guest post by eliisa tennant, community marketing manager at cronometer
Hey! Hi! Hello!
My name is Eliisa and by now you might know that I am the Community Marketing Manager at Cronometer!
I wanted to take the time to introduce myself as I am doing something a little bit different today; I thought I would take sharing my story to the next level by really diving deep into the ways using Cronometer (and working here) has changed my life for the better.
When I started, I had no idea I was on the precipice of completely transforming my health – both mentally and physically.
Not only do I post about Cronometer daily, I use the app religiously and consider myself one of our coveted “Power Users”. Part of the reason I track every day is because I want to be as authentic as possible in my interactions with our users and I think it’s incredibly important to “walk the talk.”
The other part is solely for my own health and goals centered around the lifestyle I want to lead (pssstt… a healthy one!). I feel different these days – vital is the word I have been using lately – and tracking my nutrition and other biometrics is the key I needed to unlock this fabulous feeling!
In order to appreciate where I am now, healthier and fitter than ever, I hope you’ll take the time the time to learn not about my physical transformation (down 20 pounds, y’all!) but also how I use the app to achieve my big goals and optimize my health!
It All Started With Yo-Yo Dieting
When I look back over the course of the last ten years I can’t believe how far I have actually come.
I remember the first day I learned about what a calorie was – from a friend in high school – and from that moment on calorie counting consumed my life. I didn’t care where the calories came from- just so long as I stayed under the sparse 1,200 budget I allotted myself daily. These calories came from candy or other packaged foods.
I was pretty small but the pressure to be ultra-thin drove me to exercise at the gym for hours. Thus began an incredibly complicated relationship with food.
I journaled absolutely everything and became so restrictive with my diet that casual things like doing out for dinner gave me anxiety. “How will I know how many calories are in this?”
I went through cycles of yo-yo dieting even though I would’ve never been considered overweight. Losing and gaining the same 10 pounds over again. Weight Watchers, South Beach, Whole30. Regardless of the diet the same pattern would emerge – Restrict > Lose > Resume Habits > Gain.
Fast forward to landing the job of my dreams at Cronometer, I had NO IDEA what I didn’t know. Working in close proximity with a Nutrition Scientist? Let me tell you, that’s opportunity for some enlightenment. I learned about things called macros – you mean you shouldn’t have a diet solely made of carbs? Then delved even deeper to learn about micronutrients (game changer). I started using the app to the best of it’s capabilities – performing text-based searches for whole foods and then choosing the generic options from the NCCDB for the most and best data. This allowed me to get a clearer picture about my diet.
My energy levels soared.
Even more impressively Cronometer helped me identify a massive magnesium deficiency. The physical benefits have been great! But the mental ones are equally impressive. Gone are the days of labelling foods as “good” or “bad”, gone of the days of yo-yo. In place are healthy habits + moderation.
Switching My Focus
I really stepped up my nutrition game when I started working at Cronometer; transforming from an obsessive/restrictive calorie counter to someone who now focuses on micronutrients.
Whereas I used to live on the Calories Diary Header I now swipe back and forth, actively switching between checking my macronutrients and micronutrients. This helps ensure I am getting everything I need with my diet.
I mentioned that years ago that I was living on 1,200 calories and feeling so lethargic. Through tracking exercise (more on that later) and logging all my food I was slowly able to increase my caloric intake to a base of 1,750 calories/day to 2,400/day depending on my activity levels.
While eating on the lower end of that range I was still able to lose a significant amount of weight off my 5’4 frame – and better yet maintain it.
I would’ve been taking a shot in the dark if I didn’t use the tools to fine tune my numbers. But, with the data in front of me it was easier to make healthier decisions.
Recently, when COVID-19 hit I was determined to take the time to become an even healthier version of myself. So, I increased my protein goals and dialled in the numbers that would better suit my weight training and cardio regime.
I spent a lot of time reading the posts of some of my favourite Cronometer Pros and decided to structure my macro targets as follows: 131 g Protein, 197 g Carbs, 48 g Fat.
I track throughout the day adding items as I eat as I tend to forget otherwise. I have created recipes from the foods I eat regularly for ease of entry and I alternate between filter options “Most Frequent” and “Most Recent” routinely.
A lot of people ask why I would continue to track everything if I am basically consuming the same thing daily. But, swapping out a single item – like a banana for an apple – can have a big impact on my All Targets circle and I want to make sure I smash my goals every single day.
Leveraging Cronometer's Integrations
There is no way I can possibly express how much value an activity tracker has brought to my life – in all arenas. I walk around touting the benefits like I am on the payroll. But it’s simply because it has radically changed my life. 🤣
I was given an Oura Ring to use 2 years ago to test at work and it hasn’t left my finger since. Sleep data, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate… oh my!
Watching my heart rate drop to a resting HR of 43 beats per minute after logging hundreds and hundreds of kms running knowing that means my heart is pumping super efficiently? That’s a kind of satisfaction money can’t buy. It’s the knowledge that the work I am doing is truly paying off – on a level that transcends the external physical benefits! And if I am honest, I am proud of these numbers.
Now, please let me attach an asterisk to these statements because there certainly needs to be one. While I do pay attention to how many calories I burn daily – because I do eat more to stay fuelled on big activity days, I never wholly count on these numbers.
One day I jumped rope for an incredibly sweaty hour and 30 minutes and it told me I only burned 74 calories. Another day I was dirtbiking for 4 hours and it said I torched 1,700. While trackers are becoming more accurate there is still work that needs to be done for them to be truly accurate and I think that’s important to remember. I fully appreciate different activities react differently with my ring and I have spent enough time with it now to have a rough idea which ones work best – running, for example seems very consistent and it’s the activity I do most for my fitness.
If you don’t have a tracker but want to take your health to the next game I can’t recommend it enough. But, if you want to track your exercise we also have an extensive database of workouts (even including things like sitting in church) that you can add to your Diary to get a good idea of your caloric burn doing any activity!
Working At Cronometer
I have enjoyed sharing the details about the transformations I have made – both physically and mentally – since working at Cronometer and using the app daily.
But, the benefits transcend anything to do with my health and its because of these people. These wonderful, intelligent, fun, warm, hilarious people I am so fortunate to work with daily.
Any of my fellow staffers reading this will know I have big, happy feelings about working here. Feelings I share routinely on our Slack channels and in the office – mostly with heart emojis ♥️.
I have never come close to working in such an amazing office environment. We work hard, we play hard and we genuinely enjoy the company of each other, so much so, that most of us spend time out of the office together too!
This group is so dedicated to building something that will change our user’s lives while adhering to our own code of ethics. We never compromise on the promises we’ve made about how we operate – like how diligent we are about your data (it’s never shared).
And when we evaluate what to introduce next we pour over your feedback to determine what you guys want to see most.
If you have ever had an interaction with a staff member through customer support I hope you have felt how much they care. Because we do. We care so much.
We cheer for you, with you and truly want you to live your healthiest, happiest lives. And we honestly believe that Cronometer has the power – with all that amazing data – to help you achieve that!
Thanks for taking the time to read my ridiculously long story! I appreciate you tuning in. If you ever need any help please drop me a message – I love hearing from y’all!
Until next time, all my best in health! E
