Fall Health Goals Check In: Jawbone Update
My arm party stack of bracelets has officially added a new, permanent resident: the Jawbone Up 24 band. I've been wearing the band for several weeks now and I'm hooked. I LOVE this band... So much so, I'm pretty sure I'll be incorporating the Jawbone Up 24 band into my wedding wellness practice for every client. Over the past few weeks, I've learned a lot about my habits.
My original goals for fall were to move more and sit less and get back into my smoothie and salad routine. But really, the band gave me way more insight into the way I function and gave me even better data than I had hoped for. Partnering with Jawbone helped to give me tracking data to show what kinds of days and schedules helped or hurt my goals. From a starting point, I really just needed to know where I stood in terms of sleep quality ( I KNOW I need 8 hours to function), how many steps I take and the reality of calorie numbers (time for a check in). Even if you don't have the Jawbone UP 24 band, you can still use the UP app to log food, movement and sleep!
Here's what I've learned:
- I learned that when I'm at my home office, on days I don't work out, I take a shameful number of steps. Or lack of steps. I'm horrified. Even if I'm working in a standing desk, that's not enough. On days that I'm out and about, like this weekend or when I'm at my Georgetown office, I crush my goal. Having the feedback to see how many steps I take motivates me to take MORE.
- I need 8 hours of sleep...because my quality of sleep is horrible. I had no idea how cool the Jawbone was with gauging sleep. It showed me light sleep vs deep sleep, how long it took me to fall asleep and how many times I woke up. At this point I'm working to improve my quality of sleep, which I think will happen with cooler evenings and moving more! I also am having my husband wear the band to check out his quality of sleep. Since he can cruise on 5 hours easily, I suspect his deep sleep is primo.
- Having my salad a day keeps me in check and traveling kills my nutrition balance. I don't count calories personally. I look for balance. I know portion sizes. I know weight loss techniques because it's my job. But here's where jawbone helped me: it showed me my salad a day technique is great. And it showed me when traveling it is hard to eat healthy. When I did my Skyline drive trip, yes I expended a ton of calories, but UGH it was impossible to find veggies in a low population area! Luckily, packing healthy snacks helped me there.
This past weekend when I went hiking, I was SO excited to use the app. It was really gratifying to see how many steps I took!
I'm obsessed with the UP 24 system and highly, highly recommend it. With tons of colors (personally recommending navy blue or black from a closet staple perspective), it blends seamlessly into daily life. The app is easy to use and I LOVE that it syncs wirelessly. Switching the band between sleep mode, timer, power nap and 'daytime' is simple. And it's helping me live Healthfully Ever After in an efficient, tech savvy way.
/// Disclosure: Thanks so much to Jawbone for sponsoring today's post! All opinions are my own. ///
Dietitian Nutritionist and cookbook author sharing flavor-forward recipes and simplified science-driven wellness.