Weight Loss Trackers
Tools That Can Help If You are Trying to Lose Weight
How calorie counters, fat loss monitors, and step pedometers can help you keep track of your weight loss.
Losing weight can be a daunting task. There are a variety of devices on the market to help you monitor your calorie intake, the number of daily calories you burn and your overall body fat loss.
Calories Burners/Pedometers
These are devices that record how many steps you take in a day, and thus how many calories burned. Research has shown that you need to take 10,000 steps a day to help with weight loss, and research has also proven that using a pedometer will help you do that (see my article, New Weight Loss Research).
Obviously the most important feature in a pedometer is accuracy. So clip in on, walk 25 steps and see whether it shows 25 steps. Most will also show miles walked or run (10,000 steps is about five miles). They usually have a clip to attach them to a belt, but the clips have been known to break easily. Some are so sensitive that they can just go in your pocket and work as effectively. With this type, be careful that it counts actual steps and not just any body movement such as breathing, so see what it records when you are sitting idle. You want it to be fairly compact so it does not get in your way, but not so small that you can’t easily read the display.
Some pedometers offer a feature that automatically resets the steps to zero overnight so that it is fresh to go the next day. It does save the previous day’s count in memory as well as the past week so you have a history. Some will hook up to your computer so you can download your history.
There are certain limitations. You want to make sure the reset button is not too easy to press; otherwise you may accidentally reset it before the end of the day. Also, only the high end ones will tell you the speed at which you are walking if that is important to you.
Calorie Trackers
Calorie trackers are electronic devices that let you keep track of the calories of every bite of food you eat. Some will also track fats, carbohydrates, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, fiber and protein. They usually come with a pre-installed database of thousands of foods and their calorie count, even popular restaurant dishes, but it is helpful to get one that allows you to enter additional food items.
Most will let you enter recipes and calculate the calories per serving. It is also helpful to get one that lets you store the foods you eat the most so you don’t have to search for them every time. Some will even offer you substitutes to eat instead of foods that may put you over your calorie count for the day. Since you will be using this at restaurants, make sure you get one that is backlit so you can easily read it, and you want one that is compact and light enough to put in your purse or coat pocket.
Fat Loss Monitors
Body fat monitors are hand-held gadgets that use a gentle micro electrical current to measure your body fat. A safe, small current is passed through your body. When it passes through fat tissue as opposed to muscle, it meets resistance and that measure is what is used to make the body fat calculation. You can’t feel the current. Knowing what percentage of your body weight is fat and what is lean tissue is a better indicator of how well your diet is working. Experts vary but a body fat of 15 to 18% for men and 20 to 25% for women is recommended. Some are skeptic as to whether these home devices are as accurate as ones at the gym. It is felt that they tend to overestimate the percentage of body fat in thin people, and under estimate in obese people.
Dieting can be hard so any additional help you can get may be worth it. If you are also planning to exercise to help with your weight loss goals, be sure to see my articles Low-Cost Fitness Equipment and Low-Cost Exercise Machines.
