Quite honestly, our Useful Website of the Week this week is one of the most comprehensive, user-friendly, and fun weight loss websites I have found.  SparkPeople.com is the name, my friends, and if losing weight/living a healthy lifestyle is your game, then this is a must-see website.  As with many subscription based websites, you have to register (of course) to gain full access to what SparkPeople has to offer.  But if you don’t want to register, I’ll try to break it down for you as best as I can here.  Let me just say that from the moment I set my eyes on SparkPeople, I’ve been back everyday since.

Basically, SparkPeople is another weight loss website that offers all the same stuff that almost all of them do.  That would be food journaling/tracking, exercise tracking, recipes, message boards, advice, etc.  There are several things that set them apart from the pack though.  First of all, the website is visually pleasing with it’s soothing yet vibrant colors, easy navigation, and wonderful start page that packs all your necessary info into one place.  But that’s not all.  Below are several other items that I have found to be particularly cool, different, and exciting in my use of SparkPeople:

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Do you have a hard time getting in your suggested water intake each day? 

I know that a lot of people do but for some reason, I was blessed with a love of the stuff.  I’m a drinker.  As in, I must have at all times something to drink.  For many many years it was iced white mochas (and I’m talking 32 oz. white mochas, yep they actually make ‘em!).  But ever since I first got pregnant, I have been drinking water on a very regular basis. 

I thought I would give you a run-down of how I manage to drink approximately 96 ounces of the good stuff a day.  Besides the obvious, chug-a-lug all day long, I start out with a water bottle and a goal.  My water bottle is in the picture there (and yes there is more than one… it’s not the same one every day!).  It’s a 32 oz. water bottle.  And my goal?  Drink at least three full bottles a day.

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One of the thing that really helped kick my weight loss into high gear this time around has been smoothies.  Everyday for lunch I now have a protein/fruit packed smoothie and that has seemed to make a very big difference overall.  My favorite smoothie is here.    The only change that I made was to use a whole banana instead of just a half.  And I must say, this is a delicious way to have a 350 calorie lunch!  I have a major sweet tooth and I used to crave something sweet everyday after lunch (probably because for years I had a Starbucks white mocha everyday after lunch!).  This smoothie has enough sweetness to wipe out any desire for something more after. 

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