Road Tripping and Dieting

The test to my dieting and exercising plan...a road trip to Ohio the second week of my new lifestyle.  And I would say under the circumstances it hasn't been too bad.  We've walked around both days we've  been here, I've tried to watch what I eat, and gotten plenty of sleep.  I would say somewhat a success.

The one thing that has kept me on track...myfitnesspal.com.  Its this fantastic website that my aunt turned me onto that makes watching your calories easy.  When you first sign up and create your page, it asks you your current weight and what you want your goal weight to be.  It then asks you how much you want to lose a week (i.e. 1 lb, 1.5 lbs, 2lbs...it only lets you go up to 2 lbs for health reasons).  After that it gives you a target calorie intake.  It will also ask you how much exercise you want to do in a week and then show you your daily goals and your weekly goals to show you how close you are to meeting your exercise goals.  Plus, what calories you burn are added back into your calorie intake, essentially allowing you to eat more calories and still being able to lose weight.

This website makes the daunting task of calorie counting a little easier and much more fun.  You start off in the "green" with how many calories you get in a day.  Then as you move through your day and add your food, it will subtract from your daily total.  If you go over, you calorie intake moves into the "red."  Its a fun challenge to keep yourself in the green, and really makes you think about what you are eating. 

While it is very difficult to truly know what you are eating, for me it has been about eating fewer calories a day.  Last week I would go over by 400 or 500 calories, but as the week progressed I would eat 10 fewer this day, or 15 fewer that day.  Its little steps, and as I get more used to this program I will be able to eat fewer calories and get within my goal.  Its all about learning how to eat better.