I used to make calendars whenever I started I new weight loss program.....let's see....if I lose 2 lbs
a week that means I'll be X lbs in October, by Halloween I'll be Y, and
by Thanksgiving I'll be Z, and by Christmas, whoa by Christmas I'll be
looking SO good I'll be weighing XY! LOL.....
I've learned the hard way that 'predicting' my weight loss is an exercise in futility, but I capitalized on my own 'analness' when it came to tracking and planning.
I'm the QUEEN of tracking! LOL!
Seriously. I LOVE it.
So I got to thinking this Monday morning, as we all start off a new week, what would really help me to stay on track for the next 30 days. I mean totally OP for 30 days, right? How great would that be? How much weight could YOU lose in 30 days completely totally OP?
Right?
We all know the importance of accountability on this program. If you aren't accountable to someone -- especially YOURSELF -- you will go off the rails in NO time.
But how to stay accountable?
Because bottom line, even if you have a Coach, NO ONE can see your Food Log but 'you' unless you share it. And as for your weight, well, our tickers work fine, but it's nice to see the correlation between # of OP days and the resultant weight loss 'all on one sheet'.
Especially once you get to Maintenance (believe me LOL)....
So I came up with my own Accountability worksheet! It's attached. Feel free to download it and print it, copy it, modify it as you see fit!
I offer it 'as is', this isn't something from TSFL, it's something from Yours Truly. I make no guarantees on it at all (I know Excel but I'm no 'whiz', I've been away from the workplace too many years) but I think it can be helpful.
Especially if you're into doing a 30 day challenge or something like that. You can see 'at a glance' how you've been performing....your total calories, whether or not you've been OP, what days you exercised, etc.
And one sheet is exactly 30 days. PERFECT! You can see the entire month's progress.
So detach it and print it and have fun with it. Feel free to modify it to suit your own needs. If you decide to use it let me know.....I'd be interested in hearing how it worked for you.
There are many other ways to track and stay accountable, too!
Did you know there are THREE (3) cellphone apps (that I know of....there may even be more!) that you can use for the 5/1?
1. Medifast 'reminder' app....this is a "quick and dirty" little reminder that just tells you when it's time for your next meal. You can set it for 2 or 3 hours; your choice. It buzzes or flashes, and you simply click on 'log your meal' and it asks when you ate it. That's all. You don't have to record WHAT you ate, just the fact that you ate. It's especially good for Newbies. Find it in the Playstore on your cellphone. I used this app religiously my first months OP to get me used to eating every 2-3 hours.
2 and 3 are basically the same thing: the TSFL or, corresponding 'My Medifast' cellphone apps to log your food.
These can be a breeze to use....I love the TSFL one now that I'm in maintenance because it lists my total calories, too (it doesn't if you're not in maintenance yet)....but the key is, to have set up your "Favorites" and "Private Foods" on the Food log HERE, on this website, FIRST.
The cellphone app is in 'sync' with the Food Log here. So any Favorites or Private foods you've set up? Are available on the cellphone app, too, which can make it SUPER easy to log everything, even on the go!
But again, the key here is, to set up your "Favorites" and "Private Foods".
Favorites are easy....just click on the little heart icon next to the food and it'll be added to your favorites.
See that listbox on the left-hand side? That's all the favorites you've added. You can add or delete as you feel like it just by clicking and dragging to the appropriate ADD or REMOVE box.
Private Foods, you have to know the nutritional label. I've added lots of Private Foods...either using the label or if it's a recipe, I use the nutritional totals from the recipe itself. Under the amount everyone gets confused ...especially for recipes....the easiest way is to just leave it BLANK so it defaults to 'user defined' (which would be ONE serving).
If you know the quantity, of course, use it, 1 cup, 2 TBLs, whatever.
But a little time spent entering Private Foods can save you a LOT of time later.
