Eat, Pray, Love & the 7 Stages of Grief

Eat, Pray, Love didn't just end up being one of my favorite reads that I go to for comfort and affirmation during times of crisis. Each time, it gives me a brand new revelation and helps me see everything in a new light. Julia Roberts was an amazing lead in the movie and I can't stress the book or movie enough! My inspiration for travels - not just the idea of a getaway but to actually create an impact, was inspired. I've stopped believing in co-incidences for as long as I can remember and I do believe each person we cross paths with; a blessing or a lesson helps us grow and become better then who we are at present.

Time is an ironic thing, sometimes we meet people we don't see ourselves without. With friends, We create plans for the future, we see them as bridesmaids at our wedding someday, we see them as travel buddies for the future and we see ourselves much older, looking back at old pictures and mocking the way we looked and all that craziness. With romantic partners, we picture a life together, an adventure. The funny thing is, before any of those plans could manifest into reality, that same person no longer exists. Time can change everything, it changes our expectations, it changes our goals, dreams and expectations from one another.

The 7 stages of grief isn't just about a death of a loved one, its the death of someone that no longer exists in our lives. The hurt is real and its probably one of the worst feelings in the world. Desperation for answers, Denial, Bargaining, Relapse, Anger, Initial acceptance and Redirected hope. Now, there are many versions of the 7 stages for losing a loved one, going through the phases of death and etc but whatever you may call it or how differently we grief, we have to go through all 7 stages to feel whole again. There is no stipulated time frame for this and sometimes, in my case, it may even take years. Sometimes, we never get over the grief.

However, I believe its important to see the best in the worst situation imaginable. It's important to forgive yourself. The biggest lesson I've learnt thus far was the importance of loving yourself - to the moon and back. Giving priority to your own needs, whether its indulging in a sinful dessert at the end of a hectic week or going on a spa day. Its important to realize everything you want and everything you're looking for, isn't out there in the world. It's within.

"In the end, I've come to believe in something I call the physics of the quest. A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of quest physics goes something like this: If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter old resentments and set out on a truth seeking journey either externally or internally and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you as a clue and if you are willing to accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself then the truth will not be withheld from you. I can't help but believe it - given my experience." - Eat, Pray, Love

Is the Fitbit Charge HR worth the hype? yay or nay?

I'm going to start my first blog entry after a decade by doing an in depth review on the much anticipated Fitbit Charge HR!

I've been fascinated with trackers for the last couple of months. I tried the samsung gear fit prior which for some reason never quite worked for me due to constant issues with bluetooth pairing. It did not take me long to stop using it altogether! I wanted something to help me get on track with regards to monitoring my heart rate (I do suffer from chronic asthma from time to time), food/calorie intake and of course monitoring my workouts. I've checked out tonnes of reviews on youtube and decided to take the plunge with the Fitbit Charge Hr.

The product:
Fist off, I downloaded the Fitbit app from the playstore and paired it with bluetooth. Be sure to switch on bluetooth & location prior on your phone. If you encounter problems with pairing, try disabling "location" on your phone. I realize it works differently with some phone models. Start off by creating an account and keying in personal information.

I appreciated the simplicity of the product. It's literally idiot-proof and I never needed a manual to figure out the functions. The rubber strap was comfortable to wear throughout the day and night. It also comes in the S and L size I believe. The S fit me just fine and I still had wiggle room. There are 8 holes on the strap which you may adjust to your fit. A lcd screen displays the time (which can be customized), steps taken throughout the day, heart rate, km, calories burned, steps climbed, a stop watch feature as well as an alarm. I loved the feature of enabling calls where the Fitbit displays caller ID when paired with bluetooth, as long as your phone isn't too far away. I found this feature incredibly useful especially when I had my hands full throughout the day or during runs when my phone was in my pocket.

The device also lets you challenge your friends which is great motivation. Apart from that, Fitbit rewards you with badges when you've met a goal such as climbing 10 floors a day, taking 10,000 steps a day and etc. You get badges when you exceed the daily limit as well. The device on your wrist also vibrates to alert you when you have reached your goal. To customize any of the above, just get on your fitbit app and hit "Charge HR" it bring you to the device page and shows your current battery percentage. Tap again to customize how you want to sync your data as well as other cool features.

Pro's:
1) lightweight
2) ability to customize features such as what you would like displayed on the device, an alarm (there isn't a sound but the device vibrates to "wake you up"). I am a pretty heavy sleepy and it woke me up! haha.
3) The material - it was easy to clean and even when I ran in light rain, my device worked just fine.
4) Caller ID feature
5) It takes less than an hour to charge the device
6) It lets you customize goals according to your preference such as keying in data on how much water you have drank, calculates calories consumed based on a food log/how many more calories you should consume within the day based on your weight loss goals & shows how you've slept.
7) A weekly status update that's sent to your email!
8) The app on your phone notifies you when there's an update to keep your device running on the latest software.

Con's:
1) The first time I tried to pair the watch with my Note 5, I had to wait several minutes. Yes, several minutes of panic. So if your fitbit is taking awhile just stay calm and keep it close by! (However, I experienced no issues with a lost connection or found the need to pair my device all over again after the first attempt even when I changed phones or switched off bluetooth).2) If you arn't used to wearing a watch, it might take awhile to adapt to wearing the device on your wrist, especially while you sleep.
3) The device might not be suitable for people who work night shifts as a new day starts at 12am on the app (unable to customize this setting)
4) Battery life isn't as great as I'd have liked - I usually have to charge the device every 3 days.

Overall, this device is definitely a YAY! I found no flaws big enough to keep me from using this device. It does a good job with keeping me motivated! I found myself looking forward to my next workout and challenging myself to meet daily goals. I've also resulted in staying better hydrated and keeping with the recommended 2 liters a day!

If you're looking for a fitness tracker for losing weight, gaining weight or maintaining your current weight, the Fitbit Charge HR might just be your new best friend! :)