We’re all connected to the internet. It’s literally at most of our fingertips. Many of us spend most of our day on the internet, and quite a few make a living from it (*crosses fingers*).
I’m going to show you ho you can harness its power to become thinner and fitter!
Introducing The Internet Diet!
Totally fat, carb, sodium, and calorie free!
What’s the first thing anyone does when they want to go on a diet? They get some resources.
Whether it’s going to Weight Watchers, buying a book or a magazine, or getting a gym membership, one of the top items on the list is looking for the “how-to’s” of weight loss.
We all probably frequent at least one website that helps us with the advice we look for. Below you’ll find a not-at-all comprehensive list of website that you can use to find what you need to help you on your journey!
A little bit of everything
The two things people look for most in a “diet” website are food tracking and exercise. There are several sites that help you with both, and do a pretty good job at it.
Sparkpeople.com
SparkPeople was the first website I tried when I was new to internet dieting. What I loved the most about it was the community. It keeps you engaged in the site through activity trophies (complete tasks, get points, win “trophies”). There are discussion for everything you can think of.
You keep a fitness profile with your goals, and it creates meal and exercise plans for you. No thinking involved. You can give it food preferences, but it’s pretty strictly a caloric deficit paradigm. There are articles and blog posts to keep you learning. The community is enormous.
The only reason I’m not very active there anymore is because I don’t have enough time in the day! I still have a profile, so if you’re on SP, friend me!
MyFitnessPal
This is the site I use most when I track things. I liked their app better than SparkPeople’s app, so I switched. One of the greatest things about their app is that you can take a picture of the bar code and it adds the nutritional info to your food list.
While you can track exercise through MyFitnessPal, so far I’ve just been tracking food and water. In addition to the website they have Android and iPhone apps that are pretty slick. Here’s a link to my MFP profile.
FitDay
Fit Day was one of the first sites of its kind. I remember looking into it when I first started out, but I never got into it. I have a friend who swore by it.
One of its main draws was focusing on journaling. You can also track your food and exercise and see trends and behaviors. When I checked it out, we didn’t have apps for anything, but they do have an iPhone app and even PC software (affiliate link).
Weight Watchers
This old bat’s been around for a long time, but their website is still kickin’! You can do everything you need to on their website, but it’s not free.
You’ll be able to track your food, exercise, and more on the website. You can also find recipes and other weight loss resources, but it does cost money to be a part of it.
Exercise sites
There are a few sites I’ve been known to use to track my exercise in addition to SparkPeople and MyFitnessPal.
MapMyRun.com
MapMyRun was the first tool I used when I was training for a 10K a few years ago. I wanted to know how far I was running when I went around the neighborhood. I’d go on the site and using GoogleMaps you could trace out your route and it would tell you how far it was.
These days they have an app that helps with that and I believe uses GPS positioning to measure while (and where) you run.
Runkeeper
I use Runkeeper exclusively when I jog. I downloaded the app to my Android phone, and while I jog it gives me updates. It notifies me when I hit certain times and certain distances, and it tells me what my pace is. Then when I’m done, I can tweet the workout stats. I highly recommend it if you’re into jogging or running (or even walking).
They also have ways to measure other exercises and expenditures, but I haven’t tapped into those features yet.
Daily Burn
Aside from being a blog and general fitness resource, Daily Burn also helps you exercise. In fact, if I remember correctly, you have to pick a workout plan when you sign up so it can put you in the appropriate group. I don’t use it much at the moment, but it seemed to be very community-oriented when I checked it out.
Look for the 4HB community if you sign up.
Can’t forget the food
Exercise is only part of the equation, and some would argue it’s the lesser part. Here are some sites that will help you find food you love that fits within your diet’s parameters.
eMeals
I’ve talked about eMeals before, but I’ll mention it again briefly. You can tell it what kind of diet you’d like (it has several options), and it creates menus with shopping lists for you. Definitely worth checking out. My wife and I even save money on groceries by using them.
With their new Paleo plan, the only way you can’t lose weight by using them is if you don’t follow the plan they’ll give you. I completely recommend that one. Here’s a week’s sample.
Click here to check out more.
Foodee, Chow Stalker, Foodily
I have a suspicion that there’s a new web-recipe protocol around, because I’m seeing more and more sites like this.
These three websites are chock full of photos and recipes. That’s basically all they are. If you want food ideas, go to one of these. Chow Stalker is going to be a good one for 4HB, Paleo, or gluten-free folks.
4HB-Specific recipe sites
I don’t want to re-list them here, but you can find a bunch of slow-carb recipe sites on the “what to eat on 4HB” page here at FMF.
Motivation
Finally, every person who has changed their diet and fitness habits will need some motivation once in a while. For me, maintaining this site has been my number one source of motivation. Keeping you updated on my progress, writing slow-carb recipes, and providing 4HB tips and advice have done wonders for my commitment.
Twitter
The other primary source of motivation for me comes from Twitter. There are so many people tweeting about 4HB that it’s almost hard *not* to find motivation there. If you don’t have a twitter account, get one and start making friends. Then follow FMF and we’ll help motivate each other.
4HB Talk
Forums are another great way to keep motivated. By staying engaged in discussions about 4HB, you will keep learning and growing as you are on your own fitness journey. If you haven’t, I highly recommend joining the 4HB Talk forums today!
What else you got?
I know these aren’t the only sites out there.
What sites or apps have you been using to help you stay motivated on your weight-loss efforts? Share them in the comments!
-j
The Internet Diet: How Surfing the Web Can Help You Lose Weight is a post from: Finding My Fitness
