The Epic Battle that is BodyBugg vs. HRM

BodyBugg versus Heart Rate Monitor

We have owned and utilized both of these nifty contraptions and felt it would be helpful to share a “compare & contrast” of the two.

First up, the BodyBugg. 

Lindsay got one a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. Couple things about it:

•  Made to be worn for up to 23 hours a day, not just during workouts.
•   In reference to #1, this is helpful in determining how many calories you burn all day (and night) long.
• It does not measure heart rate…rather it measures movement!

Some “negatives” about the BodyBugg –

• You have to pay a monthly fee to be able to “download” and see your calorie burn (albeit a pretty small fee).
• We found out the hard way that accuracy is not its strongest suit – for example, during weightlifting (which, if done right, should increase your heart rate, thus burning calories) and during cardio involving a lot of arm movement (e.g., kickboxing like Turbo) it doesn’t give an accurate burn…for weightlifting it isn’t high enough and we think all the punches in kickboxing throw the band (which is around your arm) off and it reads as too high of a burn.
•  The Bodybugg also can’t measure anything you do that doesn’t involve your feet touching the ground….like biking, swimming, or flying (that last one is a joke, people!)

All in all, we think the BodyBugg is a good tool for determining total daily burn, but other than that…it kinda functions like a pedometer. 

Okay….next up is the good ol’ fashioned heart rate monitor. There are a bagillion types, but Lindsay uses the Polar FT7 and Timothy uses a Timex. Couple things about these:

   
 
 
 
 
 

 

• Typically made to wear only during physical activity (either during a workout, or while you’re doing some yard work, cleaning house, etc.). You *could* wear it all day if you wanted, but it isn’t really made for that.
• This piece of equipment determines calories burned based solely on your heart rate.
• There is only a one-time cost (no monthly fees).

A *potential* negative about a heart rate monitor:

• You wear the watch (which gives you your output, including current heart rate, calories burned, time, etc.) on your wrist and then the actual heart-rate monitor is a band that you wrap around your chest…..for the ladies, just under your wobbly bits….for the fellas, about a inch or so below your nipple line. The band can be a bit cumbersome, mostly during activity that involves a lot of twisting and turning (Lindsay finds it can wiggle down some during her TurboFire workouts).

Currently, we are both using a heart rate monitor instead of a BodyBugg….and it will probably stay this way. We both appreciate the accuracy of the heart rate monitor….it goes on the individual’s heart rate, not on the steps taken. We also appreciate the immediacy of knowing how much effort we’re putting in: all we do is look at the watches on our wrists and see current heart rate, calories burned so far, etc. 

If you are going back and forth between the two, we hope this gives you some insight as to which would better suit your needs!

In Health,

Lindsay & Timothy

Sweets, my dear sweets!!

This post is ALLLLLLL Lindsay :-) I have an outrageous sweet-tooth....cookies, cupcakes, ice-cream, pie, whatever....I love it. I need it. (Okay, maybe the last part is a stretch, but I *feel* like I need it!)

Well - eating a lot of sweets is not really conducive to a healthy diet. SO - I am always on the hunt for ways to make sinfully sweet goodies without dealing with the pre-packaged, unpronounceable, fake ingredients.

I made these yesterday....and I've made them many times before!! It is definitely my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies! They are paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free! They are gooey, moist wonderful little creatures!! NOM!

Depending on how big or small you make them, this makes approximately 2 dozen cookies!

Ingredients:

3 Cups Blanched Almond Meal/Flour
1/2 Cup Virgin Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups of Vegan Chocolate Chips

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

3. In a small mixing bowl, beat eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract together.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat together until combined.
5. Melt coconut oil, pour into batter, and continue to blend until combined.

6. Stir in vegan chocolate chips.

7. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, drop balls of cookie dough (about a tablespoon in size).
8. Bake for 15 minutes (depends on oven, I usually do ~10 minutes....just watch them closely).

9. Let cool and serve with a cold glass of Almond Milk!!

YUM! Enjoy!!

In Health (and decadent noms),

Lindsay

No Such Thing as One-Size-Fits-All

Hi y'all!! 


One thing that we like to do for accountability, and to ensure constant change, and mostly due to sheer interest is stay up-to-date on the latest fitness info, "follow" health and fitness professionals (blogs, magazines, etc.), and the like. We love learning about these things and enjoying applying various pieces into our healthy, fit lifestyle.


