Review: Wokamon

What is Wokamon?

Wokamon is a digital pet health game. If you are thinking, "What is that?" then, listen up. It is an adorable little creature that you get to name and then level up. You will start out with a basic creature that levels up quick but, as time passes you can add on another one and level up two or more creatures. The way you level up is by walking to gain xp. The goal is to grow your character and evolve them through walking.

What is the price of Wokamon?
Wokamon is currently free to download and install. Although, There are in-game purchases if you are interested in them.

What Platform is it currently available on?
It is currently available on Google Play and Apple App Stores. There is not currently the option to obtain it on Windows Phones.

• Apple App Store: You can download and install by clicking HERE.
• Google Play Store: You can download and install by clicking HERE.
• Windows Phone Store: This is currently unavailable.

What is required to be able to use this app?
Wokamon require you to sign in to be able to use their app. It allows two ways to sign into the app itself. You can either use 'Guest Login' which will skip the login or 'Connect to Facebook' which will link your facebook account to your creature. Once you have chose a option then, you will have the option to connect many fitness trackers or just play with your phone. Therefore, you can choose the best option for you. It does not require any further info after that unless you want to input your height and weight into your profile. You will also have the ability to sync most fitness activity trackers with this application.

Do they have any social media platforms?
Yes the have a wide variety of social media platforms available for users to follow for updates, fun posts, and to contact them.

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wokamon
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wokamon
• Website: http://www.wokamon.com

Thoughts on the app?

Naming of the character:

I found the naming the character simple and easy. Although, It did cover up most the text when I was trying to name. I will include a photo of it. That was a disappointment since I was not able to make sure I was properly typing what I wanted to name my creature. I did however like that I could tap my wokamon's name anytime and change it if I felt it needed to be changed. Because at first you maybe put something and change your mind on it at the last minute.

Customizing your creature:
If you are looking for a cute creature to dress up and make cute then, you don't have much options for it with this application. They give you predetermined clothing for each wokamon. These clothing will either give you xp or other perks to help your wokamon. As you level them up higher the greater the perk gets. I wish you could customize it as in color or something similar to that although, I do like the current choices. I will note that some of the piece require you to use topazes in a lottery where you can receive clothing for your wokamon or food.  Although, these clothes help you obtain more topazes they are not easy to get. I want to say to save your topazes if you want that 800 topaze pet when you have enough xp.

Adopting a Wokamon:
Another way of customizing your wokamon is your choice in which type of them that you adopt. There are several types of wokamon to choose from. From bread to raccoon to other random creatures they are adding more as time goes on. Some are free but others will cost you some topazes so if you see any that you like then, I would save up you those topazes. You can adopt a new wokamon by have the desired xp needed to adopt one. Once you have decided to adopt one and have the need xp then, just go into the screen. Click adopt a wokamon and click the one that you want to adopt. I want to note that this will remove that amount of experience for your xp bar on the home screen. That is why I ask you to be prepared to give that experience up. You can own as many wokamons as you want and whoever you want. Just have fun.

Feeding Sessions:
The feeding of your creature is very unique and quite fun. You can collect food by walking and tapping the screen to collect diamonds. The food you receive is a reward out of the chests that appear or by playing the lottery. This is where it depends on the food that you have received. Some will require you to tap the screen or to hold the screen to receive diamonds or topazes. There will also be a timer on some of them telling you how long to tap/hold. Others will throw diamonds/topazes at you in one go. Once time has run up then, everything will return to normal. I find that this is quite entertaining because I try to see who many I can get in a such a short amount of time. The fact that I can see my rewards flowing out as I tap away is wonderful to me. Overall, I believe that this is a highly entertaining and addictive part of the app.

Workout recording and tracking:
On regard to recording and tracking of your activity. It keeps tracks of your steps throughout the day. If you have you phone with you then you will get credit for it. I love this feature because it motivates me to get more steps through the day. You can see what times you are most active and which times you are more sedative due the the step counts appearing with the times you obtained them. Along with your step count you will be able to find your calculated calories burned and the miles that you have walked. If you are looking for a way to compare your days then, you can do that easily by sweeping left and right in an activity log. Overall, Excellent feature to have in a walking app.

