Four Supplements That Will Boost Your Energy Levels

April 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I was recently asked which supplements will boost metabolism and aid in weight loss.  I feel like I’m wading into murky water on this one.  Supplementation is a tricky subject because there are so many products on the market that claim to ‘torch calories’, ‘melt fat’ and ‘rev up your metabolism’ it’s incredibly hard to separate fact from fiction.

Most of these claims are exaggerated or downright false. If there was a miracle pill that could give us energy, increase our metabolism, and keep us at our ideal weight, most of us would be taking it.

Still, there are some supplements that may help you with energy metabolism, increased exercise endurance and a boost to your immune system which are all important when you’re trying to stick to a healthy lifestyle.  These supplements won’t actually torch calories, but they may very well enhance your mood or give you the energy to do that extra 15 minutes on the treadmill which is what most of us are looking for.

Vitamin C Four Supplements That Will Boost Your Energy Levels

Four Supplements That Can Give You The Boost You Need

Vitamin B 12 – Vitamin B 12 and the other B vitamins are some of the most controversial in the discussion on whether or not supplementation will provide energy and boost metabolism.  B vitamins have been promoted for years as energy boosters that will increase energy and reduce fatigue.  I remember as a child when my mother would get tired she would go to the doctor to get her B12 shot.  They did indeed seem to help her because she had a B12 deficit.

The problem is there is no clear scientific evidence to support the claims that suggest that B12 can help anyone feel more energetic except those that are B12 deficient.

The primary function of vitamin B12 is to support nerve and energy functions.  It is a critical vitamin that helps to form myelin, a fatty cover that insulates your nerves, and helps produce energy from fat and proteins.  It also aids in the production of hemoglobin which is a component of the red blood cells that carry oxygen to the body.  Vitamin B12 regulates the growth, maintenance and reproduction of each and every cell.

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Filed Under: Health and Wellness News, Weight Loss Gimmicks, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With:

Are Dr. Oz’s Weight Loss Tricks For You?

February 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Is anyone else getting tired of Dr. Oz?  His unsolicited ads are now appearing in my Facebook feed daily and there’s always an ad for a weight loss supplement that he’s promoting in the side bar. What exactly is Dr. Oz peddling?

For a physician he seems to push quick fixes that consist of taking a non-FDA approved supplement that has been through little, if any, legitimate testing.  Most – if not all – of them turn out to be pricey gimmicks that people pay money for without any return on their investment.

Then there is this odd disclaimer on his web site that follows all of the articles promoting the miracle cures that says:  “The Dr. Oz Show will not and does not promote any particular brand. If you see any ads or receive any e-mails that claim Dr. Oz is promoting or recommending a specific brand, ignore it and let The Dr. Oz Show know about it.”

Pills Are Dr. Oz’s Weight Loss Tricks For You?

The red one is the magic weight loss pill.

So just what is he up to?

From raspberry ketone, to green coffee beans, capsicum, and calcium pyruvate, Dr. Oz promotes one unsubstantiated rapid weight loss fix after another. Here’s the low-down on some of the products found on Dr. Oz’s web site:

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Filed Under: Weight Loss Gimmicks Tagged With:

Qnexa: Real Weight Loss Solution or A Class Action Law Suit Waiting To Happen?

August 6, 2012 By 1 Comment

Are You Thinking About Asking Your Doctor For A Prescription To Qnexa?  

On July 17 news broke that the FDA finally approved a weight loss drug.  Qnexa is the first weight loss supplement to be approved by the FDA in 13 years and news of its upcoming release to the market is what many people have been hoping to hear.  Some are probably asking their doctors about getting access to the drug while you’re reading this.

Purple Pills Qnexa: Real Weight Loss Solution or A Class Action Law Suit Waiting To Happen?

Is Qnexa A Magic Pill?

What You Need To Know About Qnexa. 

I was at a health fair last week and an employee told me she’s thinking about asking her doctor for a prescription to Qnexa and wanted to know what I thought.  I think that – despite the fact that the FDA does due diligence before it puts a stamp of approval on anything – there are some things you should consider before signing up:

1.  Qnexa is a combination of phentermine and topiramate.

Topiramate is an anti-episepsy medication which increases the sensation of feeling full. Research on topiramate has shown that pregnant women exposed to the drug have a higher risk of giving birth to babies with cleft palates.

