…If you use a Body Fat Monitor

My birthday was on July 25th (anyone want to send me a birthday present? – GRIN)

Anyway, just a few minutes ago, I realized that I had not updated my age in the two “body fat monitors” I use:

• Omron HBF-400 Body Fat Monitor and Scale  and the
• Omron Body Fat Loss Monitor model HBF-306C

Both of these devices require you to input your age in order to accurately calculate your body fat.  So, “remind” yourself to change those numbers when you celebrate your birthday.

And your birthday is a good day to remember to change out the batteries in your smoke alarms in your home too!  Woot!

See ya on the dance floor!

Further Reading:

• Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (wikipedia.org)
• Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Body Composition Measurement (National Institutes of Health)
• Measuring Body Composition (National Institutes of Health)

Go Walking with a Friend / Partner

I subscribe to a couple of online sites that send me short “tips” on health and fitness via email and/or text messages.

This one came in via text message from “Health Tips” on the Walgreens website:

Be a “sole” mate. A study found that people are 76% more likely to stay on a walking program if someone else is counting on them.

I can vouch for this one.  Not for a “walking” program but for dancing.  I am embarrassed to confess when I was doing line, Teams, and couples all at the same time that the line dance practices were the ones that I was most likely to ahem skip out on.

Because it was just me.  But if I had to pick up the phone and cancel on someone then I was waaaaaaaaaaaay less likely to do that.  The social commitment of having made an appointment to meet with someone or a group of someones kept me going to the practices.

See ya on the dance floor!

Further Reading:

• Blog Archive – Posts about walking studies (walkertracker.com)
•  The Best Walking Partner: Man vs. Dog (New York Times)

Rejoice in the little things…

I subscribe to a couple of online sites that send me short “tips” on health and fitness via email and/or text messages.

And I absolutely LOVE IT! when one comes in that pretty much says what I’ve already written about here in this blog.  🙂

I got this text message just a few minutes ago:

Check your success.  Are you walking faster or farther? Can you walk up stairs easier?  Can you walk and talk?

Good advice.  And good ways to measure your progress.  I would add however, that you should “celebrate the successes”  Brag about them!  Shout them from the rooftops.

No matter how small, each of those tiny victories means you are moving forward.  Keep track of them because when you feel like progress has stalled, you can look over your victories and use them for motivation.

See ya on the dance floor!

Further Reading:

• Revel and Rejoice in the Little Things…at 4am Ssssnnnzzzz (txcowboydancer.com)
• Rejoice in the Little Things for “I’ve been a GOOD boy!” (txcowboydancer.com)
• Rejoice and Revel for it has been a good week! (txcowboydancer.com)