Achievements:
The achievement system is genius because right as you are getting demotivated. Bam. Ding. A new achievement has been earned. This motivates you to keep pushing forwards and possibly set a goal of achieving them all in the end. There are several types from tapping so many times or walking 10,000 steps and more.  If you are you achieve something you will  go in to achievements to collect your reward. That is right! You get rewards for your achievements. You will receive topazes that can go towards anything that you would like to purchase with them.  Overall, I absolutely love this feature and am glad that it is included. As a gamer achievements are a huge motivator to me.

Leveling Up:
The leveling up system is very similar to any mmorpg that you may have played in the past. You simply will gain experience aka xp to level up your pet/character. As you gain higher levels then, it will require you to gain more experience to level up. Every 100 levels you will gain a new change in your character's appearance. This could be anything including getting bigger. I have not gotten a chance to yet experience all the changes in the characters but, the ones currently have made me quite happy. You can also share you achievement of reach each 100 levels if you choose to do show or you may also skip it. I do not see no need for improvement on the leveling system at this time. I have included a picture of what the the evolution of the wokamon looks like when it appears on your screen.

Overall view of the app:
Overall, This is app had my doubts in the beginning but, over time it has turned me around. I was able to level, obtain achievements, and push my fitness level up a notch. If you are looking for a leveling digital pet then, this the one for you. I would recommend this to my friends to try to get them out of the sedentary life. My suggestion is to give it a try see if you like it and if you don't then what's the loss because, it is free. My prediction though is that you will love it and keep on using it.

Review: Tomawatchi

What is Tomawatchi?

Tomawatchi is a newly available app on the Google Play and Apple App store. It is designed around our favorite vintage digital pet, the tomagotchi, as you could possibly tell by the name. This app will track the amount of steps you take daily to improve your health. If you want to keep your pet healthy then, you must walk daily and stay active. Along the way, your pet will need to have baths and to be fed food. You can do this by clicking the buttons in the left and right lower corners.

What is the price of Tomawatchi?

Tomwatchi is currently free to download and install.

What Platforms is it currently available on?

It is currently available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. I am unaware if it will become available on the Windows App Store.

• Apple App Store: You can download and install by clicking HERE.
• Google Play Store: You can download and install by clicking HERE.
• Windows App Store: This is currently unavailable.

What is required to be able to use this app?

There is not currently a requirement to register to anything within this app to be able to use. Although, you do not currently have to register within the app it does require that you download Google Fit to work or Apple Health.

• Google Fit App: You will be signed into your google plus account for the Google Fit app. You can find the Google Fit app HERE.
• Apple Health App: I am currently unsure of the sign in process if any at the current moment because, due to my apple products awaiting repair.

Do they have any social media platforms?

They currently do not have any social media platforms to contact them on or see updates. If you need to contact them then, you must through gmail as they currently only have a gmail account. Which can be found within the app.

Thoughts on the app?

Naming of the character:
I loved the ability to be able to name what I considered a cute little fox. I will say that I ended up naming my fox after a walking dead character which makes me want to check on him each day to make sure the walkers haven't got him. Haha. The naming process was simple. When you download the app the screen that first shows up is the naming screen. You enter the name you want and confirm it then, the step screen appears.

Customizing your pet:
I disappointed that you have no ability to customize your fox with color or clothes. This means your fox is the same as anyone else who has downloaded the app. I believe customization on virtual pets apps is the a necessity as you want to make it more personal. The ability to dress or even change animal and color would greatly improve the feel of uniqueness to the pets.

Bath and Feeding Sessions:
I was not greatly impressed by the bathing and feeding sessions that you have with your pets. The bathing and feeding of your pets only consist of hitting either that bath button or food button. When, you do this then a different background appears behind the pet and disappears as quick as it came up. This leaves a lot to be desired. This would be greatly improved in my opinion by having to scrub over the pet as bubbles filled the screen and feed them by picking up little pieces of food and putting them in their mouth for them to chew.

