I am now trying my very best to lose the weight I posted about a couple entries back. My big goal would be to lose 100 lbs. Ideally I would like to complete that by the end of 2011 so I am starting off highly motivated and excited. The key to this for me is going to be persistence. I can rock a diet for a week or two no problem, then I get complacent and fall of the wagon. The key is going to be about 2 weeks in, seeing if I am just as highly motivated as I was in the beginning.
I did try weight watchers last year and I didn't stick with it for very long. Probably in my mind I just wasn't ready to make that change even though on the outside I was telling everyone I was. I made excuses all the time and swore to myself I would do better tomorrow and then I just stopped completely. Which boggles my mind because it was working. For the couple weeks I actually truly stuck to it, I lost an average of 2.5 lbs a week. I think in my head I thought it was easy and I didn't need to try so hard and if I had some slips it wasn't a big deal. However, I gained back what I lost and then some. One of my favorite parts of weight watchers (online) was the food tracker. I would enter everything I ate and it would track the points for me and let me know how much I have left for the day. It was great because I could really see the difference in the days I consumed several processed foods vs. the natural fruits, veggies, and meat. I found by comparing I was easily able to eat more and feel more satisfied on the natural stuff. It also let me see what food filled me up easiest so that I was not prone to snacking tons through out the day.
Right before the New Year I surfed around the internet and tried to find something similar that I could use this time around and didn't have to pay a monthly fee, but I didn't find anything that I really liked. A couple days ago I was surfing the app store on my iPad when I stumbled upon an app called calorie counter. It was free, and so I thought I might as well give it a go, considering I was planning on doing the old fashioned calorie counting system for my weight loss anyways. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I set my account up (free account) and then discovered this app is connected to the website FatSecret.com which is also free. The app has everything the website has, but the website also encourages you to join groups of people in the same quest for weight loss as you have. There is a ton of motivation in these groups. You can track you food diary, your weight diary, and your exercise, along with a database of tips and healthy recipes. Every day it will break down the protein, carbs, and fat you've consumed along with the calories. It automatically divides your day regarding exercise for 8 hours sleep and 16 hours "resting" which could be driving, sitting at your desk, or whatever you do normally. If you exercise all you need to do is enter it in (type of activity and for how long) and sub it for an equal amount of your "resting" time and it calculates the total calories your body burns in a 24 hour period based on your entries and shows you exactly what your calorie intake and output is. It does all the work for me, which I LOVE. You can view the tracker in different formats so you can see the different levels daily, weekly, or monthly. It also has a massive database of just about any food you can think of with the nutritional value saved right there, which makes it extra convenient when you are entering throughout the day. Of course if something is not in there (which I have yet to come across) you can add it manually and save it for future reference.
Here is the extra kicker, FatSecret.com also has a calorie counter app out for the droid (as well as the iPhone obviously). Which means I can access my account by computer, iPad, or cell phone and all I have to do is hit the sync option from any of these devices within the app and everything will get synchronized!! I will be able to track my food where ever I am and will definitely keep me accountable. I would recommend this website to anyone and everyone - it's free what do you have to lose? Except a little weight that is. :-)
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