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Audrey JoAnn | Content and Copy Writer

Compelling Copy for Female Founders

This App Helped Me Lose 10 Pounds

November 4, 2015

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You read that headline correctly. An app helped me lose weight. Say what? Actually, it more than helped; I could probably attribute most of my recent shape up to a little friend called My Fitness Pal. And, no, this is not an advertisement.

Here’s a little background. I’ve been active all my life, from kicking balls around fields to dancing hip hop to the best of my white-girl ability through high school. Then I went to college, and though I didn’t particularly become inactive, I was more into playing beer pong than practicing competitive sports every day of the week. I still worked out at my campus recreation center, but what I was putting into my body was not exactly getting worked out. Wait a second. Is that why they call it working out? Mind blown.

Anyway, now I’m a year out of school, and I definitely don’t wear those same college party pants anymore, but I can tell some habits from back then have stuck with me — particularly, the habit of absolutely no self control or portion control when it comes to foods I love. Tex-Mex comes to mind first and foremost. So even though I workout regularly, I was using exercise as an excuse to eat anything I wanted and however much I wanted. For, like, a really long time — like, even as my metabolism annoyingly turned all grownup and slowed way the heck down.

I’d actually used My Fitness Pal before; it’s a tracker app where you can scan barcodes of foods you eat, or just search the generic name (like, “Fuji apple”), and all the nutritional value will be logged into a daily food intake diary. You can also track your daily exercise and steps, so basically, the more exercise you do in the day, the more calories it allows you to eat, which is definitely, totally, absolutely not my favorite part. (Yes it is.)

When I’d used the app before, I didn’t know anyone else using it, so I didn’t really have someone there to, I suppose, keep me honest. I’d not log a giant bag of chips I ate so I could stay “under” my daily calorie goal and not feel guilty. See what I mean, guys? The lack of self control was so real.

My uncle and his wife told my boyfriend John and I they’d each lost 30 pounds using it a while back by both using it and supporting each other, and John and I both promptly decided to join and keep each other accountable. John loves any type of progress-tracking app (he has one for types of beer he drinks), and I was ready to give anything a shot after a very rude scale at my doctor’s office told me I weighed the heaviest I have ever weighed.

It’s so helpful to have someone there keeping me on track, if by nothing other than John “liking” a workout I log. Plus, we cook and eat kind of a lot of meals together, and I realized soon into having My Fitness Pal that my body does not need anywhere near the portion sizes that my six-feet-four-inches-tall boyfriend needs. So unfair. But also a learning curve, which led me to lose almost 10 pounds and counting in a month. That’s my kind of education.

It might sound like a drastic weight loss in not a lot of time, but after I learned how many calories and how much fat and protein my body actually needs (yup, it tracks all of that and other things that I know next to nothing about in the macronutrient realm), I realized I had been way overeating for a long time. So of course my body responded with weight loss once I chilled out the overconsumption a bit, and guess what? I’m not starving. I never go to bed hungry. In fact, I go to bed feeling fulfilled and not overly stuffed or fatigued.

All this to say: this app is so COOL. It has a lot of bigger restaurants’ menu items to search and log easily, plus almost everything you can find in grocery stores (barring some bulk foods). If you’re needing a change health-wise, or just want to become more in-the-know about your personalized nutrition, grab a friend, download the app together (or find and add me! Hi!), and make a game out of taking your health into your own hands.

And if you have a tool you love to use for your fitness and health, leave it in a comment below! I am so on the health-tech bandwagon right now. Can you tell?

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Please be aware: I am a health-minded writer, not a doctor or a nutritionist. I wanted to share what’s worked for me, but if this is not a beneficial app and regimen for your mind and body, please do not use it, or consult a physician beforehand.

2 Comments in Health

Welcome! I'm Audrey, and I adore connecting with female founders and telling their stories in a way that matters & lasts for years to come.

