Tools

When trying to lose weight, there are hundreds of tools that can help in the process.  I'm gonna tell you about two that I use and L.O.V.E.

First is my Body Media LINK arm band.  Click here for more info.  I wear the armband daily, only removing it to shower.  It tracks all my movement and is able to calculate how many calories I'm burning.  It also tells me how much Moderate and Vigorous Activity I do and how many steps I take.  I can set goals in the program so that I can monitor where I am in relation to meeting my individual goals.  The information links to my phone in real time via blue tooth technology and is also stored in an online platform after syncing with a usb cable.  It's a great help for me to be able to see and track what I'm actually doing during the day.  I can tell if I've been sitting too long and need to get up and walk some.  Just knowing how much I do has caused me to increase my activity.  Without it, I didn't realize how sedentary my life really was.

The second tool I use is My Net Diary.  Click here for more info.  While I could input my caloric intake into the bodymedia app, I prefer to use a separate platform for that.  I'm not sure why, maybe I'm weird.  I have this app on my iPhone and iPad and can also input the information online.  All locations I use link together, which is nice.  I input information about myself, my goals, etc and it forms a plan and sets a plan to go by for eating.  It has a large database of foods and allows you to enter foods not already there.  You can add foods to your log by scanning a bar code, searching the database, or looking through your favorites.  It divides it up per meal to show where you are putting your calories but also shows you a break down for the day and what nutrients you consumed, kinda like a food label for your day.

I didn't realize what all I was putting into my body until I started having to write it down.  Both of these tools help with accountability but also with realization of what exactly you are doing to your body.  As you can see below, yesterday I consumed 1649 calories while burning 2863.  This gives me a deficit of  1214 calories toward my weight loss.  Every 3500 calories burned is 1 lb., so I'm well on my way to losing at this rate.



This is my Nutrition Summary for Monday, January 28, 2013 in the MyNetDiary iPhone app.

This is my Daily Summary for Monday, January 28, 2013 in the BodyMedia iPhone app.