How My Fitbit (Possibly) Saved My Life

I got my Fitbit Charge HR in January of this year and have been obsessed with it ever since. I love the damn thing. The sister has one, too, and we chat all the time about our step goals and calorie goals and how well we slept.

I am aware, 100% aware, that the Fitbit Charge HR is not a medical device that doctors use for diagnostic or evaluative purposes. I know this. Please understand that I know this.

But I am involved with my Fitbit Charge HR. Checking my stats has become part of my daily routine.

When I first noticed, because of the Fitbit Charge HR,  that my resting heart rate seemed low, I asked the fiance about it. I am  banned from not comfortable researching any sort of medical issue on the internet, and so the fiance read a little bit about resting heart rates and we decided I was most likely getting an erroneous low read out and also that maybe my hard work in the gym was paying off. (But probably just an incorrect read out.)

I didn’t think very much more about my resting heart rate for a while, to be honest. Months and months went by and, although I struggled to get my heart rate up in the gym, I just assumed I wasn’t working hard enough. See picture below. 9 weeks ago.

I felt very frustrated because I really pushed myself in the gym, like harder than ever, to the point that by the time I made it back to my desk at work (I work out on my lunch break) I could barely move. When I did cardio, I sprinted to the point where I gasped for breath. I wanted to burn the calories and I wanted the Fitbit to register my intense workout and that just simply wasn’t happening.

I’ve always struggled with that in the gym, though. I always felt really tired, even if I took a (gasp) pre-workout. I never had the energy levels that other people seemed to have but I never thought much of it.

But enough with my background.

About a month ago, I started having dizzy spells. I would feel very faint, cold, and completely depleted of energy.  I  felt so drained when these spells occurred that it seemed like I was trying to move through sand. I couldn’t focus. Everything felt blurry. This wouldn’t last all day, but it started happening multiple times daily, and I started to freak out.

The fiance and I couldn’t figure out what was causing these spells. I never fainted. (I have fainted twice before – both times over 5 years ago.) It wasn’t my blood sugar, because eating didn’t help. It wasn’t lack of sleep, because I am old now and go to bed at a decent hour. It wasn’t temperature related. It was scary, though.

The fiance finally came back around to asking about my heart rate when this happened. According to my Fitbit, I was in the high 40’s or low 50’s in terms of beats per minute. Really low, guys. Really low. We went back and looked at my average daily heart rate since I started wearing the Fitbit, and this time we thought: This doesn’t look okay.

I started to freak out, again, and for multiple reasons.

1. I freak out about anything medical. Simple as that.
2. One of my very best friends passed away from a heart attack very, very young.
3. The mom also suffered a near fatal heart attack as an adult.
4. The dad suffered a stroke and I thought he might also possibly have heart issues.

I felt the fiance and I weren’t overreacting, especially considering my symptoms.

Here are some snippets from my Fitbit:

        

I do have a tendency to go to the doctor for no reason, but this time it seemed warranted. So I made a doctor’s appointment.

The doctor did an EKG and, as it turns out, I have Bradycardia, an unusually slow heartbeat.

The doctor also ordered all sorts of blood tests to determine if there was an obvious underlying cause for the Bradycardia, like my thyroid. After a few days of waiting (and panicking but pretending not to panic) I got the call that my blood tests came back just fine.

I have Bradycardia and we don’t know why.

I found this to be unacceptable. Because of my family history, and because I lost someone very important to me due to cardiac issues, I asked for a referral to a cardiologist. Sometimes Bradycardia is just…happening… and there are no issues and no treatment is needed. But I felt exhausted and extremely weak randomly throughout the day, and I don’t want to feel that way anymore, so I asked for the referral.

The mom has only great things to say about her cardiologist, so I requested a referral to him, but first I was required to wear a Cardiac Event Recorder for two weeks.

The recorder was shipped directly to my house. The fiance then assisted me with putting it on correctly.

And, as of today, I have worn it for two weeks. Check. Done. 

I’m not exactly sure how anyone could wear this thing for more than two weeks. It clunks and bangs around while you have it on, the wires get hooked on everything, the goo leftover from the patches is disgusting, and you can’t roll around while you sleep.

Don’t get me wrong, I feel super glad that I wore the recorder and hopefully it will give me some answers. But it was a struggle.

I send the recorder back today, and will call the doctor and schedule a follow-up and a consultation with a cardiologist.

My Fitbit Charge HR alerted me to a health issue and is ultimately what led me to make the initial doctor’s appointment that started this whole journey. I knew I loved the damn thing, but I never knew that keeping such a close eye on the data it provides could be so beneficial.

Maybe this Bradycardia issue will be nothing, but it is probably something, and without the Fitbit I don’t know that I would have ever recognized my low heart rate.

I just wanted to track my steps and calories. I ended up stepping myself right over to a cardiologist.

I still have no answers. Hopefully the cardiologist can help me determine what’s happening and what I need to do, if anything, to fix it. Until then, I will keep a close eye on the Fitbit Charge HR and, as always, I will keep everyone posted.

