An online weight loss tracker is an invaluable dieting tool with dual benefits. You can keep track of the disappearing pounds as you gauge your diet's effectiveness, and you can keep yourself motivated at the same time. Online tracking also helps avoid temptation, as it's easier to forgo a treat when you know it's true caloric impact, and according to Real Age, this can give your weight loss efforts a 50 percent boost. Several online weight loss tracking websites offer weight loss tracking tools, as well as useful tips and calculators. They also safeguard your information online, so you don't have to worry about losing it, which sometimes happens with paper journals. Online weight loss tracking websites can help you stay the course of your weight loss regimen and achieve your healthy weight.
Step 1
Visit the online weight loss tracking site of your choice, and register your profile. Some options include MyFoodDiary.com, which offers a seven-day free trial. After seven days, fees apply. FitDay offers a free membership, as well as a paid premium membership, that entitles you to extra features, such as advanced nutrition reports. Each website offers a similar means of tracking food intake and calories burned.
Step 2
Key in your height, age, activity level and current weight. Be honest and specific about your current weight. Even if you're not happy with the weight you are now, seeing a visual depiction of weight loss -- week after week -- can lift your spirits significantly.
Step 3
Type in your goal weight. Consider the time frame necessary to lose the weight you want -- comfortably and in a healthy manner. Depending on your starting weight, aim to lose weight at a slow, steady rate of less than 2 lbs. per week, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Weight-Control Information Network.
Step 4
Press "Enter." The website will give you a daily caloric goal and a time frame whereby you can lose the excess weight. MyFoodDiary.com, for example, also includes weight loss reports that allow you to see how much you will weigh one month in the future.
Step 5
Weigh yourself on a weekly basis, according to Dr. Melina Jampolis, a CNN health, diet and fitness expert. Record your weight in your online weight loss tracking profile. FitDay provides members with a goal graph that charts weight loss, while MyFoodDiary.com provides detailed features that allow you to chart calories burned through exercise.
Tips and Warnings
- Accurately record all the foods you eat, even when you fall off the wagon, and note what time you ate them. Times of day when you feel vulnerable to hunger or snacking can help you plan your meals more efficiently, says Jampolis, and help you stay focused on your long-term weight loss goals.
- Log in to your online weight loss tracking profile on a daily basis, and don't skip. Momentum is crucial to weight loss success.
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