Noom Walk Review

I’ve been using Noom Walk for almost a week. I’ve found it to be a useful little Android App, and I think you might like it too.

What is Noom Walk?

Noom Walk is a pedometer simulator for Android smart phones. I’m running it on the Evo 4g. I haven’t been able to find anything to explain HOW it works, but I’m assuming that the Evo’s sensor that determines its orientation is probably the mechanism that’s also used to count steps. If anyone knows better, please correct me in the comments.

How well does Noom Walk work?

Noom Walk’s description says that it uses very little battery power, but I’m seeing that it’s using a noticeable amount on my phone. I love the Evo, but it’s not exactly known for getting great battery life anyway, so that may be an issue more with this phone than with others.

As for accuracy, Noom Walk seems to be counting me a little on the low side. It’s nothing big, and it’s really no more inaccurate than some pedometers I’ve owned. I carry my phone in my pants pocket, so users who carry it in a case on their belt may see better accuracy than I am.

Noom Walk setup

Setup and use is super easy. The simplicity is one of the nice features of the app. There’s nothing to tweak and fiddle with really — just an app that does what it says it’s going to do.

Noom Walk setup on Evo

As you can see, you fill in a few questions so Noom Walk can be more accurate, and you’re set. Noom Walk will run in the background and count your steps. It’s also smart enough to reset itself daily.

Noom Walk in use on the Evo

You can open the Noom Walk widget and view this screen, which gives you your steps, approximate miles, and calories burned. Noom Walk also keeps a history of how you’ve done, which is also a nice little feature.

Conclusion

Noom Walk is a great little free application to help you track your activity daily. Since my surgery, walking is just about the only exercise I’m allowed to do for now, so this application is great for me. I can estimate my daily steps without having to remember to wear a pedometer. If you’re like me, you’re much more likely to remember your cell phone!

Extended Hiatus

In case you couldn’t already tell, I’m putting this blog on extended, maybe permanent, hiatus.

I’m finding myself dreading writing for the blog more and more, and that’s not why I decided to write it in the first place. If I feel like it’s something I want to do again, then it’s always here waiting. Otherwise, there won’t be any more posts.

Thanks to everyone who has hung around, read, and commented. My email still works, so feel free to keep in touch with me that way. You can also follow me on twitter or stumbleupon.

Take care!

Refocusing

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this blog, where I want to go with it, and whether I even want to keep writing it at all. For quite a while, it had gotten to the point that I just dreaded sitting down and trying to do a blog entry, and I didn’t want to keep it up like that.

I think the long hiatus was good for me, if not for the blog and my readership. I do want to continue writing here, but I want to have a broader view than before.

I really considered just starting another site and redirecting. I’m not crazy about  the domain name, and I doubt that will change. However, I know this site has readers, and I hesitate to just jump ship and expect everyone to follow me elsewhere. So, here we are, and here we’re staying.

Yes, I’m going to still talk about my struggles with losing weight and our (my husband’s and mine) struggles with his diabetes. No, the blog won’t focus so exclusively on those subjects any longer.

One thing I hope to do is make the blog a little more personal. I avoided that at first. I think I was uncomfortable in the beginning with exposing so much of myself right away. I’m feeling better about that now, so the tone there will change too.

I hope you stick around and keep reading. I’m excited about this blog again, and I’m really happy about that.

My husband has his retina specialist appointment tomorrow, so wish us luck. I’ll be sure to post about how things go.

Searching for a little direction

I’ve been really struggling with what to do with this blog.

First off, I’m not happy with the domain name. This isn’t a weight loss blog, though I do talk about that. I also talk about exercise, eating better, dealing with diabetes, and other things as well. I don’t think the domain or the title reflect that well at all.

In short, I want this to be a place where I can discuss how I’m going about taking better care of myself, and I’m trying to work through how to accomplish that. I may end up redirecting this blog to another domain name. That way, those of you who are used to coming here will automatically get sent to the new home, and new domain, when that’s set up.

While this is in transition, I’d love to hear any comments you have about what you’d like to see more of, less of, etc. from this blog. Here are some questions to get started on, but feel free to not limit yourself to that in the comments.

  1. Would you be interested in a blog that’s more general, for example “health related”?
  2. If you read blogs on exercise, weight loss, health management, etc., what kinds of posts do you like best?
  3. Would you like to see one or two longer posts a week, or more frequent, shorter posts?
  4. Tell me anything else that might help me rethink where this should go.

Off Track

I’ve been gone a while, and very busy with some freelancing work. To top it off, now I’m sick with a nasty chest cold.

I haven’t been exercising, and I’ve been eating whatever is quick and easy, not necessarily what’s best for me.

I did try slim shots, but being sick, I don’t really need an appetite suppressant! I’ll post a detailed review later, but I’ll say here that I think they’re worth it.

Here is some interesting reading in the meantime.

Weight loss benefits last for diabetics, even if they later regain the weight.

10 Commandments of Healthy Living

Living with Diabetes

Cool Weight Loss Blog

Half of Me is a weight loss blog I ran across a few days ago. She’s also written a book, Half-Assed, about her weight loss struggles. Yep, you may have guessed it; she’s lost HALF her body weight.

Wow. I’m enjoying her blog because she’s a bit irreverent, and she’s honest about what a struggle it is to lose weight and keep it off. She’s in that second stage now, trying to not fall into the old habits and see the weight creep back on.

I highly recommend it for some fun and inspiring reading.

New Direction

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do with this blog. To be honest, I just don’t have a lot to say about diet and exercise that’s not old news for most people. If you’re interested in this topic, then you probably know HOW to lose weight. It’s the doing that gets tricky.

So… I’m planning on branching out a bit. As I’ve talked about before, I think our attitudes play a big role in our weights, more so than our diet and exercise habits really. I plan to start writing more about those types of issues, which I think will give me better fodder for the blog. 

You’ll still see the tips and recipes just like now, but you’ll be seeing more articles about other issues like stress management, positive attitudes, dealing with negative people, etc., with a weight loss slant.

I’m looking forward to the new direction, and I hope all my readers enjoy it too.

I’m back

The last few weeks have been busy. Knitting for my Mom’s Mother’s Day present has taken up practically every spare moment. And no, I still didn’t finish it in time.

I do have quite a few updates. We have two new kittens, I had a birthday, and lots of other things are going on. I’ll do a “real” update as soon as I can.

Changing Themes Tonight

I’ve had a few issues with this theme for a while, so I’ll be making a switch tonight. If things look a bit funky for a while, that’s why.

Update:

I think everything’s working okay. If you notice any problems, send me an email or comment here. Thanks!