And now it's that time on The Francis Blog where we talk about mobile phone weight loss apps! Specifically, we're going to talk about a nutrition tool that I've gotten a lot of entertainment and education value out of, and maybe gotten myself a little healthier to boot - LoseIt! . I can say without hesitation that it's easily the best weight loss app I've ever used, which is at least in part because it's the only one I've ever used or could even name.
I get a lot of mileage out of my Galaxy S3, but I've never been a huge apps user. My entire list of downloaded apps is pretty simple:
Twitter
LoseIt!
Google Chrome
Google Translate
Pinterest (solely for posting Chucks - Chuck is, of course, my LoseIt! avatar as well)
Fast Notepad
Facebook (for Nena)
plus a couple of productivity apps that I have to have so my work will pay my phone bill
Yep, that's it. But I've had a good run with LoseIt! so far and thought I'd share some stories and information about it. LoseIt! is a reasonably simple concept, but extremely well executed; I've read that established weight-loss programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers have lost considerable business because of the rise of free, easy-to-use softwares like LoseIt! and its ilk. Essentially, you give the program your vital stats (height, weight, sex) and your target weight and time frame, and it gives you a daily calorie budget. You, in turn, enter in all the food you eat and the exercise you do, and see if you can stay within said budget. If you do, you then lose weight. Pretty simple. The program makes the tracking really easy, as it has an extensive database of nutrition facts for foods both generic (an orange) and specific (Minute Maid orange juice), and allows users to put in their own custom foods. It can be slightly tedious at times, but having it on your phone makes it easy to do on the go and really not much of a burden once you get in the habit. Admittedly, it can be annoying to enter some restaurant dishes, and I do get lazy at times and cut corners. Every hard pretzel I have is "Rold Gold Tiny Twists"; I have an entry for "Random Food"; I used to enter the Mr Hobo Skillet from Nick's Diner as simply "Mr Hobo Skillet," assign myself 800 calories, and move on; and every half-decent beer I have is "Yuengling." I know, I'm sorry. I'm trying to strike the right balance between diligence and obsessiveness.
Regarding those custom foods and exercises: the best part is that you can assign any icon you want, regardless of if it matches what you're doing. Hence, an omelet from a local breakfast joint shows up with a crab icon (I think crabs are funny animals) and a particular physical labor I do swinging a sledgehammer at work shows up as a surfing icon.
I legitimately got to put in "Archery" once under exercises, after firing a few arrows at a Medieval Faire. The system also has an entry for "Sexual Activity," complete with a heart icon. I've decided it's in the interest in propriety to not bother with that one.
I only heard about the app because Nena had downloaded it, and I only picked it up myself because I figured that way I could creep on her entries and internet-stalk her. We live in the same house, by the way. Nevertheless, the Community aspect of LoseIt! is fun - I use it almost solely to troll the exercise entries from Nena and leave hilarious comments about them.
I found, though, that I was actually getting a lot of legitimate usage from the program - there's a definite educational aspect to LoseIt! for which I am very appreciative. I mean, we all have a general sense of the nutritional value of various foods - vegetables are good, french fries not so much - but it's really interesting to see the nutritional aspects of the food we eat in a quantifiable manner. I know that it's greatly raised my awareness of my own diet, as well as made me considerably more conscious about what I put into my body. Don't get me wrong - I still put plenty of awful stuff in my body - I'm just conscious about it now.
OK, that's not entirely true - I believe LoseIt! has had a very positive effect on my diet. I wasn't particularly unhealthy to begin with and was at a stable weight, but as I work within a budgetary framework, I've realized that I've been making my body deal with a lot of extra caloric intake over the years. Since then, I've managed to cut out a lot of unnecessary calories, dropped portions down, and substituted a lot of healthy alternatives. I'm not strict about my diet - just substantially better, and that's a good place to be. There's just something about being accountable that all by itself, even absent other motivation, has a positive effect on decision-making.