Phentermine is an amphetamine.  Amphetamines are drugs that stimulate the central nervous system and can be both physically and psychologically addictive when overused.  On the street, amphetamines are referred to as ‘speed’.

2.  The FDA failed to approve Qnexa in 2010 because of concerns about the drug’s side effects that include heart palpitations, an increased heart rate, mental fogginess, and birth defect.

3.  On July 17, 2012 the FDA panel voted 20 to 2 for approval of Qnexa and, according to ABC news, said that they believe the weight loss benefits outweigh the risk of birth defects and cardiovascular problems associated with the drug.

4.  The FDA panel that approved the drug made a recommendation to the manufacturer that it include warning labels targeted at women of childbearing years because of possible birth defects that are linked to the drug such as cleft palate.

5.  There is a long history of safety problems with diet pills once they hit the market and are used outside of the pilot group.  Diet pills like Fen-phen seemed like a good idea at one time.  The manufactures of Fen-phen have now settled a class action lawsuit for 3.75 billion after the drug was linked to heart valve disease.  You can read more about Fen-phen, the wonder drug, in a post I wrote earlier this year.

There Are Always Two Sides

On the flip side, Qnexa is an additional tool that doctor’s can offer their patients that are struggling to lose weight.  Until now, weight loss options have been limited to diet, exercise, and, in some cases, bariatric surgery.   If Qnexa can help patients lose 10 percent of their body weight – which is what the manufacturer claims it can do – with minimal side effects, it will be a benefit for thousands of people.

The drug has the potential to be even more effective when used in combination with the proper diet, moderate amounts of exercise and counseling.  Qnexa, along with healthier lifestyle choices, could give people the jump-start they need to succeed at long-term weight loss.

I told the employee that raised the question about Qnexa that I would pass on being part of the pilot program.  Wait until Qnexa has been on the market at least a year and see if there are any red flags, recalls, or additional warnings in terms of side effects.  It took almost two years for the heart valve issues associated with Fen-phen use to be brought to light.  If there is a dark and dangerous side to Qnexa that the manufacturer and FDA are not aware of now, it will surface, and probably sooner rather than later.

Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center said, “Honestly, I won’t be surprised if adverse effects over time result in a reversal of the approval.  But, in the interim, it will help some people lose weight, and many others will try it, dislike it and stop, and gain the weight back.”

Is Dr. Katz Right?

What do you think? Would you be interested in trying Qnexa? Do the possible side effects make it not worth the risk?

Filed Under: Health and Wellness News, Uncategorized, Weight Loss Gimmicks, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: ,

Have You Tried The Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge?

June 1, 2012 By 6 Comments

Body By Vi Is Changing The World One BMW At A Time.  

I attended a health and wellness event yesterday and a very enthusiastic man approached me and said I was just the person he needed to talk to since I was the wellness administrator for our company.  He is in the health and wellness business too.  He handed me his card and asked if I had heard of the 90 day challenge?  I asked which 90 days challenge he was referring to.  I quickly learned he was talking about THE 90 day weight loss challenge.  The mother of all challenges.  The one that is sweeping the country and has changed the lives of thousands of people. The Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge.

My co-worker Allison and I laughed later because she said I was really engaged in listening to him talk about the challenge until he uttered the words Body By Vi.  At that point she said my face fell and there was no disguising that I was no longer interested in anything he was saying.

Scale Have You Tried The Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge?

The 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge Starts Now?

Body by Vi – Just Another Shake Weight Loss Scheme

I took his card and decided I would do some research to see if I could find some information – anything at all – that would help change the preconceived opinions I have about extremely low-calorie liquid diets. Body By Vi is your typical liquid diet.  You purchase a kit from them, drink two of their heavily vitamin-laden shakes a day and eat one healthy meal. So far I haven’t found anything to make me think this one is different from the rest.  If someone out there reading this thinks they can convince me otherwise, please feel free to try.

The sales rep that was promoting Body By Vi to me was one hundreds – maybe thousands – of folks that have been recruited to sell the products and to recruit more people to sell the products.  Body By Vi isn’t new.  It’s been around since 2007.  It is no different than Lia Sophia jewelry, Mary Kay cosmetics, or Shaklee nutrition products.  People make an investment and receive the products to sell.  Then they get on Facebook and ask their ‘friends’ to either buy the weight loss kits or become part of their team to help sell them. There’s no pink Cadillac to win, but once your sales reach $25,000 a month you get a BMW.  This all seems oh, so familiar.

