Have you ever been so inspired that you go online and get a gym equipment like an elliptical or a treadmill, but by time it arrives you have lost your motivation?
There is a very popular saying that a GOAL without a Plan is Just a Wish.
Before you do anything you need a plan. And you need to gear up with all the tools necessary so that you can actually begin without any delays. Here I am going to give you 11 weight loss tools, that You MUST HAVE to inspire you and to help keep you on track so that you can ensure success!
The first set of tools I recommend having, are weight tracking tools. I have already mentioned these in the previous blog, with the reason behind why I recommend them. Here is a quick summary:
Weight Tracking Tools
- Weight Scale – especially one that can track your body fat % and muscle mass.
- Fat (composition) Monitor – that measures your body fat %
- Measuring Tape – to measure the changes in your body fat and waist circumference
4. Food Tracking apps
It is a FACT that people who write their goals are 50% more likely to achieve them. Which is my I recommend that you track everything you eat and drink. You can simply do this with a pen and paper in a journal. There are many apps that will help you do this efficiently. But here I will mention my top 2 favorites that I regularly recommend to my clients.
The first one is…
eaTracker
It’s both an app and a website, and it is actually developed by Dietitians of Canada, and is free. It has a bunch of amazing tools and resources that you will come to appreciate, including tracking foods and activity. For tracking your intake you will need to first download the app, and sign-up and build your profile. And it will prompt you to follow the next steps of how to input your foods and activity.
What I really love about eaTracker is their “recipe analyzer” on their website. You can put all the ingredients of your recipes with their quantity and analyze it based on your serving size to get calories, macro-nutrients like carbohydrate, fat and protein in your recipe and also other nutrients like vitamins and fibre and sodium.
The only downfall of the eaTracker is that it doesn’t have all the branded foods out there, so for example if you are trying to find McDonald’s burger, you may not find it. But you can find many other whole foods in it.
The other Tool I love after the eaTracker is…
MyFitnessPal.
This is the one I widely use, with almost all my clients now. Mostly because it has a large database of a lot more foods and almost all the brands you can think of. Because it is a user build database, so you will find many homemade recipes that people put in the database and you can just type and search for them. The only downfall I find with that is that anybody can put anything for the calories and nutrients based on their best guess, which may not be 100% accurate.
If you decide to use the MyFitnessPal App: I usually suggest that you combine it’s use with the eaTracker’s Recipe Analyzer. What I would do is analyze your most commonly eaten recipes and store it in the MyFitnessPal’s database, so that you can use it over and over again.
These are my favorite 2 food tracking apps, there are more apps that can do the same thing, and the list of those apps can be found in the downloadable checklist:
“27 Must Have Tools for Success” Checklist
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27 Must Have Tools for Success Checklist
Portion Controlling Tools
We all know that we eat a lot more than we should. Controlling portions isn’t easy, especially when you don’t know how much the portion should look like. There are a few very cheap tools that can help you with this. My favorite ways is simply using…
5. Measuring Spoons & Cups
That you already have at home. They can be in form of a cup, scoop or spoon as long as you have at least ½ cup portions and 1 cup portioned measuring tools. I love having these in a form of a scoop, like the one in this picture because it makes it easy for you to scoop food out directly from the cooking vessel in the correct portions before putting it on your plate. This is especially handy when it comes to rice or pasta. But just make sure you scrape off the excess heap to flatten it to the portion.
6. Food Scale
The other tool for controlling portions is a food scale. I personally don’t use it, but many of my clients swear by it. This food scale here was recommended by one of my clients. You can measure out your portions in grams or ounces. The exact portions you need of each food will be covered in a future video soon.
7. Portioned Plates
The other tool you can have to watch your portions is getting a pre-portioned plate. I love these ones, I use Corelle ones because they are dishwasher and microwave safe, and very lightweight, chip resistant. But other manufacturers are also beginning to sell portion controlled plates too, so you can get it from there too. Getting the smaller 8.5 inch plates are better to manage the correct portion size for weight loss. They also have larger 10 inch plates too.
