Tools to SUCCESS

I've been relying on a free online calorie counter like an absolute crutch to keep me honest and accountable this past week and a half.  www.fitday.com.

I've been on Fit Day for 5 years now, but moved away from it when I found www.Sparkpeople.com (a free counter and weight loss community).  The problem with Sparkpeople is that it can be pretty complicated and can take up a lot of your time -- of course, you don't have to go to all the forums or read all the articles, but I did.  Sometimes I found it helped keep me focused, but I can't say I learned much of anything.  I should have been a dietician because I've pretty much read every opinion, concept, fact or study out there when it comes to nutrition and weight loss.  It's like crack for me and I'm a total junkie.

Fit Day is basic without all the fluff and these days, with the baby, I don't have time for fluff, so it fits good with my lifestyle.  You can track your calories and easily add recent food items.  It doesn't have as many name brand items, so I find myself entering a lot of items into the Custom Foods section, but once you get your basics in (admit it, you eat the same foods over and over again...), it's not hard to keep it up.  It doesn't have a water counter, but with my big 32 ounce jug I got from the hospital, I actually do pretty good with that.  It will tell you your approximate RMR and does some great analyyics and graphs - including the ever-important calories in versus calories expended.  It also estimates how many calories you should cut/burn to lose your goal weight - and it even warns you if you goal exceeds recommended safety guidelines.

The site is free, but there is also a premium version and a PC version which can sync online so you can still maintain accurate counts anywhere.  Not sure if there is an iPhone app yet, but if there isn't, one has to be in development. 

As I got on the home scale this morning and stared at 141 (wooo hooo!) I did a little dance and thought since I've had some successes, it's time I started sharing my "Tools to Success!"