We are nearing the end of January and I am in full swing trying to get back on the right track with my body. After many months of feeding the gluttonous demon that lives in my stomach, I am 20 days into a tiny of taste of success in the never ending battle I have with sugar addiction. My goal is to avoid type 2 diabetes at all costs, or at least to delay it, because she most certainly will be knocking on my door in years to come. I don't really know how to make things work this time. In all honesty, it probably won't. I will probably lose some weight and do well for awhile before falling, spiraling out of control, and ending up in this exact same situation in a few years. My newly revised strategy for attempt number 5 thousand gagillion (yes I know that is not a number) is to eat like I ALREADY have diabetes. Back to my gestational diabetes diet. History has proven that this works for me, and it is already working. Sticking to it long-term when I am not being told I HAVE to is going to be my downfall. In the meantime, I thought I would share some of my favorite apps (and one product) to help in working towards a fitness goal.
For keeping track of calories, progress, exercise, and more: www.myfitnesspal.com
This is hands down my favorite tool. The database of food is incredible so it makes counting calories and other nutrients extremely simple. You can also plug in your exercise, sync it to fitbit, create goals, and track your progress. Love, love, love this site. Oh, and my favorite feature tells you at the end of the day where you would be in 5 weeks if everyday looked like the day you just finished. THIS is awesome. Not only does it send you instant gratification to keep going on your good days, but it puts things into perspective on your bad days too. You would have to mess up A LOT of days in a row to completely ruin your fitness plans. This was KEY for me in losing weight a few years ago, because I tend to throw in the towel as soon as I mess up and deviate from the plan in the slightest.
For motivation and support to exercise: www.dailymile.com
This is fun because it is a way to get support from friends and it's fun to see all that you have accomplished throughout each week. Even though I used to think of it as a site mainly for runners (I am not a runner), it is not. It is so much more! You can keep track of pretty much any activity that you are doing. You can also sign up for, or create, challenges. It's been a great tool for me!
For finding out just how much you move throughout the day: www.fitbit.com
Okay. So. I. LOVE. MY. FITBIT. This is the coolest little gadget. I didn't love confirming just how embarrassingly little I move as a stay at home mom who sits on her butt at the teacher's table most of the day, but I LOVE that it CAN tell me! I wear this puppy everyday. Love it. It counts steps, estimates calories burned (from stepping and just living), counts flights of stairs, and estimates distance. It also keeps track of sleep patterns, but I don't use it for that, because I found it was keeping me awake because I was wondering what it was thinking. Does it think I'm asleep now? How about now? Now? I am not sure how accurate the calories, distances, and sleep tracking are, but the steps are spot on. It also syncs with My Fitness Pal....BONUS! I love this because even on days when I don't fit in an actual workout, I can try to bump up my steps to make up for it a little bit. I also love that if I am hungry I can move around a bit more and earn some extra calories over at myfitness pal through the sync.
