What have you bought?

segacs

We all know (or we should know) that it doesn't cost anything to lose weight. No special tools or products are required, and all you need is a little willpower and a little know-how.

Having said that, many people buy tools or gear that they find helpful in their weight loss journey.

Without advertising any specific products or brands, has there been anything that you've purchased to help you in your weight loss or fitness drive that you've found helpful / worthwhile? Anything you purchased that you found not worthwhile / useless?

I'm not much for buying expensive gadgets, but I have invested in a few items that I've found to be worthwhile in my journey so far:

• Food scale - TOTALLY worth it for me since I realized just how bad I am at eyeballing portions.
• New bathroom scale - not essential but I was getting tired of squinting at the dial on my old mechanical one trying to figure out which side of the line it was on. The new one has a snazzy digital LED readout and also looks nicer in my bathroom.
• Air popper - when I realized how many calories I was adding to my beloved popcorn by popping it in oil on the stove, I invested in one of these. Now I can control the calories better by switching up the toppings.
• Smartphone -- okay, this wasn't strictly a fitness / weight loss purchase. But I made the switch from a dumbphone to a smartphone this year -- yes, belatedly -- and have noticed that it's easier since the last time I was on MFP now that I can log food on the go and use the bar code scanner.

What are yours?

Mediocrates55

Kitchen scale fo' sho'. I live and die by that thing now.
Cheap Pedometer. It's more of an encouragement thing for me. Under 10k? Time for an after-dinner stroll!
Lifting gloves. I don't lift heavy, but my palms are SUPER sensitive and it's made it a more pleasant experience overall.
New running shoes every 3-4 months. It ain't cheap, but I used to languish in the same pair of shoes for YEARS. Didn't realize the damage I was doing to my feet, legs, and back.

Things I WANT:
A nifty HRM to wear all the time. But I know they're notoriously unreliable so I won't spend the money on it right now. I'm a tech dork though and I relish and rub up on all the numbers and data I can get.

LazyFoodie

Food scale and bathroom scale were both bought on the last go around of losing weight. I stopped using both after started a stressful job and gained like 20 lbs back Now I am back to using both.

A pair of 1.25 lb plates that fits on Olympic bar to help me progress on 5x5 lifts.

More sports bras and yoga pants so I don't have to do laundry in the middle of the week bc I've run out of clean ones. May have to get a couple more workout towels too.

A new gym bag for fun.

I forgot my most expensive purchase. An UP 24 for my birthday. Pretty fun plaything to have.

sofaking6

3 sets of dumbbells, arm band w/phone holder.

charlie_anne

Various things, a pedometer I wear all the time, more accurate kitchen scales, clip less cycling shoes+pedals for spin class and my mountain bike, a decent pair of running shoes so my knees don't hurt, HRM, and got a wireless scale for my birthday as I hop on everyday and it syncs to mfp automatically.

Still need to actually put the work in, but the little things help!

MsHarryWinston

Digital food scale: brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I feel secure in my counting.

Digital bathroom scale: I hate analog scales SO MUCH! My new digital scale is accurate, has led lighting so I can weigh myself in the dark if I'm still half asleep and not ready for blinding lights yet and I just love it.

Protein powder: this isn't anythinv new for me I just havnt used it in a couple of years. I love protein powder so so much.

Dumbbells: I believe in lifting heavy but don't want to go to the gym so I've been buying my own weights and I love it.

Coming Soon: Shaker bottle - I'm thinking of buying two "Blender Bottles" for my protein since I take protein to work and get sick of stirring it with a fork.

pkw58

Nike Fuel Band for me, fit bit for my husband

docklanders

Scales, and a gym membership. I'm so much more motivated to work out in a place that i'm paying for.

missomgitsica

A digital scale and a heart rate monitor. The digital scale just feels so much more accurate than the old school kind with the little needles, and I like not wondering if it's calibrated correctly or not. And I love my heart rate monitor, I find it helpful to have an accurate estimate of what I've burned off during exercise.

neanderthin

Just put in a wood stove myself........lost 3 lbs doing it and cut myself on the stainless steel once. I'm ahead of the game.

