Sunday, December 4, 2011

One foot in front of the other...

Earlier this year, I started on the journey to a healthier me. It has been something I've revisited a few times over the past decade but I haven't actively engaged in seeking better health in almost 15 years. At that time I was successfully able to use Weight Watchers to lose over thirty pounds. My mentor/big brother and I were RELIGIOUS about counting the points and getting our exercise. However, once we were no longer working together and I started college, I just slowly drifted back into bad habits. It didn't help that he and his wife had pretty much spoiled me to eating whatever they prepared [:-P]; so basically I hadn't had to do any real work. Once I was the person having to measure and calculate, it became so much more tedious.

Fast forward fifteen years and enter MyFitnessPal. MyLilSusta (my little sister), who is so much more technologically inclined than myself (I'll address the disparities between her public suburban education vs. my public inner city education at a later date.), began using the app. Once she explained it to me, I thought it sounded much like the Weight Watchers approach, but WITHOUT a lot of the measuring. You do have to know how much you ate but the app keeps up with all of the data and compiles it for you. It measures caloric intake, nutrients, fat, fiber, protein, etc. AND will calculate the calories burned from your exercise! The only downside is that occasionally, since the information is entered and verified by other users, you may find some erroneous nutritional information. I don't mind verifying occasionally.

So as of the second week in, I am down four pounds. I have not exercised yet but I'm getting there. I am not trying to become the spokesperson for weight loss or even for MyFitnessPal; I just want to be a better, healthier me, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. So follow me as this becomes a part of the journey of my life, as I am SURE it will be a very entertaining trip!