Full Circle

About a million years ago my "Sundae-a-day" habit caught up with me and I asked my mom the best way to lose weight. She talked to me about counting calories and carbohydrates. Since you could have way more calories than carbs I chose to count calories. My teenage self figured out fairly quickly that skipping meals was a great way to lose weight. In fact, no eating at all was helpful too. But after a few fights with mom I realized that wasn't sustainable and the yo-yo dieting began.

In the '80's I counted fat grams while eating enormous platefuls of pasta in college. I honestly wondered why I never lost any weight even though I exercised. In the '90's I did a Fat Flush for a grueling week and lost 7 pounds. I'll take a pass next time. With Atkins I ate several pounds of bacon and for some bizarre reason - didn't shed an ounce! Imagine that. Nothing seemed to work over the long term.

So what to do? After spending two decades trying to convince myself I could eat as much as I want, as long as I avoid certain foods, I realize that it's the intake that derails my efforts. I came across a website called Calorie-Count.com which, after obtaining way more information than I wanted to provide, allows me to use their food log and tracking service for free. It has really neat tools, for example, many foods (especially brand name ones) are already in their database. Just search and click to add. If it's not there a handy form allows you to enter the food yourself. It tallys for the day and keeps track of your progress - "only 10 more pounds to go!" Even includes a graph.

It's not very flashy but seems to work well. Knowing I'm going to enter everything that I eat is a motivator. I like to see the progress I'm making and get that bit of feedback. It's on the honor system, guys, so no cheating! I'll report back whether it helps me stay on track. Counting calories. How basic is that?