Staying Off Of The Soapbox

I’ve gotten on my soapbox a number of times about how important behavior change is to the process of weight loss so I won’t go there now, except to say that there is no possibility for that with this program.  Body By Vi is just one more diet, like HCG, that gets people to limit their calories to a ridiculously low level (one shake is only 90 calories) so that they do see good – even great – results during the first few weeks, or in this case, 90 days.  But what happens after the 90 days?  You’re hanging off the cliff trying to figure out what to do next.

I’m not interested in hearing about any diet, product, shake, pill or exercise program that can help you lose weight in 90 days. We need to be talking about what will work for the next 90 years.  Body By Vi claims to be instrumental in helping the obesity epidemic facing the United States when in reality they are perpetuating it.  They are creating a whole new group of people that experience dramatic weight loss in 90 days, gain it back, and have an even harder time trying to lose it again.

Tell Me I’m Wrong.

So the business card from the rep that approached me yesterday is sitting on my desk.  It is plain white cardstock with very simple black lettering that he made using a home computer and a Dell printer.  He seemed excited talking about the products, or possibly it’s the hope of selling a kit that motivates him.  Maybe he thinks he’s on the way to driving a BMW.  Or could it be he goes home and looks at the products sitting in the hallway and thinks, “how in the h**l am I ever going to sell this crap?”!

Maybe I’m the one that’s full of it.  Have you tried Body By Vi?  Would love to hear your story.

Please feel free to share or tweet using the buttons below.

Filed Under: Health and Wellness News, Weight Loss Gimmicks Tagged With:

Is The “Your Thighs On Cheese” Ad Offensive or Helpful? You Decide.

April 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

How Not To Help Your Daughter With A Weight Problem 

Last month the story in ‘Vogue’ magazine written by Dara-Lynn Weiss, the mother that put her 7-year-old daughter on a diet because she was obese, created a firestorm in the blogosphere.  Dara-Lynn, who has struggled with her own weight and body image issues her entire life, decided to take matters into her own hands when her daughter, Bea, came home from school in tears because a classmate called her fat. In case you missed it, you can read more about it here.

After the article was published web sites lit up with criticism about Dara-Lynn’s approach to getting Bea’s weight under control. Dara-Lynn admits that after learning that Bea had eaten a celebratory French Heritage Day lunch at school that totaled around 800 calories, she wouldn’t allow her to eat dinner.  She also tells of heated arguments that took place in public when her daughter wanted to eat cookies and cake at birthday parties.

Many people were outraged about the article and suggested that Dara-Lynn was taking her own eating issues out on her daughter.  Dara-Lynn would probably agree. Some bloggers wrote about how Dara-Lynn could have used a kinder, gentler approach that would have been more productive and less damaging to Bea.

Others sided with the mom and felt that she was taking the steps she needed to see that Bea didn’t have health problems later in life because of her weight.  One commenter said we’ve become a society that wants everything sugar-coated and can’t handle telling anyone the truth anymore.

Cheese Is The “Your Thighs On Cheese” Ad Offensive or Helpful? You Decide.

To see your abs and thighs on cheese, click on the picture.

Your Thighs And Abs On Cheese?  

Apparently the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) didn’t hear about the overwhelmingly negative response to the ‘Vogue’ article over the less than, shall we say, kind tactics that Dara-Lynn used to help Bea lose weight.  The PCRM has launched an obesity awareness billboard campaign in Albany, NY that uses pictures of overweight bellies and thighs with captions that say in large letters “Your Abs On Cheese” and “Your Thighs on Cheese”.  Check out the billboards here.

The PCRM says that their goal is to get people to cut down on the amount of cheese they eat.  Cheese is one of the leading sources of fat in the American diet.  New York State is one of the nation’s largest producers of dairy products. New Yorkers have access to cheese.  The PCRM is trying to help.

You may remember another anti-obesity campaign, this one led by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Strong4Life organization, that sparked controversy when it used pictures of overweight children with their arms folded looking dejected.  The slogan reads, “It’s hard to be a little girl when you’re not.”

And then there’s the billboard in New York City with a picture of a man whose leg has been amputated.  The slogan reads, “Portions have grown.  So has Type 2 Diabetes which can lead to amputations.”  Check is out here.

