Tweet What You Eat!

Although I haven’t decided yet where to start in my personal battle against autumnal dullness, I got pretty inspired by my friends when I asked them for their latest investments in well-being. There are things I want to try, and others that I didn’t even know were there.

My friend Katja, a nurse and social media enthusiast told me: "I love Twitter and the way it diversifies its platforms. A good example is Tweet what you eat!. It’s a social diary, but it circles around a certain topic: food and cravings.
 Just as you use conventional twitter, you need to sign up for the service using a username and password. Once signed up, you can start tweeting what you had for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You also can send the amount of calories you enjoyed throughout the day and can create a 'Do Not Eat' list in order to warn your followers to avoid your mistakes."

My friend Sebastian, a technical buying agent, said: "I'm curious about the upcoming release of the the Samsung MyFit which is an 8GB workout player. It's definitely more feature-packed than the usual mp3-player. The MyFit contains various health functions that, for example, measure heart rate and body fat percentage. The device also allows you to create your own jogging playlists. Furthermore, thanks to the "Tapping Control" mode, it jumps to the next song without having to interrupt a training sequence. It even tracks your calorie consumption and tells you when to drink water."

Adrien, a project consultant claims, "In terms of wellness my latest purchase, I have to admit it was rather whimsical. The Newgen Medical S3000 appeared to me as some sort of "sauna to go". It was affordable and I wanted to give this gadget a chance in order to drop some pounds. The idea is pretty simple: fasten a heated plastic belt around your problem zone (usually the belly), plug it in and continue what you are doing - working on your laptop, watching TV, whatever. You know what? I should have saved the money or at least should have invested it more wisely, because it never worked for me. After a few weeks I stopped this experiment as no success was in sight."

My personal opinion is that this heating belt can never be a substitute for the traditional sauna. I also felt that the product is dangerous as it produces a lot of heat and can leave burn spots behind, after prolonged use.

Astrid, an art gallery manager told me, "While traveling in Sweden earlier this year I discovered the Yantra Mat. More and more people are discovering it as a successful domestic acupressure method. It is riddled with 9,000 plastic peaks which are calibrated to provide equal pressure at all points."

"If you lie down on the Yantra mat, the peaks stimulate the Marma points. In Ayurvedic and yogic theory, these points are thought to have healing effects on the energy of the body. Thus, the life force flow is stimulated, which is beneficial to overall well-being. It also alleviates tension in the neck and relaxes the back muscles. Works for me!"

Monika, a social worker said, "Thanks to the recent sunny days I have found my perfect relaxation technique. Since I work almost next to Tempelhof Airport, which is open to pedestrians, I now do my midday bike ride on and around the tarmac. When I see the runway in front of me, almost completely free, surrounded by green fields and only a handful of walkers, I almost have the feeling of a lift-off myself. I can cycle away every work frustration. Exhausted, but happy and relieved, I can continue my afternoon work afterward. Lovely!"