Step counting:
The step count is very convenient because, you can keep track of how active you have been throughout the day. Although, the step count is good it does leave me wanting to view the history of my daily steps. As of currently, if you forget to look at your steps before midnight then it starts the next day and you will never know. I will state though you are able to see your overall steps from the day you installed and name to the the current time. It gives you a sense of accomplishment when you see very big numbers. A step count log would be improvement though. as being able to see a chart or fluctuation from day to day would be great.

Overall view of the app:
I think that this app is a wonderful app for still being new but, could use some improvements. I think that it is wonderful for beginners at the moment though. They will be able to start to get themselves more active by improving their step count. It would also work for someone wanting a cute and adorable way to keep track of steps. If you are looking for something really simple to begin your journey with then give it a try. If you are looking for a more detailed care of a digital health pet then, another app might be for you at the moment.

Credits:  All photos credits go directly to their rightful photographers. I did not take these photos nor do I own them.
Thanks: I want to thank @StevonBishop on twitter for making me aware of the iOS app!

The difference between "Wanting it" and Wanting it

Who knew there could be two different forms of  'wanting' to losing weight. I had always thought if you told yourself that you wanted to lose weight then you would be able to work hard and losing the weight would be super easy. The fact is that it is not true. If you want to lose weight then you yourself have to actually want it with everything that you have in you. Believing in yourself and in your goal is what it takes to make to your goal plausible. It sounds crazy maybe even unbelievable but, it is true that you have to believe wholesomely that you want to become fit, be healthy, and feel great. Believing wholesomely is the key to being successful.

I will admit that I have been down the fitness road more times than I would like to say. I have tried over the years to find the motivation to lose weight and get healthy but to no end I would always fall off of the path in some form. I would start hardcore working out for a couple days then two days in would stop. I could not figure out why I would lose my way or what could be done to fix the problem. I would try everything to fix what I was doing wrong but, little did I know that what I was doing wrong was forcing myself to lose weight versus actually wanting to lose weight. This realization was what changed everything for me. It was like a key to the door that has been locked all these years.

It was time for me to get real about this. I knew that no matter what that I was sure I wanted to keep my son from suffering the same fate as me. The only way to do prevent this was to set an example. Another issue I knew I was tired of was living day to day in pain because of the prison that I called my body. It was sinking me into a sadden mood everyday more and more as time went on. I was slowly slipping into a "This will never happen. Why even try?" sense of things. Instead, I told myself, "Do you really want to live the rest of your life like this? Do you not ever want to feel amazing when you wake up in the morning?". There was no arguing because I knew that I didn't want to live this way any longer that I had to move on from my repetitive unhealthy life. It was destroying me and it had to be done with.

I decided that I had to get my family involved if I was going to be able to achieve my goals. I had always kept losing weight and 'dieting' to myself before this moment which had caused a great deal of failure. I sat down and spoke about how I was going to make small changes to start out my new healthy lifestyle. My family were suppose to get me Subway instead of the McDonald's if they were to pick that up. My family has a tendency to pick up fountain drinks from the corner store also. So, I decided to tell them to get me coke zero instead of my normal Coke since my store recently started offering it. Now, these may seem like small changes to you but, growing up and living on junk food my entire life it was a hard task in my eyes. Everyone has to approach their goal in a their own way which can greatly differ. I knew that this would be the key for me to move forward on my path to being healthy. The funny thing is that I had tried this before but little did I know at the time that I didn't really want it and fell off the path pretty easily. This time though it seemed so much easier for me to do. That is strange, correct? Actually, it is not really that strange. When you want something extremely bad then, it becomes easy to do.

