How Do You Log Your Food?

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Veronica_029
Veronica_029 Posts: 88
in Health and Weight Loss
As much as I know how important it is to log in my food to keep me on track of my calorie intake. As much as I see it as a struggle. It seems that it takes a lot of time for me to record my food. How can I make this easy?

Do you use phone application? Is it easier?
Do you plan ahead?

What is it that you do?

I was thinking about buying iPhone just to use the MFP application...Is it worth it?

Replies

  • sandi228
    sandi228 Posts: 72 Member
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    If I know everything I'm going to eat for the day I log it all at once. I've written what I've ate and logged it all later. Lastly I log as I go somedays. I have an ipad and access the computer at work to log my food & exercise. When I have my food packed I know what I'll eat for the day. I have the hardest time when I'm off work and have to log throughout the day. You have to find what works for you. If you've been logging you will know if you are in the range of your calories for the day even if you don't log. Good luck!!!
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    It's a faff to begin with, but after a while it gest easier, especially if you eat the same foods.

    I wouldn't recommend buying an iPhone JUST for the app - it's still a faff finding those foods on the database! But I love my iPhone for other things too.
  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
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    The App is useful if you're out and about all day or on holiday - I've had no computer access for the past week but still managed to log every day from the middle of nowhere thanks to the app. And you don't need to fork out for an iphone either, I have an HTC android phone which is much cheaper (£20 a month on my contract and it runs the same apps.

    Day to day, I usually log first thing in the morning for the whole day. It helps me to make my decisions and stick to them.
  • purplepollypops
    purplepollypops Posts: 323 Member
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    I'm always in front of a computer so it's easy for me. I have an ancient phone and although I can get MFP on it it takes forever so I don't bother!
    Mostly in the evenings before I go to bed I will plan my food for the next day, I don't ALWAYS stick to it but it helps me see what I have left and what I need to do in terms of exercise in order to eat the food that I want.
    Sometimes I won't eat some of my breakfast that I have already logged so it's nice to delete it off and see the calories come back for something else :)
  • ursy87
    ursy87 Posts: 287
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    Just now I do it as I eat it, either by comp or phone (app on BB) cos I might forget if I didn't. It doesnt take too long, once you have built up a store of commonly used items and amounts. The only thing that takes a wee while longer is if you do a recipe from scratch or if something isnt in the database and you have to root through the bin for the packet to input the details...yes, I have done that:happy:
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
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    My android takes longer to log stuff than my partner's iphone, and the iphone also displays calories as a bar chart, which neither my android nor my laptop does.

    However, the time diff between the android and the iphone is about 30 seconds. I will leave it to you to decide if you want to spend all those $$$ for 30 seconds three times a day.
  • livi_cowgirl
    livi_cowgirl Posts: 198 Member
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    If you eat a lot of the same things that contain lots of ingredients, you could add them to your recipes then it saves you from searching and adding each individual ingredient all the time.
    I have the app on my andriod phone and they just issued a new update for it last night, so an app that was very good to begin with, just got a whole lot better. I would definitely recommend using the app. It means you can still log, even when you can't make it to the computer. And I also noticed the other day that you can even do a limited amount of logging offline too using the app. Realised this when I tried to log with no signal. Good luck. x
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
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    My android takes longer to log stuff than my partner's iphone, and the iphone also displays calories as a bar chart, which neither my android nor my laptop does.

    However, the time diff between the android and the iphone is about 30 seconds. I will leave it to you to decide if you want to spend all those $$$ for 30 seconds three times a day.

    Argh, forget all that, I re-read to discover you are just using your computer.
  • vivianleemit
    vivianleemit Posts: 112
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    I keep a note on my cell phone open and type in everything I eat as I eat it. I have the MFP app on my BlackBerry but it's kind of slow for my tastes, so I just write everything down and then log it in at the end of the day or whenever I'm back near a computer.
  • not2late
    not2late Posts: 98 Member
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    I use my android phone and app. If I can't record a food BEFORE it goes in my mouth it doesn't go in.

    As to whether it is worth getting a phone just to have an app to help you lose weight, look at it this way. If you already have a phone you are paying out something already. Then look at how much it would cost to do WeightWatchers, Slimfast Herbalife or any of the other ways of losing weight that there are over a year.

