Food Journal

Opinions Please...

Do keeping food journals help?

Do you write down everything, including water?

Do you show the journal to your doctor or nutritionist or is it for personal use?

Is the journal just for food or is it also for weigh ins and excercise?

Hmmm...

I am getting the feeling that I should just grab a dated notebook and write what I want.

Do keeping food journals help? Yes,  at first all day every day.  Now a few days a week.  It keeps you on track and opens your eyes to how many calories you eat even though you don't eat much.  You'd be surprised.  It also helps you make sure you get your protein.

Do you write down everything, including water?  I use Sparkpeople.com which tracks water so yes you can if you want.
It also tracks weight, measurements, exercise.  It has a mobile app as well.  there are several electronic apps out there.
Sparkpeople,  Myfitnesspal,  Livestrong....

Do you show the journal to your doctor or nutritionist or is it for personal use? It's yours.  It is private.  If you want help from the nutritionist or psychologist they would look at it and give you some advise. 

Is the journal just for food or is it also for weigh ins and excercise? You do what you want.  But most computer programs will do all of those if you wish.

I took some group counseling classes before surgery. We had paper food trackers that we brought in to the psychologist each week. It had a place to add the time I ate and what I was feeling at the time.

I use an app called Lose It! I likevit because it tracks everything. Food, exercise, water,weight, protien, sugar, fat, ect. It also allows you to scan food items into your program and calulates nutrition info from the upc. Its great when calculating ounces instead of servings. Www.loseit.com

I don't keep one every day, no.  From time to time I do for a few days just to make sure I'm still getting enough protein and to see how many calories I'm getting.  In the beginning, when I had trouble getting enough water, I kept track of that.  But it's been forever since I've gotten less than 72 ounces of fluid a day so I don't bother tracking it anymore.

At this point I am no longer working with a dietician and I see my PCP about twice a year and no, I don't show her any records of what I eat.  I would if I thought there was a problem she could help with, though.

It's really up to you to figure out what's helpful for you.  I would just grab that notebook and start tracking some things and see if you find it helpful or not.  I do find it helpful to track calories once in a while because it can be easy to eat a lot more calories than I think I am eating, I have discovered.  But I eat pretty much the same stuff most days, so I don't find it necessary to track it every day.

I track in a notebook pretty much everyday unless I'm traveling or something. I like to make sure I'm getting enough protein and not too many calories. I also like to track and see if there are any trends I need to be aware of. I know that I have a problem with carbs so by tracking those I can make sure they aren't creeping up on me too much.

I do not track water at this point altho I did in the first month or so. Once it got easier to drink, I stopped since I know I get plenty now.

I do track my exercise and weight and I also use it to check off my meds and vits.

I have never shared my journal with my dietician or psych but would if I felt like I was having a problem. I like to put a happy face on things so I'm afraid that if I thought I was going to have to share my journal I would be less than honest while tracking.

I say go ahead and do some tracking and see how you feel about it.

 no I don't .   I just make a point of moving every day and eating mindfully ( making lowfat , high protein and fresh and healthful choices whenever possible ) 

I  try to stay out of air conditioned environments and  keep my body " running hot "  so my core temeprature stays high and I don't crave excess calories by making an artificial winter around myself in the summer when most normal weight people  LOSE  weight by sweating  .

I am not a bear !  ( and bears are FAT ! ) .. rather I  think of myself as moving slowly towards  a cheetah ...

 I also try to get and stay outdoors for hours every day , move a lot , climb stairs n walk  rather than ride ...

not hibernate in front of the computer or watch other people living via the TV ... but interact with real people and live a real , rewarding and present life ..  imperfect though it always is .. 

Okay you have confused me, your other post says you are 20-40lbs overweight but this post implies you do so much activitiy everyday and keep your core "hot", not that I understand how being overheated helps weight loss except maybe because you are in the hospital on iv's but hey whatever works ehhh?

If floating in the pool is exercise, I am doing great, if not I am still pretty much a lazy slug sitting at my desk at work or the air conditioned house (with my sweatshirt on of course), I am always cold. I am a bear for sure.  I eat to match my activity level.  Thats what keeps me at goal and my inability to go to the store and buy food.  It is still too overwhelming.  I bought my bf a box of Fruit Loops today, I ate a handful before I went out to bring my son his car and of course my blood sugar crashed.  Nice. 

I don't, didn't, doubt I ever will.  Do I think it is a good idea, absolutely, then you can see patterns and speak to problems as they arise.  But I am lazy, calculate my protein grams in my head, and can't be bothered writing things down.  So basically I will go with do as I say not as I do.....,

I still consider myself new and still learning a lot so I log everything on MyFitnessPal.com. They also have an app and I love that because I eat out a lot and it keeps me in line with what I need to do and helps me when I am on travel or vacation when things could really get out of control!

It allows you to set everything up the way you want for your calorie and protein needs. Tracks exercise and let's you know how many calories you burned based on your height, weight, lifestyle, etc.

Love it!