So before Thanksgiving, my husband and I went on a meal plan from a local health restaurant. We got 4-5 meals (mine were 4 plus my liquid egg breakfast, see the previous post) everything was meticulously calorie counted to ensure weight loss and to stay within your calorie content maximum. The only problem was you have to be very disciplined, and while I thought I was, I just couldn’t take having very little variety. I mean, there are only so many times a day you can eat tilapia. I also felt suppressed by not being able to go out and eat anywhere else or have lunch with my friends. I needed a better solution.

I recently read an article that showed a guy who was on the Paleo diet and got FAT! Like Fat Fat. The diet just didn’t agree with him, and then he lost tons of weight eating ice cream and Subway. How you may ask? Well, weight loss is about creating a deficit between how many calories you eat and how many you burn. You have to have a 500 calorie deficit for 7 days to lose one pound of fat.

So how can you eat what you want, live your life, eat out, and still lose weight? Well I used the My Fitness Pal app. It’s a free app you can get on your smart phone that allows you to add the food you eat each day to lose weight. You put in all your information; height, weight, age, how much you want to lose, etc. It tells you how many calories a day you can eat, and you put in food and exercise. You can even scan the barcode on pre-package foods, and ingredients you cook with.

Even if you go over your calories every single day, and don’t lose any weight you still are becoming aware. You will be amazed at how many calories some of your favorite foods have for the good and the bad. It’s amazing how you can scarf down your total caloric intake in just a few donuts or go well over with a dinner out and a glass of wine. If you are aware, you can at least make a choice.

I personally have had successful weight loss using My Fitness Pal and exercise. Do you want to know the best part about My Fitness Pal? It’s FREE!!!!! That’s right it’s a free app. You have nothing to lose, but your excess weight. However try to avoid using the preprogrammed calories in the app, because anyone can put anything they want it. So, when eating in chain restaurants look up the calories on their website and when cooking at home, scan labels.
Good luck losing weight!!!!

*This post was originally featured on TheFancyPantsMom.com