This past month I have been trying out an app on my phone called "
Lose It" which is a program that can be done on your smart phone or on the computer where you can track your food and exercise while also interacting with others. While I was always a fan of the pen and notebook way of journaling my food and exercise, I would get to the end of the day and realize that I hadn't logged anything for hours! Enter the smart phone and....
No Excuse...I always have my phone on me (what did we do before cell phones) and so I have no excuse not to log what I am eating....logging exercise is easy since I can watch my daily calorie allowance rise! The
Lose It app makes it simple by allowing me to search for the foods I'm eating easily. I eat a lot of the same foods every day (hello throwing together breakfast before both eyes are open) and so once I entered all my usual suspects into the favorites section, it took no time at all to click through! You can also search by recipe and brands as well as scan the bar code on the package (sooo easy!).
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| NOT my log although who wouldn't love ice cream and waffles for breakfast? |
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Math Genius?...Again I feel like there are days when it's noon before I'm truly awake so subtracting calories and adding exercise is sometimes not my forte!
Lose It makes it a no brainer! I just plug in what I've eaten and what I've done and it does the math for me! I can look at the app when I want that last treat and see that I only have enough calories for an apple and not the Ben and Jerry's that is staring at me from the freezer! The calories are calculated based on your weight and also on the amount of pounds you want to lose in a week. I picked a more aggressive 2lbs a week and so my calories for the week were low (thus why I worked out so much to earn those extra calories!)
I Lose, You Lose....Research has proven over and over the benefits of being in a health conscious community and being surround by those who have similar goals. Not only does tracking my calories with
Lose It help me to stay honest about what I am eating and burning, but it also connected me with others who were trying to do the same thing! There is that community feel where you are being supported and challenged by others....sounds familiar right?!
How do you track your calories and exercise?
SOunds like a great app! I'm currently using the Fitbit Aria. Love it!
ReplyDeleteI neeed to get me more apps.
ReplyDeleteI stopped writing everything down during the second month of my pregnancy because the numbers stopped making sense. I was still running about 15 miles a week (two halfs, 1 10k, and 1 5k all in the first 18 weeks of pregnancy) so I was eating mammoth proportions. I've always followed the Weight Watchers point system, but I tweaked it to fit my life. I've always counted 50 calories as a point. Before I got pregnant while I was running 30 miles a week, I was eating 35-45 pts. a day and maintaining my weight, but after I got pregnant, I started eating upwards of 50 pts. a day and my mileage was cut in half. It was depressing, especially since I gained 8 lbs. at my second prenatal appt. I thought I was just eating when I was hungry like I normally do. It got really weirded out about journaling and weighing myself. Now, I just let the doctor weigh me and tell me how much I've gained. I to this day do not know what I weigh. But my weight gain has evened out, and I'm right on track. Some women just gain more at the first of their pregnancies. It's probably a good thing that I stopped writing it down since I'd beat myself up about the numbers and use them to compare other pregnancies with in the future. I might look this up here in about three months, though! Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteMallory with both my pregnancies, I had the doctor weigh me backwards. I just didn't want to know since I knew it would send me over the edge!
DeleteI have this app and love it, too, but I actually don't use it to try to lose weight. I will occasionally just enter all my food for a day or a few days to see what kind of nutrients I'm getting, whether I'm eating enough protein (I'm a vegetarian), or to find out if my post-run smoothie has the right ratio of carbs to protein. It is a great app, for sure!!
ReplyDeleteI use a little pocket notebook that I carry around with me... but this would be cool, I just don't have a smart phone I'll be staying old school! :-)
ReplyDeleteI barely have any apps on my phone nor do I ever track my calories. I have an idea of what they are but I don't put in any numbers. that being said, it's always good to be aware of what you eat and what, perhaps, you may need more of less of :)
ReplyDeleteI have been using my WW paper trackers and then transferring notes to FitDay.... for about 7 years now. I am obsessive about tracking but it keeps me accountable and works for me.
ReplyDeleteI've used lose it for awhile now. I love it. Especially in the winter when I am home & inside a lot it is so easy to mindless eat. It helps me stay on track.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great app - I think I'd like this much better than trying to remember to write down what I'm eating!
ReplyDeleteThis looks similar to My Fitness Pal. Keep up the good work! My problem is that I start out well for the day (sometimes and sometimes noT!) and then it just gets worse by 3pm I start hoarding food. Ha!
ReplyDeletewhats funny is I had someone come by my desk on thursday and ask me about what a great app would be for tracking cal and exercise--- either you or someone else has previously blogged about lose it so I had recommended it to this individual :)
ReplyDeleteFor me I can't be that nitty gritty with numbers, so I have to focus on types of foods or how much protein i had etc .
Great way to keep track. Funny, that sometimes it is simple math: calories burned/intake. I read somewhere that a dude lost a bunch of weight by only eating twinkies. Killed his health, but lost the weight. There is a proper balance.
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