I shared a while back that I had embarked upon the next phase of my wellness journey and that I took the step of joining Weight Watchers. I am now about 3.5 months in and I am so happy with my decision to do it.

I feel great, and it’s not just the fact that people keep complimenting me on the way I look…I actually FEEL better. My energy levels are getting back to what I am used to. I can bend down to tie a pair of shoes and not lose my breath (as you may remember was the case this winter when I would bend to zip up my boots).

I am not going to say that it is always easy- I have to remember to keep track of everything that I eat – but the Weight Watchers App makes it incredibly easy to track. No matter where I am, I have access to it on my phone, and I can use the app on my phone to scan barcodes at the store before buying a new product, so that I know how many ‘points’ per serving I am signing up for!

The hardest part is on the days when I am really hungry and find myself snacking more than usual. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen…and often on those days  I eat more points worth of food than I have in my budget.

Gratefully Weight Watchers teaches us not to beat ourselves up about it, just to make a decision to stay on plan the following day and move forward. I actually love the fact that the program is designed for ‘real life’ in that way.  In addition, there is a way to earn extra points, and that is through exercise and physical activity – these are called FitPoints.

I want to explain  that while the program doesn’t encourage members to overeat and then ‘work it all off’ by earning FitPoints, the program does acknowledge that sometimes we are going to go over our ‘budget’ of food points and that engaging in physical activity is a great way to counterbalance the effects of that.

This is where my Fitbit comes in. I now know that I walk at least 10,000 steps every day, with very few exceptions, and thanks to the very cool way that my Fitbit syncs with the Weight Watchers app, I also know that I earn 10 FitPoints for those 10,000 steps.  That earns me at least 70 extra FitPoints per week, so if I end up eating a little bit ‘over budget’ in a week, I can be confident that I have a tad of wiggle room, because I earn a whole lot of FitPoints 🙂

For example: Today, I’m almost at 70 FitPoints even though I forgot to wear my Fitbit all day on Monday and and I still have the rest of today and tomorrow all day to earn more!

Usually, I actually don’t even touch my weekly FitPoints in exchange for SmartPoints (the points that are used for food), because truthfully, my regular points’ allowance’ is enough (sometimes MORE than enough) to keep me satisfied.  That said, there are certain days where I am SOOOOO hungry and those days can affect my points allowance for the week.  Those weeks I am super grateful to have the option of hopping on the treadmill or taking a long walk with my hubby to work off some of the extra points that I have taken in.

When I was at Walt Disney World a few months ago, I obviously had a harder time keeping track of points, and most definitely indulged in some delicious foods (especially on the cruise portion!) That said, I was walking SO much , that it clearly helped…when I got back to my next WW meeting, I was shocked to find out that I actually LOST weight.  Now the FitBit obviously doesn’t do the exercise- I do – BUT having a way to measure even my own steps and having it sync seamlessly on my phone, gives me a sense of control and empowers me further to make better decisions to compensate for some of those ‘indulgences’.

This is a screenshot of the kind of walking I was doing in Disney – no wonder I was able to get away with those indulgences!

At that time I was using an older model FitBit Charge  which was already great, but since then, I received an awesome FitBit Charge 2 from TELUS that I have been using for several months now and I just love it.

I guess I’ve come a long way from using my first Fitbit to monitor my sleep (as you may recall from last year’s post). This year, when I got the Fitbit Charge 2, I was already in my wellness-groove and ready to put it to more use than just sleep monitoring!  Given that I did get my Fitbit Charge 2 from TELUS, I want to add that many people don’t know that they have a lot more to offer than just phones and plans. They sell lots of cool gadgets for connected health and more( including awesome headphones and earbuds so you can enjoy music while you walk!) Also,  if you’re not sure about how to put your latest gadget to good use, you can schedule a complimentary one-on-one learning session  with an expert and they’ll help you get set up – Click here to learn more 🙂

That being said, my Fitbit syncs so beautifully with the WW app that I didn’t even need to enlist the help of an expert!

I find that it helps me in other ways as well. During the day, I’ll feel a little vibration on my wrist, and it will be my Fitbit suggesting that I ‘Go for’ x number of steps.  – I can’t always get up from what I’m doing to do it, but sometimes it’s just enough of a gentle nudge to get me to get up to get a glass of water or a cup of coffee, or take a trip to the washroom.  Often on my way back to my desk I’ll get some form of ‘cheering on’ and congratulatory message from my Fitbit – for example : “You did it!” .  It’s silly, but at the same time, it actually provides me with positive words and positive energy.

What else do I love about my Fitbit?

I love that when I get a text and my phone is on silent, I get a little vibration on my wrist and a tiny preview of my message.  This only works when bluetooth is enabled, of course, but it is a great feature.

I love that when I hit my 10,000 steps I feel a different sort of vibration and when I look at my wrist I see Fireworks and a rocket ship launching – it seems silly, but t’s just a little but of reinforcement and it reminds me that I am doing a better job at taking better care of myself.  That little vibration actually makes me aware, even if for a brief moment, that I am taking better care of myself and the fact that I get these little messages and vibrations throughout the day keep my my journey to wellness closer to the ‘forefront’ of my thoughts, if that makes any sense. I am reminded that taking care of myself is something I need to work at, I get encouragement for doing a good job at it, and the awareness keeps me in a healthy and positive frame of mind.

I’m going to leave you on that note as I am only 8110 steps into my day and I’m feeling the need to move!

Tanya

Disclosure: I am part of  #TeamTelus and from time to time receive products and access to special events. As always, all opinions contained herein are my own and can never be bought 🙂