BUT.....one thing that irks us is when these professionals act like their way to train and/or eat is the ONLY way to train and/or eat to get any results. That's just outright B.S.  


There are SO many ways to eat to be healthier (paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)....and we don't think that one is necessarily superior to the other! Our bodies are all so different, you have to play around to find what works for yours!! Of course, general guidelines like eating more vegetables and fruits and less processed foods is a pretty good standard across the board....but as for specific diets, that's individual. For example, Timothy responds fairly well to a lower-carb, paleo-esque kind of diet. Lindsay, on the other hand, gets low energy and doesn't respond to a diet without a decent amount of (healthy) carbs. 


This same principle goes for exercising. Neither of us believe that one workout, one program is going to be "it" for you, forever, period, end of discussion. Our bodies change over time....our bodies' needs change too! Lindsay is a huge fan of Beachbody and has utilized nearly all their workout programs and currently does at least one kind of them pretty much every day - BUT she doesn't think that they are the only way to go for home workouts! On that same note, home workouts aren't for everybody. Some people need the act of "going to the gym" for motivation/accountability...and even others, like Timothy for example, prefer functional fitness (outdoor running, drills, crossfit stuff). 


Take home point, kiddos - take some time to 1. lay out your goals and 2. play around with different workouts and diet tendencies to find what works best for your body. Invest your time, invest your energy, invest your money.....it will ALWAYS be worth it. You only get one body in this lifetime....how long do you want it to last you?


As always, we are here to help in any way we can! 


In Health, 


Lindsay & Timothy 

Better Late than Never

I am a morning exerciser - through and through!!! BUT, today started with lots of travel and errands from the get go....so I just did it!! A good 13-hours later than when I'm normally working out, but I GOT IT DONE!!!

Moral of the story - you'll never regret it when you do (no matter when ;-)), but you always regret it when you don't!!

In Health,

Lindsay

Quick Update (and another video!!)

Hi everyone! Quick update on a couple of things :-)

And We're Live (Sort of)

The experimenting has begun!! I know that I (Lindsay) can spend hours on YouTube....so I figured the Farrars needed to get on board!

That being said - we are active on YouTube now! Here's the first test video:

It's almost the weekend....YAYAYAY!

Great Deal on Fitness Products!

Hey guys and gals! Part of Lindsay sharing her passion for health and fitness with others is done by being a Team Beachbody Coach. Beachbody products have been a STAPLE in her transformation and she's relied on them daily to give her killer workouts without having to go to a gym!!

Beachbody has created this great thing called a "Challenge Pack" where you can get the fitness program of your choice, along with a month's supply of Shakeology, a 30-day free club membership, and other goodies for considerably less than what you would pay for all of them individually!!

If you have been thinking about trying P90X, TurboFire, Insanity, etc. or are curious about the nutritional and weight-loss/management benefits of Shakeology....this is definitely your chance to do so and save some cash!

To get yours, just go to:

http://www.beachbodycoach.com/lindsayfarrar

and click on Shop, then Challenge Packs and have at it!

If you have more questions, about the challenge packs, specific programs, getting a Shakeology sample, anything.....just let us know!

In Health,

Lindsay & Timothy

Hello there!!

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!! We are so glad you are taking the time to visit this page!

Our hope is that this blog will soon be filled with posts, pictures, ideas, motivation, and support....so keep checking back in regularly (and excuse the barrenness in the meantime).

For now, here's a brief introduction: the "we" "us" "our" etc. you'll see in this blog refers to Lindsay and Timothy Farrar.

Hometown sweethearts whose paths crossed for good in the summer of 2006...we've been inseparable since, marrying in 2008! Our relationship is founded in friendship and love and we put our partnership above anything and everything. The both of us still madly smitten....life and love are so good :-)

Being that we began dating while Timothy was 18 and Lindsay was 20 - we were in average shape. Not really working out or having the best of eating habits, but not overweight. That changed rapidly as the "love" weight packed on (and on and on!) Another blog post will soon follow about the specifics of our journey, but as for now....

For the past few years, health and fitness has been at the forefront of our life! We work out daily and are always experimenting with nutrition/diet, but generally just following good old clean eating. We've maintained a nearly 100 pound loss between the two of us!!

As I said earlier - this blog will be a place where we will document our journey (because it is ALWAYS a journey) and we hope that you'll join us. The more the merrier!

Talk to you soon!

In Health,

Lindsay & Timothy