The jawbone has been in my life for a few weeks now. Since it became a part of my day-to-day life I have felt motivated to walk as much as possible, and more positive about my sleeping patterns. It has emphasised the importance of keeping my body moving as much as possible and has made me positively more conscious of the calories and energy I consume and expend each day. It has added structure to my life and I feel encouraged to be more active, without it seeming like a chore.
The slender design makes this product as attractive as I think a piece of technology playing as a piece of jewellery can be. I opted for the black band to fit in with my wardrobe, which, uninspiringly, is made up of a lot of black, grey and navy. The band fitted in well with all of my outfits, and fit comfortably under the sleeve of coats, jackets and jumpers. It isn’t bulky, and is in fact just like a slightly larger version of my hair-tie, which is constantly on my wrist as well. I didn’t really notice it at all. The band fitted into my daily life perfectly, and when people noticed it, they couldn’t believe what such a small item was capable of.
MONDAY
Wore my band to bed to log my sleep. Was surprisingly comfortable. I slept soundly, and it even told me how often I had woken, and how deeply I had slept. Waking up to such positive sleep results definitely motivated me for the day ahead. I walk a lot, especially in London, as I don’t have a car. I never really think about the distance I walk and never realised how much it all adds up. Even walking around a tube station burns off incredible amounts of calories. Wearing the band I felt inspired and motivated to walk as much as possible. The app tells you what percentage of your goals you have achieved, which is a great feature.
Breakfast – Green smoothie.
Lunch – Chicken, broccoli and sweet potato with tahini.
Snacks – Almonds, herbal teas.
Dinner – Thai soup.
TUESDAY
Today I did an SBC workout at 7am. I had already walked relatively far just to get to the gym, and was well on my way to achieving my goal for the day. Having the band monitor all my movement makes me realise I am more active than I thought. I now see what usually seems like a rushed morning regime focused on getting ready and getting things done in a new light and feel I have achieved something by the time I’m out the door.
The band, however, isn’t great at monitoring exactly what form of exercise you are doing. The workout if extremely demanding and tough, but today we didn’t focus on running or too much movement or walking. Therefore, my intense workout was only logged as a measly portion of the percentage of my goal.
Breakfast – Nuts, poached eggs.
Lunch – Quinoa and broccoli, salad.
Snacks – Raw chocolate date energy bar.
Dinner – Salmon and vegetables.
WEDNESDAY
Today I did yoga in the morning and again, it wasn’t logged as much of an intense activity, but I felt motivated never the less. Wearing the band definitely motivates me to do more exercise as it is rewarding to log and look back over your progress. The only thing I would improve is to have options to select from a list of activities so that the exercise can be logged more specifically.
Breakfast – Porridge with almond milk and berries.
Lunch – Quinoa, tahini, green vegetables, black beans.
Dinner – Salmon, red pepper houmous, vegetables.
THURSDAY
Was busy with meetings today and managed to achieve my distance goal buy early afternoon. I did an hour workout too, so felt really refreshed, energised and positive. I also like the homepage of the app as it has daily facts and updates. I looked back over my progress for this week to assess what I could change or do better. I would love to be able to add the food more accurately so I know exactly how many calories I’m consuming, but it is a great way to record and monitor your dietary habits.
Breakfast – Smoothie and my Qnola cereal (qnola.co.uk).
Lunch – Salad with chicken.
Dinner – Turkey mince with avocado, salad and cauliflower rice.
FRIDAY
Have been sleeping really well, although this depends on my schedule in terms of how busy and tired I am and what time I manage to go to sleep and have to wake up. It is nice to be conscious of it though and I am more or less inspired to go to bed at a reasonable time so I can wake positively and start my day well. Today I only had time for 20 minutes of yoga in the morning but walked a lot. I didn’t reach my goal today but this didn’t dishearten me.
Breakfast – Chia seed porridge made with homemade brazil nut milk and dates.
Lunch - Quinoa with salad and sweet potato.
Dinner - Salmon fillet with green vegetables and cauliflower.
verdict
Perfect for a Gym Bunny
Overall, it has been great having the Jawbone band in my life. I feel motivated to stay active and conscious of my dietary choices. I like being able to see my progress and I like the encouragement the app provides. Although it is difficult to specify a certain type of exercise and my gym workouts seemed a little insignificant when logged, it is great to see how active you have been throughout the day. I don’t usually count calories and prefer body weight workouts rather than running distances to reach calorie goals, but having the Jawbone has taught me more about monitoring a balance of calories in and out.
Buy Danielle’s nutritious breakfast cereal Qnola here qnola.co.uk; modelmangetout.com