When you question yourself you can find out your real motives behind wanting to lose weight.  Is this just because you feel like you have to lose weight to make others happy or are you doing it for your health and yourself. Once you realize who or what you are doing this for then, you will be able to realign yourself with a more positive way of wanting it. Once I was able to do that then, I realized the weight has started to slowly fall off with ease. First it was one pound then two then three. Now, I am doing it with ease and it overjoys me. I know that you will be able to do it too. If you feel like you keep falling off then, take a deep look and do it for you and your health. You can do it! Keep the hard work!

Credits:  All photos credits go directly to their rightful photographers. I did not take these photos nor do I own them.

The Food War

I wake up and fight the war daily. A strong battle between my brain whether I am hungry or not rages on. Can I tell if this time real am I really hungry or is it another fake out by my brain and emotions? I have fight with this every time I start to try to adjust my health and in the end I always give up. There is a difference this time though. I am not "depriving" myself this time. Although, it should be noted I never starved myself. I did the calorie deflect that you would normally do. When you do this cold turkey it can be hard to handle. I decided to not go at a deflect this but instead with healthier choices first. You think I would be fine, Right? Well, I still find myself at points like tonight where the battle of good or not occurs. I lost my small battle tonight against myself over where the enemy stuff me way past my full point even though at the start I knew I wasn't hungry.

I gave into the feeling of wanting that comfort that I wasn't feeling at the time. All of the junk food I use to have gave me a relaxed and happy feeling. I didn't want to fight this war. I wanted a familiar comforting taste of pizza sticks even if it meant stomach pains and no comfort body wise. Why was my army so weak at this point? I knew I would need to build them up if they are going to stand a chance but first baby steps no one can fight a war overnight. I mean rome wasn't built in a day either. I have to give myself time to adjust to all of these changes.

So, tonight I was surfing the net and watching television and to be honest it was a pretty altogether normal night. Anyways, somethings happened around my place and once again my stress level sore up as I was trying to fix them. The instant thought popped into my head, "Man, Some pizza would be oh so good right now!". The fact that knew that I shouldn't be wanting this and that it would make me feel horrible. I tried to talk myself out it as I sat there and told myself, "No, you don't need. You should grab a banana instead.". The war of my brain commences in the a fury of words back and forth. I just could not decide what I wanted. Did I want that unhealthy pizza or did I want the nutritious banana. I knew with every single bit of me that I was indeed full from over stuffing myself at dinner with stuff and that I didn't need it. Dinner was another war separately by it's self. Anyways, let all of us skip to the point.

 In the end, the war was lost and a pizza was devoured in a heartbeat. I was eating slowly and as I took every bite slowly out of the pizza I knew I didn't want to eat it yet no matter what the pizza would enter my mouth once again to be eaten. I know I am going to lose many other battles no matter what they are because no one is perfect and you don't win every battle you come upon. Although, If this was before I am going to be completely honest with you all. I would have gave up trying and just have gone back to my old ways but I am trying my hardest to make small changes toward making this a lifestyle and not another diet.

When I started eating healthy I noticed that I have started waking up in a better mood and have had a better mood altogether. I love that feeling. Well, tonight when I was eating really bad I started feeling horrible and my mood changed to "grumpy". I did not want to be around anyone or anything that moved that could chance annoying me. This feeling made me come to the realization that it will be easy for me to focus on getting back to that point. It doesn't matter if I make a mistake there is always another day and I can fix those mistakes that were made. I learned that if I keep telling myself, "You messed up. You need to give up.". Well, I will get no where now will I? If you hit a bump in the war of food versus you just remember that you can smooth out that bump and work on putting all of them behind you never to be seen again. Would you not like to wake up feeling really good and full of energy? Now, I know the answer to that is yes. If you focus on that feeling you are craving then you are more likely to overcome it. Just remember that you are able to do it no matter what and that someday food will not have control over you. Keep your head up.

Credits:  All photos credits go directly to their rightful photographers. I did not take these photos nor do I own them.

Where have I been?

