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How do you have your food diary set up?

ebbingfat
ebbingfat Posts: 117 Member
edited February 24 in Food and Nutrition
I just learned that you can go into the settings and rename your meal categories. A lot of times I have a hard time deciding what meal category I should log something into (Especially on days where I work at 4 AM and have "lunch" at like 9 AM and then a second lunch or heavy snack later in the afternoon), so I decided to delete all meals and just sort by time.

I have:
Wakeup - 10 AM
10 AM - 2 PM
2PM - 6 PM
6 PM - Bedtime

I might try changing it around some more after a while to see what I prefer.

How do you guys have your diaries set up, and why do you have it set the way you do?
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Replies

  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    I like to eat often, so I have

    Breakfast
    Mid-morning Snack
    Lunch
    Mid-Afternoon Snack
    Dinner
    Evening Snack

    I don't always eat 6 times a day, sometimes just 4 or 5, but usually six. I pretty much stick to a similar time frame for these meals, but I can also see the value in labeling them by time, like you have. Actually, I have seen your type of organization in several others' diaries. Smart choice for flexible eaters.
  • kateos1980
    kateos1980 Posts: 11 Member
    Thank You SOOOOO much!!!!

    I've been in Diary Settings before, but didn't realize I could change those. Ok I didn't even read that section.

    Now I have Breakfast, Snack 1, Lunch, Snack 2, and Dinner. I did put in a snack after dinner, but I try very hard to not eat after dinner because that is a bad time for me.
  • ebbingfat
    ebbingfat Posts: 117 Member
    Thank You SOOOOO much!!!!

    I've been in Diary Settings before, but didn't realize I could change those. Ok I didn't even read that section.

    Now I have Breakfast, Snack 1, Lunch, Snack 2, and Dinner. I did put in a snack after dinner, but I try very hard to not eat after dinner because that is a bad time for me.

    You're welcome! I just looked at someone's diary and saw that they had a couple snack categories in it, so that's when it hit me that the diary could be personalized. I had never looked in the diary settings before. I am thrilled by this discovery, haha.
  • marylynn85
    marylynn85 Posts: 496 Member
    I have:

    Breakfast
    Lunch
    Dinner
    Snacks
    Liquids
    Vitamins
  • happysquidmuffin
    happysquidmuffin Posts: 651 Member
    I have Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, and Late Night because I typically have 2 dinners... One for myself around 5, one with my husband around 9:30.
    But I've been thinking about remodeling my system after the Hobbit way:

    :Breakfast
    Second Breakfast
    Elevensies
    Luncheon
    Afternoon Tea
    Dinner
    Supper

    Because I usually break my meals into lots of mini-meals throughout the day anyways. :smile:
  • whovian67
    whovian67 Posts: 608 Member
    Mine is set up like a diabetic..lunch #1 & lunch #2 so I can easily estimate glycemic index
  • kethry70
    kethry70 Posts: 404 Member
    I originally had breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, etc but that isn't how I always eat. I now just have meals 1-6 and I don't care if it was really a snack or meal. I'm just OCD enough that I want it all in chronological order :laugh:
  • Italianma7
    Italianma7 Posts: 83 Member
    6-10
    10-2
    2-5
    5-8
    8-12 (midnight)
  • nvpixie
    nvpixie Posts: 483 Member
    Breakfast
    Lunch
    Dinner
    Snacks
    Beverages
  • runningagainstmyself
    runningagainstmyself Posts: 616 Member
    Ha! We're quite similar:

    Breakfast
    10am-1pm
    1pm-4pm
    4pm-8pm
    After 8pm
    Other
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    Breakfast
    11-4
    Dinner
    Dessert
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    Morning
    Noon
    Night
    Extras

    I usually pre-log all foods, sometimes days in advance. It's just easier for me to keep on track this way. Extras are those little things I decide to eat/add on that particular day.
  • benaddict
    benaddict Posts: 1,381 Member
    I haven't changed it from the defaults, so it's Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks. I try to keep each "meal" approximately equal (350-450 calories per meal), doesn't always happen but that's my goal. I have considered changing it up, but haven't gone through with it yet.
  • tmyers541
    tmyers541 Posts: 53 Member
    Morning
    Afternoon
    Evening
    Coffee
  • RLMsFitnessPal
    RLMsFitnessPal Posts: 81 Member
    I've stuck with the default categories for now. My meals aren't necessarily at regular times because my schedule can vary from day to day. When I decide to eat breakfast, it's breakfast. Same goes for other meals.

