Monday, May 30, 2011

"Lose It!" VS "MyFitnessPal"


Hello!

Since writing my last post I’ve learned of a new app I’d like to share with you.  It’s a lot like “Lose It!,” but in my personal opinion it’s even better.  It is called “MyFitnessPal” and it keeps track of calories, nutrients, and exercise.  There are three main differences between “Lose It!” and “MyFitnessPal.”

* “MyFitnessPal” has a huge food database!  Normally with “Lose It!” if you wanted to enter something for a small restaurant that isn’t popular around the states you’d have to add a costume food, but with “MyFitnessPal” it has so much more.  Here in the Northwest we have Burgerville and I love their food!  But, in “Lose It!” I had to enter everything from their menu I’d eat as a custom food.  With “MyFitnessPal” it has their entire menu :].  It also has Pizzicato, which is another place that “Lose It!” didn’t have.  Not only does it have more food places it has plenty of name brand things.  I’ve also noticed how much more accurate the calories are.  They literally match up to the website of the food place.

* When looking at the nutrients portion of the app it shows you your goal for the day for things such as fat, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, etc; and how much of that you’ve actually gotten.  It figures out how much you should have of all those based on the information you put into the app.  I really like that feature PLUS it has more than just fat and saturated fat. (“Lose It!”)  It also has polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat which is something I’ve been wanting.

* The last thing I really like is that you can keep track of water with “MyFitnessPal” because with “Lose It!” it didn’t have a designated spot for that.  Such a small thing, but very great to have.

So if any of you who don’t already use “Lose It!” or “MyFitnessPal” would like to try either of them they are both great!

Tomorrow I plan to really start pushing myself again and that includes hitting the gym 4 to 5 days this week.  I’m not working out very hard because of my knee injury and because it’s been a few months since I’ve worked out regularly.  But, I went two days last week and really enjoyed being back at the gym!  I’m going to really start focusing on my eating again too!  I’ll keep you all updated :].

~Katie

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

First Post :]


Hello! 
Let me start out my introducing myself to those of you who don’t know me.  My name is Katie and I’m 23 years old.  This blog is going to be about my journey to become healthy and lose my extra weight.  I thought it might be therapeutic and helpful for me to express my feelings in writing and if I’m lucky I’ll help someone else.

Ever since middle school I was heavier than the average teenage girl.  I mean when your lunch options at school are cheese fries, pizza, and popcorn chicken what do you expect to happen?  Yeah I ate those on a daily basis for 3 years and then when high school came around I did the same for the next 4 years.  Then once I hit 16 had money and a car I started eating out at fast food restaurants because it was easier than cooking and tasted delicious.  So eating lots of unhealthy foods, not being physically active, and being in a committed relationship all helped me pack on even more weight.  Of course I wasn’t happy with my weight, but I was also not ready to change my habits.

February 2010 a friend of mine told me about this iPhone app called “Lose It.”  I started using it on February 16th at 185.4 pounds, which was my heaviest.  I mean all you had to do was log your food, exercise, and stay within the calorie budget.   Within the first 2 weeks I’d lost 8 pounds!  Seeing the weight come off like that kept me inspired to keep going.   I started to workout 3-5 times a week and was slowly starting to enjoy it.  By June 2010 I’d lost 30 pounds and was on the fast track to reaching my goal.  I was still 23.4 pounds away from my goal, but I hadn’t been so happy or confident with myself in years.

That June my Mom was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and my whole world flipped upside down.  My eating patterns we’re always brought on by emotions or just being bored.  So when she had to go through surgery and then start chemotherapy I started to eat and care less about myself.  I realize that wasn’t a great idea, but I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was.  I made it through Thanksgiving time only having gained about 5 pounds, which wasn’t to terribly bad.  But, then the weight started to slowly creep back on over time more and more.  Once it started to come back it was like I couldn’t seem to keep myself accountable to “Lose It” anymore.   I was pushing myself so hard working out that one day I just pushed myself to the limit and quit going to the gym as well.

Now it’s May 25, 2011 and I’m at 165 pounds.  I’ve gained back 9.6 pounds and I’m still struggling to lose the weight and eat healthy.  This past year hasn’t been easy since my Mom’s cancer has only gotten worse and has now become terminal.  I do not want to use that as an excuse, but in a way it is part of the reason I’ve not been able to get back on track.  The other thing I think that is holding me back is fear.  I’ve been this overweight person for so many years I’m scared I can’t succeed.  I’ve got some amazing friends who’ve lost the weight, but everyone does it at there own pace.  I don’t want anything keeping me back from the girl I know I can and should be. 

So now that you know about me and a little bit about how my journey started, you are more than welcome to follow me on the rest of my journey to get healthy, lose weight, and to maintain my healthy lifestyle.  I promise not to write this much everyday :].  I have an amazing support system which consists of my family, amazing boyfriend, and friends.  But, I can always use more support and or advise.

~Katie