[Iconised Ghost]

How do you guys use it? I mean, i know how to use it technically, but do you plan your meals daily and then caculate the calories, or do you eat and then figure it out, or what?


What i mean is, how do you personally use it as a weight loss tool?

I dont count calories but i thought it would be interesting to see how many i was eating, and to tweak my diet if i think it would help. its a bit tricky because i dont live in the US but i think i can make it work

edit: also when i look at the pie chart of what i eat its about half carbs, followed by just over a quarter fat, followed by almost a quarter protein...is that good?

[Apple Cheeks]

I don't use it to plan my meals, just to help me keep track of what I eat and stay within my calorie budget.

Prior to using the DailyPlate I tracked my calories in a notebook, and I used to plan my meals out in advance. From that experience I know what kinds of foods I can eat, and roughly how many calories I want to spend at each meal, so I don't actually sit down and plan anything out anymore.

I hate meal planning, and prefer to be more flexible.

So instead, I will eat a meal then log it right away (or as soon as possible). As the day goes on I can make adjustments as needed. For example, if I have a lighter breakfast than usual, I know I can afford to splurge on an extra snack sometime that day. Conversely, if I have a bigger breakfast than normal, then I know I need to have a lighter lunch, etc, etc.

On days that I work, I will pack my lunch & dinner (I eat both those meals at work) then log everything into DailyPlate. If I am over, I can take something out. If I am under, then I know I can indulge in a treat or extra snack if I want.

[preetyladyserenity]

I used FitDay. I sometimes use it to plan meals, especially if I have to go out for dinner with friends. I find it useful in the sense as once on paper I know what I ate and admit responsibility for eating it (kind of psychological but it helps)

[UrsusMaritimus]

I use Daily Plate in much the same way AppleCheeks does.

I'm not sure what brands of food you have in NZ, but I've noticed that the Daily Plate does include a number of UK brands. Have you had many problems finding the foods you eat?

Your pie chart looks a lot like mine usually does.

Good luck!

[Iconised Ghost]

some things i can find, like mainland cheese (which is made in New Zealand!) but things like french stick is hard, because we dont have those supermarket brands. So i kinda guess, i should probably check the nutritional info and then i can find the closest UK/US alternative.

I think i would hate meal planning too, but i might use it for when i know im going out, or to try and predict how big i want my dinner to be.

I have another question though: i got it to calculate how much i could eat to lose about 1lb a week, and it said 1800 calories. That seems like a lot! I think at the moment i'm having about 1400-1500, should it really be as high as 1800? Im about 5 foot 5 inches tall and weigh about 80kg (177 lbs-ish), and am pretty inactive during the day except for my work outs

[Apple Cheeks]

Yeah, that site tells me pretty much the same thing. And when you enter in your exercise data it will tell you that you can eat even more.

I just ignore their silly recommendations, and stick to eating between 1200-1600 calories a day. It's working just fine for me.

[Iconised Ghost]

ok i thought that was too good to be true haha. Besides the fact that it would feel like i was stuffing myself to try and get 1800 calories in!

[PhotoChick]

I tend to plan out my meals in advance. Every morning I input my *planned* meals. During the course of the day it might change, and then I make adjustments on the fly.

Like today I'd originally planned a salad for lunch, but I wound up having smoked salmon on wasa crackers ... it changed the calorie count a little and allowed me to have a bit more of an afternoon snack, so I added a banana to that.

.