Now I realize that the Food Log leaves much to be desired; I'll be the first to criticize it as I've been using it for over 2 years now and sometimes it's frustrating. Some foods aren't listed..such as the new MF Popcorn and Tortilla chips, etc....(HINT: Input them as Private Foods from the nutrition label on the back of the package), and it doesn't work correctly at ALL using Firefox right now (I have a ticket out that's being ignored...sigh...).
BUT...!!! That said, I still find it quick and easy to use ONCE I set up my Favorites.
You can also log your foods just by clicking and dragging from FAVORITES into your log. That's the way I do it anymore. Takes me 5 minutes.
Recipes you can do either of two ways:
- You can input them as Private Foods, in which case again, you need to know the nutritional totals (at least the basics, calories, protein and fat) - I use Sparkrecipes.com to get nutritional totals for recipes I come up with;
OR
- You can just use a recipe straight from the RECIPES library on this website by clicking on the heart icon in the recipe itself to mark it as a favorite. Voila, it now shows up in your Favorites list and you can use it again and again.
BUT....! That said, many people don't like the Food Log here.
So there are other choices:
Many many other choices.
There's FITBIT, the Fitbit device which you can buy which tracks 'everything' from what I understand.....either on a handheld device and/or the website,
There's http://www.sparkpeople.com, I recently discovered this method and found it to be very user friend (and by the way ALL of the Medifast meals were listed in their database, which is handy!) and again, if you come across a food you use that isn't listed you can input it as a private food using the nutrition label.
I believe CalorieKing.com has a Food log....and there are other websites as well.
USE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.....but use it CONSISTENTLY.
Whatever you choose do it every day and make it a HABIT. The more you do this, the easier it becomes and the more it becomes part of your lifestyle. And you'll find you're doing better....losing weight more consistently. Studies show that people who track do better than people who don't track! So TRACK. Every day.
And it's fun....especially at the end of the week or if you use a 'Totals' sheet like the one I've provided....to see the scale going down and watch how it corresponds to the # of days you've been OP and/or your total calories were good (calories for maintenance people, of course, on the 5/1 we don't have to count calories).
By the way, people always wonder on the Food log what that negative number at the bottom is. Well, that's your TEE - your total energy expenditure or what the system computes your maintenance # of calories to be (based on your current weight and activity level), MINUS what you ate that day, PLUS any exercise you did. So if you did 500 calories worth of exercise and only ate 1000 calories, and your TEE is 2000, you would probably see something like this:
Calories Eaten: 1000
Calories TEE: 2000
Calories Exercise: 500
Net Calories Burned: -1500
A large negative number is actually a GOOD thing. Right around -1000 is where I hung out during most of the 5/1 when I was losing weight steadily.
Now, of course, in maintenance, I don't want to see that large a number. Unless I'm trying to lose weight.
Your Calories TEE can be adjusted in Account Settings if you change your activity level, say from strenuous to sedentary. I find that the TEE is kind of high, to be honest....so I set it up so that the system 'thinks' I'm more sedentary than I am. That way I'm covered.
Last but not least, you can track the old fashioned way.....and I still do this as WELL (yes I'm anal that way, but sometimes I'm not close enough to my computer to see what I ate and I need to know 'now' because I'm in the kitchen getting dinner ready)....which is
simply to
XEROX the Medifast Daily Success Tracker like, a billion times LOL. And put them in a binder. They used to send these out with every order; it may only be the first order now. Anyway, your Coach should have it in .PDF format; it not feel free to send me a message and I'll send it to you. It's a terrific way to track.....I write inside boxes the time of day I ate, and on top of the boxes I scrawl WHAT I ate. And at the bottom under comments I'll put things like 'A great day!' or 'Really had a hard time but I MADE it through!' or whatever.
I use a looseleaf notebook so I can quickly look back and see what I ate last week, etc.
This, combined with my looseleaf RECIPES binder, are my TSFL 'toolkits' that keep me on track.
Experiment if you're a Newbie, and if you're not a newbie, just using a different method may 'jack you up' a little bit and bring some of your mojo back. Just remember to do it. Because otherwise, it's so so easy to forget!
