[Sportsandrec] New list member with fitness-related questions and goals for the new year

Mon Dec 19 00:32:55 UTC 2016

Hi Kris,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I hope that your weight loss journey
continues to go well, and that you're able to reach your goal!
I just had a quick question about the FitBit Zip: What are advantages to
using this over say just using the iOS Health app? I'm asking, because I am
unfamiliar with FitBit and its advantages.
Thanks again, and have a wonderful week!

Best wishes, Miranda

-----Original Message-----
From: SportsandRec [mailto:sportsandrec-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Kris F via SportsandRec
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2016 4:29 PM
To: Sports and Recreation for the Blind Discussion List
<sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>
Cc: foleyforever at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [Sportsandrec] New list member with fitness-related questions
and goals for the new year

Thanks for your question.  I don't know if my answers will totally give you
what you were looking for, but I'm happy to share with you what I know and
what has worked for me so far.  Just a little background, last year I
started at 220 pounds and I am now down to 190.  My goal weight is 160.  I
imagine it will probably take about a year to get to my goal weight.  Some
will say that's a little slow, but I'm OK with that.  I figure this is the
best way to keep the weight off once I lose it.

That said, here's what I have to share.  Last year, I joined weight watchers
on their smart points program.  It takes a little more discipline than I
would like, but I have experience that if you stick with it faithfully it
will work.  So far, it has helped me to lose 30 pounds.  They have meetings
and they also have an app which is reasonably accessible for the most part.
With voiceover, I can use the app to track my foods, my exercise, and my
weight.   Unfortunately, voiceover does not work so well with the Connect
feature of weight watchers.  Connect, is kind of like an online support
group or social media for weight watchers.  As an alternative, most weight
watchers groups have Facebook pages, which might be a little more
accessible.  Statistically, people who go to the meetings tend to lose more
weight than those who just use the app.  In my situation, however, I find
that if I just stick with it I can do OK with the online app and I don't
have to pay for the transportation to get to meetings.

Another good resource I have come in contact with in the last year is from
blind alive.  The website is blindalive.com.  They have pretty decent, free
podcasts on health, nutrition and exercise.  They also have a series of
"eyes free workouts" for yoga, Pilates, and cardio.  So far, I have tried
one of the yoga workouts.  

Another tool in my weight-loss tool kit is the fit bit zip.  This is the
least expensive of the fit bits and you can clip it to your bra or wear it
on a lanyard and just have it around your neck.  You can sync it with the
weight watchers app as well as some other fitness apps.  I can't always read
fit bit too well but I can sync it with the iPhone and read it using voice
over.  It motivates me to walk more and it makes me a little more willing to
do things such as run some errands or take out the trash.  

Finally, I go to yoga classes at a hot yoga studio.  I have found for the
most part that instructors are pretty patient and willing to describe what
is going on.  To supplement this, I also check out YouTube videos and books
such as journey into power by Baron Baptiste.  That book, which is on
Audible.com does provide pretty decent audio descriptions of the poses.  I
won't lie, learning all of the movements and the terminology takes a while.

Hopefully, this information will be enough to get you started.  In weight
watchers, they describe the weight-loss is a journey.  I'm halfway to my
goal but i too still have a lot to learn.  If I can be of any further help
to you, please feel free to email me: 

 foleyforever at gmail.com

Kris Foley

Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 18, 2016, at 3:23 PM, Miranda B. via SportsandRec
<sportsandrec at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am new to this list, and if appropriate, I have some questions 
> regarding health/fitness and public gyms.
> 
> To give a bit of background, I ran track in junior high and high 
> school, and throughout high school I ran 5 days a week and lifted weights
3 days a week.
> Mind you, that was over 10 years ago, so the most exercise I do at the 
> moment is extensive walking.
> 
> I would like to eat healthier and exercise in the new year, both to 
> lose some weight before possibly traveling overseas for the summer, 
> and just to be more healthy and in-shape. I'm trying to plan ahead, 
> hence my message to all of you today.
> 
> I live in a second floor apartment, so any at-home exercise should be 
> minimal in noise. However, I do also have access to a gym at my 
> university, although I haven't yet had a chance to explore it as 
> someone who is completely blind. A couple of my visually impaired 
> friends inquired for themselves if anyone was available to assist them 
> with learning how to accessibly use the equipment, and it seemed that this
was not possible.
> However, I do have at least one sighted friend who I would trust to 
> help me in this way, if necessary.
> 
> I should also note that I have an iPhone, so I can use health and 
> fitness-related apps as well. For instance, I loved using MyFitnessPal 
> earlier this year, except it became tedius to enter and find the 
> correct ingredients for meals and recipes.
> 
> Do you have any tips or advice related to inexpensive gym memberships 
> (in the event I decide to go that route) or accessibility in my 
> university's gym, helpful iPhone apps, exercise mats, dumbbell brands, 
> accessible scales that connect to the iPhone, or anything else related 
> to my goal for the new year?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your time and assistance, and I wish all of you 
> a happy holiday season!
> 
> 
> 
> Best wishes, Miranda
> 
> 
> 
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