I think the best part of a group is getting answers to questions quickly and learning what works for others. Then, because losing and keeping the weight off is about maintaining lifestyle changes you have to decide what you can live with. Tracking is an excellent way to understand that. The recipes section is great! It really helped me with meal planning and changing those foods that I love (e.g., potato soup) to lower calorie, healthier and still tasty alternatives (e.g., leek and cauliflower soup, or cloud bread).
As to tracking calories, I have always avoided that in the past. However, I am tracking what I eat this time. It has really helped me to control portion sizes (which have tended to creep up over time) and has been good for my self esteem! I can do this. I have a good kitchen scale, measuring cup and measuring spoons. I track my food on my Fitbit phone app. It (as do many other food tracker apps) has a great feature which captures the the UPC Codes thus the calories. I use the Fitbit app because I have used the scale and tracker for about 2 years. There are other apps and I can tell you from my experience, having the Fitbit scale and tracker has not been associated with reduced weight. I have walked between 2 and 5 miles per day/ 5 or 6 days a week for the last 2 years. My weight gain stabilized, but I didn’t loose weight. A personal trainer on our local CBC radio station said that reducing calories is the only way to reduce weight.
Re soft drinks: no calorie soft drinks apparently are just as bad for weight gain as sugary soft drink. As well, there is now some evidence that BPa– Bis-phenol in plastic water and soft drink bottles may change hormones and contribute to weight gain.
You will do well. You just have to stick with the program. The best part is the feeling better that comes within the first couple of weeks.
Sharon
