Life with children is filled with many firsts. There is the moment the child is born. There is their first smile. Then there are their first words, steps, day of school, and the list goes on. Every parent wants to witness every first, regardless of what it is, and they also want to be there for the lasts. For example, when you teach a teen to drive, it may quickly become their first taste of freedom, and your last day of being a kid taxi. There is graduation from high school, and the realization that you’ve had your last back to school night. Then they are off to college, or the military, or they just want to move out and you realize that you no longer have littles running around.
Now I’m 39 years old, and the average life expectancy for a man in the USA is 76 years old. I have five children, and I want to be there for everything. Recently I had a realization that the only way that was going to happen was if I started to take better care of myself. If I don’t, there may be some things that I miss out on, and it literally brings tears to my eyes thinking that I may not be there to walk my girls down the aisle when the time comes. So with that motivation, I really started to get things in order.
The first thing I did was schedule an annual checkup. If you’re anything like me, it’s one of those things that I’ve rarely done. I do not get sick that often (knock on wood) and the need to see a doctor is few and far between. I’m no spring chicken however. When I get up in the morning, I hear a series of cracks in my knees, and when I lay down at night I have noticed pain in certain positions. It was time for a baseline checkup.
Thankfully, getting my blood test results back did not scare me too badly. I had the usuals. My sugar levels were getting a bit high, there was a little concern in my cholesterol levels, and there were some things in my diet that needed to change. I have to start steering away from carbs as an example. That means I have to grab more salads, than sandwiches. I need to reach for more water over soda. It all adds up, and it is SO hard to do! It’s as if I need a sponsor to help me through my weak moments!
So I quickly needed something to help me stay on track, and I found that a fitness monitor like the Healbe GoBe2 would be the perfect coach! Hydration is really important when you’re trying to lose weight. It is the corner stone for good health, as it helps the kidneys flush toxins from the blood, among so many other things. So keeping a good flow of water into your body is extremely important, and that’s just one of the ways the Healbe GoBe2 helps you. It buzzes a reminder on your wrist, and the word ‘drink’ flashes across it. Unlike other monitors, it does not rely on time to trigger, but actually reads the water level in your cells by transmitting and receiving signals through your skin. Pretty neat, huh?
The information it reads in those signals tells a story of it’s own. It’s not just measuring the fluid levels in your body, but it’s also tracking your calories! The Healbe GoBe2 tracks everything you eat, as well as what gets burned. Now I was a little disappointed when I realized it wasn’t a true count. Truth is, I don’t know how accurate it is. That being said, I also realized that I have no clue what the calorie intake is for any of the other food I was eating. For example, many mornings I would custom order a bagel with cream cheese. There were three different amounts I could pick from. I could get it with a little bit of cream cheese, regular cream cheese, or a lot of cream cheese. After I made my selection, it would show a calorie amount for the item. Now here is the rub! It was all a matter of the person making the bagel to decide how much a little, regular, or a lot actually was. There were days where I had to scrape cream cheese off the bagel with a napkin, and there were days I’d have to scrounge up some more to put on it. There was absolutely no real way for me to know how many calories I was actually consuming, and that held true for every little thing I put in my mouth.
That’s not to say that the count was way off. I totaled up calories for a few days to test how close it was, and it was pretty close to my numbers. It was close enough for my comfort. One thing I really liked about the Healbe GoBe2 is that I didn’t have to keep a log any more. The application on my smart phone tracked it! Nice, huh?
At this point I’ve covered hydration, and food intake, but another key point to healthy life is proper sleep, and yes, the Healbe GoBe2 has that covered as well. Having it on your person when you lay down at night helps you keep track of your sleep cycles, and it actually gauges how much sleep you should aim for before you lay down. So I normally get five to seven hours each night, and sadly there are some nights I do not get that. Add in the kids, and how busy I may have been, and it’s nice to pull up the application and see how much sleep my body needs for my batteries to recharge. It actually HELPS me get to bed! Think about it, as tired as you may be, you may want to stay up a little longer to finish out a round in a game, catch up on a show, or knock out a few more chores. Now however, you have a visual reminder that you should get to bed for a little extra shut eye. It actually helps convince me to rest, rather than push my body on.
Another feature that is critical to good health is stress. There is good stress, and there is bad stress. I don’t think I’ve found another product on the market that actually helps track stress levels. I can actually identify periods in my day to day operation where things are getting hectic. The kids may be fighting me around bed time, or there is a problem at work. There are so many things, and the Healbe GoBe2 tracks them. Having a visual reminder to let go every now and again helps me relax.
Now if you haven’t noticed, I have yet to cover fitness. Fitness is easy, and yes, the Healbe GoBe2 excels at that as well. It can track your heart rate in real time, step counts, energy levels, and so much more. Unlike a lot of it’s competitors, it’s also water resistant, so if you’re out for a run and it starts to rain you don’t have to ensure it’s covered. It really is amazing, and I consider it a must have for anyone looking for a healthier lifestyle. It will help keep you on track in so many different categories! It will make a perfect gift for anyone this holiday season!
You can purchase a Healbe GoBe2 of your own here and use code thequirkymomnextdoor for 10% off!
CONNECT with Healbe:
*The Quirky Mom Next Door received the above item(s) in exchange for our honest review. All opinions and experiences are our own only.