Do you track your food?

2

Replies

  • hayleysuel
    hayleysuel Posts: 46 Member
    You MUST!!!

    I work full time M-F so what works for me is I bring my bag of food for the day to work & log it all right away in the morning. By the end of the work day I have an idea of what sounds good for dinner & I log it. I also log my snacks in advance too! So at 9pm when I'm craving that chocolate pudding and I've completed that entry for the day... I've already got it logged!!

    Find a system that works for you & stick with it!!
  • JeniferEverx3
    JeniferEverx3 Posts: 219 Member
    I track my food online via computer while at work. After work I use the myfitnesspal app on my iphone, which i have with me at all times. Maybe you need to download the app?
  • JeniferEverx3
    JeniferEverx3 Posts: 219 Member
    You MUST!!!

    I work full time M-F so what works for me is I bring my bag of food for the day to work & log it all right away in the morning. By the end of the work day I have an idea of what sounds good for dinner & I log it. I also log my snacks in advance too! So at 9pm when I'm craving that chocolate pudding and I've completed that entry for the day... I've already got it logged!!

    Find a system that works for you & stick with it!!

    I agree! I report a lot of my meals first thing in the morning so I have an idea of how many calories I will have left for dinner.
  • darwinwoodka
    darwinwoodka Posts: 322 Member
    kinda what we're here for... there's a mobile app even. No excuses!

    I even carry a small food log with me in case I can't get to the phone app.
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    MFP is considered a fitness 'journal' geared towards tracking food - I don't understand what else you would do with it? Please enlighten me!
  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
    Lately I have been trying to track everything daily. If I log in at least once its after lunch and then I do dinner from the day before, breakfast, and the lunch I just ate. Also any snacks that I can remember.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,861 Member
    MFP is considered a fitness 'journal' geared towards tracking food - I don't understand what else you would do with it? Please enlighten me!
    I log everything but I have MFP friends who only log weight and exercise and use it for support from online friends. It's not the way I use it but whatever works.
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    MFP is considered a fitness 'journal' geared towards tracking food - I don't understand what else you would do with it? Please enlighten me!
    I log everything but I have MFP friends who only log weight and exercise and use it for support from online friends. It's not the way I use it but whatever works.
    Hmmm- that's odd to me because I'm so anal about knowing every calorie in and out, but if it works for them - COOL!
  • staciedee10
    staciedee10 Posts: 90 Member
    I cannot always get on the computer to log everything when it happens so I log my food & calories on paper. The next time I get on MFP, I log all of my stuff in. ;-)
  • Laffinhippiegurl
    Laffinhippiegurl Posts: 41 Member
    I have to log! Whether I make it or not, it helps! I do check out restaurants in advance...and I even log drinks at the bar...although drunk logging is a challenge. :drinker:
  • wilma377
    wilma377 Posts: 2
    Yes I track 95% of the time and go back if I forget. When I see what I ate it helps.
  • wilma377
    wilma377 Posts: 2
    Wow! Congratulations on your weight loss. I just began tracking this month I try to log everything. I would say I have it at 95% of ALL my daily activities and food.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Yup the apps work great. Worse comes to worse write it on a slip of paper with the amounts and log it later when you get home.
  • avababy05
    avababy05 Posts: 930 Member
    Logging food is the main reason I joined the site.

    The people on my friends list are a wonderful added bonus:smile:
  • aphillips10
    aphillips10 Posts: 1
    I find it easy when I track all of meals for the whole day, even snacks, in the morning.....that way I get it out of the way and it helps me stick to what I should be eating.
  • emersmurf
    emersmurf Posts: 27
    I started out tracking my food, then stopped cuz it felt like I was on the computer all the time. I stopped, thinking I could just track the exercises and moderate my eating. Didn't work for me. I don't always track, but I'm getting more into the habit. It helps me to keep on track when I actually log in my food. Good luck!
  • liittlesparrow
    liittlesparrow Posts: 209 Member
    I do. Weekends tend to get hectic but I'm working on it. It's just a habit you need to get in.
  • PamelaGatorMom
    PamelaGatorMom Posts: 348 Member
    and I even log drinks at the bar...although drunk logging is a challenge. :drinker:

    Drunk loggers anonymous unite!! LOL :drinker: :drinker:
  • lisanume
    lisanume Posts: 127 Member
    I log everything.,... even if I have choclate.
    I measure and weigh everything.
    If I plateau or gain a few lbs I can go back and look to see what happened.
  • firstloveyourself
    firstloveyourself Posts: 149 Member
    ...In fact, when going to restaurants, I look ahead of time on MFP what my best food options are and then track them before I go. I can always delete or modify later if I eat something different...
    That is a wonderful idea! I haven't thought about that before. :D
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    I was surprised to find that I was eating a lot less than I thought. Before I started tracking again, if I ate more than one piece of chocolate, I started feeling guilty, and I would stop eating for the day. Now I log it, and get on with eating all, or at least most, of the calories that I'm "allowed."
  • beautifulregardless
    beautifulregardless Posts: 145
    I want to answer the OP but I'm stuck on the avatar ... is that your nipple hanging out? It isn't ... it is ... it isn't ...

    That's my tattoo.. It's a bearclaw. So no it isn't. ;)
  • bpwparents
    bpwparents Posts: 359 Member
    Yes. I log everything and try to do it as close to eating as possible. This is where the phone app comes in handy. If I log too long after I tend to forget to log certain things. Just keep doing your best to log. It takes some getting used to but it's worth it and gets easier after time.
  • beautifulregardless
    beautifulregardless Posts: 145
    ...In fact, when going to restaurants, I look ahead of time on MFP what my best food options are and then track them before I go. I can always delete or modify later if I eat something different...
    That is a wonderful idea! I haven't thought about that before. :D

    I agree ^ That's a great plan!
  • beautifulregardless
    beautifulregardless Posts: 145
    Don't take this as being "snotty" or smart alecky, but this program is based on tracking calories in vs out, so it would be kinda pointless if meals are not recorded.

    With that said, I do miss recording meals a few times on weekends, but am "religious" about it during the weekdays. I have consistently lost a pound or so a week since beginning this past January....

    You're not being snotty :) I agree with you! The last two days I've done good but just saying my normal.
  • beautifulregardless
    beautifulregardless Posts: 145
    If you want to be successful tracking your food, you should try to plan your meals a bit more. Might help, but if you're going to be serious about loosing weight you have to be serious about tracking what you're eating (regardless of whether or not you go over your limits).

    I ALMOST always plan my meals and save them in MFP but end up deleting them before bed on my phone and not redoing all the things I ate. :P
  • beautifulregardless
    beautifulregardless Posts: 145
    If it's really bothersome/time consuming for you to track every single piece of food then simply calculate how many calories you ate that meal/day in your head and use the quick-add calories feature.

    This is SO true! I can't believe how high in calories/fat some "healthy options" end up being. I too check ahead on restaurants. Even if I make a poor choice, at least I know going into it.

    Yes! That is smart!! ^_^
  • axialmeow
    axialmeow Posts: 382 Member
    Yes. It was a real eye opener. I would have lost nothing without tracking!!
  • doomspark
    doomspark Posts: 228 Member
    I've found that when I'm good about logging what I eat, I do better with staying on track. These past couple of days, I haven't been good about logging - no excuses, just laziness - and it shows. So, yeah, for me, logging works.
  • stardancer7
    stardancer7 Posts: 276 Member
    Logging is a promise I keep to myself to make my own health my priority. As someone earlier pointed out, knowledge is power--and I have found a number of foods that I used to eat mindlessly really are NOT worth the calories.

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