Week one on My Fitness Pal.
Here’s good news:
Created by MyFitnessPal – Free Weight Loss Tools
Looks like tracking calories actually works! Who’da thunk it?
(to answer questions from last week, My Fitness Pal was the one that told me to log around 1200-1300 calories per day. so I’m going with them.)
It’s really not as hard as I thought it would be because My Fitness Pal (now known as MFP) has everything under the sun in their calorie counter, down to the difference between Market Pantry & Good Value frozen waffles. I can even add “favorites” so that I don’t have to calculate my coffee & creamer every morning, which makes it easy. & I like easy.
Another thing I like:
I really dig visuals.
I’m trying to learn how to incorporate more “whole” foods in my diet, but that’s more of a learning process & shedding the habits I’ve had since high school. My goal this week is to actually cook dinner rather than tossing something frozen in the oven or whipping up a bowl of soup with a grilled cheese. There’s so much I want to be & to get done & I think if I can just get organized & focused, there’s no reason that I can’t do it.
There’s no reason for me to not cook dinner.
There’s no reason for me to not wear a size 10.
There’s no reason for me to not be able to run a 5K.
There’s no reason for me to not keep healthy snacks at my desk.
There’s no reason that I can’t develop healthy habits for my family.
There’s no reason that I can’t be Taylor Swift’s best friend.
I’m adding this to the list of motivations that I now keep in my pocket to read before every meal.
What reasons do you give for holding yourself back? When you look at them, are they really valid reasons?
I started using MFP a few months ago. I’ve lost 14lbs just by tracking what I eat and working out 3x/week. I love MFP. It’s so easy to use.
Here is a link to a post I wrote about it: http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/2011/01/my-new-pal/
Clint & I have embarked on a journey to eat healthier. Our goal is to join weight watchers when I’m 6 weeks post partum but we figured changing our habits now would make things better than.
We’re on our third week and it’s been pretty fantastic. We’re not perfect and we totally ate our weight in crap yesterday but we both feel 100 times better.
I’ve been cooking a lot from http://www.skinnytaste.com. Almost everything has been a hit. Clint only said there was one meal that he wouldn’t want again.
I try to meal plan for cooking 3 of the five weeknights. One of those meals I make sure is enough for two nights (usually the pasta dish) and then we typically eat at my parent’s one night/week. Weekends have kind of been a crapshoot.
I also make sure to have a few lean cuisines on hand because there are some nights when I just don’t have it in me.
I totally blame my failures on my lack of athletic prowess and my inability to say no. Well no more!
I’m not doing MFP but I am tracking calories and I love it. It’s kept me on track in the past and I feel good about things right now.
Great job on the 4 pounds lost! That’s awesome.
Four pounds = awesomeness!
I lost 2 pounds using MFP last week! Woo hoo!
Now we can conquer the world! MUHAHAHA!
Ironic … I posted a picture of my LoseIt day so far. But, MFP sounds better with all of the items it lists for tracking.
I blame my failure on laziness, laziness & laziness. My time management has been sucking lately and that changes NOW. Off to workout …
P.S. CONGRATS on the weight loss! 4 lbs is AWESOME!
I love MFP! I reviewed it a couple of months ago on my blog. Congratulations on your 4 lbs!
This is awesome!! I LOVE your mentality : ) Looking forward to next week’s update!
Congrats on 4 lbs! I use MFP too, they have apps for Blackberry and Android (and maybe iphone?) and it makes it super easy to track.
WOW 4 pounds congrats! I am so glad that fitnesspal is working out for you. I love it too! And that little “if every day were like today” feature also gives you a huge wakeup call on days that you don’t eat so perfectly…
good for you Blair!
My barriers are, ” I’m tired, I ate great yesterday, I’m tired I’m stressed, I’m overworked, half this nation is fat, so I can spare to be fluffy” etc. I’m full of excuses if you ever need one.