SteampunkSongbird

- A digital bathroom scale.

- A small set of hand-held 1, 2 & 3kg weights, just for using while I'm sitting watching a movie or whatever.

- Sneakers and jogging bottoms specifically for walking, as I normally only wear jeans and needed something better, wearing jeans while walking chafed! (And caused holes on the inner-thigh part of the material from the friction, I've ruined jeans that way before.)

I plan on buying a small exercise bike too.

KylaDenay

Food scale
Dummbells
Heart rate monitor
New sneakers and workout gear
Cell phone arm band

Unknown

This content has been removed.

StaciMarie1974

Food scale. Comfortable clothes for working out in. My shoes get replaced much more often now that I'm much more active. Resistance bands which I should use more often.

For a major thing, we replaced our treadmill in January. Our old one was on its last legs, and I would not want to be without it. I will admit there were periods of great time in the past when I did not go near the thing. But I got a good one for a great price (Amazon) and I'm getting lots of use out of it! We would like to replace our exercise bike, and will probably do so in the next few months.

Kalikel

Bathroom scale.

Gym membership.

$1.99 for C25K app.

That's it.

I get new clothes when I need them, but I don't think that counts.

charmarbobar

Food scale
Jacket for running in winter weather
Shoes, ones for summer and ones for winter running
I "bought" a fitbit with my airmiles, but can't say it has helped much (I do like the pedometer function though)
I agree on the smartphone thing too!!

sarah_hite

Digital food and bathroom scales. Also some accessories for my bicycle, but that's more for the transportation aspect.

Veil5577

Just a bathroom scale for me. I'm not spending anything extra to do this when I know I can do it without going broke

segacs

sarah_hite wrote: »

Digital food and bathroom scales. Also some accessories for my bicycle, but that's more for the transportation aspect.

Oh, yeah, I probably should've mentioned things I purchased for cycling, like cycle shorts, a new helmet, etc. But I consider that transportation too, so I didn't count them. (I don't own a bike but I use our local bikeshare program seven months a year. Hoping it's back next year!)

Katiegirl1970

I have bought a scale, a gym membership and some special foods, I use all of them daily. I bought a 8 pound weight (used it for about 2 months) and two 4 pound hand weights (used them less than a week) and i have bought music for motivation, use it daily.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Digital food scale has been the #1 best investment for me.

New running shoes when I miled out my old ones
New workout gear that fits

LazyCatPame

- Food scale
- Bathroom scale for my bathroom (there is already one in the house, but at mom's bathroom and it's awkward to walk to her bathroom every morning just to weight myself)
- FitBit... not that necessary, but I need to see what I am burning to feel motivated into burning more.
- And I'm getting a cellphone for Christmas. I only use the iPad with 3G, but it's impractical when I want to use the app (everyone sees what I do, and it's a general comment, not only because of this) or when I want to exercise out (never happens, but when it does it's weird to be wearing sports clothes and carrying an iPad).

ithrowconfetti

Digital weighing scale. Digital food scale. Good purchases, because both have been equally useful in getting me to lose and gain weight, after going too low. I don't regret buying "thermogenic herbs" like cayenne and ginger, and "detoxing" ones like apple cider vinegar, in the past, because I can now solidly confirm that they're 100% crap in "aiding" weight loss, and I will never make the same mistake again.

