Birthdays this week

Happy birthday to Olwyn this Saturday and Jan this coming Monday! Woot!

Mindful Nutrition

Thanks to Barb for suggesting this entry.

Based on chats during walks, and following perhaps some indulgence over the holidays, a goal of shedding a few grams may be on the minds of some of us.

While each approaches the issue in their own way, I hope you don’t mind I share a method that has worked for me, Helen and some others we know.

Simply stated, it’s mindful eating. No elimination of any specific items, just better portion control and tracking what is consumed. Nothing new really, as this is the Weight Watchers approach for instance. What has really helped is using a calories counting app, in the case Lose It (available for iOS and Android). Other apps out there (Noom, MyFitnessPal, Calorie Counter) do a similar job and may work better for you. Still, they share similar features and work in the same way: they make you aware of what you are eating and its impact calorically.

So regardless of the app, here are the essential features that could make whatever your choice of app more successful.

• Free. Most apps offer a “light” mode that is adequate for most tracking purposes
• Weight tracking items: daily weight, target weight, timeframe to reach
• Food tracking: a good library of foods already catalogued, barcode scanner, manual entry mode, recipe entry mode, memorized meals
• Calorie budget
• Daily and weekly summary (this allows you to “bank” calories so you can splurge a bit and still average out)
• Meal sharing option; great if you are doing this with someone else in the household so you text/email/airdrop a meal to them
• Linked to activity tracker (i.e., Apple Health, Fitbit, etc.) to credit you for activities performed
• Manual workout entry: not all workouts are step-based. Shovelling the walk or digging in the garden also consumes calories. You’ll want to claim for those as well.

The down side is taking the time to log in meals and some activities, which could be a nuisance for some, but I have found that this becomes easier as the app gets to know your habits. It is a commitment in any case, and one you may choose to maintain even when the target is reached.

What I have noticed in the nearly 20 months I’ve been using the app is that it’s much easier to identify and limit the most caloric foods, and gauge what an adequate portion should be. It also has had the side benefit of hugely reducing our food waste (and costs) as we cook with those portions in mind.

Explorations

Weekly Walks

This Saturday looks promising for the morning, with temperature right at the freezing mark and sunny, so paths should be clear. No indoor dining at Tim’s so, are we back to the picnic table? We’ll have shopping bags for seats regardless. Please sign in…you know the drill.