How was "food tracking" for you?

Amber030583

I just decided today that I would use the food tracking on here. So I put in the food for yesterday and now I have started with today. As of right now I am over the calories they said I should have. Then again, I have not worked out yet.I find this kind of discouraging. Has any one had this experience? Or possibly can enlighten me on this and what I need to do? I have always been the one that doesn't really care about what I eat. I feel that I eat semi normal. I am not one of those fast food people. However, I do like my Taco John's but I seldom have it.

So in the past I have never thought I would need to really care about my caloric intake or anything. I think part of my problem is that I don't like to fail and seeing the big red negative number is making me feel like I have failed. Any help or insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Amber

goal30Lori

Hi Amber! I joined this site specifically for the food tracking, because I knew I was eating way more than I was supposed to. It was amazing to me that I could easily eat 1000 or more calories over and above my recommended values! If you make your food diary public(ar add me as a friend if your diary is set to friends only), I can take a peek in there and see if there are better options for the choices you are making. I'm new at this too though, so take my advice with a grain of salt, LOL! Do you mean that you are already over for your day today? How many meals have you eaten so far?

sngnyrslp

When I go over on my calories, or if I know I'm going to (like if I'm planning on going out to dinner), I just make sure to work out harder and longer and burn extra calories. That's really all you can do, I think. Aside from that, take a look at what you're eating and consider it when you're making food decisions in the future.

Amber030583

Hi Amber! I joined this site specifically for the food tracking, because I knew I was eating way more than I was supposed to. It was amazing to me that I could easily eat 1000 or more calories over and above my recommended values! If you make your food diary public(ar add me as a friend if your diary is set to friends only), I can take a peek in there and see if there are better options for the choices you are making. I'm new at this too though, so take my advice with a grain of salt, LOL! Do you mean that you are already over for your day today? How many meals have you eaten so far?

I know my diet is not the best by any means. I have to have my soda. I know that sounds bad but I have cut back and eliminated the Mountain Dew. (I am on anti anxiety meds which make me so drowsy it is hard to function without some caffeine) Yeah, I am already over for the day. But I haven't worked out. Like yesterday thought with my workout I burned something like 953 calories? And right now I am over by 23. See my problem is when I have cereal in the morning I can't just have one bowl or I am not filled up and I am hungry in an hour or so. Then I also have a snacky snacky issue. I sit at my desk all day here and we are not really up and producing right now(I work at a biodiesel plant) so I really do not have a lot of paperwork to do. Just sucks. Like is it normal to go over at first til you can get used to everything and adjust it? Sooo confused and discouraged.

Learning2LoveMe

So far for me its working great. I know if I don't track I'll end up eating like crazy. Tracking helps me watch what I eat more... and slow down, not eat so much.

I try not to get worked up over it if I end up in the red, as long as I'm not WAY over my calories. If it's 1-250 over, no big deal... I just exercise to make it up as close as I can.

Joscelle

Food tracking has helped me a lot - in fact, I think it has been the one thing that has made a big difference. At the beginning it felt like I was completely blowing it but I told myself I would just keep going - no matter what those numbers say. You will find yourself making better choices as there's nothing like seeing those lists in full detail.

As long as you're honest with yourself, it's very helpful - it has kept me accountable. There are days where I will eat a lot of sweets and really go over the limits but hey, it's life and sometimes a huge burger AND dessert are the only things that will do it for me.

It's a lifestyle change and the good thing is, you can try again each day. Hang in there.

goal30Lori

Hi Amber! I joined this site specifically for the food tracking, because I knew I was eating way more than I was supposed to. It was amazing to me that I could easily eat 1000 or more calories over and above my recommended values! If you make your food diary public(ar add me as a friend if your diary is set to friends only), I can take a peek in there and see if there are better options for the choices you are making. I'm new at this too though, so take my advice with a grain of salt, LOL! Do you mean that you are already over for your day today? How many meals have you eaten so far?

