Tracking help?
ssurvivor
Posts: 142 Member
Hi!
Does anyone have advice for efficient yet accurate logging?
I have some medical things that make real-time logging difficult. And, as an ED warrior, the rigidity of pre-logging can be triggering. So I usually log whenever I I can carve a quiet moment (at the end of the day).
Unfortunately, since COVID-19, I’ve had to change my shopping (and, therefore, eating) routine. WFPB food is pretty cheap so I now have to add convenience foods to spend enough $$$ for delivery.
The problem is that these convenience foods seem to have the nutrients processed out of them. So while I feel full at mealtime, I’m hungry af while I’m logging. Because my body is craving the missing nutrients but I’m not always sure which nutrients are missing.
Any advice for tracking enough to prevent the “midnight protein bar” would be greatly appreciated.
TIA!
Does anyone have advice for efficient yet accurate logging?
I have some medical things that make real-time logging difficult. And, as an ED warrior, the rigidity of pre-logging can be triggering. So I usually log whenever I I can carve a quiet moment (at the end of the day).
Unfortunately, since COVID-19, I’ve had to change my shopping (and, therefore, eating) routine. WFPB food is pretty cheap so I now have to add convenience foods to spend enough $$$ for delivery.
The problem is that these convenience foods seem to have the nutrients processed out of them. So while I feel full at mealtime, I’m hungry af while I’m logging. Because my body is craving the missing nutrients but I’m not always sure which nutrients are missing.
Any advice for tracking enough to prevent the “midnight protein bar” would be greatly appreciated.
TIA!
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Replies
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Not sure what WFPB you're referencing, I know of it as the whole food/plant based diet, which wouldn't leave you lacking in most nutrients and certainly wouldn't include processed convenience foods LOL.
But sounds like you've got 2 issues going on - 1 being logging, the other being food choices.
When it comes to logging, I pretty much have to do it right away, or jot it in a journal to log later. If you're logging properly, you will need to weigh you foods (including pre-packaged ones!) and there's no way someone is likely to remember everything until "later" so a pen and paper near your food scale may be the best alternative?
As for food choices, since I am unfamiliar with your food source(s), I'm probably not much help.
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HoneyBadger302 wrote: »Not sure what WFPB you're referencing, I know of it as the whole food/plant based diet, which wouldn't leave you lacking in most nutrients and certainly wouldn't include processed convenience foods LOL.
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, you’re correct about WFPB being whole food/plant-based. And as I mentioned above, it’s pretty cheap. Pre-COVID-19, I would only spend about $20-25 on my groceries.
But the same condition that makes immediate logging difficult, makes driving an impossibility.
So post COVID-19, I have to have my groceries delivered. I used to walk to the store during work breaks. But, since I’m now working from home, it doesn’t make sense to spend $50 on transport to the store. Which means spending at least $35 on my groceries. And that’s why I added the convenience foods.
I’ve been veg for a very long time so I taught myself to be vigilant about knowing whether a food I’m eating is high/low in my key nutrients. But, with the convenience foods, I have NO idea.
For example, if I prepare a rice bowl with beans, broccoli, carrots in a miso-ginger dressing, I know I’m getting (at least) 25% of my fibre, iron and vit A needs. But if I eat a frozen bowl with the same ingredients, I’m lucky to get 10% of any of those nutrients.
Before, if I was ever randomly hungry, I’d say “oh I’m low in iron” or “oh I’m low in fibre”. But now, I don’t have that internal gauge. Hence my dilemma…
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Maybe you could buy extra of your healthy plant based foods and store/prepare/freeze them. Buy more fresh veg and chop/blanch if necessary/freeze. Or extra cans of lentils & beans. Packages/bags of quinoa, seitan, tofu, quorn, etc. can often be stored in the fridge for quite a while. Packages of nuts and seeds if you are not allergic also store well in the fridge or freezer. That way you aren't just buying random prepared foods to fill up your delivery dollar amount. Also do you have any friends that you can get to pick you up when they do their shopping, sharing the gas and company?3
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Another idea is to buy a tub of plant based protein powder and berries fresh or frozen to make breakfast smoothies with. The protein powder isn't cheap but lasts for a very long time and will pad out your grocery bill.2
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Thanks for your reply!
I’m honestly not exaggerating my medical situation. So there really isn’t much I can change about my shopping routine. I get my staples like nuts/seeds/etc. an vitamins by subscription and changing that would create many more problems than they solve.
I gave this a great deal of thought (and tried a number of solutions likes not using my Ralph’s card, or buying peeled garlic and pre-chopped vegetables) before I posted my dilemma. So I really think the best solution at this point is to adjust my tracking routine.
But, now that the world is opening back up, I might be able to find a neighbor or friend to take me shopping 😊. I love that suggestion!canadjineh wrote: »Another idea is to buy a tub of plant based protein powder and berries fresh or frozen to make breakfast smoothies with. The protein powder isn't cheap but lasts for a very long time and will pad out your grocery bill.
Interestingly enough, HUGE bags of frozen fruit are part of my usual haul and I easily go through them in a week’s time (while most people have a “working coffee”, I have a “working smoothie”). But that’s only $12, bringing my natural total to just under $25.
And, since it’s just me, protein powder lasts at least three months and collagen lasts at least two (I actually get those via subscription too). If I could realistically add protein powder and/or vitamins to my grocery haul, that would be an amazing suggestion. The powder alone is about $20.0 -
Just another idea.... could you share a grocery order with a friend who lives nearby? Maybe by adding to their regular order you could just do an e-transfer to them for payment and not have to order a certain dollar amount. I've shared community food box deliveries with another friend here so that we don't end up with too much at one time. I've also shared online fresh nut harvest ordering with another friend, so that we get a discount for being above a certain dollar amount.
How's it going?1
