Weight Loss Toolkit

Your guide to healthy weight management through informed choices, planning, and self-care.

Always consult your healthcare provider before starting new diet or exercise plans.

What’s a healthy weight for you? And how can you reach that goal if your current weight isn’t quite there yet?  This toolkit is designed to support your wellness journey with practical tools, trusted apps, recipes, and resources to help you adopt sustainable habits that can lead to long-term health benefits.

1. Health Calculators

Start by checking where you are. Tools like BMI calculators and calorie estimators can help provide a baseline:

• Body Mass Index (BMI): Measures body fat based on height and weight.
  Normal range: 18.5–24.9 - Note: BMI may not account for muscle mass or bone structure—use it as a guideline, not a diagnosis.
• Other Helpful Calculators:
  • Calories Burned from Exercise – MyFitnessPal
  • Physical Activity Calorie Counter – ACE
  • Water Intake Calculator – Calculator PRO

2. Logs and Trackers

Tracking your progress makes a difference. It increases awareness and keeps motivation high.

Track your: 
✔️ Meals
✔️ Calories
✔️ Steps
✔️ Physical activity
 ✔️ Weight goals

Recommended Apps:

• Lose It – Food logging & calorie tracking
• MyFitnessPal – Full-featured nutrition and fitness tracker
• MyNetDiary – Personalized weight loss tools
• Habitica – Turns healthy habits into a fun role-playing game
• HabitBull – Tracks routines and builds accountability

Bonus Resources:

• Canada's Food Guide
• Half Your Plate

3. Meal Preparation and Planning

Healthy weight loss starts in the kitchen. Planning meals reduces temptation and helps you stay on track.

Top Recipe Sites:

• Cooking Light
• Eating Well
• Fruits and Veggies – More Matters
• NYT: Healthy Recipes for the New Year
• Weelicious
• Saving Dinner

Meal prepping and reducing takeout are key steps to long-term success.

4. Articles & Resources

These guides offer bite-sized, evidence-based tips to support your weight loss goals:

• Slow Down to Avoid Overeating
• Drinking Water for Health
• Healthy Nutrition Basics
• Losing Weight Together (with a partner or friend)
• Quick Tips for Sticking With a Workout Plan
• Quick Tips for Weight Loss Motivation
• Setting SMART Health Goals
• Understanding the Health Risks of Obesity

Knowledge builds confidence. Learn how your body works so you can work with it, not against it.

5. Audio Recording: Mindful Eating

Practice being fully present during meals with this 3-minute guided exercise.

• Mindful Eating with David Gelles
   A calming practice to help slow down, increase awareness, and reconnect with your body’s cues for hunger and fullness.

Available through The New York Times Wellness section or Mindful.org

Final Tips for Success

• Focus on progress, not perfection
• Celebrate small wins (e.g., choosing water over soda, walking at lunch)
• Build a support system—talk to a friend, a coach, or join a group
• Make it sustainable: avoid extreme diets or overtraining
• Prioritize sleep and stress reduction—they impact weight, too

Your wellness journey starts with one step—and this toolkit is here to walk with you.

 ✔ Eat well, move more, track progress and stay kind to yourself!