These campaigns are hard hitting and are tackling obesity in a way that’s very similar to other wars that have been waged on public health issues like smoking and methamphetamine use. Does “Your Thighs On Cheese” sound a lot like “Your Brain On Drugs”, or is it just me?

Arguments in support of these types of advertisements bring up the statistics the anti-smoking movement has had on smoking over the past 40 years. According to the Center for Disease Control smoking has gone from 42% in 1965 to 19% in 2010. The argument is that these types of targeted crusades can have an impact on obesity the same way they did on smoking.

No smoking Is The “Your Thighs On Cheese” Ad Offensive or Helpful? You Decide.

No smoking anywhere.

But smoking and eating are two entirely different animals. Either you smoke or you don’t.  I guess you can smoke a little, but for most part you’re either a smoker or you’re not.  Everyone has to eat.  It’s key to our survival.  And there multiple factors that affect what we eat and how much.  Factors such as cost, time, accessibility and general education about which foods provides the best nutrition.  Plus we’re faced with so many food options and mixed messages from the media and manufacturers about those options.  It’s not easy to determine what’s good for us and what isn’t.

What Works And What Doesn’t

Dara-Lynn may have over-reacted to her daughter when she ate too much at a school lunch celebration and she probably didn’t handle the birthday cake issue with as much tact as she should have.  A healthier approach that focused on teaching the child to eat foods that taste good and are good for her in more abundance than the high-fat sugary foods you typically find at kid (and adult) birthday parties would be more worthwhile.

Dara-Lynn had a knee-jerk reaction to a complex problem.  So did the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Strong4Life and the City of New York.  Throwing up a few billboards that go for the shock factor by combining a tacky picture with a one-dimensional slogan isn’t so much a long-term solution to a public health crisis as it is an attempt to insult or shame people into healthier behaviors.  We already know that doesn’t work.

You Decide.

What do you think?  If you lived in Albany would the “Your Abs – Or  Thighs – On Cheese” billboards help you kick your cheese habit?  I don’t think so.

Click ‘like’, ‘share’ or ‘tweet’ if you think the PCRM should take the boards down.

Filed Under: Behavior Change, Health and Wellness News, Weight Loss Gimmicks Tagged With:

Be Careful What You Wish For: 5 Things You Should Know About Qnexa

March 22, 2012 By 4 Comments
Pills Be Careful What You Wish For: 5 Things You Should Know About Qnexa

Which one is the magic pill?

A New Diet Pill Is Pending Approval By The FDA

The latest diet pill that promises to melt fat has finally been ‘tentatively’ approved by the Food and Drug Administration and will be hitting doctor’s offices soon.  Once approved, Qnexa will be the first diet pill to receive FDA endorsement in the last 13 years. No doubt there will be plenty of people asking their docs to write a prescription for Qnexa.

Qnexa is an appetite-suppressing drug developed by Vivus, a California pharmaceutical company, that contains phentermine and topiramate.  As with any diet pill there’s good new and bad.  Here are five things you should know before asking the doctor for a prescription:

  1. Not all that long ago, Qnexa was denied approval by the FDA because tests showed there were too many side effects associated with it.  The side effects included suicidal thoughts, heart palpitations, memory lapses and birth defects.
  2. In the test trials that have been done on the drug, there were five heart attacks among the people that took Qnexa.  There were no heart attacks in the group that took the placebo.
  3. One of the main concerns with the drug is that it contains Topamax.  The side effects of Topamax include the tendency for pregnant women to give birth to children with birth defects.  The most common defect is cleft lip.
  4. There is a long history of safety problems with diet pills once they hit the market and are used outside of the pilot group.  Diet pills like Fen-phen seemed like a good idea at one time.  The manufactures of Fen-phen have now settled a class action lawsuit for 3.75 billion after the drug was linked to heart valve disease.  Remember, if you’re one of the first to receive Qnexa, you’ll really just end up being part of a large test group.
  5.  The FDA, maybe against their better judgment, may end up approving the drug because they are under pressure to find a remedy for the obesity epidemic the nation is faced with.  A Senate appropriations committee has asked the FDA to submit a report by the end of this month with a plan for the development of new obesity treatments.

