SparkPeople for teh win!

I had seen SparkPeople.com mentioned on Get Fit Slowly before, but I wasn't really sure what it was. Today I got an offer in my email that would give me 25 points (MyPoints) to sign up, so I figured I would go give it a shot. I love it!

For those that may not know, I'm a programmer by day (which would usually mean I'm something much cooler by night - I'm not, I'm still a programmer! Just..without the working...haha). Sometimes I try to figure out some sort of tool or small application that I can code, usually to better my technical skills less than to really use my tool. So I decided to make a webapp that would track my calories and possibly exercise, based on my personal "good eats" (Food Network anyone? Alton Brown?). I had found that so far, websites like CalorieKing and The Daily Plate didn't really have the food info that I was actually eating, and also I think most of them charged to have an account with them to track your food intake. I half-heartedly coded it, and it didn't really work too well. I mean, I got my usual foods entered in, but then I would have to create some massive form-type item to list my meals and their contents and...well I got bored of it quickly.

Enter SparkPeople.com. It freaking does exactly what I wanted! I can enter my own foods OR I can search from their (actually very comprehensive so far) list of foods OR I can import a food that another member has already entered, saving me the hassle! So far I have imported 2 "obscure" foods from other members! It's perfect!!! It also lets you create "Food Groups" that house many items in 1 shot. I'm currently using those to hold my custom Chipotle burrito creations and custom Subway sandwich, so I get the info for exactly what I enjoy to eat. That's about the extent to which I've used SparkPeople.com so far, but hey, that was the #1 thing I was wanting to do. You can also log your exercise there, and I may, but I'm not entirely sure yet.

So...exercise. I've really really been wanting to go the gym, but I haven't been since Saturday! I had a guest until yesterday, and then I had another guest, my mom. She's gone now and we're not expecting anyone else, so we sure better get to the gym tonight (we = me + Josh, where Josh = the bf).

I'm still continuing to make progress based on my diet (ie good nutrition, not depriving myself), which is very encouraging. My clothes are fitting better and better. I'm able to incorporate more items from my wardrobe and not have them make me look ridiculous. This whole week I've worn stuff that I haven't been able to wear in months, and it feels great. I actually find myself craving good things - artichokes, asparagus, salad, grilled chicken, etc. I'm really happy about that. In fact I was recently faced with many fast food restaurants, all of which I scoffed at when previously I would have just enjoyed the greasy food. Feeling good!