Back to tracking and a change in tracking apps

I got very lax with tracking my eating for a few months. I was ball parking the figures in my mind, which might explain a very very slow weight loss. Now when I first got my i pod touch back in September I downloaded a free calorie tracking app called Lose it! which also has an accompanying website and forum I loved it at first especially since it had a stand alone calorie database but eventually I got bored with the app and found it had limitations as well as a flaw for me. Whatever exercise I logged it added the calories I burned back to my calories I could eat.

So when I put my foot down with myself and decided to start tracking again I downloaded the Sparkpeople mobile app. I have been a member of spark since 06, but like all things weight loss over the years I come and go with varying levels of commitment and success. I am really liking the app, I used to find their online calorie tracker too time consuming, but they have made changes to it and I am finding it more user friendly. The only problem I can see with the spark mobile app, is that you need to have access to the internet to be able to access the food database. Luckily most places I go (work, home, mum's) has a WiFi connection that I can use.

Now I am just waiting to see my results from all this good behavior and consistency. Have I mentioned how very impatient I am?

My computers back

So much to catch up on. Two weeks away from my computer has been a real pain, from reading other blogs, to research to keeping up with friends, an of course keeping myself entertained, had been reduced to surfing on my i pod, which had its limitations. I couldn't post at all, I just couldn't make myself type on that little screen, it was enough to drive me up the wall. I had to have a new hard drive installed which meant I lost all my data and programs, though I didn't really have anything on there that was too devastating to lose. My only real concern was my music, especially since the i tunes I installed wanted to erase my i pod and sync it to the blank library. Thankfully I stopped it and saved my music. I downloaded a program that was able to copy everything off my i pod and back to i tunes, I am not sure why i tunes couldn't just take it off my i pod in the first place!

I did lose the work out play list I had made, oh well I will just have to remake it.

I *heart* my ipod touch!

I wanted an i pod touch. I wanted one really really really badly, but I told myself no. You don't need that, you can live without it, you should use that money to pay off more debt.
damn practical Erin, can't get anything past her.

Then since I was visiting the website all the time eyeing it, getting to know all about, basically drooling over it I started looking around at the apps, and low and behold.....

weight loss, there's an app for that.

okay way more then one. There are several apps for fitness, calorie counting, tons of stuff.

I finally had a way to get past practical Erin, I needed an i pod touch, for my health! (snickers evilly)

Oh sure I could still do a paper accounting of my food intake, or even an online one on spark people, but it wasn't right there with me, and not very discrete to be carrying around with you. But no one questions you playing with your i pod. So I gleefully broke down and ordered one from Apple (to appease practical Erin, I bought a refurbished one at a lower price). And then I painfully waited until I had it in my hot little hands!

So anyways I have had my i pod touch for a little over two weeks now, and it is my constant companion. I LOVE it! I downloaded a bunch of free apps, and have been playing around with them. I especially love the one I use for logging my food and exercise. It is simple, and when I am contemplating whether or not I am going to put something in my mouth, I can whip out my handy dandy device and check on how many calories I can still consume today in my caloric budget.

I am pretty sure that is what helped me lose 6 lbs in the last 2 weeks and get over my long WL pause of August and September. It definitely helped plump up my enthusiasm and energy for this whole process. And I totally love all the other applications and a few games I have downloaded.