Tracking Food

[AutumnPunkin 313]

Hiya,

So I have been trying for awhile to track my food. It is a nuisance, but I realize it's importance. How did you finally kick your butt to do it? Any tips? Please don't respond with determination or motivation.

Cheers

Niki

[MyGastricSleeveLife 180]

I'm not sure. I've used MyFitnessPal in the past with other programs & never stuck to tracking. Not sure if it's just my commitment this time or what, but so far I've tracked since the first day of my pre-op diet & haven't missed a day. I'll be 7 weeks out on Monday. There have been a few days where I've forgotten something or haven't entered things until the evening, but I haven't skipped. I think it helps that I have the iPhone app & have my phone with me when I make my food, so I enter it right away most of the time.

Depending on your situation, you could use an app or laptop or just a small notebook to keep with you. Everyone is different, so you need to find what works for you. You could set alarms on your phone to remind you to enter stuff. You just need to take it one day at a time, one meal at a time. I honestly don't know why this time is different for me. It just is. Hopefully you can find a way that works for you. You could even get a magnetic pad or dry erase board that hooks to your fridge or somewhere in your kitchen. Good luck no matter what you use. It is important to keep track though.

[2bsmallagain 156]

I try to track mine and some days I am diligent about it then others I could care less. I have no idea what to do about it. It is a nuisance especially if you cooking something. It is hard to track how many calories you put into a homemad dish sometimes and calculate servings. Then you cannot eat a whole serving. It seems to be too much trouble sometimes. I do not have any motivational or inspirational speeches to give lol. I think if you just try to track your Protein and Water intake you will be good. You will know by what your putting in your mouth if it is not good for you or is something you shouldn't be eating at all.

Good luck.

[VJSlim 156]

Well, I wanted to know which are my slider foods. I wanted to know if I'm consuming any type of food without realizing the quantities. So I started tracking my food to avoid my slider foods. Not sure if it makes any sense

I dont use any of the online tracking. I do it the old school way. I have a pocket notebook that I carry EVERYWHERE (except into the ladies room and my official meetings LOL). I think the problem with online tracking is that we sometimes forget what we had for Snacks or dont even realize that we had something in our mouth when composing a long email or reading our favorite book - I do it all the time. So I wanted to list down every small thing that I ate/drank - because I was obsessed and paranoid at the beginning of my journey. Now that all seems a bit extreme and I have eased up some. The problem with not tracking it with online apps was that I had to count calories manually,

And I did something that in hindsight I think is a brilliant idea. I enrolled my two best friends to be a motivational factor. They both are also my colleagues and I've told them about my surgery and diet restrictions so they dont feel bad if I dont eat much anymore. We mostly eat lunch and sometimes dinner and Snacks together. So it worked out pretty well for me.

[alliegb3 112]

I use fitnesspal as well. I always have my phone on me, so it's easy. My husband is on there and some people from VST, all of them are encouraging and care if I'm not on. They soon ask, where I am and stuff... Those caring people keep me on track with fitnesspal

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

It seems difficult to add in all the foods that they don't already have on there.

I know they definitely say people who track their food do the best, but I find it difficult to figure out my portion size to be able to track it. I don't measure my ketchup, and things like that.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this easier, I would love to hear them. I am trying to take off the few lbs that I've gained back.

[JD7176 84]

Myfitnesspal and sparkpeople phone apps both have a barcode scanner option that makes it easy to add foods. They also keep track of the foods you've eaten, so by the time I've typed "c..h..." chobani is popping up. You can also copy and paste from day to day. I know you didn't want to hear it, but it is sheer determination and motivation. There are tools that make it easier, but you just have to want to do it.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Yeah, I don' t have a smart phone . I hope to have one but I'm not getting one until I can get on a different cell plan. I hope I can learn to use one. I am not good with those types of things.

I need to sit here with my lap top and add in all the foods I eat regularly and then it would be easier after that.