What have you bought?

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segacs
segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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?
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Replies

  • Mediocrates55
    Mediocrates55 Posts: 326 Member
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    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
    LazyFoodie Posts: 217 Member
    edited November 2014
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    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
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    3 sets of dumbbells, arm band w/phone holder.
  • charlie_anne
    charlie_anne Posts: 46 Member
    edited November 2014
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    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
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
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    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
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    Nike Fuel Band for me, fit bit for my husband
  • docklanders
    docklanders Posts: 31
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    Scales, and a gym membership. I'm so much more motivated to work out in a place that i'm paying for.
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
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    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
    neanderthin Posts: 10,013 Member
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    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
    SteampunkSongbird Posts: 826 Member
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    - 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
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
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    Food scale
    Dummbells
    Heart rate monitor
    New sneakers and workout gear
    Cell phone arm band
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    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
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited November 2014
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    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
    charmarbobar Posts: 251 Member
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    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
    sarah_hite Posts: 41 Member
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    Digital food and bathroom scales. Also some accessories for my bicycle, but that's more for the transportation aspect.
  • Veil5577
    Veil5577 Posts: 868 Member
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    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
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    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
    Katiegirl1970 Posts: 17 Member
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    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
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
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    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

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