How do you guys consistently track you food?

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Replies

  • How do you guys consistently track you food? I mean seriously? I always forget to write down my food and then I forget what I ate by the end of the day. How do you stay motivated to track your diet?

    I log right after eating or while eating. If I'm not at home or by a computer, I write it down if I don't think I'll remember. If you're 'forgetting' to write it down... no offense, are you really that focused or committed? I'm constantly thinking about what I'm going to eat and how I can make my meals healthier. I stay motivated to track my diet because I WANT to lose the weight and be healthier. If you're just getting started it can be a little tough to adjust to, but try getting a small notepad or something for keeping track of your food especially if you aren't around the computer a lot. Or you could try out the mobile app for Fitness Pal. Sometimes I also pre-log what I plan to eat. Then don't vary from that. If you pack a lunch for work or something, log it when you pack the lunch.

    Hope it helps, good luck with your weight loss!
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    I'm like many others here. I log asap after I eat and sometimes if I'm packing my food and I know what I'm packing I enter it a day ahead. It helps me plan the next day. If I change my mind on what I eat I can change it.

    I use the phone app when I'm out and about and I use the computer app when I'm home working on the computer.
  • You have to get into a habit of doing it right there on the spot. Pull out your phone and log it. I hear my friends say they can't be bothered. At most, it takes 5 minutes. Usually much less time. But, if you can't do that for some reason, remember. Saying you can't remember what you ate is really indicating that you don't pay attentioin to what you eat. I know exactly what I eat because I make very purposeful decisions about it. Even when I eat wrong, it's a very concious decision I make to do that at that moment, so I never forget.

    Very well said. :)
  • RSuta
    RSuta Posts: 60
    Sometimes when i dont have time to track my food I take a picture of it and send it to my email with a subject of breaksfast, lunch, or dinner the email will have the date so youll know what day to track it.
  • CarmenLynn75
    CarmenLynn75 Posts: 118 Member
    Use a smartphone app!! They're free and awesome :) Or, log ur day prior as a means of planning what you'll eat then only eat what you planned!!
  • iphone in hand after or soon after every meal. in order for it to work it has to be religion....
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    it's a pain at first but you get used to logging so that it becomes second nature.

    what also helps is that MFP keeps track of your recent items, so if you eat the same things there's very little searching you have to do.

    i'd say in all, it takes me 3-5 minutes a day to log my meals in
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    How do you guys consistently track you food? I mean seriously? I always forget to write down my food and then I forget what I ate by the end of the day. How do you stay motivated to track your diet?

    By logging it as I'm preparing it. Usually with the barcode scanner. Why write it all down and then input it later? Making twice the work for yourself and making it less likely you'll be able to keep up.
  • shinesunfish
    shinesunfish Posts: 93 Member
    Just make it a habit. It's hard for the first couple of weeks, but then it becomes second nature. And it really helps you to think about it WHILE you are eating it, which can lower your portions. And don't worry if you don't get things 100% correct - if I am eating at a local restaurant and the info isn't in the system, I just approximate. It shouldn't take an hour to log in your food. :)
  • lindalou4850
    lindalou4850 Posts: 217 Member
    I try to track it when I eat it.. But then i try to track what I am going to eat for the day! That is so much easier for me!!
  • Sometimes I log before I eat. I plan my meals, then log them all at once when I have time. I can make changes later if needed. I eat a lot of the same meals, so that helps too. I don't find it that hard to remember what I ate if I don't let it go too long between loggings. The phone app helps too.
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
    How can you FORGET what you ate? If you can't remember what you had for lunch 4 hours ago, you might have bigger problems than just losing weight! :laugh:

    All joking aside, though, MFP mobile is really helpful when you're on the go. :smile:
  • Monica_in_MO
    Monica_in_MO Posts: 162 Member
    You have to get into a habit of doing it right there on the spot. Pull out your phone and log it. I hear my friends say they can't be bothered. At most, it takes 5 minutes. Usually much less time. But, if you can't do that for some reason, remember. Saying you can't remember what you ate is really indicating that you don't pay attentioin to what you eat. I know exactly what I eat because I make very purposeful decisions about it. Even when I eat wrong, it's a very concious decision I make to do that at that moment, so I never forget.

