I haven’t been here for a while. My big commute-by-bike plans haven’t panned out… but I haven’t given up hope… yet. So I crashed mid-summer and had to recover, then it got TOO HOT (100+ degrees) for a week or so, then we went on vacation, then… then… I sorta fizzled out on this whole commuting idea.
I *should* have jumped back on the plan at the beginning of September. Now it’s mid-October and getting down right wintery around here, which takes the wind out of (or puts too much into) my sails.
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I have dieted off-and-on throughout my adult life. I used to not think about it too much — I would always be really active in the summer and get relatively light, then pack some pounds back on during the winter. Over the years I tended to add a few more pounds in the off season than I removed in the active months, however, so over the years… thicker and thicker.
I love to eat. Really. That said, I’ve pursued a mostly-vegan diet this year. Some fish once a week. A slice of cheese here-and-there. A bratwurst on vacation. A big home-made bacon-and-(bleu)cheeseburger when we had some friends over this summer. Other than that, I’ve been quite good about what I’m eating… but I haven’t been losing.
A few fad and/or real diets have done good for me from time to time. About five years ago, the then-trendy Atkins was great for me until I ended up in the hospital with diverticulitis (I’ll spare you the TMI about how that happened). Weight Watchers was a great system I did a few years ago, and worked really well… for a while… at least… until… I just grew tired of the card-stock spin-the-wheel calculator and the “points” tracking cards that were easy to lose and then having to go to the damned meetings to weigh in… and spend the money on the program. Tiresome.
Heading back into the “off” season, especially with the holiday months coming up around the corner, I’m thinking my “active” season didn’t do much for taking the pounds off. That, and the big four-oh coming up next year… time to do something.
This time, there’s hope. I just started a diet in the middle of September, and almost whimsically. Strangely, it’s working, and I owe most of it to technology: LoseIt. On a whim I was looking at diet-related apps on the app store. Saw LoseIt! was highly rated and free (!), so I installed it. That happened to be on a Sunday. I happened to go to the gym the following morning, and happened to remember to step on the scale… and then… well… first about LoseIt!.
LoseIt! is really really really great:
- Quick and easy set-up: enter your starting weight, your goal weight, and how many pounds you want to lose per week. LoseIt! calculates a per-day carlorie budget based on your weight. It assumes you have a relatively sedentary lifestyle — which you can adjust in the settings, too.
- Quick and easy logging of caloric intake: Every time you eat something, you enter it with a click on a little “+” icon, followed by a quick search for the food (or ingredient) in a database of generic foods, brand name foods, restaurant foods, recipes, and/or your own foods that you have defined (which is also easy to do: give it a name, serving size, and calories).
- Simple logging of exercise: When you exercise, you log the activities (same simple “+” and quick search for activity type) and it’ll add calories to your daily budget.
- Simple logging of weight: Step on the scale. A couple of clicks to record your weight – daily, weekly, whenever – and then LoseIt! automagically recalculates your calorie budget. You lose a pound and you get fewer calories in your budget, because you’re carrying around less weight, of course, so you’re burning fewer calories.
LoseIt! Summary: easy to set up, easy to log consumption and exercise info, and no-thinking required to calculate your daily budget and track your weight.
Bottom Line for me: Unlike the questionable Atkins or the pain-in-the-arse Weight Watchers, LoseIt! promises to work long term. I always have my iPhone with me, so it’s always easy to track the calories. I have been using LoseIt! for almost four weeks. I have been exercising a lot. I have lost about 17 pounds so far. I’m feeling great. Still have lots more to lose… but confident I’ll get there. With LoseIt!
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I might make it back on the bike this weekend after a month or so since my last ride… we’ll see if the weather holds up.
Diary of a 2-Wheel Clydesdale 