Take notes today y’all… I’m about to unleash the hidden SECRET to weight loss… watch your backs, skinny gurus… I’m spilling it here! The secret to weight loss success is………. DRUMROLL……….. the Fat-O-Matic… and after you’ve spent millions on the Fat-O-Matic and still have the same spare tire around your middle (y’all, if you ever get stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire, give me a ring… I’ll jog on out with the one I keep in my gut… you know… just in case!), it’s time to dig out the ole common sense bone and go the FREE and SENSIBLE route.
It’s pretty much crucial to keep track of my calories whilst calorizing. I know we all have magical brains that automatically keep a tally of every food we eat and then… NO… no, we don’t… because there’s the numbdumb eating. You know the eating where you don’t realize you’re eating until you step on the scale a week later and gain 5 pounds? I call it numbdumb eating because it’s like I black out… a handful of crackers here, a few chips there (or a whole bag… KYLE CHANDLER!), a few spoonfulls of ice cream there and suddenly you’ve eaten 1000 extra calories and can’t remember a dang thing! A calorie does not count if you don’t have a plate in front of you… if it’s just a fork or a spoon and you are standing up, it’s totally not a calorie!! Or so I always tried to convince myself when I was numbdumbing around the house.
When I first started this whole weight losing buisness, I used a pen and a piece of paper to keep track of my calories… hello 1887, how are the pioneers doing? And then me and ma in her kerchief sat down to spin us some yarn from our freshly sheared sheep. **sighs** The good ole’ days! I just happened to be watching the Today Show one morning this past August when they had a lady on who had lost weight using this free site… of course I had to sign myself up for 2 reasons… 1.) It was FREE… and B.) It was FREE! Did I mention it was FREE? No, I’m not a cheap skate… what gave you that idea?
I signed up… it was super easy, user friendly, wayyyyy faster than my 1887 method… and FREE!! I didn’t start using the community of people on the site until a couple of months later in November, but I’ve met some great people since then who are in my same shoes and some who wear much smaller shoes, but are just great cheerleaders. I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend it, family and friends. There are all kinds of people on the site… those trying to lose 100+ pounds to those just trying to drop the pesky 10 pounds to those trying to gain weight and/or are body builders. MyFitnessPal (MFP)… It’s kind of like FaceBook for Weight Loss!
So, y’all… drop the Fat-O-Matic, head on over to my FREE lifesaver and sign up today: http://www.myfitnesspal.com It is totally worth it… and if I haven’t mentioned it yet… it’s FREE!
Question of the Day: Any of my MFP friends want to give a testimonial of the MFP awesomeness? Do it in the comments!
craving a life 
I L.O.V.E MFP!!! Lindsay told me about it a few months ago.
The best part? There’s an App for that!
I have downloaded the app on my phone. That way when I am out and about I can look up a food and see the calories and make informed eating decisions rather than, “Well, I didn’t KNOW a slice of chocolate dipped, chocolate infused, chocolate cheese cake was THAT many calories.” choices.
Also, I adore that there is a recipe calculator on it. I can type in the ingredients and amounts for the meals I make and then voila! It will spit out the magic calorie number for each serving. Which in turn allows me to eat with my family, what my family is eating, when they are eating it.
It is a glorious, glorious thing.
Amen.
Haha… HALLELUJAH! I adore the recipe tab too… much easier than trying to guesstimate what damage a recipe will do!
I will be forever grateful to Laci for introducing me to this site. I never in a million years thought something like this existed and it seemed so daunting to write each calorie down the old school way. This site has forever changed my way of seeing how I eat and what I eat. It has put portion into perspective, it has put calories into perspective, it has put ME into perspective. It’s a great tool to lose weight, gain weight, maintain weight…truly one of a kind! So many people from a variety of backgrounds and wishes for their hopes for what this site can do for them. I recommend it to ANYONE!
A little over 2 months ago, I went to the dr, and was diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure. I was told i needed to go on a *Die*t and lower my BP. I went on a Google search for “Weight Loss Support” and found MFP! I’m SO glad i did!!
In a little over 2 months I have lost 27lbs and found some amazing friends!! Even Local friends to work out with! It’s amazing support!!
I Love that it is so easy to track my food and exercise and it’s fun to! The community forum is such a helpful tool and it’s so motivating to check out the Success stories in the forums.
MFP is my new best friend!!!!
Been a member of MFP since June 2010 and lost 80 lbs so far. Without that website … no way I would have lost only 10. It’s an awesome tool for tracking calories, getting inspired and motivated and just learning what it means to attempt a healthy lifestyle. I see so many success stories there every day. It gives a meaning to “I did it, you can do it too”.
