Ooh I like it

Ususally I use the app, so I didn’t know this was a thing, but look at this neat feature of the Cronometer website:

Hover over the nutrient and get all this info!

In the app, for fibre, it just tells you what percent of the RDI you’re at. I sometimes want to know grams. Love that this shows percent of RDI and grams, and all this info about where you got the nutrient from! This is hovering over the grey progress bar; hovering over the word “fibre” gives you info on what fibre is and food sources where you can get it.

I’m such a nerd I love having the info. 

Especially since I am dealing with all of these stomach woes. Now Liquid Iron made me a bit uncomfortable (and it tastes disgusting). I also ordered Ferosom, which I believe is in my mailbox this exact minute. The person who recommended it warned me that “you need to up your fibre intake” to avoid issues, so I am extra keen to get as much as possible.

Also I am happy to see that the sweetmeal digestive biscuits I’ve been stuffing my face with are a good source of fibre and iron. I may be slightly addicted.

App review: Cronometer

Well in my last post a month ago, I reported on the untimely (or perhaps very timely) demise of my fitness tracker, Fitday. One person suggested I try Cronometer, so I installed it. Here are my thoughts so far:

I like that it has a website as well as an app. And it’s free (with the usual “upgrade now for more features” stuff). 

I like that it synchs with Strava, so I don’t have to reinput that info (or more likely, forget to reinput that info).

It has a seemingly enormous database of foods, which is actually more annoying than helpful. It’s aimed at people—specifically Americans and maybe Brits—who eat a lot of prepared and processed mass-produced foods. For those of us who cook from scratch, or shop locally for foods cooked from scratch, it can be tricky to sift through the mountain of brand names you don’t recognize. There aren’t a lot of generics. And as usual whole foods and “ingredient” foods are missing. Does the panettone artiginale I get from a local baker have the same nutrients and calories as the many grocery store versions? It tastes a million times better, so I’m guessing no.

It does have a “create a recipe” option I like, although you still run into the issue of being unable to find the right ingredients.

There are some glitches. For example, even though I entered a weight goal, and it shows up properly on the app, on the website it shows my goal as 0 lbs. That’s zero. Fitday allowed you to enter not just a goal, but a date to achieve it by, and if you entered something unrealistic/unhealthy, you’d get a warning message. Cronometer assigns a goal date based on your weight/other stats, doesn’t allow you to adjust it (that I can see) based on needs or preferences (maybe I’d want to get there more slowly, to make each day a little easier and daily goals more achievable!) and doesn’t warn the user that zero is an unhealth goal (which clearly it is, for anyone!).

So, it has its ups and downs, but so far is good enough. Maybe I’ll figure out some tricks or shortcuts to make it work better for me. We’ll see!

Damnit

My fitness tracker website died!

For years—decades almost—I used fitday.com to track my diet, excercise, body measurements, periods, moods, you name it. It was kinda rickety and some of the functionality broke over time, but it still worked well enough for my purposes and more importantly it had years worth of my data! 

I suppose I should have seen this coming but it would have been nice if we had been given any kind of warning. Grr.

So now... any suggestions for good trackers? Free, track nutrition and exercise at a minimum?

Sigh...

Slow Jogging

I heard about this only recently, and decided to check out the book from the library:

Slow Jogging by Hiroaki Tanaka

Slow Jogging by Hiroaki Tanaka is “an efficient, healthier, and pain-free approach to running for all ages and lifestyles.” Sounds good to me, as someone who takes up running for a bit, and then dumps it again. Basically, it’s the opposite of “no pain, no gain.” Tanaki dreamed of being an Olympic-level runner, but struggled with training and eventually was told (wrongly) that he had been born with a heart condition that meant he couldn’t train at that level. He went on to research exercise, but didn’t really put his theories into practice. After taking more than 4 unhappy hours to finish a marathon in his 30s, he gave up exercise until he turned 45, when he was diagnosed with fatty liver and high cholesterol, due to weight gain and years of being sedentary.

His practice is based on running at “niko niko” pace, from the Japanese word for smile—meaning a pace that allows you to talk to companions, sing a song, generally enjoy what you’re doing. Sounds good to me!

It’s also similar to some of the advice from the other book I’m reading, Exercise for Mood and Anxiety. I put some of that into practice this morning, reminding myself that I feel better after a run, and walking for part of my 5k this morning. I ran 2 km, walked roughly .5 km, ran 1.5, walked .5, and ran the final .5—a strong finish/ending on a high note being a good way to cement the memory of the run as enjoyable rather than a drag!—and ended up doing some of my fastest splits ever. One km was under 6 minutes, which is super fast for me, even if it’s slow for everyone else!

Reading material

Re-reading this book: Exercise for Mood and Anxiety: Proven Strategies for Overcoming Depression and Enhancing Well-Being. It’s all about finding ways to exercise—and motivate yourself to exercise—by focusing on psychology and mindset. 

For example, you’re more likely to remember how you felt at the end of something than the beginning, so end on a high note, maybe by taking a break before the end to catch your breath rather than trying to power through (I did that this morning - ran 3km, walked a km, and then felt better running the final stretch of my 5k).

I also like that they focus on motivation as an external thing that you can set up, as opposed to some mysterious quality that comes from within. I am suddenly reminded of a neighbour I saw the other day walking his lil puppy—by carrying a stick with peanut butter on the end, just out of reach! Puppy didn't want to walk, but she wanted that peanut butter! Human people are more like that than we like to admit!