Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

goals

Which Fitness Tracker Is Right For You?

This year’s top fashion accessories are fitness trackers! If you are one of the few that have yet to join the movement, here are some of the highly rated trackers out there to help you to get started on your fitness goals. We’ve compared several brands and models to help to choose the right activity tracker for you.

1. Fitbit Surge: According to Consumer Reports the best overall tracker is the Fitbit Surge. This fitness tracker is also a watch. The Fitbit Surge has been classified as number one because its easy to use, it’s heart-rate monitor accuracy and sleep-count accuracy. The other features of this great fitness tracker is it calculates how many floors you climb a day, has GPS tracking to calculate running outside and has a food tracking ability. In addition, the battery lasts for 7 days without charge. The price for this fitness accessory is around $250.

2. Basis Peak: The Basis Peak is also a watch like the Fitbit Surge. This watch is rated just as high as the Surge in the fact that it is easy to you and heart-rate monitoring accuracy. The battery life lasts around 4 days. This watch is good for individuals who are looking for a simple, accurate heart rate monitoring watch that does not have any fancy features. This fitness watch starts at a retail price of $200.

3. Fitbit ChargeHR: The Fitbit ChargeHR is not a watch, but a band unlike the Surge and the Basis Peak. This band is highly rated in terms of ease of heart rate monitoring and sleep-count accuracy. The battery life lasts around 5 days. The features of this band consist of food tracking, sleep tracking and stairs climbed tracking. If you are not looking for a GPS tracking, this band is very similar to the Fitbit Surge. The pricing for the Fitbit ChargeHR is $150.

4. Samsung Gear Fit: The Samsung Gear Fit is highly rated amongst the fitness bands. The band is easy to use, has heart rate monitoring and sleep count activity. This band has also has a sleep tracking feature as well as notifications to update you about your exercise progress. The battery lasts about 3.5 days. This fitness tracker averages around $150.

5. Fitbit One: The Fitbit One is a clip on health tracker. This fitness tracker is easy to use and also has a sleeping tracker. Other features include tracking of floors climbed, GPS tracker and a food tracker. This clip on food tracker has a battery life of 14 days. The price on this fitness tracker is $100.

6. Microsoft Band:This band ranks high in sleep-count accuracy and heart rate monitoring. This band also has GPS tracking and notifications that alert you throughout your exercise progress. The battery life for this watch is 1.5 days and is priced at $130.

7. Withings Activité Pop: If you are looking for a fitness accessory that just tracks sleep, this is the watch for you. The battery life also lasts for a very long time, 240 days. The price of this gadget is $150.

There are many different fitness tracking devices out there that feature an array of different applications, you just have to pick the right one for you! Get out there and get tracking!

 

By Sally Leahy

Turning Your Resolutions into SMART Goals

January is the time of year when we set resolutions. The phrase “new year, new me” is a common mantra. It’s great to set new expectations for yourself; whether it is to commit to a new hobby, cooking healthier meals, spending more time with your kids, or deciding to lose weight. When it comes to making a New Year’s Resolution, broad or general statements may not be enough. How often do we find ourselves falling off track by February 1st?? One way to help you stick to your resolutions is by writing out your goals. Creating SMART goals is an effective method to create a plan of attack. Read on for step-by-step instructions to turn your resolutions into SMART goals!

  • Specific
  • Measureable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Time-Oriented

Specific
Specific is the What, Why, and How of the S.M.A.R.T. model. Goals should be written out clearly and simplistically to emphasize these points.

Basic Example: “I want to lose weight”

SMART: “I want to lose 10 lbs. by February 15, 2016 by exercising at Peak 3 days per week for 1 hour and logging my food in my nutrition journal daily.”

Measurable
Goals should be measurable so there is hard evidence that you have accomplished the goal. Using the SMART goal above for this example, the goal can be measured by February 15th. The essential measurement is whether or not this client loses the 10 lbs. by February 15th.

Attainable
Goals should be achievable; they should push you a bit so you feel challenged, but well-defined enough so that you can attain them.

Using the example from above, this client wants to lose 10 lbs. in about a 6 week time frame. After speaking with your Exercise Physiologist, you have learned that healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs. per week. Committing to exercising and utilizing a food journal are the “How” of the SMART model.

If you plan your steps wisely and establish a reasonable timeframe, you should be able to carry out those steps. On the other hand, if a goal is impossible to achieve (i.e. the client wants to lose 30 lbs. in the same time frame), you may not try to accomplish it.

Realistic
Ask yourself if the goal is realistic. In reference to the client and their weight loss goals, we have discussed how the goal itself is realistic within the specified time frame.

Another consideration might be if the goal is realistic for this client. Have they spoken with their doctor? Are they committed to exercising at least 3 days per week? Do they carry their food journal to work or school?

Time-Oriented
When are you going to achieve this goal? What can you do in the next six weeks? What are you going to do today? Today you can commit to exercising and tracking your nutrition.

Short terms goals are the building blocks of our long-term goal. If the client’s ultimate goal is to lose 30 lbs., the long term goal should then be set in an attainable time frame, for example a 16 week period. Along the way, setting smaller goals will set you up for success!

By Louise Mills-Strasser

So you got a FitBit… now what?!

