Note: I wrote the “rants” part of this post this morning  when I was still pretty fired up about yesterday! Today has been a MUCH better day and I am feeling really great right now! Especially since I got an AMAZING run in the warm (yeaaah 32 degrees is now considered warm) weather after school. So just bear with me here!

Yesterday was just one of those days. Ya know the ones where nothing seems to go your way. So excuse my two quick rants. If you make it through the, I promise there will be two awesome product reviews waiting for you! Deal? Okay good.

RANT 1:

For the second time, someone blocked me into my parking spot in the student parking lot. It especially sucked yesterday because I had gotten out of school a little early as a treat and ended up getting home even later than usual because of the whole ordeal. I tried to maneuver around the car but after that didn’t work I ended up having to wait for the random person whose car it was to come and more it. 

[looked a little like this…but WORSE!]

But of course that wasn’t the end of it. They ended up HITTING my car 3 times before finally getting out. Good thing my car us a beater, because I was SO mad at that point that I just sped off without getting the persons license plate number. There were some *colorful* words exchanged however.

RANT 2:

I don’t know if in this instance it was because I was mad or what but there was NO WAY I was running outside yesterday. I just could not get myself out the door! So off to the gym it was. Even though I completed nearly 9 miles (8.91…ugh, I would have finished off the 9 if I knew I was that close!!) of intervals, I didn’t even feel like I had really run.

For some reason when I run on the treadmill,  I never feel that sense of fulfillment or accomplishment that I do after a run outside. I don’t get that awesome runners high either! Does anyone else feel like this? Either way it was good to get some speed work in, but I just missed those usual run induced feelings.

RANT OVER.

Phew….did ya make it?!

I hope so because two incredible companies sent me some of their gadgets to test out!

It looks like lately Healthy Helper has been getting in touch with its techy side…first the Vita-mix and now a Polar Heart Rate monitor and an Eat Smart Digital Food Scale! Loving all gadgets and gizmos!

First up:

The Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor

I was beyond excited to finally get to try one of these out! Polar is pretty much the best company you can go to for quality heart rate monitors…these people are EXPERTS!

In the past I have never really logged my heart rate or recorded calorie burn for my workouts but I think both can be really important for not only working out efficiently and safely, but for making sure you’re refueling properly afterwards.

The monitor could not have been simpler to use. I read the entire manual in about ten minutes. And five minutes later every thing was up and running!

The monitoring system works through a thing strap that you where on your chest while exercising. I was afraid it would be uncomfortable or distracting. but frankly I forgot it was there!

All the settings on the monitor can be personalized to your individual stats and needs to ensure all the calculations are as accurate as they can be. Although I never really pay much attention to the calorie burn recordings on the cardio machines at the gym, it was interesting to see how far off they were from my actual burn! The heart rate monitor was SO much more accurate!

If you’re looking for a better way to gage your workouts intensity, make sure you’re getting your heart rate up to a sufficient level, or looking for a way to better monitor your refueling needs…than get your hands on a Polar! Quality equipment right there.

Thanks Polar!

Next up:

The EatSmart Digital Scale

I know what you’re all thinking…”Weighing food? How tedious!” But that’s not exactly what I had in mind when I was given the opportunity to review one of EatSmart’s scales. The number one thing I was excited for was accurate measuring for baking!!!

So many recipes out there call for ingredients in grams and before having the scale I had never been able to accurately measure out the proper amounts of those ingredients. But the EatSmart Scale completely solved that problem!

The first recipe I made using the scale was my Date Sweetened Gingerbread Scuffins. Without the scale I would have never been able to figure out how many dates I should use. They are practically impossible to “measure” out…so weighing is such a great option!

Again, such an easy product to use! Completely user friendly and simple!

Now while I don’t weight out food for anything besides the occasional baked good ingredient, I think this scale would work wonders for people watching portions and calorie intake. I’ve always heard that nutritional information is really off in terms of calories, so I did a little experiment with the scale to find out if that was true!

There were definite inconsistencies between what serving size portion was and the grams per serving of the crackers I tested out. Not something I worry to much about…but it definitely could make a difference to someone on a specific calorie plan! Plus, it makes me think of what other things the FDA and food companies could be incorrect about…aside from just nutritional labels.

But basically, any which way you use it, for baking, portion control, or just out of curiosity, the scale works great!!

Thanks EatSmart!

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Okay monster post right here and lots o’ words! Thanks for reading though everyone! I will come back tomorrow with something a little less word heavy and a little more light for your Friday!

Remember to enter to win some LOVE (Love Grown Granola Giveaway)!!!

Kaila

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