The Daily Plate is one of the best tools/resources that I could give anyone interested in losing or managing their weight. Having a resource that keeps track of your calorie intake and expenditure is extremely important. By tracking the calories that you eat verses the calories you burn, you will have the control of “quantification”.
Knowing exactly where you are gives you a better perspective to see where you want to be. The daily plate.com has been my secret weapon in my battle of the bulge. Logging your meals and activity level keeps you in control and gives you the ability to make the changes you need to get the results that you are looking for. I also like what I call “the accountability factor”. There have been times that I won’t eat something that has too many calories because I don’t want to have to log it in. There have also been times that I have not missed a workout because I didn’t want to see that day as a blank space in the week.
I challenge you to log in and set up your account. The basic package is FREE and is set up like a social networking site. After that, “friend” me, my profile name is drdave and please join my group called: LifeWorksNutrition Group. I know that managing your weight is not easy, and for some of us, it is a daily battle. I encourage you to join us so you don’t have to do it alone. They couldn’t have made it so any easier for you to keep track of your calories. They even have Blackberry and iPhone apps!
Here is an excerpt:
The Daily Plate is a calorie-tracking tool with a database of more than 450,000 food items to help you track your meals and meet your calorie goals. All types of popular restaurants, generic food items and even recipes are there for you to add to your plate. You can also track your workouts with The Daily Plate. For instance, if you do 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical machine, The Daily Plate will tell you exactly how many calories you burned. It’s a great tool to use to lose weight and get healthy.
Here are the easiest ways to use The Daily Plate successfully:
Set reasonable goals
Most people start their diet and exercise plan without setting a goal, or with a weight-loss goal that is out of their means. The best way to set a goal you will be sure to achieve is to start in stages.
Start your Daily Plate diet plan with a goal of losing 5 pounds. A healthy amount of weight to lose per week is 2 pounds. After you sign in to your LIVESTRONG.COM account, go to The Daily Plate section of LIVESTRONG.COM and click “My Calorie Goals.” You will enter your age, height, weight and weight-loss goal, and the generator will then tell you exactly how many calories you can eat per day to achieve that goal. After the first week, if you find it too difficult to reduce your caloric intake as much as the calorie calculator suggests, reduce the number of pounds you want to lose per week, and follow that calorie goal until you think you can reduce more.
After you lose your first 5 pounds set your next goals to 10 pounds. Make sure you re-calculate your calorie goals after every 5 pounds—your caloric allowance will change as you lose weight.
Track your food every day
The most important key to The Daily Plate is making sure you track your meals daily. Every snack (even if you just grab a handful of almonds) and every drink (that glass of wine at dinner), should be accounted for. If there is a food not listed on The Daily Plate, you can enter it in yourself or manually enter in your calories. By tracking your meals every day, you can make sure that you are truly hitting your calorie goals and on the path towards healthy weight loss.
Modify your diet if needed
Not losing the weight as fast as you’d like? Check out your daily intake of fat, sugar and carbs. Maybe you aren’t eating enough protein, or maybe your body has grown accustomed to your diet schedule. Mix it up a bit. Most dieticians suggest not eating carbs after 6 p.m. and to have dinner before or at 7 p.m. If you are having trouble maintaining your calories goals or if you eat out often, check the nutritional info for the restaurant you are going to beforehand and choose a meal you know will fit into your diet. Knowledge is power—it’s better to know beforehand then be surprised afterwards.
Take breaks
Constantly watching your calories can be taxing. If tracking your foods daily for an extended period of time becomes too much, then take a break! Re-adjust your calories goals to “Maintain my current weight” and keep that number in mind when you go out. If you’ve been tracking your foods for a period of time, you’ll know a ballpark number of how many calories are in each meal. Just keep a mental tab of how many calories you’ve consumed throughout the day, and when it’s time for dessert you’ll know if you can treat yourself to that sundae, without taking away from all the hard work you put into your diet.
Track your success
The Daily Plate does more than serve as a tool to calculate your calories. You can track your weight loss, join groups with other members of LIVESTRONG.COM and even track the breakdown of calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, sugars and fiber. It’s the perfect way to eat well, set reasonable goals and lose weight the healthy way.
How do you use the Daily Plate?
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The key to success of a diet, fitness program, or any goal for that matter is to set REALISTIC goals. What often happens is that people gain the courage to make a commitment to their well-being, only to fall short on a goal that was lofty to say the least, and as a result feel like a failure as they revert back to their old ways. There are certain areas of our lives that require steps…you cannot run before you crawl, you cannot get married before you date, and you cannot lost 10 pounds before you lose 5. Start small, CELEBRATE the victories, and never stop acknowledging yourself for all that you do!!!
The blog looks amazing and I am eager to become part of this incredible community!
Jared, you are right on with that. Its important to remember; progress, not perfection. The first thing is to point your compass in the direction you want to go. The second is to keep moving toward your goal, especially after you stumble. “Life’s a Journey not a Destination” (-Aerosmith).
Thank you for your insights and support.
Hi Dr. Dave,
I’ve been using the Daily Plate for the last few weeks and I really love it. My calorie goal is 1333. My total calories intake have been higher than that, usually about 1500, but after I enter my exercise I am back below 1333. Am I using the site correctly? Thanks!
What I do, when I am trying to lose weight, is use only the total calories. Its a little more extreme, but I don’t want to fall into the habit of rationalizing more calories because I worked out. I know myself; I will run 2 miles and rationalize a Huge Ice Cream Sunday!
I keep the total calories the same, and pay less attention to the net calories until I reach my goal weight. It’s just a mind trick, but it seems to work.
Use your better judgment. Don’t run 10 miles and stay at 1300 calories, but at the same time don’t go over board just because you walked for 20 min.