I write down what I eat (and calories, etc) throughout the day on a sticky note (the digital kind), and at the end of the week I copy it to a word file.
Are you thoroughly amazed by my very cool and high tech dieting methods??? I've used fitday, dailyplate, myfitnesspal, fatsecret, etc, but they just got too cumbersome for me. And I'll lose a real pen and paper in like 5 seconds, so the sticky note has been working pretty well.
Anyway, I noticed last week I skipped a day! It just went straight from tuesday to thursday. I'm PRETTY sure I did well that day. But now I'm starting to wonder if I somehow merged it with another day or something. I don't know.
It's over and done with now, and even if I did over eat that day it has virtually no effect in the long term.
... but still. So frustrated with myself! ARGH!!!
(I just had to vent somewhere. I get the feeling this would sound a bit nuts to people not counting calories.)
I also enjoy precision when it comes to counting and logging my calories. It's good that you've found a method that works for you. I don't do the online sites either, I record everything with paper and pen in a binder I keep on my kitchen counter.
Try not to stress too much over the missed day. You probably didn't go that far off track if at all.
I can understand your frustrations! Have you considered saving the stickies in an envelope for a couple of weeks at a time in case you need to reference back to a particular day? Or was that just a one time oops?
I don't count calories (just aware of portion sizes), nor do I use any online logging websites. However I did buy a really pretty notebook (it's about half the size of a regular notebook) along with a pretty girly pencil.
Everyday I write down everything I eat/drink, how much water I drank, the workouts I did and any notes for the day if needed.
It works great for me and helps to keep me accountable and on track!
Last edited by SunnySide99; 12-28-2012 at 06:24 PM.
I also do not use online trackers. I create elaborate Excel spreadsheets that pretty much track everything I want it to track. I love Excel because I can customize it to my liking.
I've used every tracker & method under the sun to log and have some favorites, including creating my own software & spreadsheets, but in my opinion it doesn't matter in a weight management journey HOW I track or journal, just that I do it and get consistent and relevant data. If I make a mistake or even deliberately skip from time to time, that's okay as long as I know what I'm doing and have a good handle on it.
SunnySide, I've always counted calories but my weight loss journey decades ago started also with a beautiful paper journal and girly pen. Can't beat it.
I do keep track of my calories, every day and I use thr trusty pen and paper method. I have used online and I liked it but I find I prefer the pad and pen because I can carry it with me and don't have to be online. It is all a matter of preferance what works best for you. I post my daily weight on a calendar kept by my desk. I can look at that calendar anytime and see if a trend is happening. I plan my menus daily and check each item off as I go, this way I don't forget something or even worse eat something twice.
I know you guys are all right. It's not the method, it's the long term consistency that's going to really count.
I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get myself a nice notebook that I won't lose!
I've got a pretty day planner that I've been keeping since March. There's enough space for each day to write down all my meals and take any other notes needed, like my weekly weigh-in, my exercise, and when I take my supplements. I also only use a purple ink pen.
I've got a pretty day planner that I've been keeping since March. There's enough space for each day to write down all my meals and take any other notes needed, like my weekly weigh-in, my exercise, and when I take my supplements. I also only use a purple ink pen.
That is a really great idea, where could I go about finding something like that? All the planners I find have tiny little spaces for each day and no room to write what I need to write.
That is a really great idea, where could I go about finding something like that? All the planners I find have tiny little spaces for each day and no room to write what I need to write.
Check out the Posh weekly planners at Barnes & Noble. You can see some here to get an idea.
Lol, I have a WW tracker journal, and a smart phone and a tablet, and a computer.
Mostly, I write stuff on scraps of paper that I shove in my back jeans pocket and transfer to my paper journal in the evening.
I find the whole tracking online to be a big PITA! I am lifetime WW and have free e tools, but paper is just so much easier, 2 seconds, it's down! No screen swiping, logging on, typing, etc.
My WW tracker has room for the food and exercise and, room for thoughts, comments, musings etc. I do plan my day ahead of time, but take the time in the evening to put it all in my ww tracker and go over the day and my ongoing week.
I find actually, physically writing it down on paper to be much more helpful and real than online tracking. Just my opinion.
record keeping slip ups :(
I've used fitday, dailyplate, myfitnesspal, fatsecret, etc, but they just got too cumbersome for me. And I'll lose a real pen and paper in like 5 seconds, so the sticky note has been working pretty well. 
So frustrated with myself! ARGH!!!
It's not the method, it's the long term consistency that's going to really count.
There's enough space for each day to write down all my meals and take any other notes needed, like my weekly weigh-in, my exercise, and when I take my supplements. I also only use a purple ink pen. 
