Tools
You only need a consistent calorie deficit of 300 calories a day to lose weight; that’s what professional body-builders recommend when they are cutting their fat ratio. Why push yourself harder than an athlete? 300 calories is the equivalent of two beers or one fatty dessert. Eminently do-able. If you throw in just a little exercise, that can really put you over the top. But first you are going to need some simple tools.
DIGITAL WEIGHT SCALE: A key part in health management is simply logging your daily weigh-in. Your weight will vary depending on hydration and other factors. A big meal full of low calorie vegetables is high in weight, but that's mostly water. I recommend you hop on the scale first thing in the morning, you’ve just had a long fast. On completely normal, identical days with identical food, I have seen my daily weight vary by over a pound. So never worry about one day’s weight, look at the average over a week or so.
Food Tracking App: these are used by weight watchers and Olympic athletes alike. 'My Fitness Pal' has a handy feature to scan barcodes for food. And a strong database that tells you calories for your meals. (As well as the breakdown of 'macros' – carbs, protein, fat.) I credit this app with giving me good metrics, and it also nudged me into good healthy food choices like ‘overnight oats’. So My Fitness Pal gets a big thumbs up from me. If I am having mackerel from a can, all I need to do is scan the barcode. If I am eating a restaurant meal, the app can ballpark the calories and nutrition. (You’ll never look at peanut butter the same way.) I logged my food for seven months and after that I was good at eyeballing calories.
FOOD SCALE: I’m not super strict these days. But I find a food scale really useful for quantities. I eat chicken for protein a fair bit, but I want to try more lamb, clean cuts of meat. If I can weigh them it eliminates a lot of guesswork. You can also total them in MyFitnessPal. People also use them to measure their carbohydrates: rice, potatoes, noodles. Me too. Remember that carbs are your friends. They give you energy to use your muscles. You need carbs and if you’re apprehensive about them after all the trash-talking they get, try getting them through some healthy fruit or oatmeal.
YOGA MAT: Have bought a few of these for my friends who are interested in getting fit, it’s an essential. It’s particularly useful for sit-ups. I have one at home and at work. I use it maybe once a week at work now. But I like to have it there. If I need a little break I go and do a plank for a minute. Planking is hard! That’s a great ab exercise. And I’m really big on little breaks that don’t require caffeine.