Learning about and sticking with a new diet is tough stuff. Losing inches and pounds, counting calories, carbs, fat, protein, etc. can be very difficult and time consuming. And using recipes from dieting books may give you the right counts, but at the cost of an enjoyable meal.

MealMixer can help you in your quest to lose and maintain weight by giving you the essential information and guidance you need to lose and maintain a healthy weight, using just about any dieting strategy. We guide you in the selection of truly delicious meals that match your taste and fit into your diet of choice. Enjoying the meals you serve while on your diet will allow you to stick with it for a lifetime.

Don't Put Your Whole Family on Your Diet

Until MealMixer, there's never been an online dieting system that allows you to plan meals for your diet and other non-dieting members of your family at the same time.  For example, MealMixer allows you to add macaroni and cheese to your family's menu, but not include it in your dietary totals. This makes it much easier for you to fit your diet into your lifestyle.

Use Your Own Recipes

We all collect favorite recipes over the years.  But why give them up when you go on a diet? Many of your favorites can still fit into a great diet when used in moderation. MealMixer lets you store your recipes in your own private collection, and calculates their nutritional make-up so you can use them just like ours.

Don't Be Bored with Your Diet

The more you enjoy your diet the more likely you are to stick with it. Repetitive meals can sabotage your efforts by almost forcing you to break your diet out of boredom. MealMixer lets you quickly find new and interesting recipes and food items that you'll really enjoy, and we'll let you know when they don't fit into your diet. With a great variety of meals, you'll find that your new diet can easily become a lifelong habit.

The key to long-term weight loss is to gradually let your body adapt to the change in its weight.  To be successful, you need to eat a smaller quantity of foods without feeling deprived.  While a low-carb diet can get your weight down quickly, studies have shown that most people regain much of the weight lost because they are unable to maintain the diet long-term.  This is likely due to their body craving the nutrients not provided by the diet.  Regardless of what diet you choose, the basic formula never changes:

If, for example, you add a can of soda each day to your diet (at 140 calories per can) for 4 weeks and don't also add additional activity or exercise to burn it off, you'll have a net gain of 3920 calories.  There are 3500 calories in one pound, so you WILL GAIN just over a pound of fat.

The good news is that YOU MUST EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT!  MealMixer makes it easy for you to set your diet to an appropriate number of calories to lose or maintain your weight.  With your calories and dietary guidelines set, you can then plan and record your diet to assure yourself that you're getting enough, but not too many, calories to lose weight.

From a lifestyle standpoint, there are many things you can do to be healthier and lose weight at the same time.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables.  MealMixer tracks how many you consume to promote this in your diet.
• Increase the fiber-to-carbohydrate ratio of your foods.  Higher fiber foods digest more slowly, don't spike your insulin levels, saves your pancreas, and decrease your risk of diabetes.  MealMixer's let you know how much fiber you're consuming. 
• Cut down on high glycemic foods (these, again, will spike your glucose and hence insulin level, and then make it crash, leaving you feeling more hungry!  Foods such as white potatoes (french fries, chips, etc.), white rice, white bread, etc. should be limited in your diet.
• Exercise!  An increased activity level will pay you numerous health and eating benefits including increased energy level, better digestion, strengthened  immune system, stronger muscles, and an overall greater sense of well-being.
• Drink plenty of water every day.  Often times we confuse thirst with hunger.  The average American is chronically dehydrated.  Proper hydration increases mental dexterity as well.
• Record your weight and waist each week to track your progress.  It is most important to keep your waistline in a healthy range.  The rule of thumb is that, if you were healthy when you graduated high school, your graduation waist size should be your target!