I just wanted to make a comment about the Daily Plate at www.dailyplate.com. I know that it is a site that has been talked about on the show but I wanted to also add my personal endorsement. I am really finding this site to be a great help to my weight loss goals. Let me explain.
Exercise has never been a problem for me. I like to go to the gym and I like to sweat a bit. I don’t always make it as often as I would like and tend to go in 6 month streaks with a month or two off because I am not losing any weight. My real problem has ALWAYS been my diet. I am always hungry. Even when I am full, I will grab something to eat. If it is sweet, I can’t resist. A daily food log is recommended by everyone who knows how people need to lose weight.
The first step was to use the tool to calculate how many calories I should average each day. I put in my height, weight, age, activity level and how much I want to lose every week. I selected to lose 2 pounds a week. At 325, I need to lose just short of 100 pounds so this is very reasonable for me. I validated the calorie count by adjusting the weight in the calculator to my desired weight and set the weight loss rate to simply maintaining that weight. The numbers were very close so I think it should work out just fine.
The Daily Plate has an excellent food log. It is easy to find the foods and brands you eat. With very few exceptions, I have been able to find the EXACT food. On the few occasions that I didn’t see the exact brand there was a very near substitute. The great thing about using the food log is that I am encouraged to eat better. I don’t want to put any bad food on my log. The log shows how many calories you have left for the day or have gone over. As an added bonus, I have found that when I eat right, I am never hungry. In fact, I have had to actually go and look for more food to eat to meet my minimum calories. Real food doesn’t have many calories so you find you can eat all the time. The calculator will also show how well you are eating by showing the amounts proteins, fats, carbs, sugars, etc.
I have only done this for a week but I plan on continuing until eating right for my weight comes without thinking. I am still just using the free version. It is so easy to use. I am thinking of going pro for some of the extra tools but so far I haven’t missed them. The free version does plenty.
Next week I will be adding to the food log by including the activities over and above my work routine that contribute to weight loss. There is a wide variety of exercises that can be added and their calorie burn calculated for you. This week I am working 6 12 hour night shifts so until I have a day off I won’t be out running. I am looking forward to checking out the feature in a couple of days.
Confession time. I did have one bad day. My boss ordered pizza for everyone on the team. I gave in. I put it on my food log. It actually had the exact item I really didn’t expect to find Meat lover’s pizza. It was there. I went over my calorie goal one day and easily made up for it the next. It wasn’t even hard.
Just did my first weekly weigh-in. I lost 5 pounds this week!!! I know that it is not uncommon for the first week to lose extra but it feels great. Can't wait to add the exercise this week
I lost another 5 pounds this week. For a total of 9.4 pounds in two weeks. My average calorie intake is at a good level (about 2500) for me and I am getting in some exercise. I am psyched. I wish I started keeping track of my food a long time ago.
ed, I'm using the livestrong itouch application which is powered by the daily plate. I am 50 years old weigh 235 and want to lose 60 pounds. The food log really does seem to work well, but i wonder if the credit i n calories that I receive for exercise allows me to take in too many calories to obtain my goal before retirement[I'm thinking maybe 75 yo since the market downturn]. Are you allowing yourself any calories for exercise? Congrats on your success so far. shadr
I have been doing the exersize but not counting it in my calorie goals. I want to lose wieght. My only concern is not being able to eat enough and end up having my body fit against me in starvation mode.
How has it been working for you? I found that all of the exersize I did before counting calories didn't really help much. Now that I am aware of what I eat I am seeing a difference.
For so long I ate in ignorance of how many actual calories I was putting in my body. With just a little bit of knowledge, how many calories I should actually be eating, it all falls into place, doesn't it? Congrats Ed, continued success.
Livestrong iPhone app is the best and like Mike mentioned above, it uses The Daily Plate database. Only thing it doesn't do is allow you to use customized meals in the app. Though, if you don't have a touch or iphone it will be of no use to you. I don't take 100% credit for the calories expended myself either. Though those days when I'm "in the black" on calories I won't feel bad having a glass of wine with dinner.
Actually, they just updated the app this week so that you can now access customized meals on the app as well. It does sync with the dailyplate site, although sometimes it changes custom workouts for some reason. I really love this app because it allows me to more easily track my calories and exercise throughout the day when I'm not in front of the computer.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the daily plate website. I saw your post today and just signed up!
I am concerned about the amount of calories it estimates. Before today I was using a calorie calculation based on WebMD's website which has me consuming 1850. This site tells me 2100! I THINK the difference may be because the daily plate doesn't take gender into account. This of course brings up all kinds of concerns for me. Which calorie goal should I use? How can I get the daily plate to adjust my calorie target? Would it really make a difference, anyway?
Are there any females out there that use the daily plate and get results?
I have been using the daily plate for a week and a half... this is AWESOME... I used to be 389lbs. Through learning about nutrition I started to cut back on my food intake... a little bit here and a little bit there. I never liked the idea of a strict formal diet plan. I manage to get to 229 by watching what I ate and running a lot... I run almost every day, from 3 to 10 miles depending on the mood or any coming race event. For the past 4 years I have been between 229 and 271. Mostly around 250 or so. When I see the scale tipping to the up side I cut back on what I eat until it gets to a comfortable level.
Lately I have the crazy idea of running a marathon... it will be very hard for me to keep going for 4 to 5 hours at my current weight even when I can do 2:30 of running fairly comfortable. After hearing all the shows and the reviews about the daily plate I decided to use it to get to my goal of 220lbs by the end of 2009. I had no idea how I was sabotaging myself by not tracking what I ate... there are a few things I ate that actually prevented me from loosing weight even when I run 20+ miles each week.
It is just as the guys on the show say... eat like the thin person you want to be. I computed my calorie target based on a healthy weight of 200lbs and a lightly active person to be 2639... I am 34 years old and 6'3". I choosed lightly active so on days I don't run I had a calorie goal that was exactly what I needed. On the other hands on days I dorun... I am aware of my calorie deficit and avoid getting into a starvation mode or going overboard.
Currently I am weighting 256lbs from my 271lbs disaster after the holidays. I love the show and the dailyplate.com.
I just downloaded the Blackberry App and I am loving it. I am actually having a hard time eating enough if you can believe it. I need to find more good calories to put down!
Have been using the site for more than a month, and it works fantastically. I used to be like Pablo and think that if I just worked out harder, I would lose the weight. Now that I have read all of the research and listened to the show, I know that I have to limit my calorie intake as well.
It is true that when you truly track what you eat, you will lose weight. I am down 10 pounds since March 1st! I finally made the connection and am enjoying it. I'm also like Todd in that I am having to push myself to eat enough.
Good luck to you Pablo, I too am shooting to run a marathon this year. I signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October. I am bound and determined to finish it.
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