Okay, so you got a FitBit for Christmas/Hanukkah/your birthday… now what?!
We have noticed that many of our clients received these activity trackers as a gift this holiday season. However when it comes to using your new wrist accessory, there might be a little confusion about what it can do. We put together some simple tips to help you get started. This way we can finish 2015 strong and start 2016 right on track in order to achieve our goals! All of the links on this page will take you to FitBit’s website.

What can your FitBit do?!

• Track your daily activity (how much are you moving around?)
• Record your exercise (regimented exercise like biking, walking, or pilates)
• Log your food (did you eat too much, too little or just the right amount today?)
• Record your weight (log your weight to see progress over time)
• Monitor your sleep (did you get 8 hour or toss and turn?)

How do I set myself up?
Start here! From this page you can download the program for your computer or on your phone or tablet via an app. The setup page will guide you step by step to get started using your FitBit.

Simple setup directions for setting dominant wrist, goals, calls, and silent alarms are here! But, if you have additional questions about setting up your tracker, refer to this link!

All of your daily stats are displayed in your dashboard. You can find this by logging into your account on FitBit’s website or opening the app on your phone or tablet.

Goals! Everyone has goals whether we want to become more active, lose weight, eat more vegetables, or run a faster mile. Everyone is different! You can customize your FitBit to help you achieve your goals. Maybe 10,000 steps a day is a breeze because of your commute- try shooting for 12,000. Maybe climbing 10 flights of stairs seems too tall- start at 5 flights and work your way up. Set your goal for a certain number of: Steps/Day, Very active minutes, Floors climbed, or Calories burned.

Track Activity/Exercise
While your FitBit will automatically track your steps throughout the day, you can log exercise manually or record it by starting the timer.
For more information on using the Exercise Mode, click here! Or if you forgot to wear your tracker, you still get credit for your exercise! Use this link to learn how to manually track exercise.

Log Food
Nutrition and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to being healthy. Help keep yourself on top of that New Year’s Resolution by logging your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. FitBit gives you a simple layout for monitoring your nutrition:
• An estimate of your daily calorie consumption (logging the foods you eat and quantity)
• A readout of the number of calories you have burned and eaten so far in the day (all those steps expended calories and your breakfast, lunch & dinner fuel your body)
• A real-time comparison of the calories you’ve consumed in your diet versus those you’ve burned through activity (calories in v. calories out)
• Feedback about whether you are under, within, or above your plan’s recommendation (based on your personal goal to lose, gain, or maintain your current weight)
You can manually enter the foods you eat, search the database to find a product, or scan an item’s bar code to add the nutritional information.

For more information about tracking calories and setting a weight goal, use this link. To learn how to scan the bar code of an item (i.e. a cereal box or yogurt container), use this link!

Challenge your friends!
Our favorite part of exercising is doing it with a friend. Having a workout partner (virtual or walking next to you) can provide that extra push to keep going. You can add friends by syncing contacts from your cell phone, linking your FitBit to Facebook, or adding them by email address. Adding friends gives you a little more motivation whether it’s cheering each other on or challenging one another in a daily step challenge! Your Exercise Physiologists, Pam & Louise, are using their FitBits- ask to be their friend! (They’ll give you a tough challenge 🙂 )

For even more information about getting the most out of your new fitness tracker, check out this article published by Time.

UPDATE! We started a FitBit group for our Peak members to join! It’s called Peak Performance Fit(ness)Bit. Login to your FitBit account then use the following link to find us https://www.fitbit.com/group/22PKJ3

 

By Louise Mills-Strasser

How Do You Get The Sunshine Vitamin In The Wintertime?

Vitamin D is important for our bodies, but how can we get enough during the winter months?

Research has linked Vitamin D to decreased rates of cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, anxiety and depression. Vitamin D levels in the body are not as much of an issue during the summer when people are going outside. However, during the winter months, people spend a lot more of their time indoors due to colder temperatures and snowy days. This often leads to a drop in the body’s vitamin D levels.

But how can you get Vitamin D in the winter? Go outside! Even when there is snow on the ground, you can still get enough sun to boost your vitamin D levels. When you’re outside, let as much skin show as you comfortably can- your face, neck, and hands can get some sunshine. Go outside during “solar noon.” This is the time of day when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. When you’re outside, use your skin as a cue. If your skin starts to turn pink, you’ve had enough. Keep in mind that you don’t need to spend hours in the sun. Even ten minutes a day can help boost the level of vitamin D in your body.

We live in an area where the sun shines enough in the winter that vitamin D supplements may not be necessary. However, especially with supplements, we need to ensure that we don’t get “toxic” on vitamin D. A better way to get vitamin D is simply by eating more of the foods rich in this vitamin. There are a handful of foods that can help boost vitamin D levels. Good food sources include fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, mushrooms, eggs, and vitamin D fortified foods such as milk. Wild salmon is a great source and just a small 4 ounce serving can give us more than enough of the recommend daily allowance. For those with dietary restrictions, any type of milk will do! Cow, soy, almond, and coconut milk are all vitamin D fortified.

Following these simple recommendations can help everyone enjoy the health benefits of vitamin D naturally not only during the winter, but all year long.