Food Diaries, what's the best way to do it?

laura14fit

Jorge, that was a heck of a good question about food diary apps. I started out with old school writing everything down in a notebook. I've also used Spark People, which is very similar to My FitnessPal and offers recipes, food diaries, community posts. For me, apps like MyFitnessPal or Spark People are great because you can easily look at your data, search foods and build your own favourite recipes. And whatever the app is, it has to work well on a mobile phone! Has anyone else tried other apps? How did they work out for you?

jorgecarbajal223

Well right now all I use is my fitness pal and map my run and that's it. I will check out spark ppl. I love the fitness pal app, I've kinda dialed in my meals from just using the app. Is anyone using premium? Is it worth it?

laura14fit

SparkPeople is free, also. I've heard of an app called My Diabetes which I want to check out. Tracking blood sugars would be useful, I think. I have no idea what it does or does not include. My wish list for any app of this type would be free, food diary, extensive food database, recipes and recipe building and security if any of them are customizable to my diabetes history. Also NO ads. Oops, that list got long fast!

laura14fit

I do have a Premium su subscription, Jorge. I don't download a whole lot of programs. MyFitnessPal covers pretty much everything I could want except blood sugar tracking. It offers many ways to view your nutrients ie heart smart, low carb, net carb etc. Also has a lot of helpful articles to read along.with recipes etc. I used SparkPeople for quite a while but like MFP better.

lawson6291

I track BS on Samsung Health

laura14fit

My blood sugar meter keeps a record so I can check trends. It's useful info as long as I don't obsess about it. If I look after my food intake, my sugars are oksy.

laura_b00

Boy, I'm old-fashioned. I just use a medium size notebook for my tracking of carbs and calories. I also put in my blood sugar readings and my weight and sometime notes if there are problems. I like it because I can carry it with me when I go out of town. I tend to forget what I've eaten sometimes, so I write it down soon after I eat.

laura14fit

Old fashioned works just as well. Logging or keeping a diary does not have to be high tech. It really comes down to whatever method suits you. I most often use the diary in FitnessPal but have also used notebooks or kept a bullet journal for all kinds of things including a daily food diary and recording blood sugars. Learning about ourselves is a highly important part of managing our diabetes journeys. I think you're doing great with your notebook

jorgecarbajal223

Thats great! Yeah I kind of fell off the tracking, but I need to get back on track because I feel myself slowly allowing more not so healthy options into my diet. I need to get myself back in check

laura_b00

I had no success when I didn't track what I ate and when. I got a notebook and faithfully log everything I need. Believe me, I now feel accountable for doing it. The entries will tell you a lot about how much and when you eat. If not a notebook, try the log on the website. It'll be a pain in the beginning but with practice, logging will go so smoothly.

laura14fit

You guys keep me inspired. Tracking is an effort for me but gives such a big payoff. Self knowledge is so important.

rfsatar

I use MFP and just count carbs.. initially it would freak out at the low cals but now it has stopped warning me of the error of my ways.

I find it useful so that when I scan the Libre sensor I have an idea of how many carbs to put in the scan entry.