Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Eight Weight Loss Essentials

Good morning! Yesterday on my drive home from work I got to thinkin', what are the essential things I personally need in my weight loss journey? Now I know each person is different and has specific goals for their own health, but I realized there are a few things that are absolutely necessary for me to reach my weight loss goals. Why are there only eight you ask and not a nice solid number like ten? BECAUSE, I only could think of eight and I didn't want to throw in two junky ones just to have a good number, so the number is eight. If your OCD can't handle it (mine is just a little uncomfortable with it) then you can mentally picture two more items on this list.

So without further ado, my Eight Weight Loss Essentials
(so important I created a cute little graphic for it)
((I didn't work that hard on it though I only made it in Paint))


1.) Something that you will drink water from. Water is SO important and if you have a container you LIKE to drink out of it will be more likely that you will drink water. I personally love drinking out of straws, so I have these plastic tumblers that I get, that way I'm not buying disposable straws and I like that these are less likely to spill too. I keep these at work, at home, wherever I am. This particular one the bf got for me on one of his trips, I think it is so cute it makes me drink even more water :) 



2.) Food Scale- This is soooo important for me in my cooking because measuring food with measuring cups is very difficult and can easily cause inaccurate results, especially if the food item is oddly shaped, however with a scale like this you can easily get the exact amount in a serving and they are not too expensive either. I got mine on Amazon for $13 which is a bargain in my opinion for how much I use it and how much it helps me. I also love it measures in grams and oz/lbs. It can zero out so I can put any container on there, zero it and add my food. 


3.) Good workout shoes. I used to just buy any old sneakers from where ever and use them, I never knew the importance of a good pair of shoes. This became especially important when I moved from the elliptical to the treadmill. Running requires well fitted shoes if you want to avoid injury and pain. I bought my first pair of Asics a few years ago and love love love them. I am now on my second pair of Asics, the retina burning pink ones on the left :) and so far I love them too. 


4.) Along with good running shoes, I would not be able to monitor my workout progress without my chest strap. I have only ever had this Polar HRM but I'm sure there are others out there that are equally as good. I like that you put in all of your own personal information in it and it tracks your personal heart rate zone, lets you know how many calories you burned, your workout time, high heart rate, average heart rate etc. I love this gadget.


5.) And of course, a good sports bra! This might not be an essential if you are a male, but if you are female I would greatly stress the need for a supportive and well fitting sports bra. Especially if you are like me and are  a bit bustier. I have worked out with ill-fitting sports bras before and let me tell you it is NOT PLEASANT.


6.) Another item that is essential to my success is my tablet. This one might seem silly and might not be essential to you, but maybe you have a laptop, maybe you use your phone, or an e-reader, or even a good old fashioned cook book, but for me, I use my tablet ALL THE TIME to look up recipes online or on Pinterest. I use my tablet for my Weight Watchers app to use the points calculator, I Google substitutions for recipes or measurement exchanges, everything. I even use it to play Pandora while I cook, it is definitely my cooking buddy. 


7.)  I love love love Tupperware! I use containers for packing items in my lunch, I use them for saving portions of meals to freeze for future enjoyment. I use them to portion out items I buy in bulk. They can be put in the freezer, microwaved, go in the dishwasher. I have purchased a few sets of these Tupperware because I love that they all match and the lids fit a few different sizes of each container. I also love these lunchboxes because you can put different parts of a meal in one container without stuff touching or getting all mixed together (I know I'm kind of a freak).


8.) Lastly, a scale. I know a lot of people like to measure Non-scale victories, and I do too, it's important to recognize accomplishments in building muscle  clothes fitting better, feeling more energy, making healthier choices, all of those things. But it is also important for me to track my weight progress as well. I used to have a scale that measured body fat and hydration and weight and tracked from previous weights but it really didn't work well. I think it was just too fancy and I never had much success with it actually getting me all that information. I now have this scale it is simple, works so well and I love it. (can you tell I buy everything from Amazon? Prime baby!)

So those are my most essential items I own/use in order to be successful in getting healthy, changing my life and of course, losing weight.

I'd love to know what YOUR essential items are, what do you need for your personal journey?
Do you buy things on Amazon like I do?


Here is what happened for dinner last night. I made stir fry veggies, and some chicken with this new Campbell's skillet sauce I had. I combined it with my noodles from my Trader Joe's Extravaganza and it was a delicious 9 Points Plus dinner.



10 comments:

  1. My food scale is probably my #1 used tool - if I step away from using it, my portions just get bigger and bigger and I think to myself "that's probably a cup!" when in actuality its closer to 2!

    And I just got some fun tumblers at Sam's Club - 6 for $19! I saved two for myself, one for work and one for home, and gave the rest away to friends.

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    1. I do the same thing, when I feel like I can measure something without the food scale I end up being like.."ehhh a little more...eehhh liiitle more"...its not good
      Woah that is a great price for tumblers! Mine have been in the $8-10 EACH Nice find!

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  2. Hello Again!

    I found you and started following you on Pinterest. I loveeeee it and will be stealing some recipes shortly!

    I think a huge tool for me in my mind. Having goals and a positive look on life and where I am going continues to keep me motivated day after day. For instance, my lettuce for my salad froze in the fridge and it gets wilty when it thaws. I was TICKED but instead added extra carrots and celery to try and pretend to make it crunchy again..

    I am eating it currently, and it didn't really work - but I am just pretending!

    Have a great Tuesday!

    Madalyn

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    1. I am a pinterest addict! I love it :) you are definitely right about goals being a huge tool, and i really thought about that one as I was making my list, but didnt really know how to phrase it so it got left out, but you did it wonderfully :) consider that invisible #9! p.s. frozen lettuce is SO SAD, i'm proud of you for trying to trick yourself into eating it

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  3. I have wondered about those Campbell's Skillet Sauces. I am glad to hear that they are tasty! I just might need to try them out for myself, now :).

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    1. This is the first one i've tried but I really liked not having to think about what to put in a stir fry sauce, and for 1 Point per serving I thought it was well worth the added flavor and saucey-ness it added!

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  4. I don't have a food scale or a HRM yet, but I have most of the others. I have a 32 ounce red water bottle that I got at Wal-Mart when I started in January. It is my constant companion. It has a built in straw with a pop up thing to suck on. (How is that for descriptive?!?!?) I empty it at least 3 or 4 times a day. I'm lost without it!

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    1. Having a water bottle around make such a difference doens't it?! I love straws too! and I can totally picture how yours looks :)

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  5. I definitely need a HRM! I'm in the market for new shoes, too. Trying to decide if I get a new pair this week and run in them next weekend for the race or not. I have waited too long to make that decision!
    Have a great day,
    Laurie
    Lulu and Daisy

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    1. If I were you I would stick with what you've been training in, just for the race at least because your feet are already used to them. Then reward yourself after with a new pair!

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