The Reality of Health and Weight Loss

I talk a lot about the importance of heart rate monitors for your weight loss journey here on The Reality of Healthy. Here’s why:

WHY HEART RATE MONITORS HELP

• The gym machines are liars. Either you burn over 1000 calories for ten minutes on the ellipticals or 200 for an all-out half hour sprint on the treadmill. These machines are unreliable.
• Counting calories is essential for weight loss and for changing your body composition. You have to make sure you’re eating enough food and not starving yourself, but you also can’t be overeating or you won’t see results.
• Monitoring your heart rate is important for fitness training. The lower your target heart rate number, the more in shape you are! Being aware of how intense your workouts are can help you be sure you’re getting the most out of your workout. Calculate your target heart rate here.

My favorite:

Sportline 1010 Women’S Solo Heart Rate Monitor

I love this heart rate monitor for several reasons:

• It’s easy to use.
• The reading is accurate and the strap stays on while you run! No need to stop running to check your heart rate monitor.
• It beeps whenever you are out of your target heart rate zone, which is great when you need to pace yourself and make sure you aren’t slacking off or killing yourself.
• It’s fairly inexpensive for all of its features! Normally HR monitors are upwards of And you can get even cheaper ones that are used.  
• It’s durable. I’ve used this for months during my half marathon training, and this survives everything from rain to my tendency to drop and abuse things.

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