I am proud to say that the writer of this blog is one of my weight loss buddies on My Fitness Pal. I have been a member of MFP since mid-November of 2010 and so far I have lost 25+ pounds.
I attribute this weight loss to the combination of the ‘tools’ on MFP and the buddy system. I have tried diets before and they worked for a while then I would get bored, quit and then gain back all the weight I had lost. The difference this time has to be my weight loss friends who are walking this journey with me this time.
The site is FREE and the friends and fellowship is GREAT.
If you have not given MFP a try yet go ahead and do it.
See you there! :-]
I hope you’re feeling better. I saw the Frito Lay Truck driving around my neighborhood today and I thought of your post last week. Unfortunatley your crush was not in the driver’s seat.
I joined MFP 9 days ago and lost 7 pounds in the first 6 days! I am not starving myself or feeling hungry.. I am simply much more aware of what I am eating, when I am eating it, and how often I am eating. I love all of the wonderful encouragement and think that this place is going to be a ‘forever’ kind of thing for me. 🙂
I have been using MFP for a few weeks now and have dropped 10 lbs. The comunity is great for motivation and support.
Heck yeah! Love me some MFP!!!!! We have an awesome community of people that offer support and motivation and I only hope I can provide the same support and motivation they provide me! Love you guys!!!! And well said Whitney!
I have been using MFP for over a year. I think it is the best thing I could ever have signed up for. I love how everyone is so positive on there and you know they mean it because they are on the same journey you are. I have 2 wonderful kids and a great husband I need to stay healthy for. I have multiple health problems and with my familys health historty the odds are against me so I’m trying to stop it now so I can be around for everyone that needs me.This was a great blog Whit and I hope this leads other people to make good health choices and start by joining MFP!!!
I’ve been on mfp for almost 6 months. Long story short, it’s the best tool I have to save my life! It forces me to be accountable. I know what I put in my body, because I see it right there in front of me, and what helps more are the awesome friends I have there. If I fail, I let them down too and that is not something I am willing to do. As of today, I have lost 96 lbs. Whitney is proof, I am proof, and so are so many other who are more motivating and inspiring than you could imagine. Are you a member already?? Please add me. Bigpelly8….thanks!!
MFP is the my shining star…helped me lose over 40 pounds..it finally helped me figure out the whole calorie/exercise thannnng!
Well I have started my journey but I have already lost 22lbs due to the great info and ppl on MFP! Ppl there are great couldn’t have done this so far without them!
Hi Whitney. My cousin Emilie told me about your blog a couple of weeks ago and I have been working up the nerve to comment ever since. She also introduced me to MFP when I started my own journey back to health a few months ago. I love MFP for all the reasons that have been listed, the fact that it’s FREE, the easy to use food diary, the recipe calculator, the great people who are so supportive of everyone. Between that and getting to work out with my cousin everyday I’ve lost 14 lbs in the last 7 weeks and am feeling healthier and stronger everyday!
Hey Chrissy!
I’m super glad you chimed in… I love when people come and join in the conversation! Congrats on your success… it feels good, doesn’t it?
You know me- totally an MFP fan- I couldn’t be on this weight lost journey without all my peeps! The constant motivation and advice is awesome! I do have to say I don’t follow the eat back my exercise calorie thing, but the food & exercise diaries are AMAZING. just a little over 2 months and I’m down 35lbs- holllaaaa 🙂 We all are some fat burning machines! Oh and I refer to MFP as Facebook for Fatties 🙂
Oh and side note- As I hate Walmart myself- they do provide nifty sanitizing wipes right next to the carts… lol For future use of course! If they don’t have them ask the Greeter to get some! Either that or walk ur happy butt to the cleaner aisle and raid their wipes and walk back up there and give them to the greeter haha I use them everytime and I’ve only gotten a cold once in the last year 🙂
MFP rocks! That’s all there is to it. When I found out I had high cholesterol I decided to track calories. But last time I checked an apple doesn’t have it’s nutritional info stamped on the side, so I googled it and found MFP. Not only did it have apple calories, but it had small, medium, large and how many inches in diameter to know for sure! Crazy! (note: i still haven’t figured out bananas. is 6″ the length when it’s bendy, or if it were somehow straightened out?!)
I don’t know much about weight watchers, but the point system doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t care if the double bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese is 25 points. I want to know calories, sodium, fat. MFP has helped me learn everything I know about nutrition and how to eat healthy. Those guys deserve a nobel prize for changing so many lives!