I know my diet is not the best by any means. I have to have my soda. I know that sounds bad but I have cut back and eliminated the Mountain Dew. (I am on anti anxiety meds which make me so drowsy it is hard to function without some caffeine) Yeah, I am already over for the day. But I haven't worked out. Like yesterday thought with my workout I burned something like 953 calories? And right now I am over by 23. See my problem is when I have cereal in the morning I can't just have one bowl or I am not filled up and I am hungry in an hour or so. Then I also have a snacky snacky issue. I sit at my desk all day here and we are not really up and producing right now(I work at a biodiesel plant) so I really do not have a lot of paperwork to do. Just sucks. Like is it normal to go over at first til you can get used to everything and adjust it? Sooo confused and discouraged.

How about diet Mountain Dew? And veggies for snacking?Skim milk in your cereal? I have a hard time getting all my water in too, but if I do, I find I am not nearly as hungry.

HTH!

glfprncs2

If it's the sodas that are really sabotaging your calories (oh, wait...I think I just remembered somewhere you said you drank diet...hmmm, there's recent research that correlates those who drink diet sodas with weight gain...I'll have to look it up), I would certainly try to find other ways to get the caffeine you feel you need without the sugar. My one big vice is my morning coffee. I have two GIANT cups, but I drink it black. No creamers, no sweeteners, no nothing. The calories in sugared sodas is huge...if you could swap that out for something (tea?), you may find that your other nutrition is much more reasonable.

It may be helpful if you open your food diary to public so that we might be able to see if there are other things that could be swapped out for foods that are still good, but not packed with calories.

I eat regularly throughout the day...every 2 1/2-3 hours...I find that it helps me manage my calories much more easily than trying to only eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.

emmylou13

It will get easier... if this is you first / second day... don't beat yourself up over 23 calories... remember it takes 3500 calories to gain a pound... so 23 isn't a big deal... and many of us would be over if we didn't exercise... I exercise to earn calories

Anyways in terms of the snacking LOG EVERYTHING before you eat it... then you can make the decision if it is worth it to you... do you... if you really want it just take note of it and work it off later... no big deal!

In terms of breakfast... you may want to try making omlets / getting in some protein... cereal wouldn't fill me up either...!

good luck!!!

Amber030583

How about diet Mountain Dew? And veggies for snacking?Skim milk in your cereal? I have a hard time getting all my water in too, but if I do, I find I am not nearly as hungry.

HTH!

I actually have eliminated the Mountain Dew. I have been drinking Dr. Pepper and have limited myself to two cans a day. Sometimes on the weekends though I find myself having a couple more. I do drink a lot of water at work. I have a bottle that I refill at work so I drink about five bottles at work and drink about 3 at home at night. I drink alot. lol. I friended you. I am not sure if you can see my journal. (I am new to mfp)

MacMadame

If you know you are definitely going to exercise today, put it in now. You need to do that anyway, in general, or you end up having to stuff yourself every night to eat what you just finished exercising off -- when you probably won't even be hungry just then.

What I did when I was first starting out was to set my food diary up for maintenance. I used it to take inventory of where I was. I wanted to see if I had trouble spots and how healthy I was eating. I wasn't even actively trying to lose weight at that point.

However, just by logging my food, I found myself making better choices and I did start to lose weight. Then, as I had data to work with, I start working on specific areas one at a time such as getting more water, then eating more protein, then cutting out added sugar, etc., etc.

By doing it that way instead of jumping in and trying to go from high calorie eating to something like 1200 calories a day in one fell swoop, it was less overwhelming and I experienced success all along the way. I didn't even lower my calorie goal from its maintenance level until I was regularly eating less calories (due to drinking more water and eating more protein and therefore being less hungry).

mamagooskie

I need to track my food or I'd never lose weight, I used to eat way way way too much and of the wrong things......I could easily probably quadruple my daily food intake and that would be the reason I was twice the size I should be.

I love tracking and it keeps in line. I do have my cheat days and do see the the big red minus.....but I don't let it get to me if it's occasional.

