The app I chose to try is the Calorie Counter by FatSecret. The app has you create an account and enter your stats (gender, age, weight, activity level, goal). It uses the stats to determine your RDI or recommended daily intake.

My goal is to lose 52 lbs and the app recommends I eat less than 2800 calories per day to do that. That number seems very high to me. I have been able to keep it under 1800 fairly easily.

Once you have your account setup you can easily add food in a number of ways.

1. Search – you can quickly search the database of foods to find to add to your journal. I tend to use this feature for produce or anything that doesn’t have a label.
2. Barcode Scan – if your food has a label you can scan the bar code with your phone’s camera and it will automatically import all the nutritional information into your journal.
3. Quick Find – which is basically a categorized listing. I haven’t bothered to use this as I think Search has been good, so far.
4. Recent Food – If you’re eating the same breakfast two days in a row this makes it easy to add the same foods to your journal.
5. Frequent Foods – I eat the same 5-6 snacks so this feature makes it easy to find those snacks and add them quickly.
6. Saved Meals – I haven’t used this feature yet but one of the troubles with tracking calories is when you cook family meals. You have to get out your calculator and start adding up all the ingredients and calculating the serving size. This feature makes it so you can save those meals to use again in the future.

No tool is worth anything if you don’t use it. Time will tell if I can keep this habit of calorie counting up. The app also tracks your weight and adjust your RDI. As you add your food each day a box representing your RDI fills up and the app shows what percentage of your RDI you have reached. You can also enter exercise to increase your RDI.

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I also learned that our brains are mostly fat cells and thus we need fat in our diets to help us lose weight (sounds like an oxymoron, right?) . I highly recommend you get the book and learn more about the diet created by a pediatric brain surgeon! Oh yeah, and don’t forget to watch the interview.

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1. Set a goal weight range and weigh yourself daily even after reaching goal so you know when you start slipping.
2. Chart, Monitor, Log, Report (daily!)
3. Find a partner and don’t do it alone.
4. Eat simple foods and eat the same foods when you really want results.
5. Don’t bring domino foods into the house.

I really like the idea of keeping it simple.  The simple meals should contain a healthy/lean protein and vegetables.  And snack on nuts and seeds.  Drink lots of water.

Once you reach goal you can ease up on the diet and enjoy life but continue to chart and monitor so you know when you need to get cut back for a couple weeks.  There is a lot more to learn from this interview so you’ll just have to watch it.

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Josh’s audio gets quiet in some parts and I should have tried to fix that in post production. Here is the basics of what I learned. Focus on weight training and diet. The best weight loss diet would consist of lean protein, healthy carbs such as beans and vegetables and healthy fats like olive oil and nuts. It really shouldn’t be rocket science. Put the work in: lift weights 2-3x per week and eat nutritious foods. The results will come.

Enjoy the interview!

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Enjoy the video. If you were there and you saw me leave a comment. How did your interview go?

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Let’s face it, no matter how you put it, “diet” is a four letter word no one wants to hear. One
mention of the term and everyone around you cringes. Just the sound of this dirty, one-syllable
word screams hunger pangs and moody days ahead. There’s no way to make dieting fun, but
there are plenty of tricks that can make dieting easier.

Although exercise is essential, the first step to an effective weight loss plan is dieting. Before
you simply start cutting sweets and carbs from your life, you should evaluate your eating habits.
Determine how many calories you take in per day, as well as the ratios of protein, carbohydrates,
and fats (it sounds like a lot of work, but there are tons of tools online to help you count your
daily calorie intake). It is vital to know what you are consuming each day before attempting to
manipulate your consumption habits.

Once you know your own personal eating habits, decide on reasonable and individualized weight
loss goals. A weight loss plan must be tailored to your personal needs and aspirations. If you are
very overweight, it may be advisable to seek some help. A professional weight loss guide may
be able to show you some important tricks and will also ensure that you are losing weight safely.
People with a lot of weight to lose will likely benefit more from a structured and supervised
program. If you’re slightly or moderately overweight, portion control and calorie cutting may be
the key to simple and successful weight loss.

The second component in weight loss is exercise. The most difficult step in beginning an
exercise routine is actually starting to work out and the second most difficult thing is sticking
with it. Motivation is vital. In order to stay motivated, you have to be doing something you
enjoy. If you don’t like what you’re doing, it’s very difficult to get yourself to keep at it. Mix
things up. Don’t do all of your workouts at the gym. This can get monotonous and boring. Try
walking, jogging or biking in your favorite part of town, skating at the local ice rink, swimming,
playing soccer or basketball with friends, or even just dancing to your favorite band in your
living room. Throw one or two of these activities in-between your gym sessions to keep things
interesting.

All too often, people who haven’t exercised in years and are looking to lose weight set goals that
are just not reasonable. If you haven’t worked out in a very long time, you can’t expect yourself
to be able to work out for an hour a day, six days a week right off the bat. Start out slowly.
Set goals that you can reach, so that you don’t become discouraged. Also, expect setbacks and
delays. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. If you aren’t willing to see some weeks with little
progress, it will be impossible to remain positive and steadfast in your weight loss routine.

Losing weight is all about diet and exercise. You must know your individual weight loss needs,
understand your own weight loss goals, and devise a plan to stay motivated for the right reasons.

Set a weight loss routine for yourself that is fun and easy to follow. You can’t lose weight if you
are just sitting there waiting to be skinny.

This guest post is contributed by Kitty Holman, who writes on the topics of nursing colleges.
She welcomes your comments: kitty.holman20@gmail.com.

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Sophie is a TV producer from Canada who has had a unique fitness journey. In 2003 she lost 100 lbs. She then took it further and started competing in fitness competitions. After two years of competing she burned out and gained it all back. Watch or listen to my interview with her.

Thintopia, 2011. | Permalink | Comments | Tweet

One thing that has helped me to reach my goal yesterday was to set smaller goal to lead up to this goal. My first goal was to run a mile in under 9 minutes which ended up being fairly easy. After that I was shooting for a sub 8 minute mile and with a few months of running I was able to do this. I then began to focus on running sprints at the end of my jogs to work on both my speed and endurance. Other goals I acheived were to run 3 miles non stop then 4 miles non stop. I ended up reaching 6 miles.

I attempted the timed 2 miles in December and failed but kept running because I knew I was close. I am now closer to reaching my next goal of running 3 miles in under 24 minutes. I will let you know when that happens.

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Key points.

• YouTube and the YT WLC (weight loss community) can be a positive influence for weight loss
• Food Rules is one book that has helped Missy change her eating habits
• Every journey starts with a belief and first step.

MissyGordon
Right Click To Download Audio

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• You can eat anything … in moderation
• Learn techniques to overcome food addiction
• Food journal key to learning your habits and changing them
• Aristotle knew the key to health – BALANCE
• Portions Portions Portions
• Food is Fuel. Treat it like that

Marci Anderson RD
(Right Click to download mp3)

Find Marci Online. She does offer consulting online or by phone if you have specific questions to ask about your diet.

www.marcird.com

twitter.com/marcird

facebook.com/marcird

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