11 Free Weight Loss Resources You Should Know About
From understanding weight loss over steering clear of fads to managing calories, here are the resources I found most helpful when I lost weight.
Of all websites that I read when I went on my weight loss quest, this one probably influenced me the most. Don’t be put off by the title, because despite the geeky name, its main aim is to put the concept of weight loss into simple terms. Not only that, it also features a very cool free weight tracker that allowed me to see how my weight loss came along.
If you count calories to lose weight, NutritionData offers the most easily usable food database out there. Just enter the name of the food and it gives you a rundown of everything from calories over nutrient composition to even amino acid profile. The most relevant data is always at the top left and, best of all, you can adjust quantity to what you need.
3. CalorieCount
In the rare cases where I couldn’t find a food on NutritionData, CalorieCount was my alternative. Between the two of them they probably have everything covered that is fit for human consumption.
If you read my “About Me” section, then you know that in the beginning I fell for the same empty promises that lead so many of us off the weight loss track. Stephen Barrett’s Diet Scam Watch opened my eyes to the huge amount of misleading information out there.
The Mayo Clinic is one of the very few free medical online resources I consider worthwhile reading. Concerning weight loss it were especially their “expert answers” (written by real experts!) that helped me understand a lot.
The UK’s NHS did what often doesn’t work when governmental agencies compile information: putting it together in a meaningful, interesting and accessible way. Don’t miss their free 12 week weight loss program!
About.com’s “guides” vary widely in the quality of their expertise, but I found many of the articles Malia Frey posts to the point, well-written and, most importantly, in tune with obesity research.
Wonder how many calories that gruesome 45 minutes of running burned or what an hour of vacuuming does to your energy balance? CaloriePerHour has the answer.
9. CDC Body Mass Index Calculator
The CDC’s little body mass index calculator helped me find out how far removed I was from a normal body weight. I know the BMI’s limitations, but if you can’t see your feet when standing, it probably gives you a good idea.
10. SparkPeople
SparkPeople offers free diet plans and a lot more, but especially their constructive user community composed of people who face the same challenges as you can help keep you on track.
11. My Fitness Pal
My Fitness Pal is a bit similar to SparkPeople, but is more centered around you starting a weight loss diary. You can pick if you want to keep it private or make it public, with the latter giving other users the chance of offering advice and encouragement. Their site design takes a little getting used to.
Add Yours!
These are the sites that I discovered over weeks and months back when I lost weight, and they all swam in a sea of fad diet sellers and articles that are plain wrong. I hope you find them useful, but if you have a resource that should be added, let me know!
Picture courtesy of “Victor1558“.
18 Comments
What about Loseit.com?
I’ve been using LoseIt on my droid for almost 2 years. Great for a on-the-go food diary and for tracking all my macros.
Only downside is I can’t go forward in time to plan out meals for the week.
You can’t enter more than four meals either… I would prefer to add a timestamp to every food item rather than group them into meals.
Most fitness guys have five or six meals a day and loseit.com does not help with that at all
Good point. I just throw everything together, so my “lunch” lists pretty much everything I eat from 8am to 7pm.
The problem with throwing everything into the lunch part is you don’t see how your meals breakdown balance wise. If you can get software to setup five or six meals you can see exactly how balanced your day is. Protein in particular you want to consume evenly through the day.
It’s hard to see that happening when everything is thrown under lunch. 🙁
I do it too, I just wish you could add more meal slots or a time-stamp to each food entry.
Very interesting, thanks for the tip! I think I’ll make that part of roundup of weight loss apps.
Well, LoseIt.com’s scooby-recommended.. how can you omit software with a recommendation like that? 🙂
I use MyNetDiary app on my IPhone. I find I have had to put in fake numbers for my weight and activity level in order to get realistic numbers for how much I can expect to lose each week. For whatever reason all these programs seem to over estimate calories burned exercising and also how many calories I can eat without gaining weight instead of losing.
I find it helps me keep track of salt and fat in particular which I am not that talented at. I also like that it reads the bar codes at the store so I can quickly compare items using the same portion size.
You guys are fantastic! These weight loss apps I think are among the best uses for smartphones out there. Wish I had them five years ago…
No mention of CalorieLab 🙁
http://calorielab.com/index.html
http://calorielab.com/burned/
I hadn’t discovered CalorieLab back when I went on my weight loss journey, and today, I have to admit, I primarily go there to read your articles 🙂
Works for me, lol!
Wow awesome list of resources!!
Thank you, Jess!
I used MyFitnessPal to lose weight… it worked!
I think I mentioned that site 😉
These are some awesome resources…I especially love sparkpeople!
WHAT! You didn’t link to my web site? LOL – JK! 😉 This is a GREAT list! I am scoping out all the sites again now!