    I think that you will find that any of these other "FatFighters" programmes will cost you more over a year than a cheap android phone!

    Good luck!
  • neonpink
    neonpink Posts: 203 Member
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    I have the iPhone 4 and use the app 90% of the time to log my food, I even come onto the community boards using my phone and probably only access the site through my pc 3 times a week. Before mfp I used another online site, I didn't have an iPhone at the time and I found it so hard to log as I wasn't around my pc all the time. So for me the iPhone has been a very big part in being able to consistently log everyday plus the mfp database is a lot better. Also logging has become so easy which I think is key to being able to stick with it, because I am one of those people that unfortunately will probably have to log what I eat most of my life, as I'm not going back to where I've been ! I wouldn't advise the cost of an iPhone just for mfp though.
  • monkeybutter
    monkeybutter Posts: 18
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    I've just got an android phone and have recently discovered the barcode reading feature on the MFP application :) I totally agree with some of the previous people who have posted saying that they plan and log food in advance as this is such a good way of planning your food for the day and keeping you on track. Planning your meals can be a very good thing I've found and having your MFP alongside you during the day can help give you a reference to how your day's calories and exercise is going.

    I log my staple foods in advance such as my oatmeal in the morning and the milk I will be using during the day for tea and coffee and the rest I log as I go.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i usually log my whole days food first thing in the morning, then i know what i can eat through the day. it only takes about 10 mins, unless i start looking on the forums.....
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
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    I use my iPhone. It's a faff to start with, but now it's habit. Start with a notebook, manually write down what you're eating when and log it when you're next online/logged in.

    Don't get an iPhone/smartphone just for the app!

    Forward planning helps - I usually know what I'm having for lunch for the week since I make sure to get the ingredients for it during the weekly grocery shop. Breakfasts tend to be fairly unadventurous as I'm not a morning person...

    Dinner on the other hand....calculating the calories in the meal can be a 'mare sometimes!
  • not2late
    not2late Posts: 98 Member
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    i usually log my whole days food first thing in the morning, then i know what i can eat through the day. it only takes about 10 mins, unless i start looking on the forums.....

    Planning what you are going to eat for the day or week in advance is good. It helps you to have the right foods available.
  • sugarbone
    sugarbone Posts: 454 Member
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    Logging on the computer is deff faster and has more options, the phone app is just good for when you're eating on the go. I like to plan my breakfast lunch the night before and log it, and make any adjustments if I eat something slightly different. Then I'll just log dinner after I've measured my portions and cooked it! I make my lunches the night before 80% of the time so this works well for me.

    Also... I personally really enjoy logging foods haha.
  • lulabellarama
    lulabellarama Posts: 96 Member
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    Once a week I sit down with my ipad and a notepad, planning meals for the week ahead, doing an online shop and logging my meals and snacks in MFP. Takes about an hour all in.
    I then log in once or twice a day to tweak what I am eating or to check what snacks I am having that day. TBH I log in far too often, but that's choice not necessity.
  • rc630
    rc630 Posts: 310 Member
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    I try to log within an hour, before or after, of a meal. If I'm out at a restaurant or something and I haven't picked out what I'm eating beforehand, I try not to log it right then on my phone because it can look rude and I don't like explaining to people what I'm doing.

    If you find it too time consuming to log your food online, try getting a little notebook and writing down what you eat and how much throughout the day. This would also be a useful habit if you're somewhere without internet access, 3G on your phone, etc, so you can still be aware of what you're eating
  • goron59
    goron59 Posts: 890 Member
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    I use iPhone app when out and about, website when at home or otherwise near a proper computer.

    Most of the time, I reuse things I've already used, so not too difficult.

    Otherwise, I search the DB (or use the bar code scanner), but 7 times out of 10, the data that someone has entered is wrong in various degrees (the ever-favourite sodium problem, mostly, or people just adding calories and nothing else, or entering numbers for the wrong weight, and so on), so I fix the data and move on.

    Hardest part is when eating restaurant food where you have no accurate idea of what's going in, so I either guess from ingredients and approx weight, or just stick in a large value Quick Add.

    I eat out a lot less since logging on MFP as a consequence.

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