Hello, I noticed that a few of you have already followed me, which I think is quite surprising because I started this just for myself. BUT, if I can inspire a few people along the way, that’s great!

I have been using MyFitnessPal consistently for about a week now. The free version will help you keep track not only of your food consumption and exercise, but also the quality or meaning of it.

The food diary uses features such as scanning barcodes, or searching their wide database to measure not only calories, but nutritional food that it counts towards your daily goals- fats, protein, carbs, sugar, and sodium.

This is good for anyone, whether you are trying to lose weight, inches, or build muscle. It has given me insight into the things that I tend to go over percentage-wise for my own goals, and I am able to use their system that automatically tells you how much of that category you have left to adjust my food choices.

For example, last night, because I worked out quite a bit, I had quite a few calories left and also felt like my dinner didn’t fill me up all the way and was hungry an hour later. Instead of grabbing whatever I craved off of the shelf, I looked at what my macro-nutrient levels were for the day… turns out I really couldn’t eat something sweet or carb heavy. I hadn’t eaten enough protein that day, so I went for slices of deli turkey and cheddar cheese portioned out carefully, and a small glass of wine. And guess what, I still made it under my calorie goal and ran a deficit!

I have not yet taken my current measurements, so I can’t create a concrete plan. I will be tracking most of my progress by inches and fat percentage since I weigh less than I originally thought. I will refrain from mentioning my actual weight on this blog, and instead focus on amounts lost or gained, inches lost of gained, how clothes fit, and how I feel. Weight isn’t a good metric to measure health for someone just carrying around a bit of extra weight who is trying to get healthier and stronger.

Also, I don’t want anyone to compare their size to mine in inches or pounds… rather look to strength, fitness, and confidence!

I am using the macro levels and exercise recommended based on metabolic body type:

Mine is Endomorphic-

• a pre-disposal to gain weight easily & difficulty losing weight
• not carb efficient
• protein and fat efficient
• needs to combine equal strength and cardio training to see results
• Muscles don’t appear defined tho muscle can be built pretty quickly
• Macro ratio: 30% carbs; 35% protein; 35% fats

Everyday I take vitamins and supplements that aid to my gut health and gives me the boost I need since Crohn’s can leave me malnourished-

• Probiotic (sometimes a Prebiotic, too)
• Vitamin D
• Goli Apple Cider Vinegar gummies (also contain Vitamin B)
• Fish Oil
• Medications: Lialda (Mesalmine; drug for Crohn’s Disease), and Sertraline (treats anxiety, OCD, and depression by increasing serotonin levels- hoping to phase out starting in December 🙂 )

I set my macros to the percentages above and, goodness, I eat so many carbs, this is going to be difficult!