I’ve spent many months considering the problem of weight loss. Losing heart is the biggest problem people face, when trying to lose weight.

I have a solution or two to this problem. The biggest problem to not keeping to the weight loss path is not being able to see the truth. What is it every big business uses to determine their successes and failures? They use log books, charts, and graphs.

I recently found an app that tracks what you eat: showing calorie intake, nutrition value, and weight loss. If you fix your own food, you can enter the ingredients. It even allows you to pull up the menus from a lot of restaurants. I was already losing weight when I started using it, but being able to look back at the times when I was losing weight and being able to compare them to the times I was staying steady or gaining weight, has helped me through some rough times.

Now, there are probably other apps that do the same thing… possibly even better. This is the one I found and there are some things that I would do to upgrade the app but it’s a good start.

Try it out, you have nothing to lose but weight: My Fitness Pal.

If you do, I recommend that you NOT try to diet for a full month, while using the app. This will give you what scientists call a control, which is an unaltered example for the purpose of comparison. If you start feeling… less than optimal, I recommend leveling out for perhaps a week or two (not trying to lose or gain weight).

What started me losing weight? Increasing my intake of vegetation to 2/3 of my diet being fruits and vegetables. This literally changed me from a couch-potato, who had difficulty walking around in a store, into someone who could, at will, walk 10 miles without stopping. A Fruit smoothie for breakfast and a veggie smoothie for dinner has cleaned up my bloodstream in an unbelievable manner. My heart rate is back down to between 45 and 65 bpm. Yes, this is normal for me. Now, even when I do not eat right (the increased veggies) or exercise, as long as I do not go over my calorie limit (which is not the “average” and the above app helped me determine what it was), I am still losing weight.

P.S. Regarding those restaurant menus. For someone trying to lose weight but wanting to still be able to go out, relax, and have a good time…

I recommend deciding on how many calories you are willing to eat before you go out (just like going gambling and not taking credit cards or money with you that you’re not willing to wipe out), divide up the food into enough portions to give you that calorie limit and put the rest into a to-go box immediately. Think of it as being able to enjoy yourself several times, instead of just once.