Food Journal Question

elcieloesazul

(I'm new here, just joined a few days ago, and am still learning the lingo and the rules.) For the food journal, is it more beneficial to fill it out right after a meal or consumption or do you guys recommend doing it all in one sitting at the end of the day-almost as a reflection? I have a pretty busy schedule, so filling it in after every snack or meal would be pretty arduous. Suggestions? Comments? Tips?

Thank you!

cardbucfan

There are two schools of thought. Fill it out as you go so you don't forget things (do you have a smartphone? the app is so handy for this purpose!). The other way is for incredibly organized, disciplined people (yeah, not me) who fill in their diary ahead of time what they PLAN to eat and then stick with it. I think waiting until the end of the day is the worst choice because it would be so easy to forget those tastes and exact portions of things (and condiments and all those little things that add up) but it is absolutely better than nothing!

Oh, and welcome to MFP and good luck!

elcieloesazul

I don't have a smart phone, but I do record my food and portions old-school in a spiral-bound notebook. This has sort of been working, but I feel like I need feedback from people who have "been there" about what to change and what to keep.
Thank you!!

carrie_eggo

I plan my dinners for the week so I can pre-log those easily. And I almost always eat the same thing for breakfast. So all I do, is at the beginning of the day, I decide what I am going to have for lunch and snacks and then log it all in and stick to it. Then I just make adjustments as the day goes on.

itsuki

I like doing at least breakfast and lunch ahead of time - that way I know what I have left for dinner. While I am getting better at estimating calories as I'm eating them, I worry that if I waited until the end of the day and did everything then, I'd end up being way over! :P