My Fitness Pal = new obsession

Hello hello!

First things first . . . I have seriously been slacking on the blog front. The last few days have been crazy at work and we were out of town this weekend. It was fun whirlwind but I’m so thankful to relax and catch my breath!

At first, I was really stressed about trying to fit some blogging in. As my About Me will tell you, I’m a recovering perfectionist and I don’t like not being able to do something well. However, I came to terms with the fact that the whole point of this blog is to simplify the chaos that life can become. It’s about choosing joy and not perfection. It’s about striking a balance and living a life well. So if the blog itself has to fall by the wayside because life happens, so be it! Squeezing in a blog post is not worth it if it sucks my last drops of energy or takes time away from relaxing and recharging with my family. So here I am, ready for action!

My Fitness Pal

Over the weekend, I went into Target (harmless enough) and started checking out their clothes (typically not harmless . . . on my wallet). I found the cutest pair of skinny jeans and I eagerly headed to the dressing room to try them on. Five agonizing minutes later, I left the dressing room not so eagerly. Let’s just say, the skinny jeans went on after a lot of effort, but they did not look flattering at all. Six months ago they would’ve fit like a glove. What happened?!

On my wedding day, I was in the best shape of my life. Yes, of course, I was motivated by that dress! But more than that, my lifestyle was also different. It was easy for me to make salads, work out every day after school, and still have a life. Justin was away at school, and I lived with roommates (translation: 1/3 of the cleaning, dishes, household chores, etc) so I had more free time to make healthy decisions.

Now that I’m married, I don’t have as much free time. I have a 40 minute commute, so I get home later than before. I cook meals (mostly) every night so I’m eating a lot more. With Justin in med school, most of the household chores fall on me and I also have a puppy to take care of. It’s just busier. I have a friend I work out with a few times a week but it’s clearly not enough. I need a change!

This weekend I discovered an app called MyFitnessPal and I’m already obsessed! It is so simple and really helps keep me accountable. I have done food journals before, but they never last longer than a few weeks because I’ll forget to take the journal with me, or I won’t remember everything I ate, or I just don’t think to write it down, blah, blah, blah. I need something simple and effective, or I won’t be able to stick with it. MyFitnessPal is my solution!

This app is ridiculously awesome. It has so many food pre-programmed in to log in my daily “diary” but it also has a barcode scanner so if I have the package a food comes in (like my breakfast cereal), it will scan it and all of the nutritional info comes up! I can adjust the serving sizes based on what I actually eat to make it a little more accurate. I love that it is on my phone, so it’s always accessible, and it’s simple. I don’t have the time to stick with crazy diet plans (and frankly, I love food too much for diets!) and I don’t have the patience to add something complex to my schedule. This is a quick and easy and I can still eat my normal food.

Even though I’m not convinced the caloric count is super accurate, this app definitely makes me more aware of what I’m eating and has helped me make some better choices. I can also track my exercise and it “negates” those calories from my daily intake. Simple–just the way I like it! Learn more about it here.

Happy Monday!

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I’ve got some outfits to catch up on!

Thursday: