Do any of you keep a food diary..?

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  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 814 Member
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    I log everything in my food diary on MFP before I eat it. It keeps me more accountable because I see the numbers in black and white. If I wrote down I had popcorn in a journal it wouldn't look so bad, but if I log it in MFP and it shows that the popcorn had 4 tbsp butter and 4 tbsp parmesan cheese it would show about 30g fat and over 600 calories. Different story altogether.
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    This is what I use for a food diary.
    Between the thought of adding whatever I eat in, plus my friends on here seeing it, MFP always crosses my mind when I am thinking about eating something. I'd definitely say it helps.
    This works for me, but physically writing it down may further reinforce the effects. Worth a shot! :happy:

    Yes but that still leaves the possibility of cheating, does it ever happen to you?

    I think I will give it one last chance
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    I log everything in my food diary on MFP before I eat it. It keeps me more accountable because I see the numbers in black and white. If I wrote down I had popcorn in a journal it wouldn't look so bad, but if I log it in MFP and it shows that the popcorn had 4 tbsp butter and 4 tbsp parmesan cheese it would show about 30g fat and over 600 calories. Different story altogether.

    You defenetly have a good point there :smooched:
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    I used to log everything in a journal and it worked, but then I just got bored and tired of it... managed to gain 10 lbs. I said "no more! there must be a better way to do this!" I went on the hunt, and found MFP. I find this works so much better for me. I can see everything I eat from day to day. It gives me my progress. It is relatively accurate. AND I find it like a mini challenge to log in every single day. I am at 166 or something like that, and I can't let it slip! A pen and paper just does not give me that challenge.

    Thank you for your reply :flowerforyou:
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    I log on MFP and have kept a food diary for over 20 months now. For me it works and I am planning on continuing it for the rest of my life. I read several articles on losing weight statistics. At least 95% of those who lose large amounts gain it back. Most of those who do not gain it back keep food diaries. I am determined to be in the 5% maintenance group.

    Wow thats what I call persistence and patience :flowerforyou:
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    I log everything online, to me it is an online journal, i don't get the difference between writing on paper and logging it online , what is the difference ? To me , i love the online part it makes me even more aware because it shows the calories.


    Well, in treatment, the goal of the diary was not to count calories but to note the time, the amount and the FEELINGS...ugh. Probably why I didnt like it very much lol. Its more of an emotional connectiong/disconnection from food. :)

    Exactly.. Besides Im not counting calories, its more about psychologically challenging myself and my mind to eat rationally and moderate portions.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    I will write it down on paper, just because I like the physical act and satisfaction of writing it out. But, I'm not as religious about it. I find myself often writing down my goals for the week, month, or year, not just in terms of weight loss goals, but others as well. Just something I do, and always have.. probably always will. Something quirky I have I guess
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    I will write it down on paper, just because I like the physical act and satisfaction of writing it out. But, I'm not as religious about it. I find myself often writing down my goals for the week, month, or year, not just in terms of weight loss goals, but others as well. Just something I do, and always have.. probably always will. Something quirky I have I guess

    Thanks, i get that satisfaction too (if I have eaten well mind you :embarassed: )
  • petiteLady89
    petiteLady89 Posts: 198 Member
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    no, this is my food diary. Although when I start working I will probably carry a small notebook with me to jot everything down so I don't forget. I don't have a smart phone. I do all my logging on the computer, or my sons ipod once in a while.
  • addaline22
    addaline22 Posts: 114
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    I have to. If I dont write it down and see what I am consuming- I loose all controll. or worse, I forget and eat more.
  • scrapper3131
    scrapper3131 Posts: 9
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    Nope. This works great for me. I'm motivated.
  • cersela
    cersela Posts: 160 Member
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    I keep a photo food journal, it really helps me be accountable. http://consumingdepression.blogspot.com/ I also love this site and try to log everything here first.
  • missmaxwell91
    missmaxwell91 Posts: 1
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    I use MFP as my diary as well. I have it on my phone which I always have on me. It definitely makes me think twice because I log what I want and it makes me think about whether I really need whatever it is. It's helped me alot.
  • shaianna
    shaianna Posts: 13 Member
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    I keep a paper diary I write my food down when I don't have time to log in. Also, I'm learning the calorie count of what I eat and I can kinda calculate when i'm not to sure
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
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    I think paper is easier in a way. The first time a dropped maybe 10 lbs doing it like that. I am pretty sure I wasnt eating nearly enough calories because I didnt know better. The weight seemed to fall off. I always seem to do better if I have a cute notebook to write in. Apparently it didnt work long term because here I am again :sad:
  • MyM0wM0w
    MyM0wM0w Posts: 2,008 Member
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    I use MFP as my food diary. Every bite of food goes into my food log on here.

    I find that it dissuades me better than anything else. I type in what I WANT to eat and when it pulls the numbers and I see my totals jump at the bottom it usually freaks me out and I put it down. :wink:
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    Thank you all for replying, I really appreciate your feedback :flowerforyou:
  • maril101
    maril101 Posts: 12 Member
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    I keep a journal - food diary in addition to logging in and keeping track with MFP. I keep track of time of day I eat, how I feel, any great "aha" moments - I find it very useful, particularly when I work with my trainer because the phone is too small to easily show sometimes what it is I have questions about. Another thing I like to do is to print out posts that seem particularly good and useful and scrapbook them into the journal. That way, I don't have to sift through a lot of material to find something I especially liked - and I've found the keeping of all of this information so that I can view trends, see how I felt physically when things happened along the line and adjust when it's apparent that's the thing to do to be another tool to help me find my way. Of course, as many people say, I could probably do this from the phone, I just find it more convenient to have my journal as well and I do love to keep track of things..
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
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    I do better with mfp online/on my phone than I ever did with an analog food diary
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    I keep a journal - food diary in addition to logging in and keeping track with MFP. I keep track of time of day I eat, how I feel, any great "aha" moments - I find it very useful, particularly when I work with my trainer because the phone is too small to easily show sometimes what it is I have questions about. Another thing I like to do is to print out posts that seem particularly good and useful and scrapbook them into the journal. That way, I don't have to sift through a lot of material to find something I especially liked - and I've found the keeping of all of this information so that I can view trends, see how I felt physically when things happened along the line and adjust when it's apparent that's the thing to do to be another tool to help me find my way. Of course, as many people say, I could probably do this from the phone, I just find it more convenient to have my journal as well and I do love to keep track of things..

    Very inspirational, well done and thanks for sharing, thats some great ideas :flowerforyou:

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