Do Fitbits Really Help? – My New Air Fryer The NuWave Brio Air Fryer

This week I didn't get to my weight lifting, I go all my steps in (more on that later) but I'm up .4 lbs. I'm not going to cry over that, but I need to get back to the gym. While you can't exercise yourself out of a diet, I want to continue with my weight lifting.

Do Fitbits Realy Motivate People?

There is a study from Harvard about using Fitbits (or any activity trackers). They had a number of groups:

use of a Fitbit Zip, a popular clip-on activity tracker (with payment of $3/week to continue in the study regardless of the number of steps taken)

a Fitbit plus a cash incentive ($11 for taking 50,000 to 70,000 steps each week, or $22 for more than 70,000 steps/week)

a Fitbit plus a payment to a charity (which was larger with increased activity)

a control group that did not use an activity tracker; this group also received the $3/week for participation regardless of activity levels.

In the end, the group that got good old hard CASH was more motivated.

Other reports show when you work activity into a group activity or game that can boost engagement, and again, if you throw in money, that seems to get people's attention.

Shocking isn't it that money motivates people…

In my opinion, the only kind of motivation is self-motivation.

If we can get our head inside the “big picture” we can see where WE WILL save money in the future by not having to rely on medicine, pills, and surgeries.

If you're interested in a Fitbit, you can check them out here. If you just want a small clip-on unit, (the ZIP) they start at $59. (these might be getting discontinued as they aren't available at Amazon).

My Old Air Fryer Turned Into a Smoke Machine

I had purchased a Power Air Fryer XL for 159 in March. I used it weekly and while I loved it the first few times I used it, I began to dislike it and eventually threw it away. Here is why:

Cleaning the basket chewed up your sponges

The idea was to keep your food out of the grease, they had a dimple in the bottom of their pan to keep the basket raised, but if you put a fair amount of chicken thighs, it weighed down the basket to where the food was soaking in great. What is the point of a six-quart fryer, if you can't load it up?

I don't think it was the basket or the bucket that cause the problem but the oven itself. I would wait for it to cool, and attempt to clean the roof, and there was a weird edge around the oven that the bucket/basket slid into. I saw where grease was building upon it. You had to stand on your head to see inside of the oven.

It leaked grease on my counter

The final time I used it, I looked like I was at a Kiss concert with this thing billowing smoke that filled my apartment and set off my smoke detector (multiple times).

Enter the NuWave Brio Air Fryer

I looked around and Walmart and Target didn't carry more than one unit, and I wanted to be able to look into the unit to see how I could clean it. I went to Bed Bath Beyond and ended up with the NuWave Brio Air Fryer (3 quarts instead of the six quarts I previously). The price was $89. There is a six quart version for $129.

I chose it as the basket looks like it will be easier to clean, and there is tab in the bucket to ensure that the basket stays out of the grease (and after using it four times it does).

It also has a pre-heat option that I like (it doesn't take too long). The reviews seem where the majority are positive, and some of the negative reviews are interesting, “The oven was hot….” um yeah, yes it is.

You also need to leave from any air fryer to have space for the heat coming out of the fryer has a place to go.