Update — The tech health and fitness kick is on track but lookout, here comes Christmas!

Just over a week ago, I published the first article in my series on a health kick, tech-style, that I was partaking in.  It had been written a week or so before that so I figure it’s a good time for an update.

I am writing this two days before Christmas, which is when all bets are off.  Sure everyone says thatyou should eat in moderation etc but hey, Christmas comes what, maybe once or twice a year?  One day off a diet isn’t going to hurt.  

Cheat meals are a thing and are definitely a requirement when on a calorie-restricted diet, as they can help reset the metabolism that slows when in a calorie deficit.  So am going to make the most of it over Christmas and Boxing Day (two family lunches).

So how’s it all going?

I’ve been watching what I eat, trying to stick to my salmon and salad lunches (salmon is great for cholesterol) and keeping up the exercise, weight training, spinning on the bike and walking the doggos.  

For those wondering, my diet is a high-protein, low-carb, intermittent fasting diet.  It’s what I’ve found works best for my body over many years and what I’ve found works well for others.  It’s not an easy diet to follow and takes some willpower, but it works well when executed correctly.

Technology more than helps

So, I’ve been using the Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Body Composition Scale and this scale is impressive.  Sure, it measures my weight accurately, but also has so many relevant measurements that can show how the diet is going, whether I’m losing fat or muscle, and more.

All of the measurements show on the display of the scale, which is great but the app is where the magic happens.  You can compare the measurements you just took with the previous measurements or with a specific entry that you choose.

The app shows weight loss, BMI, body fat percentage, body fat mass, bone mass, body water, subcutaneous and visceral fat, amongst so many other things.  In the past three weeks, my weight has dropped just under 3kg, body fat has decreased, muscle mass and percentage have increased, and my metabolic age has dropped from 53 to 51 (I’m 52).  Progress, finally.

As you can see, the scales so far are a massive win and are extremely helpful.

The Renpho LYNX Smart Ring, a bit less so.  It measures all the basics ,including sleep, steps, heart rate, oxygen saturation and mental stress.  It does what it is meant to do and does it well.  The battery seems to be lasting a long time so that’s different.

One thing I can’t seem to figure out at the moment is proactive notifications.  In fact, I am seeing no notifications from it at all.  Most fitness products send you so many notifications that you hate it.  I have them all turned on for the smart ring but haven’t seen any pop up.  If you want to know something, you need to go into the app to see it.

At the same time, I have my WHOOP MG for the proactive notifications.  It tells me everything I need to know proactively – specifically, my sleep quality and my readiness for exercise.  The WHOOP is comfortable to wear and I have no issues wearing it 24/7, especially with the health and fitness data it provides.  The ability to tailor my workouts and the amount of additional exercise I do based on my readiness is essential to not overtraining and staying healthy while in a calorie deficit.  

The Zwift bike has been a godsend.  There are times when I don’t have the energy or time to drive to the gym for a workout, so having the high-quality indoor bike at home makes a quick workout a breeze.  It pairs well to my tablet so I can follow the ride and record all my stats for the workout.  

There have been times it has also connected to my WHOOP MG for heart rate monitoring which is great but that has been a bit inconsistent.  It struggles to connect to it most of the time but I’ll work on that.  The good side of that is that the WHOOP MG automatically registers a “Spinning” workout, so it saves all of my health metrics for me there.

I’m still dealing with shoulder issues post-basketball career, so the massage gun has been well-used to warm them up before my workouts, which have had to be very light, unfortunately.

Technology has undoubtedly been playing a significant role in this health kick and although I dare say my use is a bit overboard, I can certainly see where they are not just useful, but essential for healthy and consistent weight loss.

Coming up

More of the same, after the short Christmas break.  Diets are about consistency and continuing to show up and do the right thing.  Day after day after day.  Except for Christmas and Boxing Day.

I am hoping that the folks at Zwift can help me get my WHOOP connected consistently to the app so I can monitor my heart rate while using the bike.  I need to remember to check my smart ring and WHOOP data each day to tailor my daily calorie intake and exercise to my current state.

If you can think of any other tech I should be checking out for this diet, let me know, but so far so good.