Tools for health

There are some tools which I use to make life easier as I make changes to my lifestyle.  I will add others as I discover them and use them, but these are what I rely heavily on right now.  I think you will benefit from them, too.

MyFitnessPal

This app is wonderful.  It takes away a lot of the burden from record keeping.  You can enter all of your meals in it, and it will compute nutrition information for you.  It connects you with a vast database of foods, and it is so easy to enter and track what you eat.  At any time, you can jump into the app and see at a glance your protein, carb, and sodium intake (and more), plus total calories.  It also tracks your weight loss for you if you do periodic weigh-ins.  Get it here.

MapMyWalk

This app tracks your walks.  It shows you how long you walked, how far you walked, how many steps you took, and how fast you walked.  If your mobile device has a gps chip, it will even map out the route that you walked.  This app has been invaluable to me as I have attempted to increase my daily activity and exercise.  I have been able to track my progress day-to-day.  MapMyWalk also ties in with MyFitnessPal.  Get it here.

Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons

These are a must.  In the beginning stages of changing your lifestyle, you will need to measure everything that goes in your mouth.  This helps you to be aware of portion control and to manage your intake of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and sodium.

Scales

You will want a good pair of scales. Be sure to read the box (if you by in-store) or description (if you buy on-line) to be sure that it goes high enough to weigh you.  It would be disappointing to get a new set of scales, only to find out they max out at 200 pounds when you weight more than that.

Scales are important in tracking your weight loss.  You want to know whether what you are doing is actually working for you — and it’s always encouraging to see the progress you are making.  Don’t weigh yourself every day.  You will go up-and-down daily depending on how much you are drinking and how many bowel movements you have had.  That can be discouraging, because you might have days where your weight goes up by a pound due to retaining water or having food passing through your colon, when you have actually lost body fat.  Weighing yourself once a week or once every two weeks is sufficient.