I have been writing everything down since Jan 1. Every single little thing I have put into my mouth so far in 2008 has been documented. It is good, and yet it is kinda getting old and Im tired of constantly writing it down. Part of me is scared to not write it out because I know it keeps be honest and accountable. I take what I have eaten for the month and bring it to my dietician. She reads thru it and gives me suggestions. Anyway, I am just not wanting to do it anymore...

So, what do you do?

Good Morning!

I don't "write down" everything I eat - I enter it into Fit Day. If you don't know what that is, just go to http://www.fitday.com - it's free and easy!

Oh, and BTW - congrats on your weight loss so far!

Karen

I'm fairly consistent with tracking everything I eat on pen & paper. Right now it's something that I know that I need to do in order to stay in the right frame of mind and keep myself accountable for what I eat. There may be a time in the future when I don't have to keep as close of a watch, but I believe that, for me, it would be well into maintenance, and only after careful experimentation.

I use thedailyplate.com - all of my favorite foods and meal combos are just a click away on that site. I love it. I take 5 minutes in the morning and enter in all the planned foods for the day. Then later I add anything I ate that wasn't marked down, plus I add my exercise.

I actually love the feeling of control I have when recording my food. Plus - if I do it ahead of time, it really makes me stick to the plan!

Faerie and Lori -

I totally agree! I feel more in control if I can see what it is I'm eating. Keeps me in the right mindset. Now that I've done it these past 3 weeks, I think it's now a habit or at least I hope so!

Karen

I've been journaling in Fitday since June 1, 2001. It's a great planning tool, it only takes a few moments of my day, and it keeps me accountable. Certainly not every maintainer continues to journal, but I don't want to give up one of the tools that got me to goal.

When I started I kept a food journal in my purse. Now that I know the number of calories that allows me to lose, I keep a mental tally. I know I don't eat more than 5 meals per day etc. If I don't lose any weight for a week or two I go back to keeping the journal so I can see if I'm doing anything wrong in my diet.

I tracked everything I ate (and exercise, too) for about a year and lost 40+ pounds. It got tedious after awhile and it does seem to take time as I always had the note book open and wrote in everything after each meal, but I persisted. It is interesting that after I stopped journaling my food intake I started gaining again. A few months ago I started doing it again but this time online on a vegetarian forum I visit. I've lost 10 pounds since January and I think just seeing what I eat on "paper" is helping. I considered writing everything down but it's so much easier to type it. I'm considering printing off each month and keeping a paper copy. I'd advise you to keep doing something with food tracking, especially since you have a dietitian to help you.

yes yes yes i write it down in my food journal! every bite! i can not use the online sites for tracking because i am not always at a computer when i am eating, and i have to write it down THEN not later or i get off track!

Oh yes, I'm a faithful FitDay'er.

For instance, I just had a healthy snack of 12 almonds & 2.5 teaspoons of Skippy Natural Peanut Butter. Went right to FitDay & entered it. I even enter my coffee, Diet Dr Pepper, water, etc.

If I'm not near a computer or otherwise CAN'T enter something into FitDay, I try to write it down & enter it later. I like knowing what's going into my body & where I need to cut back or add more (such as veggies.) It's a wonderful diet tool. Tedious? You betcha. But being FAT is even MORE tedious.

Yep, I food journal everday in the Whole Foods forum of 3 Fat Chicks. It does keep me accountable - sometimes, I am tempted to eat something offplan and I don't, just because I know I'll have to write it down! I've been recording my meals everyday for over 3 years, it takes less than 3 minutes. Just one of those good helpful habits that I learned losing weight that's helping me keep the weight off.

I know what you mean about it getting old. I've been writing every morsel since Oct 07. What has helped me is using the same small notebook to also jot down reminders (call the doctor, school, etc), shopping lists and how I'm feeling at the moment. I just date a blank page and start writing so it can look a bit messy with food/calories, notes, list and disconnected thoughts, lol. But, it keeps me honest. I've done this yo-yo for too long to realize it is the only way I can maintain my current loss.

I write every bite in my online food/exercise journal (along with how I'm feeling, sleeping, projects, etc.). It only takes me a minute and I love being able to see trends and it definitely makes me AWARE of what I put in my mouth.

I do write done every bite. I plan my meals for the day . It was not planning that brought my to over 200 pounds.

No, I don't. I don't count calories either.