MKB

FitnessFridays: Getting Started, Part 2 (Lift the Weights)

Now that you can read the workouts and understand them (Getting Started Part 1) you need to be able to walk in the gym and actually lift!

I am going to get real basic and real…. real with you on this lifting thing. To be 100% honest, this post could be summed up with one word: Google. Okay. maybe two: Google and YouTube.

Want to know how chest press with dumbbells?

• Step 1: Google chest press with dumbbells

• Step 2: Click images or video

• Step 3: Watch video or look at pictures

• Step 4: Bookmark page on phone to revert back to while at gym

So, by now you may be like, well, that’s great and kind of sarcastic (that is really how most people would describe me) but I do not even know WHAT EXERCISES to Google, and what to do when, and how often, or how long, and how much weight….. ALL THE QUESTIONS!!

Okay, to that I say two things: Google and YouTube… Joking, joking, maybe….

It really can be SUPER overwhelming and I understand a trainer is expensive.  So I have done some of the work for you and found three FREE workouts online for you to try if you want.

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→ Jamie Eason Free Workout (and Bonus Nutrition Plan)  

This is a great beginners plan! While you are on this website click around. Pretty much any information you need to know can be found somewhere on bodybuilding.com

→ 12 Week Beginners Program 

This program starts with you only lifting 2 days a week and slowly progresses to more days and specific body parts being targeted.

→Muscle and Fitness Hers Beginners Program

This program has great pictures right along with the workouts.

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There are a TON more workouts out there. These are just three that I know are good!

Do not forget to check out Pinterest and Instagram for workout ideas.

Speaking of IG, I have an account where I do post workouts from time to time, so make sure to check me out there.

Now: go Google how to lift things… and then go lift them.

Abby

The 5 People You Meet in Online Fitness Groups

I try to keep up with my fitness…as best as I can, anyway. My boss is pretty lenient when it comes to lunch breaks so most of the time I squeeze in a gym hour while I run my afternoon work errands. It’s a pretty good system.

I also like to get advice, and help, and tips, and workouts, and ideas from fellow gym-goers and so I follow some (super funny) fitness people on IG. I took it one step further recently, though, and I joined some Facebook groups devoted to fitness.

Then I left the groups.

I’ll admit I’m not the biggest people person in the world, but I really started to get physically angry reading some posts in these groups. For some of y’all these groups might be great, and that’s wonderful for you. Really. Seriously. But let me prepare you for what you’re in for before you join them.

Here are the types of people who led me to click the unfollow / leave group button.

1. The “What’s your favorite….?” People

When I first joined these groups, I saw a lot of posts asking people what their favorite workout things are, and I thought that was great! It’s better to research before buying something, and a lot of times fitness related items are expensive.

I commented, at first, and a lot, because others have guided me on my fitness journey (I’m looking at you, Abby & Kayce), and so I wanted to help.

I probably commented 17 times that Cellucor makes the best protein powder before I realized that these people don’t actually scroll through the group and read past posts. The same questions kept coming up over and over and over… and most of them started with “what’s your favorite…”.

If you join one of these groups, do try and scroll first and see what other people have said. You don’t have to go 3 years deep into a group’s history, but chances are your question has been answered.

2. The “Here’s a picture of me, clearly 20 pounds later, with the title: I’m Not Seeing Any Progress!” Person

I LOVE seeing the progress picture posts. Go you! Go everyone! It’s hard to stay on track and get fit. But there are always those people who put up a  recent picture of themselves beside the before picture and there’s obvious weight loss / definition / progress. And it’s captioned: My diet / gym routine / whatever I’m doing isn’t working! 

This really irritates me because I just want people to be honest. Put the picture up and say: Look at me! I’m killing it! But all those posts you put up of you looking fabulous and saying you look awful might discourage someone who has a lot more work to do.

I understand that everyone needs a thumbs-up sometimes, especially if you’re feeling frustrated, and especially with weight loss. But everyone knows you look better — and so do you. Don’t diminish your progress by fishing for compliments in the wrong way.

3. The Know-it-All

Under each comment, thread, post, or picture you will encounter the Know-it-All who most likely doesn’t have any sort of degree or certification but will quickly and harshly explain how you’re an idiot and they know everything.

In one of the groups I was in, someone commented asking about the importance of cardio in their daily routine. The Know-it-All immediately responded by letting that person know that they don’t need to do cardio, like ever, to lose weight and that science backs up this opinion.

Welp, I don’t have any certifications or degrees but I will say that as far as I know a caloric deficit = bye bye pounds. I lost over 40 pounds by running on my sister’s treadmill at her house because I couldn’t afford a gym membership. I ate less and burned calories. With cardio.

I’m not trying to start an argument about the best way to lose weight, because I personally feel like everyone is different and what works for me might not work for you. People also have different goals. But I do feel like bossing people around and telling them 100% they should not do cardio is not productive and makes people feel discouraged… and I see this happen a lot with a lot of different topics.

That’s my two cents, anyway. Who am I kidding… we’re on a restrictive budget. That’s my 1 cent.