I love My Fitness Pal. What is your username or the name you go by on there. I will have to request you as a friend.
I have been counting calories for a year now. Handwritten. It can be tedious, but you’re learning how your body will function and react to different foods.
I have lost all of my pregnancy weight, and I’m continuing to lose another 30lbs still. Sometimes it could get boring because your journaling the same things over and over (because you know what foods work), but the fact you get results make all of the boring times worth every minute!
The reason you can’t be Taylors BFF, is because I already am. And Kate Middleton…although I think it’s really dick of her not to invite me to be part of the wedding party. I mean I was already practicing greeting the Queen. I’ll have to talk to her about that after her honeymoon…I’m sure there’s a good reason.
Also…4 pounds is good!! And with a crazy week of Easter it’s rather impressive.
Congrats on the 4 pounds, that’s amazing! I use MFP too, but mainly just to track my weight loss. I really should play around with this site. I’m a BIG fan of visuals as well.
PS- Love the Taylor Swift comment
You are awesome! Nice work this week.
If you are looking for cooking ideas, the Body For Life cookbook is one to check out. Easy, more focused on whole foods (though they use a lot of sugar substitutes and protein supplements to increase protein, but keep calories down), and tasty. I love that they have a healthy snack section in addition to meals for all day parts. Plus they have pictures of everything. . . who doesn’t eat with their eyes?
Keep up the great work!
Congrats on your 4lb loss… that is HUGE!
Congrats on the 4-pound loss! That’s awesome and inspiring!
I tend to hold myself back because I fear being outside of my comfort zone. As a runner, it’s easy for me to hold a certain pace, but to push myself harder is terrifying. The fear of failure is always lurking in my head.
Way to go!!
my fitnesspal is the best invention. EVery trainer I speak with says it does not matter what you eat, it’s how many calories you take in vs how many you use.
It seems to simple but I still struggle with eating only 1300 calories at times.
Good job!
4 pounds is awesome! Congrats… keep on going, you can do it!
you totally can run a 5k! Awesome job losing the 4lbs!
Signed up for MFP. OH, and got the Couch to 10k app last week, and am in lurve! Probably because I haven’t had to do so much running yet…
I’ll send some easy recipes your way – tried your trick of chopping onion this weekend and freezing – so far, so good! Figure if I can chop the majority of my “cooking” veggies for the week on Sunday (with my food processor, holla!), my dinner prep will be cut in half. I’ll let you know what else I find I can pre-chop and freeze
XO,
AB
YAY for MFP! Congrats on the 4 pound loss. Before you know it, it will be 6, 10, 15, 23!!! (which is what I hit this morning) **happy dance***
I too love the status note at the end that projects your future weight loss. Very motivating!
Hang in there and if you need an MFP buddy my SN is Rebecca1428
-4 pounds!! You’re amazing!
Thats awesome! I just joined MFP yesterday!
When health is my goal, rather than just weight loss, it makes it easier to make the right food choices. I look at the forever long ingredient list on ready-made meals and it makes me gag. That alone usually helps steer me towards fresher, whole foods.
You can totally run a 5K! I did it last fall–jogging slowly–walking if needed–and finished in 40 minutes.
(That’s not a good time, btw.)
So if you can exercise/workout/walk for 45 minutes, you definitely have it in you to jog a 5K.
Well done on the 4lbs! I signed up for MFP and love it… even if it’s brought some horrifying habits to my attention. I mean, I’ve always known that cheese had a lot of calories, but COME ON. Just knowing how many calories I’ve been eating is already making a big difference in my food choices. Thanks so much posting about that website because I think it’s going to help me finally finally finally lose the weight I need to.
Great job this week B! I have to say that I learned of the MFP from the comments of your blog a couple of weeks ago, and I’m totally hooked as well. Love the visuals.
Good luck this week!
What a cool tool to use when losing weight! Congrats
Lauren
http://www.laurensthoughts.com