What can I say, I absolutely love Chinese take out food.
I love the faded out pictures of the super quick food.
I love how there is also no true acknowledgement of other customers in the restaurant. A quick look up at you and then right back down to your phone.
I love the super ornate faux marble counters and large mirror. The door is usually propped open so you can hear the shoppers pounding the pavement of the strip mall and the cars humming by.
Some days, it’s exactly what the soul needs. It doesn’t even bother you that an hour after eating your favorite item from the menu, you are hungry again.
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What can I say, I could ask for anything this Christmas and I opted for something that most people would think is insane: a Fitbit Charge.
I have been fluctuating by 2-3 lbs for the past several years. I noticed that once I hit the big 4-0, I couldn’t keep it off.
A couple of my friends were discussing their Fitbit on their Facebook pages and I decided to do a little research. The research didn’t give me more than that it acts like a pedometer and tracks your sleeping pattern.
When I got it, I couldn’t believe how much more it does.
I found that at times it will undercount my steps and to be honest, I’m okay with that.
Counting Steps
I love that Fitbit tracks your steps. Skeptics will always ask, “But how accurate is it?” The website will tell you that they are working on making it as accurate as possible all the time.
Keep this in mind: if on your wrist and you are pushing a shopping cart or riding a bike, it will not accurately log your steps. The natural motion of your arm is what does and while doing those activities your arm is static. I always opt for wearing the wristband on my tennis shoe at those moments, so I get accurate steps.
Fitbit has many products, and they can be worn in different places. I preferred the Fitbit Charge because it acts like a watch and gives me the benefit of seeing my step count without having to look at a computer or mobile phone.
Sleep Patterns
Keeping track of my sleep patterns was another benefit that I love. Since I got married, my Husband pointed out that I snore. I started to wonder if the snoring was waking me up at night and if I should go see a Doctor about it. After going to the Doctor they weren’t concerned, so I was excited to see what Fitbit would show me.
You can choose from two settings for sleep sensitivity: normal or sensitive. I personally use normal but tried sensitive for one night and the pattern was crazy. I learned that I move my left arm a lot while I sleep.
Below is a graph example that gives me my results from sleeping.
Sleep pattern
Not too restless last night, I exercised like crazy, so I sleep pretty soundly.
Call Notification and Silent Alarm
Another fun feature is the call notification. There have been times when I have had my phone tucked away in my purse and it’s starts to ring. My purse is a disaster area so it never fails that I scrounge for it and miss the call. With the call notification feature, I can see who is calling on my wrist and then decide if that person is worth the effort. Sad, but true.
The silent alarm is another feature I take advantage of. You can set your Fitbit to vibrate at specific times. Because you wear it to bed for monitoring sleep, it makes an excellent non-noisy alarm. I have never slept through it so it works like a charm. You can set the alarm for anything you want, I personally like to use it as a wake-up alarm.
Fitbit Website
The website it what brings everything together. I am such a graph freak. If you can place any information in a graph format, I am all over it. I love the tiles that keep me updated, with how many calories I have burned, steps I have taken and calories I have consumed. When I was researching fitness devices, everyone pretty much said that Fitbit was the best designed site and provided so much useful information (and GRAPHS!).
Another item, that costs extra, and I totally love, is the Fitbit Premium membership. The membership provides you with a Fitbit Trainer that helps you meet your goals by taking into account what you have done fitness wise, and coming up with a fitness plan. I originally signed up for the trainer aspect but have fallen in love with the food report, I am totally aware of what I am eating too much and little of as I log in all my food intake. Fitbit offers you a free trial period of the premium membership, I would recommend doing that after you have about 12 weeks of logged activity to see how awesome the graphs are.
Fitbit App
What can I say about the Fitbit App. Everything is with you all the time. The Fitbit App is probably what I use the most. In it I am able to track any walking or running I do, everything I eat, and I accept challenges with other Fitbit users.
Food Log
The food log is a wonderful feature on the site and the app. Because like many others, my smartphone is always with me, I log in my food intake. The food log already has preloaded choices that Fitbit provides and users have submitted to Fitbit by taking pictures of the product and sending them to add to their database. The log function also lets you scan the proof of purchase so it can find it for you and all you have to do is choose the serving size. Because you provided Fitbit with your weight, height and goals you have set for yourself, the food log lets you know if you are below, on or above your food intake for the day.
Exercise Log
The exercise log, does a wonderful job of keeping track of all your active minutes throughout the day. The app has a built-in GPS that will keep track of your walking or running minutes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t keep track of other activities, like gym classes and other equipment you use. I find that the best way to keep track of this is to log that information into another app that shares the information with Fitbit.
The app is My Fitness Pal. I am able to keep track of the classes I take, the gym equipment I use, and all the strength training I do (reps and lbs I use).
