My Plate

I have never been a calorie counter. Instead I prefer my own silly version of Body for Life, in which cheese and peanut butter count as my protein, and their natural partners, bread and crackers count as my carb. Using this method (there's a little more to it than that, but not much), I have successfully lost weight after each baby. But it was SLOW comin' off.

A couple years ago, Ryan used Livestrong.com/myplate to lose 20 lbs I didn't think he needed to shed (he looks great!). He encouraged me to try it, but it sounded an awful lot like calorie counting (-because it is), so I didn't. But my sister did. And she loved it so much, that after Susanna was born, she was able to convince me to try it (Ryan doesn't like where his influence ranked on this one, but I will give him a little credit for the idea's origination. :).

I have to say that livestrong.com/MYPLATE has been, by far, the best way I've ever lost weight. I am in complete control of how fast or slow I lose it. My goal was 1.5lbs a week and after 6 weeks, I had lost exactly 9 lbs. It is pretty awesome to be in the driver's seat; to know exactly how much energy I'm taking in and how much I'm using. This site is used by so many people, the database for foods is enormous. Chances are, anything you're eating is going to show up (nutritional information included) if you type it in. You can also put in your own recipes, and it will calculate the calories for you.

Best of all, it is FREE.

I'm not gaining weight this holiday season, I'm losing it. And I don't think I'm going to regret that.