June 09, 2011
Have you ever wondered about how many calories you burn in a yoga workout vs running vs strength training? I have, so I agreed to do a review of a new product that monitors calories expended, calorie intake, your steps for the day and even your sleeping habits.
It’s called the Body Media arm band, and you may have seen it on Dancing with the Stars. You wear it on your left arm most if the day and night, connect it to an iPhone or computer wirelessly or with a plug, and check out your own personal dashboard. If you want to lose weight you aim to burn more calories than you take in.
I found out that my 35 minute walk to work is 4,500 steps. I had no idea! Not going to take the subway ever now!
I found out that a moderate level yoga class burns between 200–300 calories. My three mile run burned between 450–600 calories as did my CardioSculpt classes.
I was surprised how many calories I burned just living: walking around doing chores and chasing the baby.
I also realized what a perfect machine the body is, after plugging in meals and going about my day, I would notice that I was hungry about The same time it said I had a calorie deficit. And they days I thought I ate healthy I always seemed to be about 200– 400 calories below what I expended.
Also, snacking mindlessly, even on healthy snacks, and drinking coffee, tea, V8, juice and alcohol really add up calorie-wise, so thus made me want to eat and drink less. The perfect meal seems to be about 400 calories for a woman about my size and activity level (5’2″ /108 pounds/ work out 5–6 days a week.)
So as part if a one– month experiment, I tried the BodyMedia armband for 2 weeks before going in vacation.
Here is my progress so far!
Check out the
Youtube video review and how-to.
NikkiFitness, Nicole Glor, is the star of 7 fitness DVDs including new Hard Core Abs DVD, Fit Travel Workout DVD, Booty Camp, Red Carpet Runway Workout, Military Wife Workout, Baby Bootie Camp, and the Beach Bride Destination Wedding Workout (Amazon). She is also an AFAA certified NYC personal trainer, group fitness instructor at Crunch in Manhattan, a yoga instructor, and a fitness columnist for Military.com. Her workouts focus on multitasking toning and cardio intervals to cut workout time in half and boost metabolism. Nikki's workouts have been featured in over 60 national media outlets. Get her newsletters, music playlists, video demos and DVDs at www.nikkifitness.com