Some useful things to do or get

There are some useful things which will help you when using my plan.

I am often asked “what weight should I be…”  well that is a very personal preference and many factors have to be taken into consideration.

For example, I am now quite fitness orientated and so wish to have a more athletic body with some muscle structure.  Other people like less toned and want to be slimmer.  Other people simply want to feel better in their clothes and so it comes down the dress size for them.  Then for many it’s about investing in their health. There is no right one size fits all when it comes to weight.  

The BMI scale is a useful tool to use and you can simply input your height, weight and details in the system and it will give you an idea of what a good weight for your body should be.  The one highlighted in the link is from the NHS and super simple to use. The categories are Underweight, Normal, Overweight and Obese etc.

However…. and this is an important point.  If you are more sporty and have built muscle, the BMI does not really account for that extra muscle weight.  You may be super fit and yet still be in a higher category.  So although the BMI is a good indicator, it is not always right.  Personally, I would rather be fitter and healthier than worry completely about weight.  That said, with my increased exercise and regime I have managed to knock off almost 3 stone quite easily.  I now gauge myself more by the tape measure than by scales.

The other useful app I have successfully used is nutracheck.  I like the phone app because it taught me a lot about the calories in foods.  Each thing I ate or drank would be logged.  The good thing about nutracheck is that you can scan bar codes of many items and the calories etc come up.  It also allows you to manually find items and input your own measurements.  There are lots of useful resources upon it, such as a water monitor so you know how much you are drinking.  Also there is exercise logging plus a great forum, where people share experiences, give help and can support others.  It makes your calorie and portion control a lot easier, especially for a newbie and may shock you as to the calories in food. 

I now refer to some foods as “hollow calories” as they can often have a high calorie reading, but have zero satiation.  Being satiated means how full you feel after eating.  My prime example of this would be your usual fast food burger.  Loads of calories but after an hour, I always find I am hungry again.  The app will make your eyes pop out when you see the calorie scores, and you will soon learn that some swaps and changes can make the difference between feeling full and feeling hungry! Don’t be fooled by “healthier snacks” and the packaging. Get used to looking at how many calories are per bar etc and what is in it!

Water and fluid is so vital.  In fact I have placed a whole page dedicated to drinking the stuff.  Do take the time to read it.  It is more useful than you think it is!  Any weight loss you may want to achieve can be hindered with not drinking enough fluid.

So from the outset, I would do these steps:-

1. Check your BMI
2. Tape measure for the chest/bust, waist and hips.
3. Check once weekly with scales
4. Obtain proper weighing scales for foods
5. Throw out all temptation foods such as crisps, cake sugary foods etc.
6. Obtain the nutracheck app.  
7. Get a water bottle 
8. Be prepared to exercise.  Decent trainers and clothing have been essential for me and made the experience better.