tracking your intake

[JackieOnLine]

I remember tracking fluid and then protein intake but only the first month or so post-op. when I started tracking food it was so little - I was always under 400 calories- that I ended up giving up. I tried "daily plate.com" for that and considered just jotting down things with paper and pen.

what have others done about this? I am thinking about at least tracking things I mean to increase, such as fluid. (one of the reasons I hate my job is there isn't time to use the bathroom!!) this is for an over-all more healthy lifestyle, not some temporary "diet", BTW!!

 

[brooklyngirl]

I use the myfitnesspal app, and I actually enjoy it, I think it's wayyy smarter than me

 

[Joanne]

I use myfitnesspal when I go up a few pounds, to make sure I keep my carbs in check. But I think it depends on what you track, since most of it is meaningless. You have to learn to ignore the calories and fat. There are a few formulas people use to try to put malabsorption into MFP, but when I use it I find it easiest to just look at the overall carbs and protein, and ignore the rest.

 

[huneypie]

You can always post on my daily food journal thread here ;-)

 

[hilary1617]

I used myfitnesspal both immediately pre and post op and found it helpful in tracking protein in particular, though haven't used it in some time now that I have established a routine... I love how it provides the nutritional content of foods on menus at many restaurants as I travel quite a bit so inevitably dine out a lot. (And it helps identify restaurants where they sneak flour into their eggs, which invariably causes me distress.)

 

[Jo777]

I like cronometer.com for tracking.. When I was first out, pen & paper, then MFP, then for about a while off and on in maint- cronometer, because I could set my macro ratios, regardless of cal level.. Now I don't track anything anymore unless I'm being curious.. I do occasionally jot down on paper my cals/prot/carbs.. by guesstimate, which I'm pretty good at by this point being a cal counter since my tweens. Unless I'm eating grains or sugar, I really don't worry over carbs, they fall too low to fret about for me. The tracking/measuring everything became such a mental stressor for me I needed to walk away from it and go more by feel.

I DO need to up my water intake again, over the holidays I started grazing, and that leads to me not drinking enough water.. so me & my big 25oz sipper are getting friendly again. My goal is to get at least 3-4 of those in a day, plus my caffeine. That automatically curbs my nibble-fest. Coffee/water/coffee/water.. then water before every "meal" ending somewhat early lest I have to pee in the middle of the night and hate getting out of bed (cold floors.)

 

[Taterweight]

(And it helps identify restaurants where they sneak flour into their eggs, which invariably causes me distress.)

Whoa! Why, oh why, haven't I ever heard of that before? I've rarely been able to eat eggs out with my celiac issues. Lightbulb moment! So do you know because of the calorie content in MFP or how do you tell?

 

[newanatomy]

I use myfitnesspal when I go up a few pounds, to make sure I keep my carbs in check. But I think it depends on what you track, since most of it is meaningless. You have to learn to ignore the calories and fat. There are a few formulas people use to try to put malabsorption into MFP, but when I use it I find it easiest to just look at the overall carbs and protein, and ignore the rest.

This is how I plan to use it too. Just to keep track of carbs so I don't go crazy, protein and water, so I get enough. I am using it now to keep me in check for the pre-op ten days.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Whoa! Why, oh why, haven't I ever heard of that before? I've rarely been able to eat eggs out with my celiac issues. Lightbulb moment! So do you know because of the calorie content in MFP or how do you tell?

You can probably tell right away because what should be 0-very low carb, like an omelette would all of a sudden have a bunch of carbs listed

 

[brooklyngirl]

This is how I plant to use it too. Just to keep track of carbs so I don't go crazy, protein and water, so I get enough. I am using it now to keep me in check for the pre-op ten days.

Yup, me too. I make sure protein is up and carbs are low. Don't even look at the other numbers or try to do formulas.

 

[SKMSU]

I like the Fitbit site. I have the Fitbit Force and the scale, so it's nice to have everything on one site. It's really easy to update with my iphone and ipad as well.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I use myfitnesspal when I go up a few pounds, to make sure I keep my carbs in check. But I think it depends on what you track, since most of it is meaningless. You have to learn to ignore the calories and fat. There are a few formulas people use to try to put malabsorption into MFP, but when I use it I find it easiest to just look at the overall carbs and protein, and ignore the rest.

I don't have malabsorption, but I haven't ever bothered tracking fat and I don't think I will track calories, either. I might just do pen & paper for now.

You can always post on my daily food journal thread here ;-)

that's a good idea, I will go look at that.

 

[Joanne]

I don't have malabsorption, but I haven't ever bothered tracking fat and I don't think I will track calories, either. I might just do pen & paper for now.


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Ah, Jackie - hi. Sorry, I didn't realize it was you.

 

[Joanne]

Try MFP, if you want something online. It's pretty easy to use, and I also use the phone app.

 

[happyteacher]

I remember tracking fluid and then protein intake but only the first month or so post-op. when I started tracking food it was so little - I was always under 400 calories- that I ended up giving up. I tried "daily plate.com" for that and considered just jotting down things with paper and pen.

what have others done about this? I am thinking about at least tracking things I mean to increase, such as fluid. (one of the reasons I hate my job is there isn't time to use the bathroom!!) this is for an over-all more healthy lifestyle, not some temporary "diet", BTW!!

During the weight loss phase I used MFP very, very consistently- and weighed everything. I continued this a few months into maintenance, and then slowly stopped tracking regularly. Now, I go back to it when I feel myself eating too much crap food or putting a few pounds on. I also have an Aria scale and weigh myself a few times per week to track that- at this stage I think that is more important for me than tracking my food.