Food logging....

SlimSonic

For people that log their food, how do you do it?

Do you just log as meal times or have you changed your diary to time slots?

I am a shift worker and when I remember to log food it's a bit of a nightmare as I never know what to put where....

Or does it just not matter as long as you know what you ate over your 24 hours.......

Apologies if I open the can of worms

40DayFit

I changed my diary to time slots years ago,long before keto. I think more in terms of "feedings" than meals, and I also wanted to be able to track when I was hungry or time between feedings. Was I eating the most of my food between 8 and midnight? Did eating my first food of the day before 8 or after make a difference?

Set up your diary so it makes the most sense and has the greatest value to *your* life! Then tell us how it's working for you!

mbonacci12

I sometimes plan my entire day and log. If anything changes, I adjust. This keeps me sticking to my number goals. I usually like to leave the majority of carbs and calories for dinner. If I log ahead, it gives me a better picture of where I will end up. I am sure it doesn't matter what slot you put it in as long as you log it in the 24 hour period.

canadjineh

When I went to intermittent fasting I switched my food diary times to "Before 2pm"," 2-6pm","Dinner", and "Snacks." When I am on shift I may eat at midnight or 1am but otherwise that is an empty slot as I don't break my fast until later in the afternoon. Dinner is always after 6pm at my house and if I'm having a hungry day or night there may be extra goodies shown in Snacks. Works for my schedule on night shift or days off. Hope this may give you some ideas.

kshatriyo

SlimSonic wrote: »

For people that log their food, how do you do it?

Do you just log as meal times or have you changed your diary to time slots?

I am a shift worker and when I remember to log food it's a bit of a nightmare as I never know what to put where....

Or does it just not matter as long as you know what you ate over your 24 hours.......

Apologies if I open the can of worms

It really doesn't matter as long as I get my daily macros in. The point of using the app for me is to track total carbs, fats, fiber, sugars, and proteins. If you are tracking calories instead, that is even easier! Unless you are troubleshooting or aiming for ketosis, calorie restriction is really all you technically need to do (assuming weight loss is your goal). You can throw it all in to the breakfast section if you like!

Or, if you pretty much are eating the same things regularly, there are very convenient tools to copy them into other days and you can edit the percentages.

tyggerdev

mbonacci12 wrote: »

I sometimes plan my entire day and log. If anything changes, I adjust. This keeps me sticking to my number goals. I am sure it doesn't matter what slot you put it in as long as you log it in the 24 hour period.

I also plan, prepare and log my food ahead. It really does help with sticking to your goal ratios. I'm also a shift worker and I find that it doesn't matter when you log your food because you just eat when you have time which may not always be at the same time so within the 24 hour period just works. I already have my food prepared and carried with me so the only time I really have to adjust is when I didn't eat something that was already prepared and logged and replaced it with something else.

The only time you really should worry about logging during specific times of the day is if you're trying to standardize meals times. When you work shifts, this is difficult and may not even be worth the trouble.

It also helps with the planning part to use the browser plugin for net carbs because it shows your "net" percentages right on your diary page and you can adjust appropriately to better match your goals.

cstehansen

I think to be successful at logging, pre-logging is essential. I take my lunch and any snacks I may eat to work. Pre-logging lunch is easy. Given my snacks are fairly limited to the same items, getting them logged is easy as well.

The largest hurdle to logging is eating random foods and then trying to log after the fact. Having your favorites entered can make logging take just a few seconds.

As far as timing, I typically am on a 16/8 IF schedule. I am lazy though so I left the generic breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. If I have anything in breakfast, it is because I put something in my coffee (i.e. HWC) or took a fish oil capsule. I don't think it is all that important to know exactly when everything was eaten other than to make sure you do not have all your carbs at once. Also, for me since I am IR, keeping my carbs as close to 0 at dinner is better for me. I typically take a walk after eating lunch so I can burn whatever carbs I do eat then.

sammyliftsandeats

I use conventional meal times but added a section for my supplements.

Shift work can be difficult but it's not like your body really 'resets' once 24hours is over or you go to bed, it's really just a way for you to organize what you're eating. If you want do it in time blocks, that's fine. Just keep consistent, maybe use a weekly average for your calories/macros, and you should be good.