Life with a fitbit

I'm not sure if it was the fact I thought I'd look like a super cool fitness fanatic or because I was genuinely interested in how many times my heart beats a minute (I do look like a super cool fitness fanatic with it on btw so mission accomplished) however whatever the reason, I have been a proud owner of the brand new, amazing, super duper, brilliant, superb fitbit blaze - this isn't a sponsored post, I'm just a very enthusiastic person - for just over a month now so thought the time was perfect to let you all know how I've been getting on with my new life companion. 

Now it all started once upon a time when a member of the fitfam came over to mine to annoy me for the evening, showing off her fancy new fitbit blaze - with a purple strap which isn't as good as mine- and straight away I decided I needed to get myself one. So there and then and £159.99 later (my bank account genuinely cried) I ordered mine - with the much more sophisticated black strap may I add - and just a few days later, my day was made when the postman delivered my fancy new fitbit (My days were seriously dull at the time). 

So yes it is a watch and it tells the time. I'm gradually getting used to looking at my wrist instead of my phone when checking the time - as if I wasn't already behind the times *rolls eyes in disgust*. However the fitbit blaze has loads of features which I was genuinely, like actually genuinely impressed with. It's one of those little gadgets that has you mesmerised at just how much it can do and you just want to know how, why, who, what, where, how. Here's just a few of the fancy bits it can do:

• PurePulse Heart Rate - basically tells you your heart rate all the time its on your wrist which is great when you're exercising so you can see how hard you're working or like me when you're laying in bed and start frantically googling a 'normal average resting heart rate' because mine was at 46bpm and I thought I was slipping into a coma or something. Turns out I'm actually FAF (apparently - thats what google kind of said anyway). It also lets you know what 'zone' you're in so cardio, fat burn and resting. Everytime I see I'm fat burning, I do a little dance and imagine the cookies I've just eaten literally falling off of my waist line.
• On Screen Workouts - sometimes my creative little mind struggles to think of exercises to do in between personal training and programme sessions *eye roll number two* therefore I loved the fact I could rely on my fitbit to give me some ideas. The 'FitStar' section includes a Warm Up, 7 Minute Workout and 10 minute Abs  and as well as counting for you and vibrating to let you know when to stop/start, it also shows you what to do on the screen - it's literally so blimin clever!
• Connected GPS - No more having to fuss with your phone, downloading Map My Run and fussing with your ugly arm strap - once its on I hate having to play with it *eye roll number 3* so I love the fact my little fit bit does all the fancy running GPS stuff itself. If you're heading out on a run or cycle simply tell your fitbit using the posh colour touch screen and it will track your route as well as of course, your pace, heart rate, calories burned etc - I swear a magician made it. One little tip however, if you are at the gym on a stationary watt bike, do not bother telling your fitbit you're going for a bike ride. I sweated my little heart out doing a 3K followed by interval 2K interval training and apparently I actually did 0K and burned 0 calories. This was of course because the bike actually wasn't moving anywhere - I know, I know - what an absolute dipshit. Just click on the workout section instead... works loads better. 
• Fitbit App - The watch works in sync with the fitbit app that you simply download onto your phone and its able to track and store all the info. This is where even MORE magic happens. It shows everything you have been up to - including all your stats from not just that day but months worth including charts so you can see all your progress. You simply open the app, it syncs with the watch really quickly and all the info is there for you to see. Also.. I know its just way too exciting isn't it?! - You can receive calls and text messages on it.... I'll just let that sink in a minute. So if you're out running and don't want to be seen to be associated with the ugly phone strap on your arm just look at your watch to read the message or see who's calling and control your music whilst pounding the pavements. It literally makes my day all the time and you look so cool when you read a message on your watch... nobody has actually told me that but I think it's probably true. 