shadow2soul

• Activity Tracker - I love it. Looking at getting the newer model that comes out next year that will have a HRM sensor in it and be rated 5 ATM waterproof. It has helped me increase my daily activity level.
• Food Scale - I really love knowing what a portion size is. I've also discovered you can't trust "single serving" packs to actually be a single serving.
• Bathroom Scale - Not a nessecity but I love mine. I ended up finding one on Amazon, that gives you a BF% estimate, stores up to 30 weigh ins for each of the 8 profiles, data can be transferred from scale to pc via usb and a bit more for only $30. Can't beat that.
• Measuring Tape - Cheap and helps me to see where I'm losing weight from.
• Heart Rate Monitor - Helps me determine calories out. I currently subtract 20% from whatever calories it gives me, because I don't fully trust it.
• Dumbbells - Don't have a gym membership, but I still need to get strength training in. I need to actually get a higher weight set, but I think I'm going to get a set of adjustable dumbbells.
• Exercise DVD's - I know you can find workouts on youtube for free. I however like the few that I have paid for and don't regret spending the money.
• Running App - I know you don't need an app for running. In fact you can find a few for free, but this particular app is perfect for me. What better way to get up and running then to feel like your being chased by a horde of flesh eating zombies. The story line is great and it makes running fun for me.
• Workout Shoes - I'm constantly having to get new shoes. The amount of working out/walking/running/ect that I do now has me replacing them every 2-3 months.

Lourdesong

Digital food scale and a digital bathroom scale.
Fitbit
Protein products (bars, powder)
Fiber supplements (bars, powder)

The scales and the Fitbit are certainly the things I would repurchase immediately if I ever lost/broke them. These gadgets are far too motivating by quantifying what I'm doing that I think I would feel lost without them.

amcook4

I've bought a lot in the past 7 months

• Better food scale, but I found it at the thrift store for $1
• Bathroom scale that actually works
• Workout clothes, I realized cotton t-shirts weren't always the best thing to wear, yay wicking!
• Running shoes, this was not a very cheap buy
• An exercise bike (brand new, $25 at the thrift store, best find ever!)
• A stepper thing, $3 at the thrift store
• Resistance Bands, $30. For the days I can't get to the gym and for traveling
• HRM
• Swimming suits, since I swim and my old one was way too big after a while
• Swimming gear, since I never used to swim laps, nabbed a swim cap and goggles pretty cheap from Amazon
• A few pairs of fairly expensive socks
• Gym membership & physical trainer
• My copay for doctor visits after I injured myself running
• New clothing. Since I've lost 52 pounds thus far, I've bought a lot of "new" clothing at the thrift stores, and a few new pieces (like undergarments)

Yes, I've spent a decent amount. No I didn't have to, but I shop around and had the money in my budget.

Qskim

Most of the above - a boxing bag but best one for me is limb support thingys. I underestimated their usefulness. On sore (arthritis) days they help me through a workout which means mentally I feel salved too.

segacs

ithrowconfetti wrote: »

I don't regret buying "thermogenic herbs" like cayenne and ginger, and "detoxing" ones like apple cider vinegar, in the past, because I can now solidly confirm that they're 100% crap in "aiding" weight loss, and I will never make the same mistake again.

Hehe, sometimes you gotta make a few mistakes along the way to learn what works, eh? Maybe others in the forum can benefit from your learnings.

Though I do quite like cayenne pepper on chicken or fish... but for the flavour, not for any purported "thermogenic" benefits. (What on earth does that even mean? Wait, no, don't answer that.)

sheldonklein

Not counting food, a pair of cheap running shoes (if I stick with it, I'll get fitted, etc . ), some headphones that stay on when working out, an exercise mat and some cold weather workout clothing. Haven't taken the plunge on an activity tracker or HRM, although I'm feeling the itch. Haven't needed new clothes, because my current ones were probably 20 pounds too small for me when I finally started losing weight. I already had (though rarely used) most of the things others listed. My problem wasn't lack of stuff.

Azexas

I bought a food scale, a fitbit Aria scale, and a Heart Rate monitor. I received a fitbit flex for christmas

Francl27

Food scales (3 so far, one died), HRM (don't use anymore), fitbit (don't use anymore), adjustable dumbbells (still use 3x a week), way too many Beachbody programs (used most of them), bathroom scale, gym membership (still go every other day), gym clothes, way too many walking/running shoes because I seem to destroy them in less than 6 months.