 2.25 mile ones this week. Still, something is
*far* better than nothing!
Last time I did the "getting fit thing" I started out using "My Tracks" by Google on my Android phone before changing to Runkeeper as a way to track my exercise. This worked to a point, and is working again. Posting regular updates to my stream keeps me honest (even if it may annoy people who get annoyed over automated updates), and the stats show me how I'm improving. Going faster / further is a good incentive. Remebering to take my headphones also helps!
However, this time it just doesn't seem to be enough. I managed to sort my diet out last time by following the Dukan diet, and the newness of this , combined with the strict, easy to follow rules, really helped. I can't do it again! Having done it once I know what awaits me, and I can't face it alone!
But I'm a geek!! Technology is
*always* the answer. With this in mind, I've been researching
Fitbit. It tracks everything, not just the main exercise. It checks my sleep patterns. It gives
*lots* of stat porn! One, minor, problem; apparently the food tracking is very American based. Quick bit of research, and I came up with
MyFitnessPal. This links with Fitbit, and tracks your food through their database which either works through keywords, or by barcode scan (if your food comes that way (which most of mine doesn't!)).
I ordered the Fitbit today, setup my account and linked it with Runkeeper. Then I setup MyFitnessPal, linked that with Fitbit, and setup the app on my phone. So far, it works. Obviously the system isn't tracking my movements yet (I haven't got the dongle), but some assumptions are being made to give baseline results. Food is being tracked, and calories counted. Exercise is recorded, and calories dropped accordingly. It all looks good.
The mental side is working too. I went to Subway for lunch, and got one of their Subway club sandwiches. 6 Inch, no cheese, honey and mustard dressing (not fat). On adding it into the app, I couldn't bring myself to add the crsips that I was going to get to go with it; back on the shelf they went. The bottle of water was an easy purchase! The sandwich didn't taste nearly as good as it usually does. I don't think I'll be back at Subway for a while!
The final piece of my geek setup is my
Withings scale. I got this last time I was losing weight on a special deal (also, I paid for it, via Amazon, with some returned items). It's a simple thing; but again, the stat porn more than makes up for it. I know my weight over time, how much of that is fat / lean, how it varies against exercise, and, now, how it varies with food, daily routine.
Hopefully all this new geeky stuff will be enough to kick start things to the point where the weight loss / fitness level is itself the main driving factor.
