MyDiet4Life

I'm back doing Weight Watchers 100%

My friend dropped me an email with the above line and I replied, "Me too!" ...well, I'm not on WW myself, but me too as in I'm committed to losing weight by following a sound exercise program and nutritionally balanced eating plan.

More and more I'm convinced that each of us must find our own way of losing weight and getting in shape. Generalized answers work up to a point. A good low cal recipe is helpful, general guidelines for healthy eating and exercise help. But a "one-size-fits-all" program does not work for me...believe me, I've tried most of them, one at a time!

I found an online program that does for me what WW-online used to do when I belonged to it. It's called FitDay and it's $29.95 to buy and download. I didn't want to be at the mercy of my internet to access my online journal/calorie tracker with WW-online...so it was good finding this program. This is their site if you're interested in checking it out, http://www.fitday.com [note: neither CCF nor I make any money if you purchase the program. I mention it in this post because it's a program that's actually helping me figure out how to track my weight loss]. The program tracks not only what you eat but how much you exercise and the effect that various types of exercises have on your overall plan of getting healthy and losing weight.

Other tracking programs I've joined in the past made me feel like I was being denied. I reached my daily points or calorie limit too early in the day and then felt like giving up. But FitDay is awesome because it clocks not just calories eaten but charts them compared to calories I planned to eat and also against calories I burn just by being, just by breathing, doing absolutely nothing, being a total couch potato, which I really am not, even though I list myself as sedentary on the program because I work in front of a computer 16 hours/day. So when I eat more than my allotted number of calories, with FitDay I can see that even with what I ate I actually burned more by breathing (background calories burned through digestion, sleeping, just being alive) than I ate. On those days I then know I will at least maintain for that day. This knowledge keeps me from giving up. The picture gets even better the days I exercise so I'm making an effort to walk every day and plan on introducing strength training to my weekly routine real soon. If you're lucky enough to belong to a gym then keeping an exercise routine will be easier for you than it is for me. After all, why would you pay monthly fees and not take advantage of everything the gym has to offer?

I'm staying with the calorie intake that FitDay recommends for a healthy weight loss program, one where you do not lose more than 2 pounds a week. I have started walking 2 miles several times a week. The program tracks my water intake, fiber, fat, and it also tracks my moods so I can then generate reports that show what mood I'm in when eating. It tracks reason I eat and I'm discovering (duh!) that a good 50% of my eating is "triggered by food." I'd like to get to the point where most of my eating is triggered by hunger and not food or emotions, etc.

By and large, the most encouraging thing about this program is its one-time price of $29.95, the fact that it's always available in my computer whether or not my internet access is working or not, AND the wonderful way it charts Calories Eaten vs Calories Burned on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Since I bought the program I've consistently eaten less than the number of calories my body normally burns. So it makes sense that I'm loosing weight, slowly but surely.

FitDay's website is full of other good information on weight loss, nutrition, and diets. If you just want to use their program online, then it's totally free. I did find that having it in the computer allows for faster inputting of foods eaten, etc. But it's nice they offer it for free off of their website.

I'm going to build a set of resources and make them a part of the "MyDiet4Life" program that's helping me get healthier. I'd love to hear what's working and not working for you. Blog your ideas alongside mine.

When Dream Jobs Go Up in Smoke

Looking for freelance work I came upon what I'd call "my dream job." This was a telecommute job where you do research for a gateway company and get paid for it. The pay seemed more than fair and, depending on your qualifications and speed at which you can complete projects, it promised to be a good part-time source of income.

I applied online to the company and several days later received an email saying my application had been approved and I could go ahead and print, fill out, sign and return to them their contract. No problem here. I read the contract. Seemed to be on the up and up. The red flags came up when I read the type of material they wanted me to send along with the signed contract: copy of college transcript, copy of passport, social security number, bank account information (for direct deposit of money I'd earn while working with them).

I've been a freelancer for over 20 years now. I've never had to give copy of passport nor bank information to anyone... ever. I'd never do that. The thought of passing that info along to someone who doesn't even list their phone number on their website gives me the ebbe jebbes.

I tried searching for the company at the BBB from the state they list they're from...the company is not listed. I tried searching for them at the Dept of Revenue of that particular state...no listing for this company there either.

Regretfully I have concluded that this particular "dream job" of mine has just gone up in smoke. Guess that's better than me going up in smoke were I to give out the type of info they wanted me to send them, huh?