Why It’s So Difficult For Diet Pills To Obtain FDA Approval

The Fen-Phen debacle may be a big reason why it’s hard for new pills to receive the FDA seal of approval.  Fen-Phen is a combination of two weight loss supplements:  Fenfluramine (Fen) and Phentermine (Phen).  Both ingredients were approved by the FDA; Phen in 1959 and Fen in 1973.  While the FDA never approved a supplement that contained both ingredients, doctors began prescribing the ‘cocktail’ to their patients with good results and seemingly no side effects.  In 1996, 6.6 million prescriptions for Fen-Phen were written in the U.S.

It took only a year for the magic pill with no side effects to come under fire.  In the summer of 1997 the Mayo Clinic reported an alarming number of occurrences of heart-valve disease.  All of the patients that the Clinic saw for the heart-valve issue had something in common. They had all taken Fen-Phen.

Heart-valve cases related to Fen-Phen continued to be reported to the FDA.  The FDA eventually issued a Public Health Advisory advising people of the risks of taking the diet pill combo and asked manufacturers to voluntarily withdraw Fenfluramine from the market.  Phen is still on the market, continues to be prescribed by docs for short-term treatment of obesity, and is making a re-appearance in Qnexa.

One Pill 300x200 Be Careful What You Wish For: 5 Things You Should Know About Qnexa

Is This One Approved?

The Difference Between FDA Approved Supplements And All The Others

Non-FDA approved diet pills are the ones that are sold in abundance at the local drug stores, Wal Marts, and weight-loss clinics.  These supplements have varying levels of effectiveness and numerous side-effects.

You’ll recall that just a few months ago the FDA issued warning letters to companies selling over-the-counter HCG weight loss products.  The FDA stated that the manufacturers made unsubstantiated claims about the product’s ability to help people lose weight safely. The HCG diet is based on a 500 calorie/day diet and an injection of the hormone HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) that is produced by the human placenta.  I wrote about the risks of HCG in a post on December 8, and you can read more about it here. There have been many risky weight-loss scams prior to HCG and there are many more to follow.

The combination of the FDA being under pressure to approve a diet aid and the never-ending desire for a pill that will help people that have tried and failed in their attempts to not only lose weight, but keep it off, may be factors that will lead to the approval of Qnexa. Only after it’s approved and has been widely used on the market by the general public will we be able to determine its effectiveness and decide whether or not the side effects over-shadow any weight loss benefits that occur.

If you’ve followed this blog and have read some of other my posts about fads that promise to ‘melt fat’ or ‘torch calories’, you know I won’t be cheering on the FDA to put Qnexa on the market.  I think if we’re all ready to be honest with ourselves, we know that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to change our habits.  Moving more and sitting less, keeping our portions under control, eating more fruits, and vegetables, and eliminating heavily processed foods from our diet isn’t exactly magic, but it’s what works.  We don’t need another pill.  We need the motivation to put down the cookies.

Filed Under: Behavior Change, Health and Wellness News, Weight Loss Gimmicks Tagged With:

Tell-Tale Signs That Your Obsession With Tracking Has Gone One App Too Far

March 12, 2012 By 2 Comments
Smartphones Tell Tale Signs That Your Obsession With Tracking Has Gone One App Too Far

Tracking Options Are Endless – flickr photo by Dru Bloomfield

‘More’ Tracking – A Virtual Monster

Modern technology has created a virtual monster.  Or maybe what I really mean is, modern technology has virtually created a monster.  Trackers.  Does anyone know anyone that is not tracking something with a Smartphone, iPhone, iPad or computer?

I’ll be the first one to say that if you set a goal – for example – to put more steps in your day – you need to know how many steps you’re taking now.  It’s the old “if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there” adage.

Plus, the word ‘more’ is ambiguous.  The definition of the word ‘more’ is “an additional quantity”.  So, in the example of taking ‘more’ steps, ‘more’ could easily mean ten. Taking ten more steps won’t have much impact on our overall health. Tracking steps with a pedometer would help you see if you’re taking enough extras steps to make a difference.

More Is A Popular Word

As a wellness coach, I hear the word ‘more’ everyday. “I’m going to drink more water.”  “My goal is to eat more fruits and vegetables.”  “I’m going to the gym more this week.”  My response to all of those statements 100% of the time is, “How much more?”

Using My Fitness Pal or one of the other popular systems is the obvious way to track how successful we are at doing more.  Putting the data in a gizmo to track your workouts, water consumption, or calories is okay.  But are you able to recognize when you’ve become more concerned with the tracking than you are in reaching the goals?