Challenges
This feature is one of my Fitbit Friends’ favorite. Fitbit provides you with challenges to keep you motivated and to let your competitive side make you get up and go. They’re different challenges you can choose from, and you invite your friends to join in on the fun. Your friends have their daily step goal visible so you can choose friends who are trying to meet step goals that correspond with yours, or you can choose friends that are well above you so that you get yourself moving. The challenges let you taunt and cheer your friends, send messages, and before you know it, you are making new friends and getting fit at the same time.
Badges
Another fun feature is that Fitbit rewards you with badges on your journey. They’re badges for completing daily milestones and for taking steps that accumulate over time. A little way to reward you for taking care of yourself.
Conclusion
I love my Fitbit and would buy another in a heartbeat. Make sure to do your research, some of the Fitbits don’t monitorsleep, and they released a Fitbit that does monitor your heart rate, a more accurate way of keeping track of calories burned.
Thank you and enjoy your Fitbit as much as I do.
Update 2025 – The Fitbit Charge I bought is no longer available. Links are for the Fitbit Charge 2.
At Acting out Mama! I want to provide support and nourish the soul of women and all those wonderful roles we play in life.
I always find it difficult to answer the question, “What do you do?” As a Stay at Home Mom most of the time, some people roll their eyes or just dismiss that answer. My favorite is the, “Oh, that’s nice,” which really means, “How nice that you get to do nothing all day.” There was a period of time where that connotation would truly bother me and I would try to find these crazy odd jobs to do so that I could say I had a job and not say I stay at home. Those days are long gone because in truth, I am not just a Stay At Home Mom, I am that and much more.
Recently I was sitting down and trying to define who I am and it hit me: I am so many different things at one time:
*A Mother – I have two wonderful children that I am helping find their place in this world by taking care of their needs and finding what they want to do when they grow up.
*An Artist – I am an actor that is honing my craft and looking to embody rich characters on stage and screen. I also enjoy drawing and other creative outlets that I share with my children
*A Wife – I am the spouse to a wonderful man who has taken the journey of my life with me. I love that he is still my best friend after all those years.
*A Caregiver – I am at the age where my parent now needs support and care and have started the journey of becoming a caregiver to the person that helped me become who I am today.
* A Friend – Throughout the years I have been blessed with many friends that love all or some of the roles I play in life. They provide a balance in my life when everything is a little hectic or crazy. A real gem is a friend that understands every role and makes no judgment.
etc., etc., etc.
At Acting out Mama! I want to provide information to help you in every aspect of your life. A resource of articles, recipes and the little things that make it easier to get through your day. It is a tall order and of course, will take a lot of time but don’t ever hesitate to make any suggestions.
Thanks for stopping by and don’t hesitate to bookmark us!
So, several weeks back I was given the opportunity to audition for a film that will be shooting in the Orlando area in May. I loved auditioning and enjoyed what I read. If you have some money to give, this is definitely a worthwhile project.
At the height of the foreclosure crisis, single mother Crystal loses more than her house. She struggles to stay positive, though—with plenty of help from a roommate with conspiracy theories, a motivational speaker with a secret and her colleagues at the local Saturn dealership. But optimism is no match for a bad economy, and before long Crystal’s desperate quest to regain what she’s lost turns into the fight of her life. This darkly comic thriller explores just how far we’ll go to get back what’s ours.
Directed by Dan Granke
Performed by Emily Belvo, Maxx Janeda,
Caroline Jett, Isabel Natera,
Nicole Jeannine Smith, and Greg Thompson.
Performances at the Silver Meteor Gallery 2213 E 6th Ave, Tampa 33605
Jan. 23-25/Jan. 30-Feb. 1/Feb. 6-8 2015
Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm
The production was quite an undertaking and aside from the fact that I was totally exhausted from a day of working on my feet; I fell in love with the venue.
I had never heard of the Rialto Theatre, and now I don’t know how I lived without that knowledge. I loved the simplicity with a touch of the ornate in areas. Instantly, I wanted to come up with an event so that I could use it as a venue.
There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing a production that has a good friend in it. Unfortunately, Much Ado was only on Friday and Saturday.
This weekend, TRT2‘s production of Bethany closed. It was my first production since the One Acts in early July of last year. I was thrilled to work with some of the areas finest actors and I absolutley loved the performance space, a small blackbox kind of theatre.
The run was only three weeks , Friday – Sunday, not the typical Thursday – Sunday I have done in the past. The rehearsal period was short but very focused. I knew what was wanted and expected and went to work instantly on fleshing out my character.
My favorite part of the process is meeting everyone and working as a cohesive group to tell the story. As a Stay at Home Mome (SAHM), interaction is limited so I take it and roll with it. Watching other actors and the process they go through is fascinating and also helpful as an actor. Friendships are always the icing on the cake and make going to the theatre fun as you see friendly faces onstage.
I said goodbye to Toni, the Social Worker that wants to do the right thing; even while she is overworked and always praying that someone is not harmed on her watch or by the choices she makes. There is always that moment of wishing for more opportunities to play but also the contentment of knowing that you have worked and the time has come to move on.
Into the tool box she goes, and out and about I go for the opportunity to work as an actor again.
Isabel Natera 