The Daily Plate

Counting calories always seemed tedious to me. How annoying to have to count while I am eating. I would rather not mix my favorite hobby (eating, of course) with my least favorite (math... ugh).

I came across the Daily Plate last year and was fascinated with the concept, but it wasn't until this winter that I put the site to work for me. The Daily Plate is associated with Livestrong. If you have not checked it out already, please do so! Log on to www.thedailyplate.com and set up your free account. They ask you to log your current weight along with a goal weight. They calculate the necessary daily calorie intake to either maintain your current weight, lose weight (from 1+ pounds per week), or (gulp) GAIN WIEGHT?! I'd love to meet these precious few... and wring their necks.

The great thing about the site is that they do all of the thinking for you. You simply log in, update the foods you have eaten over the course of the day, and they let you know if you are on track with your weight loss goal. I find myself often logging in multiple times throughout the day. If you have a favorite snack or meal, they offer similiar but lower calorie alternatives. This has been a major life changing (and diet changing) experience for me. Not only have I stayed on track with my weight loss goal, but I have learned a lot about what foods are o.k. to grab when I am in a dire diet situation!

I've noticed that I keep referring to this site as "they" rather than "it". I guess I've always imagined that this site is my own personal group of advisors... dietician, nutritionist... personal shopper even. I know this is not the case, and most likely I will never be able to claim such advisors as my own... but we can all dream. And I'll tell you one thing... this time last year I was more likely to dream about turtle cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, so I think this is a step in the right direction.