Tick Tock Tick Tock. I haven't wrote in ages. Oh dear, oh my. I know some have been wondering if I just gave up on writing. If maybe I just didn't care anymore. I didn't stop caring about my health. I just gave up for a short time because I was feeling really sick. I ended up catching a cold then feeling better two days only to catch another cold followed by possible food poisoning or another illness. I am not positive that it was food poisoning at the time and I am still not sure. I never got this sick over and over like this in the past. I am used to only getting one cold per year then it being over. That didn't happen this year.  I also found out recently that some of my favorite foods now make me feel ill. My all-time favorite cheese cover bread sticks were now giving me stomach pains. I use to devour three of them at a time and they are very large. Now I can't even eat half of one without the pains happening to me.

It just goes to show how bad I have let myself slip up. This made me come to the realization of the stress I am putting on my body with my weight and diet. My body is screaming to me. It telling me over and over " HELP US! WE ARE HURTING!". It has kept doing stuff that I knew was a sign but I ignored and kept up my bad habits. Now, I am to the point it is getting hard to function day to day. So, it was a smack to the face when I ate a small unhealthy snack and instantly felt stomach pains. I felt horrible and knew I had to change. I knew that this couldn't go on any longer. It was just to much for me to handle anymore.

I have decided to jump back on the train as soon as possible. I do not care if I am still "tired". I must change this! I can not take getting sick on the daily and the feeling of dreading getting out of the bed. It shouldn't have to be this way. I want to wake up jumping out of  the bed and being excited to start the day. I use to have this feeling but then over time it changed. In the past, I was the type of person who would wake up early and clean to my hearts content then game for a little bit. I would just love the day a bit more if I was back this way. As of lately, I just want to sleep or watch TV. This is even though I know I need to do more. I know it is going to be hard to change but trust me I am going to try. After many years of emotional eating and nothing but junk and fast food I become quite attached to my "favorites". I don't know how I will break free from the grip of their deliciousness but I will find a way somehow. I know it because I have to.

As I am writing this blog post for you all, I have already changed my ways just a little. I admit it I went and got fast food. I went to burger king. I did however not reach for my usual but, instead for the beauty you see on the side. I saw it on this on the salads and more section and because I was still craving my fast food but want to be healthier option. I took a baby step. It is a veggie burger they offer. It is a meatless burger made with veggies in it. When I tried it I would bite and get chunk of different stuff but it was really really good in my opinion. It is just a different texture from usual.

It was something new for me to try all together. Usually, I would sit and just order my normal eat it all and go for a microwave pizza too. This time I did not do that. I ate the burger and the veggies filled me up. When I was done I ended up stuffed full. The way I see it no matter how small the step you take it is still a step.  Just don't give up on yourself if you feel like your step is not big enough because even a small one is good one. I do not know where I am going from here but I am going to slowly make changes and see what happens. The key thing is I am going to try. I definitely want to change all of these things occurring to me and I am hoping I don't fall ill again before I get the chance for this. Good luck on your journey because I will be right there beside you fighting my battle too.

Credits:  All photos credits go directly to their rightful photographers. I did not take these photos nor do I own them.

The New Girl in the Gym

You know that feeling. You haven't exercised since you saw the inside of the high school gym. You are only just entering the real "gym" that you signed up to. You worry about what others will think. Will they know I am a newbie? Will the wonder why I don't know how to use the equipment? We have all been there and worried about what our gym journey will reward us with. I had only been to a gym once before with a friend who showed me how to work the equipment. This was a completely new gym and I was all alone. It was wide open space not sectioned off like the old one. What was I going to do?

I walked in to the new gym and it hit me everyone could see me no matter what machine I was on. I did not want to look like a newbie who didn't know what do. So I played it off and moved to a new machine when I couldn't figure out why the machine I was on wouldn't turn on and work. I thought to myself, "What do I have to do to turn it on?". I decided that I would go to the one machine that I knew how to work. The treadmill became my best friend that first day. I would walk for a long time on it and observe around me how others were turning on the machines. I would scan then room noting in my head, "Okay, I start moving on it and it lights up."

