Food Diaries, do you use them?
 

Hey there every one! I was just wondering who all writes down everything they eat? and if so, do you write down the time, place, amount, or just kind of jot it down at the end of the day?
also, does this help? Have many found this an efficient way to help in loosing weight? I have tried to do this before but it lasts only a day or so. Just wondering how you do it? a special book, or online?

thanks for your input!:D

Suzi

I signed up for The Daily Plate to keep track of my calories and exercise but I also keep a written journal to jot down my thoughts, keeps me on my toes.

when I did weight watchers when I tracked what I ate religiously it worked very well. It can be a pain but once you get into the routine its easy enough!

[QUOTE=sweetpetite12;2562400]Hey there every one! I was just wondering who all writes down everything they eat? and if so, do you write down the time, place, amount, or just kind of jot it down at the end of the day?
also, does this help? Have many found this an efficient way to help in loosing weight? I have tried to do this before but it lasts only a day or so. Just wondering how you do it? a special book, or online?

[QUOTE]

I write down everything I eat after i finish eating it. I bought a small cute notebook that i carry everywhere. If i wait until the end of the day i tend to forget to write things down, and that doesn't help the weightloss. I love it, and I have gotten in such a routine with it i don't even notice i am doing it anymore.

I just use sparkpeople. It's easy, I add throughout the days but sometimes when I'm busy i'll just tally everything up at the end of the day.

WARNING: Tallying things up at the end of the day sometimes leads me to forget things and I'll have a higher calorie amount than what I originally thought. Having a running total is much nicer.

When I did Weight Watchers I had a really hard time with this. I would read everything I had eaten that day, and still feel hungry, and get discouraged.

food diaries
 

I was trained by weight watchers to use a food diary and I believe it helped me when I was doing it. I just started trying to lose weight AGAIN on my own and am back to writing everything down. It helps me to be conscious of things like tasting while I'm cooking! I keep a small notebook handy and write down what, how much and when I eat, plus the calories.
There was a study published recently (I can't remember where I read it) that found people who use food diaries do lose more weight.

Ive always been afraid to have one.. so i just try to count calories in my head.

I tried to write them down once and i kept starving myself till night time.

yes yes yes. I 'm on WW and i'm a point ****. i couldnt find my journal the other day and freaked out. - it was behind the couch! i also write in goals, times on the treadmill , i cut out pictures, add quotes ect.

I just have a text document on my computer. Usually I fill it in ahead of time, and then at the end of the day makes corrections as to what I did differently. At present, I make comments sometimes (like a recipe turned out really good or not so well, or I skipped a snack because I wasn't hungry, or got starving before lunch, or whatever), but not too much. I do want to try keeping a more detailed journal with hunger levels and moods and whatnot, at least for a while.

because im at a desk all day , put it straight into a table i made up in excel. It is really great seeing what you ate that day, but u have to learn to put down everything...and not miss things out just cos it was "a few bites"

I don't. I've tried, but it just doesn't work for me :shrug: I'm just not what you would call a "tracker".

However, I do use Daily Plate from time to time and this is really usefull for someone like me who can't record something every day on paper or on a spreadsheet. When I'm inexplicably gaining or not losing when I think I should be, I'll track my intake a for a week to try to troubleshoot it, but that's about it.

I kind of admire people who can go back to June 7th, 2003 and tell me everything they ate that day, but I can't even remember much about that month (except it was the midpoint of my weightloss).

I lost weight by replacing refined carbs with veggies and fruits and watching portions. And while I didn't track a thing, I did read every single label, even on veggies.

i have a food journal that is with me at all times. in the back few pages r the restuarants that we might go to and the low-cal choices there. i write down everything that goes in my mouth even if it's just a cough drop and how many calories it has. i have a food scale in my kitchen and i weigh EVERYTHING. it keeps me from snacking bc i feel like okay is five gummy bears worth having to get my food journal out and write down 40 calories? usually it's not. i also weigh everyday. i know all about daily fluctuations and whatnot but weighing keeps me accountable and i know that even if i'm up 4 lbs i still have to write it down and it makes me work harder. i also log my workouts in my journal. i am an organizational freak so i know that i couldn't b as successful as i have without doing this.

I use the daily plate. I LOVE IT.

whenever I go off using it I gain. So for now on am sticking to it.

My journal is the main thing that has helped me so much! It has been so great having it. I would really recommend it. It helps keep you accountable & you always seem to think you have more calories left than you really do. It keeps you honest. =)