FYI: This is not a paid endorsement. (I wish) I have to pay my monthly membership and my extra $5 for active link just like everyone else. Should Weight Watchers ever decide to give me something for free, you all will be some of the first to know! :)
This post is about why I have fallen in love with the Weight Watchers Active Link...
I am only in week 1 of my 12 week challenge with the Weight Watchers Active Link. But I am already hooked!
Why, because I THRIVE on challenges. The Active Link gives me a DAILY CHALLENGE, but it also gives me a 12 week goal.
That's right up my alley!
So what is an Active Link? Active Link is this little body clippy thing that you clip to your shirt or bra strap or put in your pocket and it monitors your activity. All your activity. Good or bad. See below the picture of my active link.
I put the little bugger on first thing in the morning when I get dressed and take it off when I get into bed at night.
Here is my page from today. (8/14/13 at 8:12pm) Today being a Wednesday, is my sleep in day... no morning workout. Normally I would do some sort of afternoon run or cross training, but it was our first day back at teacher in-service and I wasn't up for a workout. Tooo much happening in my world right now for an afternoon workout. And I overdid it yesterday considering that I am still recovering from Bronchitis. (shocker..)
What I think is really cool is that even though I sat most of the day, and didn't have any "real" exercise, I still earned 4 activity points. I think playing the wii helped out. But even then, I hit my baseline at 2pm while still at work. I like knowing that even on off days I'm not going backwards.
Did you notice yesterday's points? 11. yup. Maybe that's the real reason behind my not worrying about today's 4.
Now, if you aren't training for a marathon, I realize that your points are not going to look like mine. I hit the highest target from the start. And that was with my assessment week missing 3 days of workout or any real activity because of being sick! I'm actually thankful that the assessment wasn't completely accurate... not that I'm happy about this bronchitis thing, but because I am afraid it would have pushed me to do more. And I don't need that. Challenge yes, push no.
So where do I go from here? Well, my plan is to continue wearing it at least for a few weeks into the school year. I want to see what my activity pattern looks like on a normal school day. I think if nothing else, it will help me to see when I am sitting at my desk too long and when I am engaged teaching. I like the idea of sustained movement. (It helps me rationalize the oreo's!)
As to the Challenge phase? Well, I've got a marathon to run! The long term goal is to earn 8 points a day by the end of 12 weeks. Will I do it? I think so... but we shall see!
If you are a Weight Watchers member and you haven't invested in this yet... DO IT! I don't go to meetings and I don't input all of my food anymore, but this has given me a new spark in my overall weight loss/fitness mindset. And if you are a fool for charts, graphs and details... you will LOVE THIS! I'm guessing you could probably even make a spreadsheet for all of the data! No matter, it is a great little investment into your overall health.
