You should go get this app.

The single biggest part of my weight loss journey has been the Lose It! app on my iPhone.  Honestly, I can't say I have started exercising in earnest yet.  I've done a tiny bit here and there, but nothing substantial.  The biggest modification has been budgeting for and counting my calories.  (And if you don't have an iPhone you can still use the program through their website AND it's coming to Android devices soon!)  The app (or website) calculates your ideal calorie intake based on your current stats and your goal weight.  As you lose weight it slowly reduces your calorie budget because a lighter person burns fewer calories.  It takes all the guess work out of how much you should be eating out of the equation and does the hard math for you - constantly!

I'm paraphrasing what I read in the Lose It! book here, but the basic math is this...  if you want to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume.  It's pretty simple.  Yes, everything else that comprises the food you eat has a health impact (fat and carbohydrates, for example) but they can be ignored to a certain extent.  By limiting your calorie intake you are also limiting your fat intake because fat has calories.  Yes, it is better to make healthier choices, but I think that's really difficult in the beginning of the journey.  If I were to deny myself all the foods I love I would be a very, very unhappy camper!  I wouldn't last.  But with this way of thinking, if I don't want to skip the cheese on my Subway sandwich (and believe me, I don't!) that's okay.  As long as it fits in my calorie budget I can eat it!

The trick here is that you become aware of how many calories you are consuming and in turn you make healthier choices so that you can eat more!  When was the last time a single piece of pizza (380 calories) filled you up for dinner?  Even my nephews eat more than that sometimes.  Wouldn't a more filling choice be a large salad with grilled chicken and fat-free dressing (409 calories)?  You get more bang for your calorie buck when you eat healthier foods.  (Calorie counts are from the foods I would have personally picked for those meals and may vary for your favorite foods.)  So I have found myself eating more fruits and vegetables just because I can "afford" them.  This has led to the transformation of the green bean for me.  I would avoid them in the past because there are other things I would rather eat.  But when I found out you can have a whole cup of them for only 34 calories they became a low-calorie jackpot of sorts! 

The Lose It! app has transformed the way I think about food.  I am able to keep track of what I'm eating and hold myself accountable.  It is very black and white.  If I go over it's right there in big bold red numbers to stare me in the face...  and my friends that I've connected with who also use the app (and/or website) can also see how I fared for the day.  The networking tools are an added benefit because my friends can help hold me accountable and get me back on track if they notice that I'm slipping.

Another great thing about the app is that you can enter your exercise for a boost in your calorie budget for the day.  Spend 30 minutes on the exercise bike?  That buys you around 270 calories that you can "spend" as you like (or at least at my weight it does - your exact calculations may vary).  Or if it's the other way around and you see that you're going to eat 100 more calories than you have in your budget for the day (you can enter food ahead of time to help plan meals) you can see how long you need to walk around the neighborhood to burn those extra calories off and decide if that high-calorie dinner is worth it or if you should make a better choice.

Lose It! also has lots of restaurant foods pre-programmed in their database, and I find that to be a huge help.  If David and I decide to have Wendy's for dinner I can easily determine what I can afford.  I had a burger and small order of fries last weekend and didn't go over budget.  See what I mean about not giving up the foods you love?  I wouldn't do that every day because I know it wasn't really a healthy choice - but perhaps eating that burger and fries within my calorie budget kept me from binging on an even worse burger and a large fry later in the week when the cravings became too much. 

It's all about learning how to balance your diet and educating yourself about the foods you eat.  I was drinking organic chocolate milk because, hey, my mom always said I should have more calcium and that was a pretty tasty way to get it!  Turns out one cup of my awesome chocolatey goodness has 180 calories in it!  And I don't know about your glasses at your house, but ours aren't 8 ounces!  I was having at least two servings most nights before bed.  That's...  bad.  I still buy the organic chocolate milk, but if I have hit my calorie budget for the day I don't get to drink it.  And I certainly only drink one serving at a time.  And have you ever looked at how many calories are in peanut butter?! Peanut butter is supposed to be one of those healthy protein-packed snacks, but one tablespoon has about 100 calories.  One tiny tablespoon! 

I could go on about the discoveries I have made but I'm going to stop here.  Just know that knowledge gives you power, and when you really become aware of what you are putting into your body it becomes difficult to ignore the damage being done by a PB-heavy PB&J sandwich.

Current length of diet: 2 months
Current weight lost: 13 pounds

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