As Jillian Michaels points out, you can't get lean by working out alone. You also need to be smart about what you eat!
Unfortunately, as I pointed out yesterday, I haven't been so smart about that lately. And even though my exercising has kept my weight mostly in check, I want to take off a little flab before summer! Hello - not only women fear bathing suits!
So I'm challenging you to track what you eat in April. It's a basic principle of many diet programs, and there are lots of ways you can do it:
- Get an app for your phone
- Get an app for your computer
- Keep a text file open on your computer and update that
- Use, gasp, a pencil and paper! (my preferred method)
It definitely helps to find a way to do it as you go, rather than trying to remember at the end of the day. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to forget how many snack cakes you ate after an hour has gone by, ahem. And don't forget to keep track of things like when you taste your kids' food and snacks. Um, not that I do that.
I'll be writing what I ate and how many WW points it was (essentially keeping track of calories) whenever I eat something. But even if you skip the calorie count and just track what you ate and the serving size, I think you'll be amazed at how much it helps.
Just knowing what you've eaten helps to keep you on track.
After a month, if you're honest with yourself, you should see some great results. Also? You'll have made it a habit that should be easier to keep!
-Bill
Livestrong has a wonderful website that has helped me track calories - www.livestrong.com/myplate
Posted by: counttheskies | 04/01/2010 at 08:58 AM
I use SparkPeople. It's free and also has an iPhone app. Back to it!
Posted by: Hellcat13 | 04/01/2010 at 08:58 AM
I'm in!! I've been using Lose It! on my iTouch to track my eating. I love it!
It has a rather extensive list of restaurants and fast-food joints if you happen to eat out once and a while too.
Posted by: sam {temptingmama} | 04/01/2010 at 09:04 AM
I'm up for the challenge! I use the Sparkpeople app on my iPhone. Whenever I food journal religiously, I always lose weight.
Posted by: April | 04/01/2010 at 09:05 AM
Good call, Bill!
Back to my WW points, love the iPhone app for it.
So far today: 3 pts and 24 oz water!
Posted by: Goddess in Progress | 04/01/2010 at 09:24 AM
I'm in! I generally eat very healthy (lots of salad etc.) but my weakness is sweets. I think if I wrote it all down I would be better about not consuming.
Posted by: Boston Mamas | 04/01/2010 at 09:27 AM
Ugh. My issue is finishing up my kids' food. And not drinking enough water.
Oh and the eating. I eat healthy foods but my portion sizes are out of whack.
I definitely need to look at these apps. I think seeing it will really help make it clear as I really don't know exactly what I'm eating.
Posted by: Kristen - Shredheads | 04/01/2010 at 09:43 AM
I've been using the livestrong.com iphone app for about a year now. Best $2.99 i've ever spent! When I am really religious about it, I lose weight. plus, i'm vegetarian so "My Plate" on their website lets me know that I've gotten enough protein in for the day.
Posted by: Kayla | 04/01/2010 at 10:00 AM
I keep track on LoseIt! on my iPhone and "compare" with another blogger, (@LegallyFab1) on Twitter. Right now we are both hovering at the 16 pounds lost mark, so we made a bet that whoever hits the "21 pounds lost" mark first has to buy the other a new lip gloss. (We were going to say dinner but that seemed...counter-intuitive?)
Posted by: Daisy | 04/01/2010 at 10:01 AM
I really need to get on this! I'm HORRIBLE about tracking my food, but I'm definitely going to look into getting an app for my phone to help.
Posted by: Amy! | 04/01/2010 at 10:17 AM
I am totally in. I've been using MyPlate (but only at work) and it does help (as long as I'm honest). Lets see if I get some good results!
Posted by: Jenn (@cloverjenn) | 04/01/2010 at 10:30 AM
You're killing me!! It's EASTER WEEKEND!!!
I'm going to do it, though.
Posted by: Stella | 04/01/2010 at 11:59 AM
I'm in. I use Sparkpeople both the website and the app on my iPhone. Haven't been good about it lately, but I'm going to get on it now.
So glad to finally be feeling better, now I want to get back to getting strong for a walk in 23 days (eeep).
Posted by: Beth | 04/01/2010 at 01:36 PM
I'm totally getting back to this. I'm getting back into it this week, but next week starts TRACKING EVERY BITE. I've been trying out dailyburn.com because it automatically tacks your workout calories onto your daily requirement. It's a good reminder that on workout days, I need to be eating more, and weekend lazy days I need to be eating less.
Posted by: Quix | 04/02/2010 at 12:16 PM
I'm in. I use LoseIt! on my iPhone so I can avoid doing math. Ha.
For me, I actually find it easier if I stick to 1 or 2 blanket rules. Like absolutely no sweets on weekdays or no starchy carbs in restaurants.
Posted by: Jenn (@jxchu) | 04/02/2010 at 03:35 PM
I'm gonna have to bail on this one. I go crazy obsessive about food when I keep track like this- I start not eating anything because everything looks unhealthy. And that's pretty unhealthy, too.
Good luck!
Posted by: emily | 04/05/2010 at 01:50 PM
I just started tracking my calories using an iphone app called Lose It! it is going pretty good so far. I need to loose 10 lbs and it lets me know when I have gone over my calories for the day.It sort of becomes a game to me. Also made me realize how much I was eating when I ate too much.
Beckie @bornfit
http://www.bornfit.com
Posted by: BornFit | 04/07/2010 at 11:52 PM