As part of the countdown to our 3rd Annual Winter Beach Retreat, I decided that I need to do something about a little something extra which has crept up very sneakily on my body. I haven't gained any weight since moving here, but I know that I have traded lbs of muscle for lbs of something a bit squishier. I can with absolute assurance blame it on the city winter blues. My commute has gone from 30 minutes--2 miles of speed walking and standing up in a metro car trying to keep my balance + lots of long escalators that people actually walk and sometime run up and down (in DC) to 1 hour--three blocks of walking and just a few stairs and a whole lot of sitting in a subway car (in NY). Another interesting difference is the lifestyle of the NY gym rat--er mouse?... Hello, on Saturdays our gym doesn't even open until 8am. The only classes that are available before work (at any of the locations) are spin classes (kill me now) and they don't really start early enough to give me time to get ready before I start my workday SOOO super early at 9am (can you sense my sarcasm?). It's just a nite owl town. I sincerely and devotedly miss my morning yoga classes at Sport Club LA in DC and their fantastic facilities with full-service shower/steam room/sauna/complimentary hair care products and razors/towel service and getting to watch the Today Show while blow drying my hair. But, oh, enough complaining.
Don't worry, this is not my home screen. I only wish I could eat 2100 calories a day and still reach my goals. But this is, none-the-less, the home screen. When you start your "membership" (this is a free ap, btw), it asks your age, weight, height and target weight. Then it gives you the number of calories you should consume to reach that goal. I didn't like the number it gave me, so I upped it to 1400. Still in the "fat burning" range, but not "starvation." Every calorie you burn with exercise gives you another calorie you can eat! I love it! And, I'll tell you what, this has given me more motivation to be more active.
I'll do 12 jumping jacks for the chance to eat another bite of bread for sure!
You have a daily diary where you can enter in the food you eat and the exercise you participate in. MANY foods are already in there. I've been able to enter in my intake very easily but either finding the exact food or something very similar. And for those times you can't find if or don't want to spend time looking, the ap has a fancy schmancy scan-the-bar-code feature (see the last image). I am learning so much about calories. I've never ever "counted calories" before. I never had to worry about it or wonder if I should substitute the french fries for a salad with my bacon cheeseburger. But I've also never ever been this sedentary.
Myfitnesspal is the best workout buddy I've ever had. Not only does she track everything I eat and do, she does it without judgement. Calories, sodium, sugars, etc...all tracked.
Here's the scantastic part...see that little barcode icon with a line through going across it to the right of the search box? You click that to scan your food and it brings up all the nutritional info.
You can save your foods to make look up even easier. You can also add your own recipes, one ingredient at a time, and tell the program how many servings it makes. I can't say enought about this ap! It's revolutionizing my life. I love it.
1 comment:
I love the first item on the last picture. "homemade humus". Why is that stuff so good?!
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