Getting Started

First of all, I want to apologize for only offering 86% of a hello today. That's because I have lost 14% of myself over the last 12 weeks.

In response to all the questions about my progress, I have decided to begin a blog and share a little about how I was able to be successful.

My tips will be modest, as I am in no way medically trained to provide in-depth technical direction on diet or work-out routines. However, my tips will work. I expect anyone who decides to follow them to consult a physician before making any extreme lifestyle changes.

This blog will be more about how small changes to your lifestyle can make dramatic changes to your weight and overall health. So here is tip #1, which was single-handedly responsible for me losing 8 lbs in my first week.

1. My Fitness Pal App or MyFitnessPal.com. This application is designed to maintain a record of your overall fitness level, with the most beneficial part being the Calorie Counter.

Here's how it worked for me. I add to My Diary for everything I eat. It totals my calorie intake for each bite that goes into my body, as well as all other nutritional information (for those who need to monitor Sodium, Carbs, etc.). The biggest benefit for this application is the bar code scanner. While the best foods do not have bar codes, for those that do, simply use your SmartPhone to scan it and the nutritional information is automatically entered for you. Easy - Peasy.

The App will also tell you how many calories you should eat in a day and give you credit for any exercise that you enter, but I'll get into those things in another post. For now, get on My Fitness Pal, which is FREE and start logging everything you eat. That will get you started.