For those of you who count calories, how do you keep track of your daily caloric intake? Do you use something like FitDay or SparkPeople or do you just keep tally yourself? Also, do you plan your entire day out as far as what you will be eating, or do you just take it as it comes and log your food? Thanks for your help.
LessofMaur
I have a note book I keep by my computer and I use My Diet app on facebook. I have used spark people, fit day, and The Daily plate but My Diet is my favorite.
I use DietPower. I found it too hard to get the right number of nutrients just by calorie counting, and it wasn't until I used a trial version of dp that I realized how bad my nutrient tally was, no wonder I felt so lousy. It wasn't that I was eating crp either, just hard to get enough nutrition from reduced calories.
I pretty much log as I go but I only have a range of foods in the house that won't make that a problem. I try and keep enough calories as I go so that the evening meal doesn't have to be very skinny but if I've gone over during the day, then I do eat very little at night to make up.
I use FitDay only because I bought it years ago and I am a creature of habit. I have looked at the Daily Plate and at one point started using the MyDiet application on FaceBook but I found it was redundant. I also have an issue when I travel and don't have internet. Like I said I am a creature of habit and I like to see my numbers.
I don't plan my daily intake in advance but like Ailidh I have certain foods in the house that I eat weekly some daily. It's like my one egg omelet I know has 261 calories and that my smoothie has 263. I try to eat 4 or 5 times a day keeping my calories between 250 - 400 per "meal".
I use a pen and notebook. I do not plan ahead. 95% of my foods plus are nutrient dense but on the occasion I do want something less than optimal, I take it from elsewhere in my intake.
I use the Dietminder notebook, and the only time I am ever successful for more than a few days is when I plan out my calories for the day over my morning coffee. It's kind of like a game! =)
I have a Franklin planner for work, so I just made Project Tab 1 my diet log. I use a paperback calorie reference book along with Nutritiondata.com, and DailyPlate. I think ahead several meals, but don't actively plan for a week out.
I have a journal and also use Sparkspeople, mostly because I have all my food plugged in there. I like writing it in my journal, keeps me more focused.
I just use a little notebook and a Calorie Count paperback I found at Wally World. I can easily look back in the notebook to see what calories a specific food or meal had and use those numbers again. I am not always near a computer so I just rely on my little notebook. I post my calorie allowable at the top of the page and just subtract throughout the day. No more calories, no more food.....I have not had that happen yet.....lol
I use my own spreadsheet in Excel. It's nice becasue I can copy/paste from previous days, and it is set to total the day up for me.
I usually plan out the day, but then make changes to the plan throughout the day if I want to.
I work a job that is kind of hit-or-miss as far as having anything to do on a daily basis (Some weeks I get paid to sit at my desk and do crosswords eight hours a day - it's every bit as awesome as it sounds), so I keep a spiral bound notebook with me in my bookbag and write down everything I ate for breakfast and everything I have packed in my lunchbox for work, then tally it up using a calorie-counting book my mom gave me. If it looks like I'm going to be consuming more calories than I wanted to, I adjust accordingly, either by not having a snack when I get home from work, or by saving some of my lunch to have as a nibble after work, so it all evens out.
Planning food ahead has done wonders for me as far as keeping my caloric intake consistently around 1,200 - 1,500 per day. Getting in nutrition hasn't really been an issue because my lunches for work always consist of at least two servings of fresh fruit and two or three of fresh vegetables. I make sure to get some protein and dairy in the mornings (I don't refrigerate my lunchbox, so I don't like to take milk or meat to work with me).
I totally recommend tallying up calories halfway through the day; you almost never have to look back in regret at anything you've eaten, because you have the rest of the day to adjust what you eat and lessen the impact of a lapse in eating judgement.
Last edited by freshmanweightorbust; 03-18-2009 at 12:09 PM.
I used to write in a book but there were days I'd forget to write in it and so on- finally I joined sparkpeople and I really like it. They also have sparkrecipes.com so if you use a recipe there you can easily import it into your sparkpeople.
The nice thing about doing it online is you can log in from wherever and put in your information, you don't need to get a book or pen, and they are free- another plus!
I bought a small journal called "The Ultimate Diet Pocket Journal". I also bought a small calorie count book, "The Calorie King Calorie Counter". Total investment: $18.94. I could have gone cheaper by buying them on Amazon, but I was anxious to begin the next day, so I made it a "night out" at Barnes & Noble. I love these little books... they stay on the kitchen counter, or I rubber band them together carry them in my purse.
Each days stands alone in this journal, which is important for me. When I tried WW, the journals were set up for a week. If I had a less-than-perfect day it would ruin my momentum for the whole week!
Like many other here, calorie counting has become a game. I'm continually looking for new ideas for how to cut calories from my day... so as time goes on I'm becoming more successful at getting more 'bang for my buck'.
I count calories with a shortcut method - exchanges. I follow an exchange plan that will provide a minimul of 1500 to a maximum of 2000 calories (because the foods in each exchange are about the same calories, and a few are "optional"). I have most foods memorized, and I have a resource book (Exchanges for All Occasions) to do the rest. For example a dairy exchange has from 85 to 100 calories. A protein exchange has 55 - 70 calories....
I use a checklist to check off my exchanges as I use them, but I also tend to write the calorie count as well in the margin (I've been dieting so long with one form of calorie counting or another, that I have most foods memorized).
Calorie counters...I have a question
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