Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Results Are In



DustBunny
Good Days
Bucko
7/7
Great Job!
Miss Alaineous
7/7
Most Improved!
Uncy Carl
5/7
Froggy
4/7
Kelly S.
4/7
MC Wolfe
3/7
Behrmark
3/7
Little Karnak
2/7
Moi
2/7


Week #4 of the DustBunny Good Days Initiative is in the books, and some of you are really kicking BunnyButt. Bucko and Miss Alaineous, in particular, should be commended for their consistent good showings.

On the other hand, some of us might be losing a little steam (or in my case, never had any steam at all). In fact, we’ve lost a few Bunnies over the past month (you can always come back!). So I’d like to share something with all of you – something that I’m going to try to see if it will help me live healthier. And maybe it can help you too.

For the past few months I’ve been following a blog called 344 Pounds. It’s written by Shawn Tyler Weeks – a regular 25-year-old guy from South Carolina who’s married and has a daughter, a dog and a real day job (he’s not a full-time Blogger). In January, 2009 he weighed 344 lbs:


And now he weighs about 200:


The thing I like about Shawn is that he’s no weight loss guru with some kind of special program to sell. Shawn’s approach to weight loss/healthier living is simple: He counts calories and exercises. That’s it.

Furthermore, he places no restrictions whatsoever on what foods he can/cannot eat. He eats pizza, burgers, Mexican food, etc – as long as he stays within his daily calorie range.

The more I’ve read his blog, the more sense he makes. Counting calories doesn’t cost a penny (unlike Weight Watchers and other programs) and isn’t complicated. So I’m going to give it a go - after a few false starts that I never mentioned here on my blog.


One of the things that Tyler suggests is using MyFitnessPal.com to count calories. All you do is start a free account and it will count your calories for you. MyFitnessPal has a huge database of foods and their nutritional value. After you eat something, you simply log onto MyFitnessPal, find the food you just ate, and add it to your daily total. You can also track your exercise and even communicate with others in the community regarding weight loss.

If you have a smart phone, you can use MyFitnessPal’s mobile app to count your calories on the go. And here’s the neat part: you can actually use your phone to scan the barcode from the packaging of the food you just ate instead of doing a search. The food you just scanned goes right into your meal totals.


It’s like one of those Wedding Registry scanning guns for lonely fatties who’ll never get gaymarried even though you’ve proposed to Franky G a dozen times.


For instance, last night for dinner I made a turkey and cheese sandwich. Each item was scanned as I took it out of the fridge: Arnold’s light wheat bread, Borden fat-free American cheese singles, and Hellman’s low-fat mayo. Three simple clicks and the sandwich was added to my calorie total for dinner – without having to log into my computer.

I’ve also added a MyFitnessPal widget to the right-hand sidebar of this blog which will track my weight loss for all to see. Oy.

In other news, this afternoon I have my very first appointment with a mental health professional (a Psychiatrist). Double Oy.



9 comments:

Joy said...

I've been very bad and need to pull myself back on the wagon. Trudge. Trudge. I'm glad you're doing this so I have somewhere to go back to!! Thanks!

Way to go, Bucko and Mrs. Miss Alaineous!!! Wow!!

the dogs' mother said...

You are in my (our) thoughts today!!

This week I'm still ignoring the cupcakes that Emergency Backup Daughter # 2 made. AND last night Daughter made chocolate chip cookies and I'm ignoring those. AND this week is the twins' 26th birthday! So Friday we'll be making a cake. I will have a small slice. With ice cream :-)
Not everyday your twins turn 26!
I like your plan. I think it will work for you. I like the technology! GB would approve.
xoxoxoxoxoxox

Anonymous said...

I forgot to email you! I had a 6/7 this week. :P

Funny you should mention that website!

I use caloriecount.about.com and I also log my activities there.

Calorie counting and activity logging is working wonderfully for me. I am losing steadily by making sure I undercut calories used accordingly.

There are still challenges, like when I talk to the donuts in the store trying to convince them to stop tempting me, and working hard to make sure I walk a minimum of 2 miles briskly every day, but its working.

Its great to have a group of online friend like this to check in with regularly!

Thank you David!

-Craig from cratyr.blogspot.com

LittleKarnak said...

Ugh, been so lazy lately, I think it's the humidity. But the good news is I haven't gained any weight so I'm doing pretty well with the calorie control. Thanks for posting the link to Shawn's blog and My Fitness Pal, I'm going to check it out right now!!

Lelio said...

I forgot to e-mail too. I only had 2 good days this week anyway. :/ And I'm going to be out of town the rest of this week and half of next week, so I probably won't be e-mailing then either. I am going to try to keep my diet in check while I'm out, though!

I used to use a calorie logging website, but it's been so long I can't even remember what it's called. I did like it, though, so maybe I'll try digging it up and giving it another try!

mrs.missalaineus said...

i don't pay for weight watchers- i used the interwebz to figure out the basics of the program and then ordered one of the current point books used from ebay, so i would like to check out the site you've recommended too. also, i am so proud of you for going to talk to someone- it helped me, and i hope it works for you too.

congrats to all of us for making these changes in our lives. GO TEAM BUNNY!

xxalainaxx

Beth said...

That sounds like a great app! And I applaud all who are working hard to do better--that includes you! I especially applaud the young man you mentioned. That's a remarkable accomplishment! XOXO

theminx said...

Love the MyFitnessPal idea! I just signed up. I've been eating really poorly recently, what with media dinners, my trip to NY (missed you!), and Cajun food over the weekend.

Have fun at the mental health professional. Maybe he can help you get over Franky G. ;

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Uncy Carl said...

Wait ... you mean I can use my phone for something other than updating Facebook and Angry Birds???

Counting calories is good but not enough for the glucose challenged (diabetic). Gotta eat small meals regularly.

To avoid the temptations at work, I've been packing my meal bag each day so there's no thinking and I can do all my recording at one time. Small packages of baby carrots have replaced chips as my crunchy snack of choice. What could be better for a fluffy bunny?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...