Do you find yourself too busy to take care of YOU? Are you like most of us women who try to blend being a mom and partner with a successful career, all while staying healthy and energized?
Well, I am right there with you and feel your pain!
Over the last six years, I’ve had two children (and a divorce) while running my own company, Nissen Media. I also became Head of Digital Operations and one of the owners of Atomic Revenue, a nationwide revenue operations firm based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Whew!
It has been a wonderful and trying whirlwind that’s left little time for me to take care of me. Sound familiar? If so, this blog may be just what you need to lighten your day and feel less alone on your quest for well-being.
As I co-parent with my ex-husband and his new family, run two businesses, do public speaking events, and geek out on technology and data, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and plan my next tattoo (I currently have five), I will also unabashedly share my weight loss and data-driven health journey with you, and hopefully add a little empathy and laughter to your day.
What do you think – are you ready to go on this data-driven health journey with me?
A Healthstyle Change
If you are a Mompreneur or small business owner like me, you may be swept up in the perfect storm of unhealthy eating on-the-fly with little-to-no exercise (other than chasing kids or running for your plane), and tons of sitting in meetings or driving.
This is my life and it has resulted in self-neglect. I’m at a point where I know things must change, so I’ve made the commitment to a lifestyle – or what I like to call a “healthstyle” – change. If I don’t start taking charge of my health, I will not be able to keep the pace that I’ve been keeping and set an example of well-being for my kids.
As I am someone who is motivated by sharing and by numbers, I’ve made the decision to put it all out there in a blog and on social media – the embarrassing, the ugly, and the joyous moments of my life and my health quest and reveal how apps and data help me (and maybe even you!) manage goals with ease for consistent success and daily accountability.
In business, we look for the latest, greatest, cutting edge tools to provide a return-on-investment. Why not have that same commitment to ourselves?
I’ve been told putting my weight loss journey out there for everyone to see is “brave.”
But, I think all women do what we need to do to provide for our loved ones and be the best that we can be professionally. It’s time we take care of ourselves and lift each other up too – unapologetically. Now that’s ‘brave!’
Action + Measurement = Results
This year, I had an ah-ha! moment when I realized I could use the digital world and data to help me manage my weight loss. Back in 2017, a friend and colleague coined the term “Data Diva” to describe me because numbers, ROI, analytics, and KPIs get my motor running.
I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to use my love of data to track my health journey, but what fun it’s turning out to be! Seeing results in real-time is not only motivating, it’s effective and keeps me honest. After all, without measurable stats, how can we improve or stay on track? Guessing at anything is a waste of time, talent, and money.
“What gets measured gets managed,” the famous quote by Peter Drucker is true, but I’d like to add to that and say, “What gets shared gets results.”
Isn’t that a huge part of what drives social media? Every single post or situation means something different to each individual, which inspires action (or not) on the reader’s part. And each post/action gets measured behind the scenes using KPIs and data for conversions. Inspiration. Action. Measurement.
Let faith and data drive great decisions!
Apps, Digital Tools, & Goals
Of course, I’m all about “digital” and “data” so what better way to get started than with a digital scales that tells me everything – I mean everything. It’s just shy of being a robot – it even tells on me by reporting my numbers to my Feelfit app which also talks to my other apps. I have a love-hate relationship with this thing but it’s perfect for my needs.
I have also taken advantage of all the awesome digital apps that measure things I didn’t even know existed, like how much I laugh each day, how much water I drink, and my mood. Some have 1:1 coaching, mini-dashboards, and suggested activities for my lifestyle. The following is a list of the apps I’m using and my weight loss goals, which also include tracking my measurements across eight data points and measuring changes on Sundays.
Starting Date
September 1, 2019
Real Appeal is a free program, provided by my health insurance company, is a year-long weight-loss program that’s thorough, supportive, and accessible 365 days a year, 24 hours a day through desktop, mobile or tablet. If you have anything that’s offered by your employer, insurance company, Chamber of Commerce, or any other groups – use it. There are also many free apps, apps with small fees, and programs like this – see my list below.
Fitness Apps on My Phone
If you’re trying to lose weight and get healthy, these are a selection of the apps I’m currently using – they may appeal to you too.
Rally Health – Through United Healthcare I have access to the Rally Health program. In this app I can join activities that affect my “Rally Age,” join challenges, and earn rewards while I participate. Current activities are walking a minimum of 5000 steps daily, laughing every day, keeping a mood diary, and tracking what I eat. My current challenge is to be a “water warrior” and track how many cups of water I drink. I can also retake my Rally Age survey here. I am 31 years old (32 in October) and my Rally Age is 46.
Real Appeal – is the specific health program offered by Rally Health. This is the app where I track my food, set my calorie/weight/step goals, track my weight, syncs to my Fitbit step tracker, and keep photos of my progress. I also get 30-minute group coaching calls once per week and access to a 1-on-1 session at my request, and success guides and action cards daily to support my weekly goals.
Feelfit – is the app for my digital scale. It gives me my weight, BMI, body fat percentage, fat-free body weight, subcutaneous fat percentage, visceral fat, body water percentage, skeletal muscle percentage, muscle mass, bone mass, protein percentage, BMR (basal metabolic rate), and my metabolic age (says I’m 38). I never thought I’d say this, but this may be one area where TMI is a bad thing!
Happy Scale – Another fun data app that allows forecasting. I have data access to my weight loss trends in 7, 30, and 90 day increments plus all-time. The app predicts, based on my own set commitment to loss each week and on my current rate of change, when I will reach each 5 lb. loss milestone, and where I will be in 7, 30, days and my final goal.
Achievement – I learned about this app at Collision Conference 2019 in Toronto. Achievement syncs your health apps to give you points. Every time you earn 10,000 points, you earn $20. The app also conducts health research surveys and provides articles to earn points.
FitBit – Step and sleep tracker and probably the most recognizable app on my list. I join step challenges with friends and family to motivate me with a sense of competition which is fun.
Antime – This is the app for my gym, Anytime Fitness. I am kickstarting back at the gym to at least walk the treadmill twice per week. The app tracks my gym visits, gives me workout plans, and lets me set other goals around distance, duration, reps, and weights used.
Charity Miles – I use this app when I go for a walk or run and donate my miles to charity. You select one of their charities and every time you run, walk, etc. you turn on the app to track and it will give money to the charity you choose based on how far you go. I have selected the Wounded Warrior Project. You can also join team challenges. I am part of the Potterhead Running Club and specifically the Potterhead Running Club 2019 Hufflepuff team. Go badgers!
Health – Standard health app that comes on iPhones. It tracks lots of data points then feeds the data to many of the apps I’m using, and they feed back into it and disperse it out to other apps. I think about it like the Zapier for my health apps. It’s a connection point.
Zero – This is an intermittent fasting app. I can choose various types of fasting and track my time, determine if it was hard/easy, make notes, and earn badges.
It’s the job that’s never started that takes the longest to finish. – Samwise Gamgee, LOTR
Dedication + Data Drive Success
For the next year, as I share my healthstyle experiences, I will be honest about what works for me and what doesn’t, my slip-ups and my wins, and show how digital tools are helping me reach my goals.
I hope that my story inspires you to make a change and do it with dedication, whether it’s with weight loss, a healthier lifestyle, starting a business, making a career decision, or growing in ways never imagined, and learn how to use data to easily measure progress and create success.
Be sure to check out my website for more info and reach out to me if you have any questions. I look forward to getting to know you …see you soon with weight loss updates and a bit about my love for LOTR.