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audskelton

Who do you think was more excited about this day t Who do you think was more excited about this day trip out to the coast... us or Wallace? 😅😂 I love them. Also, I can’t get over the burp cloth on John’s shoulder. Ya know, just in case. #newparentlife
One hour, just us two in our backyard with a big c One hour, just us two in our backyard with a big charcuterie board, a deck of cards, a couple glasses of rosé, and no baby monitor. 🤎

The first week of Wallace’s life? I ached even being in another room from him (#hormones). I was a wreck of emotions and had legitimate baby tunnel vision... preeeetty much nothing else mattered. But things have been balancing out this past week, and today was so needed.

My mom is in town all month and watched Wally for us so we could have some time just us two—yep, in the backyard because of shelter in place restrictions from COVID. (Plus let’s be real... I’m not quite ready for an out-of-the-house date yet anyway. 😂)

As much as I desire to be a present + loving mama and ambitious business owner, it’s just as important to me to prioritize our marriage with little moments like this to just be in each other’s presence (and not just talk about burping and swaddling and bedtime routines, like most of our recent convos).

Here’s to (almost) 2 weeks of being parents, @the_beermonger. I think we’ll do okay.
My two favorite guys in the world. 🤍🌎 My two favorite guys in the world. 🤍🌎
Me, trying to figure out what to do with my hands Me, trying to figure out what to do with my hands without a bump. 👐🏼 Wallace, trying to figure out what we’re doing out of the house. 🤨

First family walk in the books! All of 10 minutes. 🤪 (Also, does anyone else notice the rainbow over Wally?... My heart. 🌈🥺)
1 week old. 🤎 The hardest, most emotional & mos 1 week old. 🤎 The hardest, most emotional & most rewarding week of my life. Babies’ sleep schedules, y’all. They are not for the faint of heart.

Wallace is hitting all his milestones, has learned the alphabet, and is picking up Latin. Just kidding. But he CAN poop 3 times in an hour and a half 😎, and he eats like a champ, is so strong that we prefer to tag team diaper changes for now, and makes the sweetest, cutest noises all day long. (And night.) Like even his cry is cute. 😩

One of my friends called this time the “wet weeks”: urine, breast milk, spit up, night sweats, tears, blood, more tears. It’s a lot, and it’s temporary. So even in the hard moments, we are reminding ourselves that the hardest things are often the best things. 

And this really has been the best thing.

So, so thankful for a hands-on husband who’s been so involved in everything... there’s something indescribable about watching your partner care for your child and step into a big, new role like this so gracefully. And we are thankful for ALL of the support, near and far (... mostly far), from our family and friends and coworkers. What a week... here’s to continuing to figure it all out together as a family. 😌
At 5 a.m. my water broke and at 3:44 p.m. our worl At 5 a.m. my water broke and at 3:44 p.m. our worlds and hearts were changed forever. Everything in between was a gritty, fast-moving tidal wave of emotion, pain, instinct, and a kind of love I never could’ve imagined.

Welcome, Wallace Ronal Skelton. 🤎 You kept us waiting until you decided, very quickly, you’d like to be here. I’m still in disbelief that you are ours. 

January 4, 2021 • 7 lbs 4 oz • 20.5 inches • Sweet as can be.
Well, this baby friend doesn’t exactly have our Well, this baby friend doesn’t exactly have our sense of punctuality which realllly threw me for a loop after thinking & saying for months that I was certain he/she would get here early. I’ve drank 3 boxes of raspberry leaf tea in 3 weeks, walked dozens of miles, eaten way too many dates, done hundreds of squats and bench step-ups... and now I’m surrendering. You come whenever you feel like it, little one. I’m comfy enough and can still sleep through the night (minus a bathroom break or two) so we will just keep on waiting and letting you teach us our first lesson of parenthood: PATIENCE. I knew I could always use some more of it. 😉 #40weekspregnant #pregnancy
scenes from our blissful, muddy, much-needed morni scenes from our blissful, muddy, much-needed morning hike. ☀️🍂 in a year that’s felt like 5, getting outside whenever we can has been my favorite way to reset. so thankful to live in such gorgeous surroundings!
our first and probably only christmas just us thre our first and probably only christmas just us three! quiet and simple and a little sad but mostly filled with hope and gratitude. hope yours is special in all the best ways. 🤍
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