Best Way To Do This?

arabianhorselover

I am new here, and trying to figure out the best way to fit this into my life. Mostly I'm talking about logging my calories. Wondering how other people do it? Do you get on your computer ever time you eat something? Do you do it once a day? What do you do when you are away from home, or otherwise not in your normal routine? So far I've been doing this several times a day, but it's really not practical. Any suggestions? What works for you? Thank you very much.

ldugganbos

Once you start it is very addictive...

I use it as a menu planner as well - will enter what i plan on eating the next day - maybe at bedtime...then when i come come from work starving - i can open MFP and see what i am supposed to eat rather than raiding the fridge!

i am on probably 6 or 7 times a day - loggin what i eat after every meal and snack - and removing things i decided not to eat that i pre-logged.

welcome

ldugganbos

phone ap makes it much easier than logging onto a computer!

megginanderson

i struggle with this myself and i think you just have to do what is going to work for you to stay on track.
Ive actually set up most of my meals and recipes on my laptop so when I am on the go i can add on my phone.
If you are trying to stay within your goals during the day, I would add the food as you are making it so that if you realize your going to go over you can make that change before you eat.
I also plan my day backwards, because i have a family to feed at dinner, i plan what my dinner is and then calculate the rest out for the remaining parts of the day when i am alone.
I hope that helps.

tjsoccermom

I use the phone app, so easy! I tend to enter it right after I eat...or since I pack my lunch, I'll enter my breakfast and lunch in the am.

LisaYon

phone ap makes it much easier than logging onto a computer!

I also use my I pad!
iPad at home
Droid app on the go
Laptop at the office!!
Love love love the bar code scanner!!!

lewandt

I plan ahead and log almost everything the night before, or in the morning.

How does the scanner work? do you use it with your droid?

HeidiCooksSupper

Do whatever works for you. Measuring and logging are key for many of us. After you've been doing it awhile it gets easier as you can copy meals from one day to the next, have more recently used foods pop up first, etc.

The more you think of this as a lifestyle change the better. And, yes, having it fit into YOUR life is important. For those of us who have always been eating too much and exercising too little, figuring out how to change a lifetime of habits to a more healthy pattern is not an overnight thing. I am switching up things a bit this month to try to better get myself into healthy habits in a way that fits me. You will try several patterns before you find the one that works best for you.

If you want to see what I'm trying this month it's in my blog at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/roundgal/view/i-m-gonna-get-myself-out-of-the-summer-doldums-571630

Oh, and you might want to see the "becoming a slim person" plan I adapted from another member's post at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/roundgal/view/becoming-a-slim-person-plan-525208

NicoleSchimmel

I LOVE the phone app! I enter my foods after I eat them, either by the scanner or typing in what I ate. I have a desk job, so it isn't difficult to enter it on the computer. I think the difficult part is remembering to log everything. The app has a reminder though, so maybe use that?

I also enter my exercise as soon as I am done with the gym or the video. I have a heart rate monitor (HRM), so the calories burned and time spent is saved. If I go running, RunKeeper syncs with MFP, so that is one less thing I need to enter/think about.

The most difficult part for me (and still is!) is trying to figure out what my daily calorie allowance is. I don't go by the numbers on MFP, but manually enter my goals, which I get from a different website. That website is www.fitnessfrog.com. Or maybe it's .org. I am thinking of getting a FitBit One later this week, so that will really help to determine calories for the day.

Please let me know if you have questions or need some friends. I have logged on here for 240 days, and alot of my friends on here did as well

Nicole

pita7317

I find what works best for me is to put all my meals, whatever sounds good for the day/or I have on hand , in when I first get up in the morning while I am having coffee,water. On my iPad.

Cyclingbonnie

I don't have a smart phone, so I don't use the app. Others have said it was great. I do have an IPOD and have used it when I was somewhere that had WiFi. When going out to eat, I try to decide what I'm going to have before I go. Having that decision made, makes it easier not to do something really crazy. But when I'm away and can't log, I right a note to myself and take care of it later. The big thing is to be cognitive of what you eat. Think about it before you eat and you will make better decisions.

