For financial reasons, I need to do a "poor man's " version of WW. I've seen many people talk about thedailyplate.com. Do you like it and is it easy to use? It looks like it will let you track your food and activity for free.
Also do you find counting calories a relatively easy thing to do? do you just look it up online or do you have a calorie counting book?
Lots of people like The Daily Plate...I could never get it to work well for me, so I use Fitday.
I use FitDay's food database to look things up, plus dietfacts.com to import brand name and restaurant foods into my FitDay database Custom Foods. It works very well for me, particularly since I use -mostly- whole foods that are listed in the FitDay database and easy to find.
When I first started calorie counting I would check websites like "Calorie King" to look up how much was in what.
I used to write everything I ate and drank down in a notebook everyday with their calorie counts. At the bottom of the page I would write down my work-outs.
Right now I am using Dailyplate, which does all that for me at the click of a few buttons. Much easier.
i did check out the daily plate and it seemed pretty good especially with the information. I will also check out the Fitday. I just figured there's enough info out there that I can do this without spending extra money.
I calorie count and use the notebook method. I use the Calorie King book for calorie counts. It also has calorie counts for fast food and restaurants and other useful information. You can get much of this information on the internet. It is a matter of personal preference whether you use dailyplate or fitday or the good old pen and pad. Planning ahead is essential and keeping a food diary. It really doesn't take that much time to plan your meals once
you get in the habit of doing it.
I should specify, I use the free FitDay online version. I don't like the download one...mostly because I can't access it from any computer I want, I have to install it on one.
i like fitday. if i need to look up the calories for something i use calorieking. i don't use fitday's calorie counts because i want to adjust my counts myself, depending on how much of something i used. i also measure many things in grams and i just find its easier to enter everything myself instead of looking it up on their lists.
I just signed up for Myplate just cause of this forum, and man that was easy. I logged all my stuff and I like it. best of all its free. Thank you!
I used to write all my stuff down, but I am soooo over that. i just can't get back in the habit. Especially becuase I eat a lot of whole foods and I don't know the calories for it.
Thank you!
I can't imagine trying to keep track of all my calories in a book. I use an online tool, similar to Fitday or TheDailyPlate (I don't recommend the tool I use but I have probably 500 custom foods set up in it, so now I don't want to switch to something better). It adds everything up for me (I hate doing math in my head and even using a calculator is a little sketchy for me). I also like that the tool I use tracks not just calories, but fat, sat. fat, carbs, fiber, sugar, and protein. And I like that I can run reports--so if I want to see what my average daily protein intake was for the past week, I can do it with the click of a button.
Because of my own experience of ending up stuck with a tool I'm not thrilled with, I would recommend that you consider trying a couple of different tools to see which you like best. Use each one for a week or so, run the reports it offers, set up some custom foods, etc. so you get a feel for it. Remember, this is a lifestyle change, so whatever tool you decide to use, you're probably going to use for a long time--years, maybe the rest of life. Once you've set up a lot of custom foods it's really a pain to switch to a different tool, so you want to make sure you like the one you are using before you do that.
I find that it's easy to keep track of my calories and plan meals and snacks that are within my calorie limit. It takes me about five to 15 minutes to log my food for the day. I can analyze the complete nutritional content (calories, fat, sat. fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, fiber, sugar, and protein) in a recipe in about 15 min. If I just want to know the calories in a recipe, I can usually figure that out in a couple of minutes. The longer you do it, the easier it gets. I now have the calories for most of the foods I eat regularly memorized, so I can figure out calories in my head if I need to. I spend longer planning our meals for the week, but that's because I like looking for new recipes. I could definitely spend a lot less time on menu planning if I wanted to. I think calorie counting is easier than Weight Watchers because I don't have the complication of figuring out points.
The hard part is the eating part. Some days are a breeze and it's easy to stick to my plan. Some days it's hard to stick to my plan. But that's the hard part for any weight management program.
I use a book and keep a written food journal in which I log everything I eat. I don't write down very low or calorie free drinks or water. (I do log Crystal Light. That stuff can really sneak up on you! ) I like having my journal with me, having to look it up and write it down every time I sit down to eat anything. It keeps me aware of what I am eating and how much. And right now, awareness is key, for me.
I do find calorie counting very easy and part of that is because once you start doing it, you start learning the number of calories that most of the foods you eat regularly have ... so it becomes second nature. (At least for me.)
I can go to a restaurant or a party or a friends house and make decisions about what to eat and know that I'll be mostly "on plan" ... w/out having to freak out about not having certain foods available or about having to eat certain foods that aren't "on plan" for me.
I personally think it's the easiest and most sustainable way to eat.
I do, and always have, physically written my daily food and calories down. It takes no longer than it would to do it online. If I have to go over to the computer, get on the internet, and go to Fitday, etc. and look the food up...I could have already have written it down.
Also, when I travel, I don't have a computer with me. I keep my pocket sized notebook in my purse. I look some calorie counts up online, but I also have a calorie book (with calorie, fat, etc. counts in it).
I just feel more control if I can take my notebook physically WITH me when I go somewhere. Even if I don't know the calorie count when I am gone (working, at a party, etc.) I can write down what I eat (no forgetting anything!) and figure the calories when I get back home.
I have tried FitDay..I just can't get into doing it online.
In my case, I'm on the computer all the time anyway, so FitDay is no biggie. And I take it with me when I travel. Gosh, I'm hardly ever without my computer. So it serves as my "notebook." I use the downloaded FitDay, so I can add foods to the database.
I use TheDailyPlate and love it. I've only been at this for about a month and a half and I haven't traveled yet. I may need to switch to pencil and paper on vacations, etc. Or just take a little break.
My calorie total is for a two pound per week loss, but that isn't happening for me. I'm dropping about a pound per week. I think many factors are involved: every body is different, I'm in menopause, I'm using weights to build muscle.
Last edited by pinkcarnation; 07-06-2008 at 10:52 AM.
Might try calorie counting..questions
) I like having my journal with me, having to look it up and write it down every time I sit down to eat anything. It keeps me aware of what I am eating and how much. And right now, awareness is key, for me. 