(Quick, what did you eat for dinner last Thursday night?) LOL.
See what I mean?
I've learned the hard way that 'predicting' my weight loss is an exercise in futility, but I capitalized on my own 'analness' when it came to tracking and planning.
I'm the QUEEN of tracking! LOL!
Seriously. I LOVE it.
So I got to thinking this Monday morning, as we all start off a new week, what would really help me to stay on track for the next 30 days. I mean totally OP for 30 days, right? How great would that be? How much weight could YOU lose in 30 days completely totally OP?
Right?
We all know the importance of accountability on this program. If you aren't accountable to someone -- especially YOURSELF -- you will go off the rails in NO time.
But how to stay accountable?
Because bottom line, even if you have a Coach, NO ONE can see your Food Log but 'you' unless you share it. And as for your weight, well, our tickers work fine, but it's nice to see the correlation between # of OP days and the resultant weight loss 'all on one sheet'.
Especially once you get to Maintenance (believe me LOL)....
So I came up with my own Accountability worksheet! It's attached. Feel free to download it and print it, copy it, modify it as you see fit!
I offer it 'as is', this isn't something from TSFL, it's something from Yours Truly. I make no guarantees on it at all (I know Excel but I'm no 'whiz', I've been away from the workplace too many years) but I think it can be helpful.
Especially if you're into doing a 30 day challenge or something like that. You can see 'at a glance' how you've been performing....your total calories, whether or not you've been OP, what days you exercised, etc.
And one sheet is exactly 30 days. PERFECT! You can see the entire month's progress.
So detach it and print it and have fun with it. Feel free to modify it to suit your own needs. If you decide to use it let me know.....I'd be interested in hearing how it worked for you.
There are many other ways to track and stay accountable, too!
Did you know there are THREE (3) cellphone apps (that I know of....there may even be more!) that you can use for the 5/1?
1. Medifast 'reminder' app....this is a "quick and dirty" little reminder that just tells you when it's time for your next meal. You can set it for 2 or 3 hours; your choice. It buzzes or flashes, and you simply click on 'log your meal' and it asks when you ate it. That's all. You don't have to record WHAT you ate, just the fact that you ate. It's especially good for Newbies. Find it in the Playstore on your cellphone. I used this app religiously my first months OP to get me used to eating every 2-3 hours.
2 and 3 are basically the same thing: the TSFL or, corresponding 'My Medifast' cellphone apps to log your food.
These can be a breeze to use....I love the TSFL one now that I'm in maintenance because it lists my total calories, too (it doesn't if you're not in maintenance yet)....but the key is, to have set up your "Favorites" and "Private Foods" on the Food log HERE, on this website, FIRST.
The cellphone app is in 'sync' with the Food Log here. So any Favorites or Private foods you've set up? Are available on the cellphone app, too, which can make it SUPER easy to log everything, even on the go!
But again, the key here is, to set up your "Favorites" and "Private Foods".
Favorites are easy....just click on the little heart icon next to the food and it'll be added to your favorites.
See that listbox on the left-hand side? That's all the favorites you've added. You can add or delete as you feel like it just by clicking and dragging to the appropriate ADD or REMOVE box.
Private Foods, you have to know the nutritional label. I've added lots of Private Foods...either using the label or if it's a recipe, I use the nutritional totals from the recipe itself. Under the amount everyone gets confused ...especially for recipes....the easiest way is to just leave it BLANK so it defaults to 'user defined' (which would be ONE serving).
If you know the quantity, of course, use it, 1 cup, 2 TBLs, whatever.
But a little time spent entering Private Foods can save you a LOT of time later.
Now I realize that the Food Log leaves much to be desired; I'll be the first to criticize it as I've been using it for over 2 years now and sometimes it's frustrating. Some foods aren't listed..such as the new MF Popcorn and Tortilla chips, etc....(HINT: Input them as Private Foods from the nutrition label on the back of the package), and it doesn't work correctly at ALL using Firefox right now (I have a ticket out that's being ignored...sigh...).