Don't go crazy with limiting what you eat, don't go over the top on too little calories. Remember this isn't a temporary diet, but a new way to live. I have 2 lists that are in the limiting category ... one list is occasionally (which can be as much as once a week), and the other is for once every 6 months and not when I'm depressed. The occasional list is loosely formed but equates to junk food mostly things like cake/ice cream/cheetos. These things I'm just careful they don't show in my diary too often. The other list has 3 items on it. Those items are M&Ms, potato chips, and my biggest weakness ... FRENCH FRIES. I'm careful not to let these three items show up more than once in a great while. I have a hard time controlling how much of these three items that I eat.

There are no foods that are off limits. I strive to eat clean most of the time fresh, organic, no preservative, no artificial sweeteners, no "low" fat products (with the exception of skim milk). It is really working for me. I've been at this for 8 months. I'm lower in weight right now than I have been in 9 years and it has been amazingly easy and livable.

arabianhorselover

You sound a lot like me. I don't have a smart phone, either. I do have a laptop, but it's a big one, and I really don't like to haul it around. I do have an iPod, and could use it at the gym where I go.

I like your list idea. I have been a compulsive overeater for most of my life, so this is a HUGE change for me. I am used to letting myself eat what I want, when I want, and however much I want. And I look like it too. I was probably eating around 3000 calories most days, and now I'm trying to do 1500.

I don't have a smart phone, so I don't use the app. Others have said it was great. I do have an IPOD and have used it when I was somewhere that had WiFi. When going out to eat, I try to decide what I'm going to have before I go. Having that decision made, makes it easier not to do something really crazy. But when I'm away and can't log, I right a note to myself and take care of it later. The big thing is to be cognitive of what you eat. Think about it before you eat and you will make better decisions.

Don't go crazy with limiting what you eat, don't go over the top on too little calories. Remember this isn't a temporary diet, but a new way to live. I have 2 lists that are in the limiting category ... one list is occasionally (which can be as much as once a week), and the other is for once every 6 months and not when I'm depressed. The occasional list is loosely formed but equates to junk food mostly things like cake/ice cream/cheetos. These things I'm just careful they don't show in my diary too often. The other list has 3 items on it. Those items are M&Ms, potato chips, and my biggest weakness ... FRENCH FRIES. I'm careful not to let these three items show up more than once in a great while. I have a hard time controlling how much of these three items that I eat.

There are no foods that are off limits. I strive to eat clean most of the time fresh, organic, no preservative, no artificial sweeteners, no "low" fat products (with the exception of skim milk). It is really working for me. I've been at this for 8 months. I'm lower in weight right now than I have been in 9 years and it has been amazingly easy and livable.

emmysusanne

I record everything religiously as well - have done before 3 years ago with great success If I'm away from home I just write everything I eat on a notepad and guess weights, log on in the evening and record then. I plan my next day also usually. Recording food gets easier as you tend to eat the same things and it gets saved on here! Wishing you all the best!

bubbliemae

I add my breakfast and lunch in the morning while I'm making it, same in the eve. I put all the food in for my dinner while it is cooking. At night while I watch tv, I do any changes, and log exercise. It just seems to work. Now when my routine is messed up on the weekends, I just do the best I can, it's not perfect, but then, what is, lol.

This is really working well for me, and nothing else has. I hope the same for you!

janetteluparia

Phone mostly. And just when I can. I can remember everything pretty well so I never worry about omissions.

JesterMFP

If I'm at home, and it's convenient to do so, I log onto my laptop as I'm making my meal. If I can't do that, I jot down what I'm having and log it later. If I'm going somewhere out of the ordinary to eat - a friend's house or a restaurant, I plan and pre-log as much as I can, or estimate at the time and log later.

The actual logging only takes a few minutes per meal. The "recent" and "frequent" tabs are a big help. You get used to it. It's a few extra minutes, but it's just something that has to be done, along with meal prep, cooking and cleaning up after yourself.

arabianhorselover

Thank you all for your responses. It does help to see what others do. I suppose I'll get into a routine.