Given the name, though, LoseIt! is clearly meant as more than just an educational tool - it's designed to help users drop a few pounds. You can also download an International Version that will help you lose a few kilograms. So, does it work? Of course it does. It works for the same reason that traditional diet-and-exercise plans work; they build sustainable habits that tip the caloric in/out ratio to a more favorable balance. It really isn't rocket science. I had a vague weight loss goal set for myself when I first started, but that wasn't my prime objective - I was much more interested in messing with Kim and finding out how many calories are in a Tofurky Kielbasa (240 delicious ones). Nevertheless, I started using the program when I was still coming off my last knee surgery and had put on a few extra pounds, at least in part because I was unable to run.
Let me anticipate an objection here: I know I'm not fat. I know I don't have to lose weight. I get it. I don't have body image problems and I'm not anorexic. Trust me. I also know, however, that Andy Francis at 155 lbs is fitter and can run and bike faster than Andy Francis at 168 lbs, which is where I clocked in when I first started using the program. There's a difference between reasonable weight and ideal weight that seems to elude a lot of people living here in Fat America.
Anyway, I used the program for quite a long time without adhering strictly to the calorie in/out goals that LoseIt set for me, routinely going over week after week and not minding that a whole lot. But you know what? I still knocked down to 163 over the span of 9 months or so, just by virtue of making better decisions here and there. Then, I spent one dedicated month where I really focused on making the goals, and did indeed get down to 155 lbs as I'd planned. Had I just run in hot weather? Sure, but I really am down considerably, and I've felt very strong this triathlon season (see upcoming post) and have been pretty healthy to boot.
When I say "focused on making the goals," I mean in large part: I quit drinking. Not for good - just for a month before and during triathlon season to facilitate meeting my LoseIt! quotas. It is so much easier to stay under when you cut out beer - even modest amounts can mean the difference between staying under for a day and going over, and those add up over a few weeks. That and pretzels. Oh, those pretzels. I love pretzels more than any other food, and they are straight up assassins in the calorie department. You can eat, and I am estimating here, approximately infinityzillion barrels of spinach and not equal the energy value of a handful of pretzels. It's unreal.
While we're on the nutrition tip, I'd like to also address a concern that many people have raised over the years, which is the issue of how, as a vegetarian, I get enough protein. My standard answer to this for years has been to point out that the physical penalties for underprotenation seem to be much less stiff than those for obesity, but while true, didn't represent a very strong defense. I would then answer nuts, beans, and dairy, but my inquisitors (who invariably delight in poking holes in vegetarianism) always seemed skeptical. Thanks to the LoseIt! database and some modest effort on my part to enter data diligently, though, I've got better numbers. I'm averaging about 65-70 g of protein a day - compare that to the 50 g listed on the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). I think concerns over vegetarian protein intake are, more than anything, a product of the meat-heavy diets enjoyed by most Americans. I read that most Americans get about twice the RDA of protein, and I can buy that, given this experience.
Anyway, like I said, I finally did make my playing weight, which I was keyed up about, and now have a slightly expanded "maintain" budget. I still really get a kick out of using LoseIt!, and have no plans to stop. After all, aside from the health and learning benefits, there's one more thing that keeps me rolling along on LoseIt!:
Badges. Sweet, sweet electronic badges.
LoseIt! awards users little graphical badges for certain tasks, from sticking with the program for a week to meeting a weight loss goal to exercising on New Year's Day. I love them. Check mine out for finally notching the goal I mentioned above. Pretty prestigious, eh? Contrary to the claims of the outlaw in Blazing Saddles, I do need those badges. Every time LoseIt! e-mails me to let me know I got a new one, no matter how trivial, I announce it to Nena with an almost psychotic glee. I even badgered a few of Nena's friends who had been using it to be a part of my friends network on LoseIt! so I could claim the "Extrovert" badge. No, really. I'm coming up on a year of using LoseIt!, and I have 23 badges now. I realize that this is in no way impressive, but I have a good time with it anyway, and I'm psyched to claim the "Die Hard" badge here when I complete day number 365 of consecutive logging. That's kind of amazing when I think back on it - I've tracked, to varying degrees of accuracy, virtually everything I've eaten and any exercise I've done for nearly an entire calendar year.
Whether you're interested in weight loss, accountability, or just learning a bit more about nutrition and exercise, I recommend highly this fun and easy-to-use app.
exercises to lose weight
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