Tell-Tale Signs You Have A Tracking Obsession

You’re Cheating The System (and yourself) – When people start using a calorie counter they put in their weight and their desired weight. The app calculates how many calories they should eat daily to reach the desired weight.

I’ve noticed that when people first start using the app they put everything they eat in.  After awhile only some of the foods go in; others don’t make the cut. There are plenty of reasons for not including everything.  Maybe you just forget, or ate such a little bit of it that it didn’t really count.  Or – here’s a big one – you had such a bad day that you just couldn’t bear to admit to yourself – or the phone – that you really ate all of that!

The day that you are no longer putting everything you eat in the tracker, is the day that the tracker has lost its effectiveness. When you have to cheat to reach the calorie goal for the sake of the tracker, it’s time to give it up and find a new strategy to assist with calorie and portion control.

You Continue To Track Even Though You Never Meet The Goal – Let’s say you have a goal to eat five servings of fruits and veggies everyday and decide to use an app like Munch-5-A-Day.  The first three weeks you had a success rate of between 65 and 75%.  Now you’re at week six and still only eating two or three servings a day but, you’re still tracking everyday.  Is the tracker helping?

Using a phone app is like a lot of things. It’s a novelty and increases our awareness. Over time we lose interest in it and it’s no longer useful yet we continue to track.  Just because you delete the app from the phone doesn’t mean you have to give up on reaching the five-a-day goal.  You can find other things to do that will keep you motivated.  ‘Like’ Five-A-Day-The-Fun-Way on Facebook.  Updates will automatically land in your Facebook News Feed with ideas on ways to add fruits and veggies to the dishes that you’re already preparing.  It’s a helpful reminder that eating five a day doesn’t have to be a chore.

You Rely On A Tracker To Guage Your Exercise Intensity – There are some fancy, high-tech pedometers on the market that will track every step you take along with how many calories you burn when you take them.  If you’ve purchased one and it’s helpful in increasing your motivation to exercise and pushes you to increase the duration and intensity of your workouts, keep it up! At the same time, proceed with caution.

How many calories a person burns doing specific activities is based on Basal Metabolic Rate which is as individual as your fingerprint.  We’ve talked about this before.  If you don’t trust me that determining BMR is a complex, scientific calculation, take a look at Wikipedia’s article on the subject.  To accurately determine your BMR, you first need to have your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) calculated.  There are ways to get this done so that the results are accurate, but putting data in a phone app isn’t one of them.

If you’re using an app to calculate calorie expenditure, keep in mind that it is an estimate and should not be used as a free pass to eat as many calories as the calculator says you’ve burned.  The best way to gauge exercise intensity is still perceived exertion.

You’re Obsessed With Tracking But Your Goals Elude You – If you’re tracking every breath you take and every move you make, you may be headed towards an obsession.  It may be time to take a break from the tracking – at least for now – especially if the tracking is no longer helpful in getting you to your goals.

Motivation is a moving target.  Your strategies to stay engaged and enthused about a healthier lifestyle need to evolve as you reach your goals and the subsequent plateaus.  Put down the phone and engage the right side of your brain.  Create a colorful, non-virtual vision board that outlines your goals.  If you’re totally addicted to using on-line tools, you can create your vision board in Pinterest.  You can also check out some of the other amazing and inspiring boards while you hang out there.  I have a feeling finding the pictures and arranging them on the board will inspire you as much as putting stats in the phone does.

Turtle 300x200 Tell Tale Signs That Your Obsession With Tracking Has Gone One App Too Far

Sometimes To Go Fast You Have To Slow Down

Sometimes Less Is ‘More’.

Tracking calories, exercise, water, etc, may be one piece of a very large puzzle.  If tracking is used as a means to an end it can be helpful.  Keep in mind the end goal is long-term behavior change, not keeping up with the tracker.  When the habit of putting stuff in the phone no longer affects change, it becomes a waste of time.

Lifestyle change is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash.  It requires considerable training that’s fraught with trial and error, starts, pauses and maybe even some temporary stops. You’ve got to learn to pace yourself so you can make it to the end of race. Is there an app for that?

Filed Under: Behavior Change, Fitness, Food Diary Apps, Goal Setting for Healthy Behaviors, Healthy Eating, Motivation To Exercise, Weight Loss Gimmicks, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With:
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