Setting Health and Fitness Goals with Jawbone UP

This time last year, I was the type of person who would bound out of bed and sail through a sunrise workout. Now each morning finds me wondering how many times I can hit the snooze button before it breaks. I drag myself through the day only to fall into a restless sleep during which I awaken at least three or four times. In short, my body no longer feels like my own. 

It started last winter when I went off antidepressants (more on that here). My energy levels, sleep cycle, and weight all went haywire. The fact that I spent the past nine months writing a book—stress much?—certainly didn't helped. In the spring I reached out to a nutritionist who ran numerous tests. Sure enough, many metrics (thyroid and adrenal function, for example) were off. Simply seeing the numbers explaining why I was feeling so crummy helped. What a relief to know that it wasn't in my head! I've since made some dietary changes and have seen some slow yet steady improvements. The emotional dust has largely settled, but the physical kinks are still working themselves out.

So I jumped at the chance to try the new Jawbone UP24 activity tracker for 30 days (well, it was more of a sluggish hop than a jump). The Bluetooth-enabled bracelet and its accompanying app wirelessly track your movement, sleep, and eating habits, then make suggestions for simple adjustments that can help you meet your goals. And while I would definitely like to lose weight and sleep better, for the most part I'm just excited to learn more about my body's patterns—love me some empirical evidence!—so that I can continue on the path to feeling like my old buoyant, energetic self. Stay tuned for how it goes!

Disclosure: This post is in collaboration with Jawbone UP. I received product and compensation in exchange for sharing my opinions here. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep The City Sage going, and thanks to Lydia Yeung for taking these photos.