I had figured out this encrypted code that a newbie like me didn't know. The machines here were self powered which means you had to peddle on the bike or start walking on the elliptical to make the lights and machines come on to track miles and etc. The machines my friend had shown me at the old one were always on and just press a button and go. I then decided to take the the big leap and try a new machine out. I walked over the ellipticals and got on one that was in the very back row where no one could see me. I stepped up onto it and started peddling. I learned something that day. Every gym is different with their equipment. My old gym elliptical didn't lift my knees as high as this one. I felt like I was exerting myself twice as much I did in the past. I figured out that I wouldn't want to use this as a warm-up or when I had knee pains. I decided I would walk on the treadmill for the majority of the workouts. I took notes and learned what would work for me. I then walked over to the bikes and sat down on a recumbent bike. I peddled my heart out and got a good sweat working out on it. I was pleased I had figured it out.  I knew how to work all the cardio machines. Well, except the row machine but, that is to come. Wooo Objective 1 is complete!

My next task was probably the most awkward. I had to figure out the weight machines. Those intimidating things that you see mostly fit people using. I walked around the weights area looking for the first machine I wanted to learn. Do I want to try the one I lay on my stomach? Do I want to use my body weight? Do I want to just want to try the pull down bar? I couldn't decide. It took a good while walking around to decide on two machines to try for the day. I can't tell you the exact names as I don't remember them but I ended up using a machine for the shoulders and I believe it is a called a leg press. This was definitely going to be interesting.

I sat down on the shoulder machine look at the weights I could set it to and wondered what I should set it to. I did the only thing I could think of and started at 5lbs and slowly went upwards by 5lbs. I kept going up til it felt that I was just throwing the machine handles forward. I sat there and did 5 reps 5 times once I was solid on the weight that I felt comfortable at. Yes I had a couple people stare at me when I was figuring out the seat and adjusting the weights. I tried my best to ignore them. I got up and moved on to the leg press. I adjusted the seat to make sure my knees were at a 90 degree angle when I placed them against the plate. I was comfortable and getting ready to do the same thing that I did on the other machine. Well, I wasn't planning but, a guy walked up sat on the machine right next to me which made it real awkward.

The machine was sideways so when you were sitting on it you stare directly at the machine beside it if you just look forward. I adjusted my weights and kept checking if it was to light. Then, He looked at me and stared. He was literally 2 feet away from me and staring at me full on looking at me in the eyes. I just felt so awkward. I wondered what he was staring at. I mean for a new person in a gym it was just so intimidating because he wasn't even saying anything or using the machine he was on. He was just sitting there.... staring. You might have thought I would have said something but I did not. I was worried about doing some reps on the machine to feel more comfortable with it then moving on. I sat back and continued to adjust my weight and go on merry way. I did 5 reps 5 times. Woo Objective 2 complete!

I had completed what I set out to do. I had not let people get in my way and my lesser knowledge. I made sure to set my objectives to something I felt I could achieve for one day. I learned how to turn on the cardio machines and adjust speeds. I also learned 2 of the multitude of weight machines available. I plan on learning 2 more machines every couple days that I go to the gym. This is because it gives times for my muscles to rest and be ready to go for the next machine I am learning. I don't want to feel tired using a new machine because I could possibly hurt myself if I do. I know you may feel out of place at a new gym but make the most out of it. Also, observe if you are not sure what to do and read all signs on machines. If you absolutely can't figure out a machine then, ask an employee if they can help you. I am sure the majority of them they are more than willing. It may be tough and hard. You may feel like you are the only one but, remember everyone you see started somewhere. They didn't just wake up one morning having muscle or look the way they look. So stick to it and you will be one of them soon.

Credits:  All photos credits go directly to their rightful photographers. I did not take these photos nor do I own them.

The Journey Begins...

This is the first time writing in this blog and I hoping not my last. This is a strange journey but lately I had the urge to write about my fitness journey, cool stuff I find, and the other random stuff here and there. So here we go and here we begin. Where it will take us no one will know. I ask that you invite your friends, your family, and the random people on the side to join us in this weird world. I will be posting reviews, cool fitness items, and maybe even some recipes you never know. Just comes right back here. ^_^