Calories, carbs and counting

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Don’t you love the excitement of changing the way you look and feel?

One of the best ways to kick start a new fitness and health plan and keep your momentum is to track your progress.

Keeping up with what you eat is very important. Not only does it make you accountable for your actions, but it also allows you to keeping up with your accomplishments.  There are many apps on the market to choose from if you have a smartphone.

My favorite one for counting calories, carbs, fat and protein while also keeping track of physical activity is the Calorie Counter by FatSecret.  The best part is it’s free and is offered on the Blackberry, Droid, iPhone and iPad.

All you do is record what you eat and the app does the rest -- calculating grams (carbs, fat, protein) and calories.  It even allows you to enter your exercise, which is added to a chart that calculates calories burned.  All of the information is tracked on a chart that shows the day, your calorie consumption and calories burned.

And if you don’t have a smartphone, I’ve included some links below to counters that are accessible via the Web.  This way you can track from your desktop or laptop.

Finally, equally important when tracking all of your data is noting your success along the way.  That means occasionally trying on clothes you couldn’t fit when you began your journey and noting fitness gains like being able to do more push-ups or running a little further than you did the previous week.

When you put all of these things together, it’s a huge psychological boost that can help sustain your momentum throughout your journey, regardless of pounds lost.

 

Calculators and guides taken from About.com

Women’s calorie counter

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_guide.htm

Men’s calorie counter

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_guide_men.htm

Men’s food group guide

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_food_group_guide_men.htm

Women’s food group drive

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_food_group_guide.htm

Men’s Nutrient Recommendation Guide

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_RDA_guide_men.htm

Women’s Nutrient Recommendation Guide

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_RDA_guide.htm

  I am a certified Crossfit Kettlebell instructor, triathlete and former trained dancer. I am not a nutritionist or a doctor. Information I share is based on my own research and experience. Before beginning a diet or fitness routine you should consult your physician or a health professional.For question and comments about this blog, contact me at akiia.james@abc11mail.com.