Body Gem Metabolism Readings and Balance Log Software Can Help You Lose Weight
Metabolism, the rate at which we burn calories, plays a major role in weight loss and gain, and one of the keys to determining a specific weight-management strategy is knowing your own unique metabolism. To put it simply, weight loss and gain is simple mathematics – If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight, and if you burn more than you take in, you will lose weight.
Up to 60% of the U.S. population suffers from obesity, and it is one of the most frustrating and difficult conditions to conquer, leading to many life-threatening conditions like heart disease and others. But now, technology has joined the weight loss battle with two new and exciting tools to help you know your personal metabolism and change your eating habits.
THE BODYGEM
By Healthetech
Whoever said “knowing is half the battle” was very correct. We cannot decide how to approach our weight loss program without knowing how many calories our body burns each day at rest. This rate, the metabolic rate, or RMR, often consists of up to 80% of the calories we burn daily! Because metabolism is unique to each person depending on age, activity level, diet, genetics, and current weight, it is important to determine your own metabolic characteristics in order to create a personalized program.
The BodyGem is operated by a simple breathing test. After this simple test, you will know exactly how your body uses the calories you put into it and you can then work with your competent health practitioner to devise a nutritional, exercise, and supplement program that will help you meet your individual weight loss goals. Every few weeks, you should revisit the BodyGem to re-measure your metabolism and adjust your ever-changing RMR. BodyGem units are located around the U.S. at several health clubs and nutrition centers, and a nominal fee ranging from $35 to $100 per reading is available at these places. You can locate a BodyGem location near you by visiting www.healthetech.com
THE BALANCE LOG SOFTWARE
by Healthetech
After determining your RMR with the BodyGem, you are now ready to begin using BalanceLog, a very user-friendly software application that allows you to quickly and easily establish and track your personalized nutrition and weight management program.
I originally tried the Balance Log software (which I installed on my Palm Pilot) as a “guinea pig” experiment for weight loss. When I first had my RMR tested on the BodyGem unit, I weighed 293 lbs. My RMR at that time was entered into the BalanceLog software, which allows you to set up a personalized diet and exercise “budget” to follow to meet your weight loss and nutrition goals.
The way it works is simple. You enter everything you eat – right down to your chewing gum or your packets of ketchup – into the software through a simple click of the mouse or touch of the stylus. Thousands upon thousands of foods, including popular restaurants and menu items, are programmed into the software so that you do not have to know calorie counts and other information – the software already knows it for you. If you eat a Big Mac (which you probably shouldn’t for weight loss), you click on Big Mac. If you put extra mayo on your sandwich, you click on mayo. And the software then calculates what you have eaten and deducts it from your budget for the day – basing it on several factors including calories, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and so on. In addition to the pre-programmed foods, you can add foods that you eat frequently (taking information off their nutrition labels so you know it is accurate), and create your own recipes and menus.
The Balance Log software also allows you to record exercise and activity so that you get “credit” for the calories burned, and has several hundred exercises and activities pre-programmed so that it is a matter of point and click.
As you lose weight, the program allows you to change your weight in the individual information, and the daily budget of calories and nutrients adjusts for you automatically so that you can continue to lose weight. You can also change your RMR in the memory so that it will adjust according to that also.
While it sounds complicated, it really is a simple process. It is simpler than counting calories yourself and relying on your calculator or a scratch pad to track what you eat.
The reason the Balance Log software works so well is because it knows YOU. It knows your starting weight, your age, your height, your weight loss goals, your level of exercise, how many hours you sleep, and, most importantly, how many calories YOU are burning. For this reason, it works like no other diet aid can. Within 54 weeks of following my Balance Log carefully, eating only what I was budgeted, I lost 145 lbs., and similar successes have been seen by others using the RMR readings and the Balance Log software.
The software works on several different types of PDAs (such as Palm Pilots, Sony Clie, and others), and also on your home or work PC. It is available at retail outlets such as Sam’s Club, as well as at the www.healthetech.com website.