4. The Person that Doesn’t Know How to Google

How much is an elliptical machine? How do I order protein? What’s planking? What’s my target heart rate? How do I spiralize zucchini? How many calories are in a blueberry?

Guys, I know it’s great to get support and answers from fellow fitness folk, and I realize that Google is not the end-all for all your questions.

However.

People should utilize that crazy search engine before asking super basic questions and before asking the same questions over and over. Google exists for a reason.

I feel like posts asking a group for advice about your personal situation, or posting an accurate selfie to brag on yourself, or admitting you accidentally ate a whole cake yesterday make for better discussion in a group.

Asking how much protein is in a FiberOne Bar is not a great discussion post. It’s on the box. It’s also on Google.

5. The Read My Blog! Person

I’m all for self-promotion. If you’re friends with me or follow me on Facebook (MaryKatherine) then you know I post all my articles immediately. Self-promotion really doesn’t bother me and neither do great blogs and great writers and great advice.

What does bother me is when people respond with every question or post with a link to their blog. I feel like there’s a happy medium. If someone asks what stretch to do if they’ve hurt their hamstring and you wrote a blog post entitled “What Stretch to do When You’ve Hurt Your Hamstring” then, by all means, link that! But don’t respond with, “Hey! Check out my blog, I think it could help!”

I’m really not a Negative Nancy. I do like having the feeling of a large amount of support and positivity from groups, and weight loss and fitness and health are definitely subjects that require a lot of support and positivity.

I think groups can be super beneficial when it comes to losing weight, so don’t take this the wrong way. I just want everyone to be prepared for what to expect when they join a large group. I literally read a post on one of my fitness groups asking for advice on what mascara to wear to the gym. Just don’t be that person, or any of the aforementioned people, and I think you’ll be fine.

MKB

FitnessFridays (My 5 Favorite Things to Eat Right Now)

So, the new year is in full swing and to be honest when the clock stuck 12 on the 31st, I really did not have a huge goal or resolution in mind!!! I know, crazy, right? Me: type-A, let’s plan everything out,  and write it out, and make lists and make everyone else get on board. With no new plan.

I had no big, super exciting thing to work toward. (Okay, I’m still bitter over the loss of my half marathon goal.)

I was kind drifting along…

• Make food log CHECK
• Sort of follow the food log CHECK
• Go to gym CHECK
• Sort of work hard at gym CHECK
• Drink water most of the time CHECK    

That has pretty much summed it up for November, December and the first bit of January.

Then, bam! This blogger I follow has a challenge group and I think, yea, I like food and fitness and supportive women, sign me up.

So I did. And she let me in the group. Then, come to find out, you can try to get in this like 90-Day Harder Challenge Thingy, so I fill out the questionnaire knowing good and well I will never get picked. (I did not even have my sister proof read my answers.) But, then, I get in to the 90 day challenge group!

At first I was SUPER excited ’cause, duh, I geek out over fitness. But then I read all the guidelines and challenges and I was like….. Oh. Crap. I am gonna have to really do this. Like REALLY REALLY do this. No more pretending this last bit of weight will just fall off whilst eating pizza.

So part of the requirements to stay in the group (and have my ass kicked) is to log my food and hit my macros. I thought, okay, I will share my favorite 5 things I am eating right now and that are going to help me rock this 90 day challenge!

Without further ado, and the real reason you scrolled past all my ramblings:

My Five Favorite Healthy Things to Eat Right Now

1. Taco Salad in a Bowl

Ok, I know you are like no, that’s not taco salad… Hear me out: ground turkey, onions, peppers, brown rice, lettuce, salsa it’s amazing…EAT IT!

Bonus information on the turkey meat: I cook like 3-4lbs of that at a time, usually with onions and peppers Then I freeze individual portions.  It defrosts in no time and is super versatile when planning meals.

2. Buffalo Cauliflower

Sometimes I fancy this up and use wheat germ and almond flour to give it a fake fried feeling. Really though, most of the time for meal prep, I roast it and shake it in sauce.

Roast the cauliflower in the oven, then shake it around in some buffalo sauce. Super easy.

3. Sweet and Spicy Tuna with Brown Rice

4. Grilled BBQ Chicken with Broccoli and Brown Rice

Roll Tide. Really best grilled chicken EVER! Why I married the man.

5. My Protein-Powder-with-Greek-Yogurt-Ice-Cream-Kind-of-Brownie-Batter Treat

Old picture from this summer. This one has cake batter protein. Apparently my favorite things to eat do not change much.

1 scoop protein powder of your choice (I recommend Cellucor Cor-Performance Whey)

1 cup greek yogurt

Put it in the freezer if you want it to be like ice cream (for 7-10 minutes) or eat it right away if you want it to be like batter!!!

Bonus: my breakfast every morning.

(Also bonus, I cook  a bunch of turkey sausage peppers and onions at one time. Then I just measure them out into my egg whites each morning.)

Egg whites with turkey sausage on top a piece of ezekiel bread. You know I had to throw some green peppers and onions in the mix

Happy New year!

Abby