That's probably my fav four features that impress me with my little fitbit but it does also monitor your sleep (including time asleep, restless periods and time awake - handy if you're a night time wee-er like me depending on the alcohol intake of course), how many calories you're burning, steps taken per day (the recommended daily amount is 10,000 btw), you can tell it your food and water intake as well as making and following a food plan. I literally don't know how much more I can say without bursting with excitement, its just THAT good. It picks up and knows when you're walking or doing exercises, you don't even need to tell it - although I've realised it does count hoovering as an aerobic workout but as far as I'm concerned, if you have to do it then you should defo get some reward from it. You can also have fitbit friends who you can message through the app and have little healthy competitions with. The watch comes with a charger that fully charges the device in 1-2 hours max so no time at all and literally lasts for days. Also one of my favourite things is the screen comes alive when you lift your wrist to look at it - I know I'm easily pleased and have been told many time *eye roll number 5?*.

Now the one thing I will say which I have noticed but managed to control is.... try not to become too obsessed with it to the point where it becomes a tad unhealthy. I've found myself freaking out a tad if it gets to 5pm and I've not completed 10,000 steps that day. Yes, this can and will encourage you to maybe got for a little walk or move from the sofa however DO NOT put added pressure on yourself because this is where it doesn't become a healthy accessory to your fitness life. Lazy days are allowed and are acceptable so if you don't manage your step count and burn thousands of calories, don't let it stress you out. Some days I'll smash through 10k steps by midday and other days it takes me way way longer and some days I may not manage it at all. What is important is using the fitbit to monitor yourself and your fitness in a way to track progress and to positively motivate you to be better than you were yesterday - I can sound so blimin inspirational sometimes.

I think I've covered it all, as you can tell there is ALOT to cover but if you head over to their website there is loads more info and you'll probably end up falling in love with one just like I did. I cannot be responsible for the damage to your bank account - Soz about that.

Click here to explore the magic

If you get one or already are a fitbit geek then let me know how you're getting on!

Love M I C H A E L A  x 

That heartbreak shit...

I've wanted to write this post for ages and ages but in all honesty, it never felt like the right time. Life has also been pretty crazy seeing as I love to juggle about 16 things at once, then wonder why I have several mental breakdowns leading to severe comfort eating and disgusting spot outbreaks - ew. But with uni now over and freedom upon me (Woohoo!), I'm desperate to get back into blogging and what better way to start again then with a deep, honest, slightly cringe post about that dreaded, awful, life changing shit - aka - heartbreak...*cue slow music*

I had heard people talking about it...I'd heard people saying how awful it is, how it changes you and how its one of the worst things you can experience. At this point of course, I was happily loved up in my first proper relationship thinking everything was pink, fluffy and unicorns did exist so it didn't mean much to me & I'd just do the tactful...'Oh yeah of course, hope you're ok.. whilst thinking 'just get drunk' or ' he was a dick anyway'. Little did I know I was going to know exactly what they meant.

I was in my relationship for three years & at 22 (when it finished - I'm old now)I thought that was pretty good going. Without going into loads of detail.. (you'll only get bored or vomit in your mouth).. we had a really good relationship & people would always comment on how happy we were etc.which was always so lovely to hear at a time where point-scoring and toxic relationships seemed to be at an all time high. However, things came to an end and was for me when the nightmare began.

Now to create some imagery in your head lets say I became a bit like Bridget Jones, without the pants - I managed to keep some dignity - but maybe a ginger Bridget Jones continuously laying in a pool of  tears, surviving on no sleep, coffee and the occasional - ok maybe constant - alcoholic party for one... got it? I know what you're thinking - what a catch ey? How could the relationship be over when she sounds THIS delightful? I know, I still don't understand it myself... maybe if you saw the 70 year old drug addict zombie for yourself you may think different - just maybe though.

I remember coming to work the next day after spending the night drowning in tears, listening to depressing love songs on YouTube (How on earth I thought that would help I do not know) and just spending the whole time feeling like I was in some kind of whirlwind trance. Nothing quite seemed real and yet everything was falling apart at once. Luckily everyone at work was brilliant & I didn't have to face any hotel guests looking as beautiful as I did - I think we'd have been closed down for Health and Safety reasons if people could have seen what was lurking behind the scenes - me. It was one of those times where you wanted everyone to know but you didn't want to tell anyone at the same time. I remember finishing work, showering and just wandering aimlessly around Plymouth eventually ending up at his place of work at the time. I'd already texted some of my family to let them know and after a few more tears (honestly how I didn't run out, I do not know) I was on my way to see them for some much needed TLC and reassurance I suppose that things were going to be ok. At that point in time I honestly think, you don't really care about the outcome, you just want it to stop.

