We're off to a decent start with a 1.8 pound loss from yesterday's reality-check-inducing 160.6. I'm pleased by this, but in my experience it's pretty normal to see a 1.5+ pound loss on the first day. So while it is a loss and it does decidedly move me back into the 150's (phew!), I still can't help but be a bit, well, lackluster in my excitement.
Like any good soldier about to charge into battle, I began by taking inventory of the fat-busting weapons that I have at my disposal.
Of course there are the old standbys: My Fitness Pal (cannot recommend that more highly) and Walkmeter apps for the iPhone. I use My Fitness Pal to log foods, log calories consumed by walking, and to keep track of my progress. Thankfully, My Fitness Pal has a short memory....
I use Walkmeter's GPS feature to track how far and fast I've walked and then I will input those calories burned into My Fitness Pal. Yesterday I didn't get a chance to go for a walk, but hopefully this weekend will provide plenty of leisure time to get some exercise.
In addition to the reliable old apps of my past, I've also gotten some new gear that I hope will allow me to stick to this for a longer term. Most notably, I invested in a digital food scale that's sleek enough to fit in my purse. I've named it Oz after its brand name, Ozeri.
Unlike some of my dieting comrades who have a lot of success simply cutting back on foods or trying to "eat better," I find that I only have success when I am borderline psychopathic about tracking calories.
Hopefully having Oz around will make it a lot easier for me to enjoy dining out and cooking at home while tracking calories consumed. In the past I think I relied too much on prepackaged, processed, and fast foods for the sake of caloric certainty. Those foods get gross---and boring---pretty quick. Having Oz will, in theory, make it easier to stick to this by broadening my options.
In summary: I've got the best gear that technology can supply. I am decidedly battle-weary from doing this twice already, but with experience comes wisdom....so hopefully I'll be better equipped going into this lifestyle change than I was before.
Wish me luck!
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| "1.8 pounds. GREAT!" |
Of course there are the old standbys: My Fitness Pal (cannot recommend that more highly) and Walkmeter apps for the iPhone. I use My Fitness Pal to log foods, log calories consumed by walking, and to keep track of my progress. Thankfully, My Fitness Pal has a short memory....
I use Walkmeter's GPS feature to track how far and fast I've walked and then I will input those calories burned into My Fitness Pal. Yesterday I didn't get a chance to go for a walk, but hopefully this weekend will provide plenty of leisure time to get some exercise.
In addition to the reliable old apps of my past, I've also gotten some new gear that I hope will allow me to stick to this for a longer term. Most notably, I invested in a digital food scale that's sleek enough to fit in my purse. I've named it Oz after its brand name, Ozeri.
 |
| Behold Oz, the great and powerful, in all its glory. |
Unlike some of my dieting comrades who have a lot of success simply cutting back on foods or trying to "eat better," I find that I only have success when I am borderline psychopathic about tracking calories.
Hopefully having Oz around will make it a lot easier for me to enjoy dining out and cooking at home while tracking calories consumed. In the past I think I relied too much on prepackaged, processed, and fast foods for the sake of caloric certainty. Those foods get gross---and boring---pretty quick. Having Oz will, in theory, make it easier to stick to this by broadening my options.
In summary: I've got the best gear that technology can supply. I am decidedly battle-weary from doing this twice already, but with experience comes wisdom....so hopefully I'll be better equipped going into this lifestyle change than I was before.
Wish me luck!
Runkeeper is a really great app that keeps track of different types of activities you do (running, walking, hiking, biking, la la la) And the awesome part is that it's recently become buddies with MyFitnessPal (MFP) so that MFP takes the exercise you did directly from RunKeeper and accounts for it. Good luck! Eat lots o' veggies :)
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