Today I would like to talk about other websites, free ones, where you can track and see your progress on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.

For the last months I have been using a site called www.myfitnesspal.com to track the amount of calories I consume per day and how many I have burned while exercising. It is a great site and offers an app for all smart phones, which makes keeping track with what you put in your mouth much easier and convenient. Additionally to tracking caloric intake and output, you can keep measurements of your waist, neck, and hips, insert your weekly weight loss/gain, and connect with others who are using the service for support and inspiration.
The reason I recommend this site is simple.

1. It calculates your daily caloric goal according to the amount of weight you would like to lose in a week. Do not go over one pound per week if you want to keep the weight off in the long run.

2. Once you add your exercise, it recalculates your daily caloric needs. One word of advice: try not to eat ‘junk food’ to reward yourself, but instead go for healthy options/snacks.

3. When you use the app on your phone, it will let you scan barcodes of all kinds of food wrappings, making it easier to insert the correct food. You can also search for your favorite restaurants and dishes to see what their calorie count is going to be.

Try it out and let me know what you think about it.

The other site is especially for all athletes. Although it is titled www.runkeeper.com, it lets you track other exercises as well. The beauty of this site lies in the way you can customize each exercise. I have been able to create some of my favorite running routes and see how long they are. Now I can return and add the time it took me to complete them.  Easy! This site, like the above one, lets you share your experiences and successes with others: it will even post on Facebook, if you have it given permission to do so. Honestly, I use this site more as my own progress tracker than anything else.

Give this site a try and share your experiences with me.

The last site you have to go to is my Facebook page called http://www.facebook.com/pages/You-Can-Live-Healthy-Now/134653339956513 to receive tips and ideas on a better life style. Like the page and you will see updates on your page.

Until later,

Sonya