Days went on, I'd told the girls who were brilliant as always & I was lucky enough to have an amazing friend who I worked with at the time who just didn't leave my side for two weeks or so. How she didn't have a mental breakdown herself I do not know. I'd constantly talk, never sleep, cry all over her, her house, her pet rabbit & that's without mentioning making her be seen in public with me.. street cred ruined. But it was brilliant - like having constant therapy on tap. She understood everything I said & constantly reassured me I wasn't turning Bipolar, its normal to think of crazy psycho scenarios in your head (the less said about those the better) & sitting drinking test tube shots on the kitchen floor at 4pm on a Friday afternoon was 100% the best way of dealing with things...ok maybe not... but yes it did happen.

I remember taking a couple of days out to visit my Dad with my older sister just to try and escape normal life. Nothing I could do meant escaping the thoughts in my head though. It was something that you just could not switch off and it honestly does drive you mad. And of course if you are a bit of an idiot like me then you'll obviously have Heart FM playing and because you're going through one of the worse pains ever, you can guarantee every other song is either Adele- Someone Like You, Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud or a personal fav of mine - James Bay - Let It Go. Of course because you are so emotionally stable at this point (not) all of a sudden you lose all control of your arms and cannot turn it over, you sit there, listening to the lyrics word for word and cue (once again) the river of tears down the face, making an already red, puffy and allergic reaction looking face even worse. I felt the couple of nights away helped - even if my Dad's idea of helping was an Indian meal where I ate half a poppadum, and him playing songs such as Paloma Faith - Only love can hurt like this on the jukebox, washed down with a vodka Crispy Bacon shot - yes it was as awful as it sounds. My mind was always at it though, you question every single thought in your mind. You look back on everything bad that's ever happened or every disagreement and wonder if you did something differently would this be happening right now. It doesn't help thinking this way, but there's no way of switching it off. Unfortunately, its just a case of letting it run its course and reminding yourself it won't last forever, even if it feels like it will at the time... trust me.

If you're reading this and thinking ' This is me right now' or 'So you're telling me all this but not telling me how to make it stop' then without sounding like Oprah here or a professional heartbreak counsellor, the thing that worked best for me was distraction and is what I tell people now who are going through the same thing or something similar. Looking back now, its so strange how it all worked out but only days after my break up, I was dozing on my grandparents sofa after another night grafting as Bridget when I received an email confirming my place in the Miss Great Britain final 2015 - crazy I know - and even now it sounds like something you see in those films that are so annoyingly unrealistic where the male runs through a lions den, a burning building and a hurricane to tell the girl he loves her just as she jets off to move to a different country - you get the point- but luckily for me, this news was 100% what got me back on track. The following three weeks sent me on a massive organized panic of preparations, charity work, planning etc which gave me little or no time to think about my sunken heart sat in my ass or to realise how much things were changing. Obviously, I'm not saying this situation is the cure or the only way to get over things is to become a Miss GB finalist but the point is to keep so busy that you literally think of nothing else. Find something that takes up your time, gives you drive and gets you out of bed in the morning when you've previously spent so long in there, its a surprise you've not evolved into a mattress. You may not get your appetite back straight away (The Heartbreak diet does exist by the way!) or get a solid 8 hours sleep every night but it definitely will make things easier and prevent afternoon benders, crying into wine bottles and going slightly insane. It doesn't last forever, you don't even notice you're coping with the situation but months later, I promise you'll look back and be in awe of how far you've come when at one point, moving forward seemed like the most impossible thing in the world. 
Oh & girls rule - so you've got this!

Love M i c h a e l a x