Today was day one of about 70.  Now through Thanksgiving I will be exercising and watching my calories hoping to drop another 30-40 pounds.  Two years ago I went in on a weight loss challenge from September 1 to November 24 with a few friends and lost 40 pounds. SIDE NOTE: I probably should have checked with my doctor but did not. This blog post is in no way a recommendation of any diet. I am not a doctor, I have not played on on TV, nor have I consulted a doctor on this…I just want to share what I did then, what I will be doing now, and how technology plays into it.

I look super happy in this pic, don’t I?  That was taken this morning right before I left for the gym.  I am sporting all the tech that will help me buckle down over these 72 days.  Before I talk tech let me share what I am eating and doing.

• I am sticking with 2000 calories a day
  • Breakfast = FiberOne, Plain Yogurt, Blueberries or Strawberries and an Americano
  • Snack = Around 100 Calories
  • Lunch = Most likely Subway 6″ turkey, ham, or roast beef + Baked Lays + Diet Coke.  I even ate at places like Chipotle (remove the burrito tortilla and save 200 Calories)
  • Snack = Around 100 Calories
  • Dinner = What ever the family was eating but in moderation.
  • *SUNDAYS = Pig Out…This was/will be my one day of sanity
• Exercise
  • Two or three days a week
  • Some sort of Cross Trainer machine
  • 22 minutes (long enough to watch a commercial free sitcom on Netflix)

I am sure there are several things to tweek or complain about from what I just wrote (remember this is not a recommendation, it is just what I did) but the bottom line is I did all that for 90 days (I only exercised 2x a week, Monday and Wednesday) and lost 40 pounds. After Thanksgiving 2010 I went back to eating whatever I wanted (that was 2 years ago) and I only gained about 5 pounds back.

In this pic you see a scale, Fitbit, chest strap, armband, and headphones.  2 more items you don’t see that I plan on using are my iPhone and iPad.

• The arm strap is from Belkin, I use this mostly to mow my lawn.  This item is almost too small for my arm, I wish I tried it on first but you can’t do that when you are making an impulse internet purchase.
• I would prefer wireless headphones to bike and workout in but I have not found a great wireless unit. I use a pair of behind the head Philis.
• The chest strap is a Reebok heart monitor strap that syncs with most heart monitors that are built in the aerobic machines. It came with a watch that also gives a readout.  This is what I have but I got mine for $25 on woot.com a couple years ago.
• The Fitbit is a great little gadget that counts, steps, calories, miles, and activity.  This has been a really good gauge for how active I am. I can get this info from certain iPhone apps but they have to constantly run with kills the battery.  the Fitbit stays charged for a week. It also wirelessly syncs with it’s base and uploads to my free account on fitbit.com.  This is a robust device for $99…a pretty great motivator.
• The scale is NEW and I love it.  It is called the Aria and is from the makers of Fitbit.  It takes my weight, measures my body fat, and uploads it to my free account on fitbit.com via wifi.
• I also use the Fitbit Activity and Calorie Tracker app to track the food I eat and view my stats (weight, fat %, steps taken, etc).  It is a bit pricey but having a dashboard with my activity, weight, and food/calories logged in is great.  And with most of this happening wireless it is not much work for me.
• I use my iPad to watch something form Netflix. (I may stop using my iPad, the machines at my gym have iPhone dock connectors and TVs on each machine, I can connect my iPhone and watch Netflix or a podcast from my phone on a bigger screen…see pic below).
• I use my iPhone for music, and apps like Fitbit and myfitnesspal, and to search for fast food nutrition guides.

What tech are you using to help you with your diet and or weight loss?  Is there an app that is helping you?  Are you using any of the Withings products? Maybe a body bug? Share with us in the comments!