online weight loss
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Need to Lose Weight? Free Online Tools to Help You Reach Your Goals

online weight loss
Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

Would you like to lose a few pounds? More than a few? Me too.

These days we do so much online. We can run businesses online. We stay in touch with friends and family online. We shop online. So why not make the Web work for us when we’re trying to lose weight too? Fortunately there are plenty of online weight loss tools out there that do just that. And many of them are free!

Today I want to share some of my favorite free online weight loss tools with you, in the hopes that at least one of them might prove to be useful in helping you reach your own goals.

 

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1. FitDay.com — FitDay is a pretty comprehensive online weight loss tool. You can track what you eat in your food journal as well as tracking your exercise routines. You can track your weight changes. You can look up calorie information for the foods you eat. And you can look up how many calories different exercises burn. It’s my favorite all-around tool for tracking. You can get a PC download version if you prefer that over the online one, and they offer a premium membership if you want more advanced reports and to have ads removed from the site.

2. SparkPeople.comA friend turned me onto SparkPeople.com a couple of years ago. It’s a free online weight loss community. If you don’t want to go it alone, this might be what you’re looking for. You’ll have a great support network, challenges to keep you motivated, and you’ll get plenty of tools and trackers to help you put your weight loss plan into action.

3. FitWatch.comThis site is much like FitDay.com as far as the calculators, tools, and trackers go. This site used to be my preference of the two, although not for any particular reason. They’re both fantastic resources, so play with both of them and see which one’s free version is most appealing to you.

 

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4. CalorieKing.com — CalorieKing is a calorie counting website. You can certainly use the more comprehensive tools I mentioned, but if you’re just curious about calories, this can be a more straightforward option. I specifically love CalorieKing though because they seem to have more thorough information about restaurant foods than some other calorie counting websites I’ve used.

5. YouTubeYouTube is a surprisingly good source of free workout material for those looking to lose weight. You can find countless online workouts you can do from the privacy of your own home. I would just caution you to look for videos from reputable fitness instructors as opposed to amateurs. There is always a risk of injury when trying a new workout, and you need to stay serious about your safety.

What about you? Do you have any favorite free online weight loss tools you’d like to share with our readers? Do you have feedback on any of these? Feel free to leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

Written by
Jennifer Mattern
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2 comments
  • Sure some great ideas here… it’s so important to have some support too. People just don’t understand unless they’ve been overweight as well. I set up a FB group, always welcome new members (unless you’re selling something…NO solicitors will be allowed!) ‘Friends Helping Friends – Fitness Motivation Group’. Look us up and let’s get healthy for summer!! 🙂

  • I didn’t realize that there are weight loss tools online that could help me in my goal to lose weight. Currently I am using Garcinia Cambogia Extract supplement to help me achieve my goal. It is pretty awesome to know that I can do workout while I’m online because I go online almost everyday. Thank you for these websites and will surely register to do the workout for free while I’m taking my weight loss supplement.