8. Water Bottle
It’s also important to carry a water bottle with you, because It’s very easy to forget to drink water because our body cannot distinguish between hunger sensation and thirst. So having a water bottle with measured portions on them. This will make it easier for you to not only remember to drink water, but also to keep track of how much water you get in your system every day. There are smart water bottles out there too, which you will find in the checklist
9. Fitness Tracking tools and Activity Apps
Weight Loss and Healthy Living is practically impossible without activity. We know how important activity is and we know we should all do it. Usually when you ask yourself how much activity you did, you probably guess, and come up with an evaluation much higher than you actually did. Like with food, you need to quantify your activity, to know how much you do and how much you have left to do. Which is why I recommend that you invest in some kind of Fitness Tracking tools and Activity Apps
These don’t have to be expensive ones. In fact my first recommended tool is absolutely free.
Google Fit
This is a free app found in almost all android phones. Or you can download it for free by going on your app store. As long as you have your phone on you all the time, this app tracks the number of steps you take and your activity level everyday. This is very useful so that you can set goals for yourself. It also calculates the estimated calories you have burnt. Just so you know this will not be too accurate, but having a tool that measures the activity and steps without you having to physically put it in is a great tool to have on hand.
The second fitness tracking tool I love a lot is…
Fitit
These you can simply wear as a watch, and don’t have to be worried about making sure you carry your phone with you all the time. They can get a bit expensive, but they come with many great features. It doesn’t really matter which one you get, as long as you have at least the step counting feature (which all of them do). One thing I would look for, which I find very useful is tracking your activity intensity. Based on your activity level and stamina, the fitbit looks at your heart rate to measure your activity intensity zones, which can range from Fat Burn zone, to Cardio Zone to Peak Zone.
The FitBit also has many other features. Having tools like these can help you get motivated and set short term and achievable goals for yourself every week
10. Fitness Ball
The next tool I recommend is not for tracking but I just wanted to throw this in this list for fun. It’s a fitness ball. Of course you can use this to exercise on, but I actually use this for something else too. It’s kind of like my little secret, but you can use a fitness ball as a chair instead of your regular desk chair or sofa. When you sit on it (especially without a support), the muscles in your legs and back and abs are constantly working to keep you stable and grounded, so the ball doesn’t move. After only a few hours of sitting on it, you will notice a tightening or burning sensation in your muscles, which means that it is working. It is one mindless way to workout your muscles throughout the day and I would suggest that you keep a fitness ball in a room where you spend a lot of time sitting, especially in front of the TV so that the next time you need to sit, you sit on a fitness ball instead.
You can actually get a stability case with the ball, to actually use it as a chair, but I think it will defeat the purpose of it. You can still get it if you need. If you have back pain or injury I would suggest that you consult with your doctor first before using it to sit on
The last tool I have for you is a
11. Journal
Like I mentioned with tracking food, you are more successful when you write your goals down. So get a journal that you can always have at hand, to track your weight, body composition, food intake and activity and at the least write down your goals for the week. It is important to write things down somewhere. So writing it in a journal which is dedicated specially for weight loss will help you keep everything one place.
So that brings me to the end of the 11 tools I have for you. I have a longer list that you can download by opting in by entering your email address below. This list has a checklist of all the items you may have, need, and want. Not all items are going to be made for you. So for items you don’t have, you can try them, rank them on the checklist based on your priority and how important you think they are, then decide & write down the date of when you will get it. That way you have a plan in place, and this list will stay with you so you can always go back to it for alternative tools, when needed.
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Recommended Tools mentioned with Affiliate Links:
- Weight Monitoring Tools:
- Food Tracking Apps
- Portion Control Tools
- Measuring Spoons & Cups
- Food Scale
- Portioned Plates (8.5 inch or 10.25 inch)
- Water Bottle
- Water bottle with smart lid
- Fitness Tracking Apps
- Activity/Exercise Tools & Apps
- Fitness Ball
(Optional) Stability Case
- Fitness Ball
Download Your Checklist and grab your tools/apps now, because there is no time like today. The sooner you have everything, the sooner you can begin planning the next stage of your weight loss.
What Tools Do You Use?