Online food journals / programs

It was exactly 8 years ago today that I decided to make a lifestyle change for the better. I was in my final year of high school and throughout the years I managed to pack on 60 pounds. Little did I know at the time that I had a thyroid problem but aside from that, my eating habits were outrageous and I lacked exercise in my life.

My friend Julia introduced me to Weight Watchers and we thought it would be an excellent idea to join the program in order for us to get in better shape for prom. In conjunction with my new WW program, I also got a teen membership at the YMCA and started swimming and attending group classes in order to speed up the shedding process.

6 months into the program I was 33lbs lighter and felt better than I had in years. Weight Watchers was seriously God sent and exactly what I needed in my life. It taught me everything that I needed to know about healthy eating and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I was rewarded for working out and not limited to “special food”. I was able to eat anything and everything I wanted but in moderation- which is why till this day I adore the program.

I am no longer on Weight Watchers as I have since then reached my weight-loss goal but I continuously recommend the Weight Watchers program or any online food journal for that matter. Today I share with you some great online tools that will help you achieve your healthier lifestyle goals.

Weight Watchers
WeightWatchers
Weight Watchers has an excellent maintenance and weight-loss program for people of all ages. It takes the fat, carbohydrates, fiber and protein of the foods that you eat and transforms them into a POINT. Each person is allocated a certain amount of daily points (based on your goal weight, age, height and daily activity level) and also rewards you with an additional weekly point allowance in case you feel like having a Saturday Cheat day. WW has you weigh in once a week to track your progression and encourages you every step of the way.

Why it works? Weight Watchers teaches you how to enjoy the food that you love in moderation. You may LOVE your double fudge brownies or your big mac sandwich at lunch but you’ll slowly start to notice that these indulgence foods take up an immense amount of your daily points. Weight Watchers also encourages physical activity and in turn rewards you with additional points every time you work out.

WW is a paid program available at a GREAT cost for everything that you receive with your membership and also has a free trial period for those who just want to test the waters beforehand.

MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is a free online food journal/ calorie counter website and app. Similar to WW, it  determines your fitness profile and pending on your goals it will recommend a per day calorie allowance. It also rewards you with additional calories based on the amount of exercise that you do per day (only cardiovascular).

A man cannot be icks.org order cheap viagra his doctor while choosing a tablet for him, he should visit a health care provider. Reagan spent more time campaigning for Republican Congressional candidates prices generic cialis than for Ford. It helps to set your feet in appropriate manner so cialis in usa that the appropriate colonel angle can be acquired. Erectile dysfunction:Simply sildenafil viagra http://icks.org/n/bbs/content.php?co_id=2015&mcode=30&smcode=3050 put, erectile dysfunction or male impotence. I currently use MyFitnessPal  as a guideline on what to eat daily and how much food I should allocate myself per meal. I do not use per say for the calorie counter feature but just as a visual of what my body is intaking per meal. MFP also has an option for you to track nutrients of your choice (fat, protein, potassium etc). The only two downfalls I see with MyFitnessPal is that it solely works on a calorie plan (which isn’t always the best thing- calories are not the only importance in weight loss) and it does not reward additional calories for strength training.

Overall, it’s a great program that is free of charge and one that teaches you healthy eating habits, moderation and the importance of daily exercise.

FitDay
FitDay
I have personally never used FitDay so unfortunately I am unable to “speak” on the progress or personal pros and cons of the program. However, after much research there has been a great response on the overall mechanics of the program.

FitDay is a free online food journal that allows you to track your food in take and exercise. FitDay like WW has a graph/chart system for you to view not only your weight loss goals as a visual but your food and exercise levels. FitDay like WW and MFP is big on community and posts multiple fitness and food articles daily.

Some of the cons that I found from this website were complaints of the overall speed of the website. I can imagine how frustrating it may be to track your daily food on a website that lags. I’ve also heard that if you abandon the daily use of the site after a certain time period (months) that your records are deleted from the system.

Overall, FitDay is a great free tool that can help you achieve your weight loss goals, premium accounts are available at a monthly rate.

So everyone, any successful weight loss/maintenance stories that you’d like to share? Happy Monday !

 

 

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One thought on “Online food journals / programs

  1. Amanda Post author

    UPDATE:
    I am back on weight watchers for a 3 month program to help with slight weight loss and maintenance for the summer. Points Plus is new to me but it’s a great program still to follow.

    Reply

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