    This is exactly my process, as well! It has to be quite intentional. A million conscious decisions every day.
  • asgard825
    asgard825 Posts: 1,516 Member
    Monday thru Friday I map out my meals for the day--Weekends when a little looser I kinda track as I go--Always (try) do Exercise real time and in morning so I know what I can get away with. ex: glass o wine, dessert, etc.
  • MargaretWalks
    MargaretWalks Posts: 38 Member
    iPhone and iPad. My iPhone is always with me at restaurants and I do it right there--takes a couple of minutes. At home I am often entering the info as I'm cooking. Second nature now.
  • If u know what u are having for Breakfast and luunch..U can forward and put it in your food and then u just have to add supper! Or write it down !!!!! It is important to keep a food journal!!!!!!! For any kind of weight loss to work from Weight Watchers to myfitnesspals.... U have to keep a record of your foods!!!!!!!
  • Wow! You are all a great help. I think it's a matter of getting in the habit and possibly keeping a small notebook and pen with me in my back pocket.
  • Wow! You are all a great help. I think it's a matter of getting in the habit and possibly keeping a small notebook and pen with me in my back pocket.

    Very good plan! :) You just have to get into the habit and really be thinking about what you're eating.
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    eat log eat log eat log just like that :) I'm either doing it on my computer or from my phone..drives me nuts if I'm somewhere I cant..but if that situation arises I put a "note" on my phone so I dont forget what I ate.
  • I sometimes log before I even eat, as a meal planning tool. I find that if I do this, I can sometimes adjust my meals to make sure I stay within the correct calorie limit.

    Otherwise, I log it on my iPhone app as I go along, or at my laptop at work.

    I'm going on holiday soon and I plan to take a small notebook with me everywhere I go, so that I can make sure I log everything.

    As everyone above has said, I think it is about making a conscious decision to make sure you log your food and committing to it.
  • AliceNov2011
    AliceNov2011 Posts: 471 Member
    I prelog my food up to a week in advance and that's what I eat. It may vary slightly but I update right a way or send myself a text on my phone so I can refer to it later.

    ^^^Me, too. I plan a week in advance, then just adjust.
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
    I think for me it just got to be a habit, plus the fact that I eat a lot of the same things and "saved them as meals" so I can just add a whole meal with one click instead of individually. You can do it, but I get mine started early in the day, like after my coffee and breakfast, I usually put it in right then. If I know for sure what I am going to have for the rest of the day or any part of it, I log it all ahead in the a.m. or right after lunch maybe:)

    denise:drinker: :drinker:

    PS I can change things at the end of the day if I didn't eat what I planned;)
  • I pre log my food on work days and I have a food scale.so know exacty what I'm eating. And on days that I'm off I log it after I eat it.
  • doonesbury
    doonesbury Posts: 281 Member
    I log it after or during eating it.

    Sometimes I log it before, while its cooking.

    Or even once I decide what it's gonna be earlier in the day.

    I log religiously!!
  • Jayme34
    Jayme34 Posts: 160 Member
    i spend 10 minutes at the end of every day logging food for the next day and adjusting my current days food intake. Then I try to stay on track everyday but i pretty much know how much i can consume if i should go over.
  • vegas711
    vegas711 Posts: 92 Member
    MFP Iphone App. love the scanner
  • frando
    frando Posts: 583 Member
    I try to log the evening before or the morning of.

    It's best to log before you eat it, so you actually know what the content of it is before you eat it. After all, there is nothing worse eating something you guessed at only 200 calories only to find out its closer to 500 (it's happened to me in the early days).
  • sammyjo0402
    sammyjo0402 Posts: 106 Member
    Well... I didn't read all the comments but I often plan my meals ahead and will log it ahead of time. This helps especially so I know where to limit myself or not have something I would have unnecessarily added to my meals.. like, that extra piece of bread or extra tbsp of this or that... sometimes log while I'm eating though because I have a good grip on knowing what I'm eating...
  • mcpjan
    mcpjan Posts: 76 Member
    I try to log what I am eating just before or just after so I can stay on track. I also have the mobile app so even when eating out I can record it.
  • TeaberryDawn
    TeaberryDawn Posts: 30 Member
    As several others have mentioned, I try and log most of my day the day before. Then, I add or delete things on the fly using the Android app during the day. This helps me stick to my calorie goal and see where I have flexibility to eat more or less. I also use a Fitbit (which syncs with MyFitnessPal) and that helps me see what calories I have "earned" if I am hungry and want a little something extra. I think mostly it is about establishing a routine, making it a habit, and sticking with it. Best wishes!