What's in your ToolKit?

My new 5 blade Spiralizer arrived today and it got me to thinking, what are the tools you all use to make you successful?

Here are the ones that come to top of mind for me:

Apple Watch Series 3 - fitness tracking, heart rate monitoring and the most accurate daily calorie burn monitor

MyFitnessPal - food and macro tracking

Mandolin - for slicing up cucumbers which are great to dip into greek yogurt ranch dressing

Food Scale - very important particularly early out

Food Processor - good for lots of stuff

RunKeeper - to track my runs - I used to use MapMyRun but I have gone back to RunKeeper it lets you set up training intervals, goals, and lots of other training options

Couch25k (iOS, Android) - will get you from a walker to a runner in 9 weeks and it really works

I will have to go back through all of my iPhone apps because I did use a lot of them. There were lots of good recipe apps.

Oh Pinterest for sure. Great way to see low carb recipes

Oh and websites like EggFace, IBreathImHungry, PeaceLoveandLowCarb and there are many more today for recipes and tips.

And of course this website was my savior before and for a long time after my surgery.

Exercise:
Zombies, Run! (both the main app and the 5k training plan app)
Zombies, Run! Facebook group
Garmin Vivoactive (looking forward to the Vivoactive 3, but waiting to see it in person first)
I used to use Runkeeper, but I just use Garmin now
Yoga Studio (the best yoga app in existence)
Local speciality running store (bought shoes here even as a walker pre-op and I love them to pieces)
Group exercise membership at local community college - when I'm able to get to all of "my" classes in a week, it works out to something like $2/class. Can't beat that price.

Food:
Kitchen scale (but I had one before surgery)
Ninja blender thingy (this was great for puree stage and I use it a lot still because it's a lot easier than pulling out the food processor)
I have a lot of other kitchen stuff that I used, but I've always loved to cook so those are really the only two things I'd say were integral to the WLS process

Support:
Daily ObesityHelp check-ins
Therapy (started out weekly, now on an as needed basis)
Local support group (but I didn't start this until a few months ago and it's more for the paying it forward part and keeping my head in the game)
Local group therapy (but I didn't start this until a last month and it's more for the paying it forward part and keeping my head in the game)
Psychiatrist (for diagnosis and treatment of Binge Eating Disorder)
Team Gwen (my support network is freaking amazing)

Other:
Withings, now Nokia, scale (best scale ever)
Trendweight (I get obsessed with numbers and Trendweight allows me to focus on the trend of my weight instead of day to day fluctuations. Without it, I couldn't weigh myself daily.)

Tools for success:

1. Good jobs for me and my husband so we can afford to eat lots of meat and fish
2. Immersion blender for egg salad and chicken salad
3. When I first started eating keto, years before WLS, the reddit group r/keto helped me a lot
4. Zero calorie frankenfoods: Truvia, decaf coffee, SF torani, SF gum
5. A vessel that I really like drinking out of (quart sized Ball jar)
6. Food scale and Myfitnesspal

Things that hinder my success but that are still in my life:

1. Caramel Premier Protein shakes
2. Quest bars
3. Greek yogurt
4. Halo Top and keto fudge
5. Smoked sausage and beef jerky
6. A loving husband that doesn't want me to lose more weight

Love your list. Never thought of using the immersion blender for egg and chicken salad. I do use my immersion blender daily to froth and emulsify my one cup of fairlife milk and one tbsp mct oil for my morning latte that I drink with my SF Irish Cream frankenfood in my 32oz/one quart Ball Mason Jar. Go big or go home. :p

I am not sure why your hinders are all there... but I know Halo Top and Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches if bought will be eaten dailyor twice a day til they are gone.

Hey, I was wondering about your hindrances and was just a little curious. Why does the protein shakes, yogurt, and beef jerky hinder you? For me, they are valuable to have to keep me at my protein goals.

Well, I really need to stick to less than 800 calories and less than 20g net carbs to lose at this point, and I find it really easy to graze or snack on smoked sausage or beef jerky instead of considering them a meal. I also find it very easy to eat a gigantic bowl of greek yogurt with sugar free stuff in it and essentially want more an hour later. I don't need the shake to get to my protein goal daily when I'm eating right, I just use it to make my coffee taste delicious so for me it's empty liquid calories. Quest bars are just like candy to me. Essentially, these are all foods that I have a lot of trouble moderating because I can easily convince myself that they are "on plan".

I see, that makes complete sense. There are foods that I will not allow myself to have even in moderation. Thankfully to me, protein bars taste horrible. I can't stand them, so no worries about wanting another!

• Lots and lots of therapy
• Even more therapy
• With a side of therapy
• Honesty/Accountability when tracking in LoseIt! Nothing special or gimmicky - simple Calories In < Calories Out

Edited: Because my symbol was wrong

All the therapy

As someone who has never had therapy, can I ask why you love it? How does it help?