Do you keep a food log?

Jean M.
on 10/8/12 9:15 pm

Revision on 08/16/12

Do you keep a food log? If so, do you find it helpful, and what program or other record do you use?

I kept a daily food log faithfully for a few years post-op. It kept me honest about what I was eating and also helped me monitor portion sizes since the programs I used required me to enter the portion size. Now I do it on a sporadic basis in order to make sure I'm meeting my nutritional needs, especially as a new sleeve post-op.

I've used the free food & exercise logs at livestrong.com, sparkpeople.com, and here on OH, but my favorite is a program called DietOrganizer because somehow it's easier for me to use and it has a lot of cool report features that I like to play with. You can download a free trail versio at dietorganizer.com. And no, I don't get a referral fee for mentioning it!

Jean

Jean McMillan c.2009-2013 - Always a bandster at heart
author of Bandwagon (TM), Strategies for Success with the Adjustable Gastric Band & Bandwagon Cookery. Bandwagon for Kindle now available on Amazon. Read my blog at: jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com

Kate -True Brit
on 10/8/12 9:50 pm, edited 10/9/12 4:50 am - UK

Lap Band on 04/23/06

Jean and I approached wls from very different angles! And we both lost weight very successfully. It is all down to individuals; Jean's way would not have ŵorked for me nor mine for her! So Jean knows that I am about to post a diametrically opposed view to hers. As good friends, she and I have "talked" about this many times.

I never counted, measured, weighed, recorded. If I count (any food value), I think all the time about how much I have already eaten, how much I can still eat that day. So all I think about is food! That means I want food!

My way was to make healthy choices most of the time and eat small amounts. From years of dieting pre-band, I am knowledgeable about what is and what is not healthy and I learned early on in my banded life what fills me and what doesn't.

Every now and then I did a count just to make sure I was in the right area and it was always about 1200 cals and 60+ gm protein a day.

Kate

Highest 290, Banded - 248 Lowest 139 (too thin!). Comfort zone 155-165.

Happily banded since May 2006. Regain of 28lbs 2013-14. ALL GONE!

But some has returned! Up to 175, argh! Off we go again,

Kate -True Brit
on 10/8/12 9:53 pm - UK

Lap Band on 04/23/06

I apologise for the odd formatting in my last post. Since the "improvements" to this site, it will not let me edit on my ipad! No problems before so not quite so mobile device friendly as it was before, even though that was the declared aim of the changes!

Kate

Highest 290, Banded - 248 Lowest 139 (too thin!). Comfort zone 155-165.

Happily banded since May 2006. Regain of 28lbs 2013-14. ALL GONE!

But some has returned! Up to 175, argh! Off we go again,

Ms_Swoosh
on 10/8/12 10:29 pm - Indian Trail, NC

Lap Band on 12/18/08

I was very good about tracking food for a very long time, during the time the band was giving me issues and I could eat very little it felt like at any one time I got bad about not recording it.(and most of that was food I shouldn't be eating). I am currently working on getting back in the habit of recording everything again (food and activity). Holding myself accountable is a VERY important part of my success and failures with my weight.

....just keep swimming
Swoosh

I am a work in progress...perhaps never completed or perfected; but forever working to change for the better...
~Swoosh
August 2012 New Dr.... New Start... Dr. David Voellinger

cryspyx
on 10/8/12 10:38 pm - Hartford, CT

REALIZE Band on 01/27/11

i find it easier to keep track of what i'm eating by writing it down in a notebook. i've tried using the nutritional tracker on this website, but it's rather clunky and encumbersome. i know what's in my food. i don't need a breakdown to have the calorie count of my intake. i watch my labels for sodium, fat, protein and carbs. while writing it down makes me aware of what i'm taking in and helps to prevent the potential of grazing, these days that's not so much of an issue. it was at the start of the WLS.

at this point, i mainly use is my mini foodscale to make sure i'm not going over 4oz. even though almost two years out, sometimes i still get a bit bonkers and put twice the food i'm supposed to on my little kiddie plate because something looks delicious and my eyes are going "YES YES" and my stomach is going, "please stop! no!" the scale helps me reign in my eyeballs to the ratio of my stomach.

Mell
on 10/9/12 12:48 am

After this last baby I started using the free app on my phone called MyFitnessPal and LOVE it.
You can track food (it even has a bar code scanner!). I have an illness called portion distortion! I have a bad habit of thinking I am eating one serving but actually having more. So I now weigh and measure my food enter it and you can enter your exercise also. I use the nike app for tracking my walking and it gives you a burned calorie amount.
I have lost 10lbs since I started using it, it just keeps me honest.
Oh and you can also create your own recepies!

Mell
Start weight: 320
At surgery: 300
Current: 185
Goal: 175

Jean M.
on 10/9/12 1:00 am

Revision on 08/16/12

I have the portion distortion illness too, even at 5+ years post-op. I'll measure out a piece of chicken (for example) that I think is 2 oz, but when I weigh it, it's 4 oz!

Jean McMillan c.2009-2013 - Always a bandster at heart
author of Bandwagon (TM), Strategies for Success with the Adjustable Gastric Band & Bandwagon Cookery. Bandwagon for Kindle now available on Amazon. Read my blog at: jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com

melly37
on 10/9/12 1:02 am - Rio Rancho, NM

VSG on 04/03/12

I also use MyFitnessPal. It's pretty easy to use and has a lot of foods in the database, making it easy to log.

When I am not doing well, eating-wise, I tend to shy away from logging in....too ashamed to see it in writing! ha ha ha

LapBand Surgery 01/10/08, Revison to Sleeve 04/03/12

Mell
on 10/9/12 1:16 am

I know! I have been doing it for a few weeks now and have decided to have one day a Month off!!

Mell
Start weight: 320
At surgery: 300
Current: 185
Goal: 175

Ms Shell
on 10/9/12 1:54 am - Hawthorne, CA

VSG on 11/26/07

Yup...myfitnesspal

I keep it for various reasons. I have learned that maintain when I have my carbs between 75-100. I lose around 50-60. I learned that my body BLOATS when I eat any kind of corn product even if it's within my carb numbers. I learned that if I drink over 1 cup of Almond milk I will get a horrible acid attack 1-2 days later. I learned that a particular BRAND of coffee gave me acid attacks.

Ms Shell

"WLS is only for people who are ready to move past the "diet" mentality" ~Alison Brown
"WLS is not a Do-Over (repeat same mistakes = get a similar outcome.) It is a Do-BETTER (make lifestyle changes you can continue forever.)" ~ Michele Vicara aka Eggface

Do you keep a food log?

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Do you keep a food log?