All Natural Food Finds

Obesity seems to continue to be a major issue in society these days, and I'm seeing a lot more overweight children than when I was growing up. Children eat what is given to them, and if the parents are overindulging, then it only seems likely that the children will be overindulging as well.

To fix this epidemic, we then have to work on the adults, and believe me, it isn't always easy to do that—especially in today's society with so many new and amazing food choices constantly being introduced...there is so much temptation, whether you are someone who gravitates to sweets or to savory items. I constantly tell people my body was made of mac and cheese, and I own it. I am a carb person, not much of a sweets person. I don't like cake and pie except in very rare situations. I'm a wedding photographer and I don't know that I've ever had more than one or two bites of cake. Once in a while, one of my other photographers will insist I have to try a piece, and they are usually on the money that it was worth it, but in general, I just don't prefer sweets. Put a bag of Cheetos in front of me and I will inhale that in the blink of an eye.

I have learned though, there are really amazing weight loss apps out there that really help you maintain accountability, but allow you the freedom to make your own choices. Some cost, but there are many that are free.

One of the best I've seen that you have to pay for is Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers takes into account your weight, sex, and activity level, and develops a point system that allows you to choose your foods and keep track of your points. If one day you have a function to attend and go over your points, there is also a weekly pool of points to pull from, and if you factor in your exercise, you can earn back points, too. Last year, I paid for a year at $99, but they have plans that are cheaper, but give you less time. I also got a great set of measuring cups and a cutting board for free as a welcome gift (honestly I wasn't even expecting it, so it was cool when it showed up on my door). The app is super easy to use and searching for foods is easy, and it takes a lot of the effort out of trying to input your food diary. And if you need a plan with meetings, they have those, too.

Although I had the Weight Watchers app, I started dieting in June with a guy I was dating and he was using My Fitness Pal. I found this free app to actually work a little better than the Weight Watchers app, and I loved how my Fitbit would sync with it so it would fluctuate my calories for me. I started doing a lot of walking and I would earn back calories to use, or I would just wind up having more calories that I burned. I found that the database had a lot more foods that I eat. I think that is because the public can enter foods into the system. I love the fact you can just scan the barcode on any item and the food item a good amount of the time would already be in the system. You just select how many servings and what meal you are eating and easy peasy...food entered.

I know many people who I've shared these apps with that don't seem to think they are really all that important to their weight loss success, but I also don't see them losing weight trying to do it without assistance. "I can't be bothered"... "I don't have time for that"... I have heard a lot of excuses, but my pants are falling off me and so I feel that it really is worth the effort. And to be honest, I haven't even had to use the apps for a few months because once you get into the habit of eating with portion control and knowing that this has more calories than that, and this is a great substitution for that...it just becomes second nature and you understand what you need to eat, and in what portion to continue to lose weight. Weight loss is supposed to be a lifestyle change, it is not meant to be a fad. Over the years, I have done so many fad diets, and I actually gained 80 pounds while doing the Susan Powter's diet "Stop the Insanity," as I gave up fat, but I'm a carb girl. My mom tried telling me I was gaining weight and I was insisting that couldn't be possible. Back in those days (in my 20s) I was living in leggings and so I couldn't really tell by my clothing. Those things just give whether you gain or lose.

What I am trying to get at here is that, once you get into a healthy eating regimen and aren't trying to drink cider vinegar or cabbage soup or whatever the current dieting craze is, it just sort of becomes second nature to you, and after a while, those apps aren't necessarily necessary. But trust me, when you are just starting out on your weight loss journey and want to see where you are at, get yourself an app and track yourself. Are you staying within the calories you need in order to drop a steady and healthy two to three pounds per week? The apps are great because you tell them your weight loss goal and they adjust the calories based on that.

And lets talk about the FitBit for a second. I love mine. If you get the ones you wear as a watch, be careful if you do a lot of arm movements. My friend Beth at work was telling me one day she hadn't moved from her desk but her FitBit had her at several hundred steps. Well, she was doing a lot at her desk so it calculated the movements as steps. I told her to put it on her belt loop and walk and see if it kept the steps for her, which it did. I use the clip on version, which I usually clip to the center of my bra or sometimes on my pants. My friends at work and I would challenge each other, so it makes it kind of a fun game. There were three of us at one point at work all trying to out-walk each other. I would be in the back of class doing grapevines to get my extra steps in. They aren't that expensive depending on the model, and certain stores that carry them have weekly coupons (Bed, Bath and Beyond).

So, in conclusion, if you are feeling the need to shed a few pounds, consider getting yourself weight loss app and maybe even a fitbit and give yourself an advantage. Good luck, I know you can do it!