3 Simple Fitness Tools That Make Life Easier

Some of you are new to fitness, and I wanted to share some tools that I have found useful throughout my journey. At first starting a new lifestyle can be overwhelming. For me it seemed like everything I thought was right and helping me was actually wrong and affecting my progress. It takes time to learn a new way, and it is an ongoing process as things continue to change. These are 3 simple things that you can add to your daily life that will aid in your journey.

#1- Polar Heart Rate Monitor

You have to know your route to get to your destination right? Well knowing how many calories you are burning during your workout is part of that route. Your first step will be to figure out your caloric needs for your goal. Once you figure out the calorie range that you need to stay in to reach your goal, you can make a plan around that. Part of that plan is knowing how many calories you are burning. Aside from knowing how many calories I am burning, using a heart rate monitor gets me pumped up and pushes me to keep going. It helps me realize when I am in my zone, or when I am not pushing myself hard enough. The best way to see results is to be working out at the right intensity, and this helps you do that! 

I use the Polar models, because it is easy to use and I feel that the calorie burn count is more accurate than others that I have used in the past. Knowing how many calories I am burning during my workout helps me adjust my meal plan to better suit my caloric needs. The Polar is also cool because it has a cake on the screen on my birthday (it's the little things).

Whether it is a polar model or not, the important thing is to keep track of what you are doing. 

#2- My Fitness Pal App

Another tool that I have found useful throughout my journey is the MyFitnessPal app. You can find this app by searching MyFitnessPal in the app section of your smart phone. This was extremely useful to me because I often found myself snacking. When you are a snacker like myself, you don't always realize how the calories are actually adding up throughout the day. Using this app helped me get in the habit of logging all my food. When I log my food I can see how many calories I am eating throughout the day so I don't end up way over the range I need to be in to see results. Before using MyFitnessPal I had no idea how many calories were in the things I ate. Once I started using it I quickly began to realize how many calories are in the foods I ate which helped me make better decision. I now log my food every day and keep track of what I am eating, how many calories I am taking in, my water intake, and exercise. It is basically an electronic food and exercise journal. One major reason logging your meals and workouts is important is that it enables you to review what you are doing and make changes. If you are not seeing the results you hoped for all you have to do is look back at what you are doing and make changes. If you need help recognizing what changes to make please message me. 

#3- The Fooducate App

The Fooducate App was very helpful when it came to game time decisions at the grocery store. Often times the packaging of food is very misleading. It may appear to be healthy, but actually is not. Whenever I am unsure about an item at the grocery store I whip out my iphone and scan the bar code of the item with the fooducate app. Fooducate then grades that item (A+-F) by a scientific algorithm based on the nutrition facts and ingredient list. It explains why the item is good or bad. This helps to make an educated decision when buying groceries. I usually won't ever buy anything under a B-. 

Adding these three simple tools to my daily life has helped me to make better decisions, keep track of my journey, and be more present in the fitness process. I wanted to share them with you all so that you could do the same! Hope it helps! 

If you would like to talk more about useful fitness apps, upcoming challenge groups, or how to make me your coach please send me a message at Messina1892@gmail.com!