Tracking does get easier though as time goes on. There are days I don't want to track what I eat but I know it's for the best so I keep on doing it.

aippolito1

Try to estimate what you'll burn for the day and then put in what you plan on eating all day. Make some tweaks so you don't see the red numbers. For right now, don't worry about the red numbers on anything but calories. Since you're just starting out, focus only on calories. Make sure your protein is set at least to 30% and your fiber to 25g and then you won't have to worry about red numbers there (most likely). Go to My home / Goals / Change Goals / Custom to change your percentages (carbs/protein/fat) and fiber goal.

stressd1mom

I love the food tracking, there is so many items in the database that I don't have to go looking elsewhere first. I never worried about calories before either, I never thought that I was actually consuming as many calories a day as I was. It was a real eye opener. After truly seeing how many calories are in certain things, I started to make healthier choices. I am also a very organized person & I like to be held accountable for my choices. Good luck!

jrich1

I had my wife do it for the longest time for me and then I started doing it myself a month or so ago, Its second nature, I use it as a tool to keep me accountable for my food and tells me what I should eat and how much, its really great

glfprncs2

To make your diary public, click the "MY HOME" tab, then click 'Settings.' In the list of choices, click "Diary Settings." Near the bottom of that page you'll see where you can make it public (if you want to) and then click to save the changes.

Holton

If your goal is to lose weight over a certain period of time, then counting calories is truly the way to do it and to be successull at it, it is helpful to stay within a range of the recommended level of calories. That does not mean you should panic when you go over, as I think it is impossible to hit on target your "assigned" calorie count each day. Some days you will be over, others you will be under. And do eat back any exercise calories you earn on a given day.

When I started out, I found it helpful to enter my foods in advance to eating them, as it was a way for me to learn more about the right kind of foods to eat. It is hard to make a lot of changes at first, but hopefully you can develop more healthy snacking options as you go along and wean yourself off of sodas.

Counting calories keeps me on track and tells me when I should stop eating or readjust what I am eating. It is a tool that if used properly will empower you to lose the weight that you want to lose. Good luck on your journey.

Amber030583

Ok everyone, I have marked it public. Please don't be too harsh.....eeekk

emmylou13

what might make your life a bit easier is to allocate an amount of calories for each meal so you don't over, or under eat.... for example 3 meals (400 calories each) and 3 snacks 150 calories each... and then a bonus snack for exercise... that is what I do... hope it helps!

4lafz

I have been tracking and it works out great. I have enjoyed full calorie sodas for YEARS and am completely off of them! They are empty calories and there are many alternatives. You just have to keep testing and trying. In addition - you need to find low calorie options for your meals that are more filling and less calories. Check out the other forums for manu suggestions - including Recipes. Good luck!

glfprncs2

what might make your life a bit easier is to allocate an amount of calories for each meal so you don't over, or under eat.... for example 3 meals (400 calories each) and 3 snacks 150 calories each... and then a bonus snack for exercise... that is what I do... hope it helps!

This is similar to what I do as well...and I find that it keeps me from 'junking out' at other times of the day.

You also said that you snack out of boredom at the office right now because it's slow. Is there something else you can do rather than snack? Whenever I want to snack, and it's not really 'snack time' yet, I get up, move around, drink some water, chew some gum, pet the dog, flip pencils...I do something to get my mind off of wanting a snack (because it really is a want, not a need.)

Also, from your food diary, you're eating a lot of foods that are processed...they're prepackaged/in a can. They're generally loaded with sugar and preservatives and from personal experience, they make me hungrier! Since I've switched to eating more 'real' foods (fresh fruits, veggies, wraps, lean cuts of chicken, beef, seafood, etc.), my cravings are so much more manageable.

Also, remember that this is a process. Rome wasn't built in a day, and making small swaps each week will be easier than just going 'cold turkey' on a totally revamped menu.

For breakfast...can you find a cereal that you like that contains less sugar? That will help save you calories. For lunch, can you pack your own that includes some fresh veggies, fruit and proteins? Can you swap out the sugary soda for something else with the caffeine that you desire?