Do you keep a food journal?

Angeladarling · 04-18-2008, 10:44 AM

Ok, so I have always been told that keeping a food journal is so important. The problem is, I really hate doing it! How vital do you think a food journal is?

HarleyGirl · 04-18-2008, 10:52 AM

For me, it's absolutely critical to my success.
I use fitday.com......I know if I need to bump protein, I know if I've had enough carbs for the day, I know my calorie intake.

If I don't track it, it's easy to either lose track or intentionally "fudge" on my intake. If it's right there in writing, there's no getting around the fact that............"Girl, you're done for the day.....better go have a Crystal Light"

On the other hand, there have been days that I've looked and found that I SHOULD have a little something more to eat.

Again, it's just my world.....but I HAVE to do it!

luvinke · 04-18-2008, 11:14 AM

Angel I was just like you up until a week ago when I decided to start logging my food, water and exercise in. I asked the people on line to recommed free on line tracking sites and they gave me fitday.com and sparkpeople.com. I find that I can navigate better with sparkpeople.com and therefore I am using it daily. This has helped me to lose weight in the past week and to help me to realize that I have not been consuming enough calories a day to lose sufficient weight so I am working on it. Best of Luck to you!

Reen · 04-18-2008, 12:10 PM

I use sparkpeople.com and Love it.
You can track your Food, Exercise, and there is a Group for LapBanders.
Come on over and give it a try, you can even create your own spark page with pictures and share recipes.

MollyMolly · 04-18-2008, 01:45 PM

It's been a very helpful tool, for me. Both for calorie and nutrition tracking.

I think if you are consistently losing without doing it, then you needn't feel like you "should" be doing it. But if you stall, unless you know for sure that you really need more fill, you might try food tracking first.

I have found TheDailyPlate.com to be very easy to use for this (I used to use fitday but this is faster).

Keeps me honest about exactly what I'm putting in my mouth.

**Jack** · 04-18-2008, 10:00 PM

Information is Power! Knowledge is Power! Having the feed-back on my food and exercise choices keeps me motivated and more aware of what I'm doing!

lessnless · 04-18-2008, 10:18 PM

I second TheDailyPlate.com. Very easy to use. Most of the foods I eat regularly are already in their database and if I need to add something, it's in the same format as the familiar nutritional label.

I also make a point to weigh and measure all my food, because my particular disease (obesity) keeps me from eyeballing portions correctly.
Funny how I always OVERestimate, and never UNDERestimate.

Hastings · 04-19-2008, 08:36 AM

I use sparkpeople.com because, among other things, I can add in a recipe and get the nutritional info for it.

I keep a small digital scale in the kitchen and weight food, also two sets of measuring cups.

I know where I stand and what I have eaten. If I go off the track, I make sure to record that too.

trystelle · 04-19-2008, 01:05 PM

I always hated it and never kept it up for long. Now that I have my Lap Band I do it more than 95% of the time. I usually only miss it when I am away. I have to keep my brain accountable for the choices it makes. I use The Daily Plate.

Angeladarling · 04-25-2008, 09:06 AM

Thank you for your replies! I have signed up for sparkpeople.com. I'm hoping this will help me stay on track with my eating. Keep up the good work everyone!

lanie527 · 04-25-2008, 10:34 AM

I log daily, but I prefer a paper journal. I keep it by my bed and enter information each evening. I record the day of the week, date, my weight from the morning, and foods with calories/protein numbers. Then I record the total for the day of calories and protein.
There are also days when I enter a little information about how I am doing or feeling. For example, tired today. yea! half way to mini-goal. frustrating day, ate cake. Noticing the patterns of my mood, stress, and wekend eating helps keep me motivated to do my best working with my band. I know that when I am doing my daily exercise, under 1200 calories, and around 60 grams of protein; I lose weight. I often use Sparks People to calculate calories and protein in "new" food items.

Hope this is useful,
Lanie

LV my LABS · 05-02-2008, 04:27 PM

i don't really keep one but what i do is when i pack my breakfast and lunch for work every night i write down the calories and protein in each item. I have a small dry erase board that has a magnet that is attatched to the fridge so each night i add up each column to make sure i'm going to get enough protein and enough/not too many calories. then when i get home from work i know how much i should be eating for dinner so that i get my protein or don't go way over in calories etc.

***Susan*** · 05-03-2008, 10:46 AM

Well, since getting my band I had basically refused to keep a log of what I eat. I had always said I was doing this to be a "normal" person and I didn't want to have to keep track of every bit of food I put in my mouth for the rest of my life.

Alas, I joined a gym about two weeks ago. The trainer there suggested I start keeping a log of what I am eating seeing I have the band. He said that way we can monitor my weight and determine if I need to increase or decrease my caloric intake to make the most of my new exercise regime and weight loss program. So, I succumbed. I saw that Jack had recommended the Daily Plate, so I signed up there. I have been tracking for a week now. I must admit, I am actually finding it interesting to see what I am really putting in my mouth and seeing the nutritional content of what I have eaten at the end of the day. I guess I am reformed now.

kathystrick · 05-05-2008, 01:43 PM

I do, but not as religiously as I should. When I have a bad day, I don't want to know what I ate fort he day. Those are probably the days I need to keep it even more though.

IndioGirl55 · 05-05-2008, 02:03 PM

For ME it has been a great tool - a learning tool.

As an obese person I didn't use portion control or count calories. I feel that we don't/didn't know what the calories amounts were for the foods we ate.

In my quest to become a healthier person - I purchase a scales which give me calories - protein - fat etc of the food that I weigh.

I have a little spiral notebook where I log the foods I eat - their calories and protein grams (we are suppose get minimum 60 grms - unless you are reading labels or weight food how are you to know how many grams of protein there is in the foods you are eating - 1 oz Meat = 7 grms protein)

This notebook is 3x3 - I throw it in my purse - when I leave for work - it sits on my desk and I log my breakfast - lunch and any snacks - Then I throw it back in my purse when I go home and repeat the process for the evenings - I also log my exercise & water intake

For me it's been a great tool - it's so easy to forget a bite of this or that through out the day - and all those bites add up and I find it easier than logging on to the computer for every meal & snack.

I do use the various calorie sites to get calories of like an El Pollo meal etc and then I jot the calories down.

Also, until you obtain proper restriction it is easier to eat larger portions and as we all know certain foods (IE candy, ice cream, liquid calories) slide right thru even with proper restriction.

So for me I am an advocate of keeping a food diary/log.