BUT...!!! That said, I still find it quick and easy to use ONCE I set up my Favorites.
You can also log your foods just by clicking and dragging from FAVORITES into your log. That's the way I do it anymore. Takes me 5 minutes.
Recipes you can do either of two ways:
- You can input them as Private Foods, in which case again, you need to know the nutritional totals (at least the basics, calories, protein and fat) - I use Sparkrecipes.com to get nutritional totals for recipes I come up with;
OR
- You can just use a recipe straight from the RECIPES library on this website by clicking on the heart icon in the recipe itself to mark it as a favorite. Voila, it now shows up in your Favorites list and you can use it again and again.
BUT....! That said, many people don't like the Food Log here.
So there are other choices:
Many many other choices.
There's FITBIT, the Fitbit device which you can buy which tracks 'everything' from what I understand.....either on a handheld device and/or the website,
There's http://www.sparkpeople.com, I recently discovered this method and found it to be very user friend (and by the way ALL of the Medifast meals were listed in their database, which is handy!) and again, if you come across a food you use that isn't listed you can input it as a private food using the nutrition label.
I believe CalorieKing.com has a Food log....and there are other websites as well.
USE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.....but use it CONSISTENTLY.
Whatever you choose do it every day and make it a HABIT. The more you do this, the easier it becomes and the more it becomes part of your lifestyle. And you'll find you're doing better....losing weight more consistently. Studies show that people who track do better than people who don't track! So TRACK. Every day.
And it's fun....especially at the end of the week or if you use a 'Totals' sheet like the one I've provided....to see the scale going down and watch how it corresponds to the # of days you've been OP and/or your total calories were good (calories for maintenance people, of course, on the 5/1 we don't have to count calories).
By the way, people always wonder on the Food log what that negative number at the bottom is. Well, that's your TEE - your total energy expenditure or what the system computes your maintenance # of calories to be (based on your current weight and activity level), MINUS what you ate that day, PLUS any exercise you did. So if you did 500 calories worth of exercise and only ate 1000 calories, and your TEE is 2000, you would probably see something like this:
Calories Eaten: 1000
Calories TEE: 2000
Calories Exercise: 500
Net Calories Burned: -1500
A large negative number is actually a GOOD thing. Right around -1000 is where I hung out during most of the 5/1 when I was losing weight steadily.
Now, of course, in maintenance, I don't want to see that large a number. Unless I'm trying to lose weight.
Your Calories TEE can be adjusted in Account Settings if you change your activity level, say from strenuous to sedentary. I find that the TEE is kind of high, to be honest....so I set it up so that the system 'thinks' I'm more sedentary than I am. That way I'm covered.
Last but not least, you can track the old fashioned way.....and I still do this as WELL (yes I'm anal that way, but sometimes I'm not close enough to my computer to see what I ate and I need to know 'now' because I'm in the kitchen getting dinner ready)....which is
simply to
XEROX the Medifast Daily Success Tracker like, a billion times LOL. And put them in a binder. They used to send these out with every order; it may only be the first order now. Anyway, your Coach should have it in .PDF format; it not feel free to send me a message and I'll send it to you. It's a terrific way to track.....I write inside boxes the time of day I ate, and on top of the boxes I scrawl WHAT I ate. And at the bottom under comments I'll put things like 'A great day!' or 'Really had a hard time but I MADE it through!' or whatever.
I use a looseleaf notebook so I can quickly look back and see what I ate last week, etc.
This, combined with my looseleaf RECIPES binder, are my TSFL 'toolkits' that keep me on track.
Experiment if you're a Newbie, and if you're not a newbie, just using a different method may 'jack you up' a little bit and bring some of your mojo back. Just remember to do it. Because otherwise, it's so so easy to forget!
(Quick, what did you eat for dinner last Thursday night?) LOL.
See what I mean?
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