…Use online tools to drop that excess baggage

By Levi Sumagaysay

Are you serious about finally getting rid of those extra pounds you picked up while glued to your laptop? Use that same laptop to help shed the poundage with these online tools.

1. NutritionData This one-stop portal for watching what you eat includes calculators and a food nutrient search. It also offers a blog called “Notes from the Nutritionista” and a recipe analyzer. You can get nutrition facts by doing searches by food type (“eggplant” for example). Lisa Trottier, a dietitian at Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo, Calif., recommends this site to her patients so they can look up calories, sodium, and carbohydrates, as well as learn how to read food labels. She also points people toward similar sites, such as CalorieKing, or Kaiser’s own site, which contains nutrition information.

2. Weightnags If you’re really committed to dropping the weight this time, you might not mind a little nagging. Don’t want friends or family on your case? You can receive your nagging by email once a week from someone who calls you Chubbles. And for maximum bombardment, you can even pay $4.95 a month to get nagged by text message, too.

3. FitDay This free online weight loss journal, which boasts that it has more than 2 million users, lets you keep track of your dieting progress, including your food intake, exercises, weight, and goals. This site comes in handy for travelers who can access their free account while on the road. FitDay also offers PC software which has more features than the free online journal.