    Any food eaten outside of my meal times goes under snacks. I generally limit beverages to water, Splenda sweet tea, and morning coffee with Splenda and a teaspoon of non-dairy creamer. I save sodas, beer, and other such beverages as special treats or with meals.

    I do keep track of my medications and supplements in my food notes. I'm just trying to get in the habit of logging my food accurately. Sometimes, I guess and try to overestimate if I'm going to make a mistake. I do weigh and measure when possible, though.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,251 Member
    I don't generally log. But when I do, it now says
    food:
  • pythonsweb
    pythonsweb Posts: 49 Member
    I like that! food :) pretty much taking it down to the basics I love it, might try that! :) I am a shift worker to so my breakfast and dinner times are different on my days off
    4am-7am Breakfast
    7am-1pm Breakfast/Lunch
    1pm-10pm Lunch/Dinner
    10pm-4am Dinner
    Snacks
    Supplements
  • ashenriver
    ashenriver Posts: 498 Member
    I have my diary set up as default. However I am a haphazard logger, getting better though and even if I don't log the calories I starting log what I ate in the notes section.

    That being said, sometimes my entire day gets logged into breakfast or lunch, sometimes most of the food ends up in snacks.
    I have a pretty set eating schedule (union job, coffee break and lunch time is pretty much mandated) but I don't bother to separate out the times or meals when I log. The important thing is to get the foods logged.

    I usually end up not logging dinner, especially if I eat out and don't have nutritional information. (I live in a town with NO chain restaurants)
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I have Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, and Late Night because I typically have 2 dinners... One for myself around 5, one with my husband around 9:30.
    But I've been thinking about remodeling my system after the Hobbit way:

    :Breakfast
    Second Breakfast
    Elevensies
    Luncheon
    Afternoon Tea
    Dinner
    Supper

    Because I usually break my meals into lots of mini-meals throughout the day anyways. :smile:

    LOL! I have elevensies, too! I basically just log any snacking throughout the day into my elevensies category. :laugh:
  • Oi_Sunshine
    Oi_Sunshine Posts: 819 Member
    I don't have it broken into meals, it's all just dumped into the diary like slop in a trough.
  • GeordieGirl80s
    GeordieGirl80s Posts: 120 Member
    Mine is currently set at

    Breakfast
    Lunch
    Dinner
    Snacks
    Treats
    Other
  • bluehydrangeas
    bluehydrangeas Posts: 16
    Breakfast, lunch, & dinner. If I eat after a meal, I just add it to the meal before.
  • bluehydrangeas
    bluehydrangeas Posts: 16
    I don't have it broken into meals, it's all just dumped into the diary like slop in a trough.

    Haha! I used to do that. My only meal was listed as "today" and I just put everything there. But now I like to break it up, makes it easier to see that I'm not eating a lot in one sitting which used to be an issue for me.
  • MariadfdCruz
    MariadfdCruz Posts: 69 Member
    I added Snacks AM and Snacks PM. So, it looks like:

    Breakfast
    Lunch
    Dinner
    Snacks AM
    Snacks PM

    Maybe I should change the order because Snacks AM is between Breakfast and Lunch, Snacks PM is betweens Lunch and Dinner. Though, snacks is for me an extra that should be a fruit or a drink but sometimes is something else. I like to control the snacks calories and meals calories.
  • cppeace
    cppeace Posts: 764 Member
    I have breakfast, lunch, dinner, work snacks, home snacks and drinks other than water. Works for me
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    6 - 9
    9 - 12
    12 - 3
    3 - 6
    6 - 9
    9 - 12
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
    I work overnights so it's easier to use times.

    0000 - 0600
    0600 - 1200
    1200 - 1800
    1800 - 0000
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
    I wake up at weird times so I just do meal 1-5 and a preworkout meal

    was going to make a post workout meal but meh
  • balance_happy_mum
    balance_happy_mum Posts: 25 Member
    I have
    breakfast
    lunch
    tea (dinner)
    Snacks
    Workout snacks
    Juices/smoothies

    I have just added juices smoothies because i am trying to increase my fruit and vegie intake to try to combat andrenal fatigue so i have added a juice before breakfast every day.
  • missyjane824
    missyjane824 Posts: 1,199 Member
    I used to switch mine around a lot until I found what worked best for me. Mine are:

    Morning
    Noon
    Night

    I would get all obsessive over which one to log it under so I went pretty simple. At some point I might adopt the food suggestion as I'm not looking to necessarily track when I'm eating something.
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