Food Journal

what is the best one to use.

Hi!  I'm addicted to Google.  I searched for the best food journal and in the end, created my own.  I found lots of journals that were close to what I wanted, but not quite "perfect".  I unashamedly borrowed what I liked about several of them and created my own.  I print the pages out, punch holes in the sheets and keep them in a three ring binder.  Google is your friend.  Who knows? You might just find one you like as it is published.  Don't forget to check out WLS surgeon's sites.  They sometimes have recommendations on this subject.

thank you. i been looking haven't found one i like just yet. so i'm like you i might make my own out of a notebook.

It depends on whether you want one for online, or to actually carry with you. 

Online, good ones are Livestrong (aka TheDailyPlate) and Fitday.

If you actually want one to carry with you at all times just to log the food in (I find this helpful because I forget throughout the day)...  Here is the one I like.  It's called "I Will Lose Weight This Time! Diet Journal" by Alex Lluch.    You can find it on Amazon, but this book is sold at your local Books A Million.  I have not seen it at Barnes & Noble or Borders but they may have it by now.  And, you can take a look at it there in the store before spending money ordering online).  It has a white spiral binder on it, so its easy to carry, move around, etc.  The front comes with some great explanations and helps. 

Here is something I wrote about it in the past:

I have never found a diet journal that works for me. Either the boxes they provided to write in  were too small, it was an awkward size to keep in my bag, OR it did not contain all the headings I wanted such as: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, snack, exercise, vitamins/supplements, and a place to write my struggles. I do utilize The Daily Plate, now LiveStrong, but there are times I want to write my food down if I'm not near a computer so that I will not forget. It's hard enough for me to remember things; it's hard to sit at the computer at the end of a day and try to recall all the foods I've consumed!

A vendor at work gives a desk calendar with a left sided wire binder each year. I love it; has plenty of planning space. So I began working the calendar in hopes of taking it to a printer like Kinko's and perhaps making my own food journal. I had even formatted it in Excel, which wasn't the best choice... but it was something I was at least working towards.

Then a few days ago, I was perusing the books (in the Diet section) at Books A Million and came across this book.

And, NO LIE, the reason I picked it? It was so similiar to my Excel template that I just created last week! I snagged that sucker up so fast... there were three other ladies standing near me, and I was not going to allow them the opportunity to purchase it! Let me just say, this is a "Melinda book" if there ever was one... I have faithfully kept that journal by my side all day yesterday, and already I am excited to start working on it today. It also gives you stickers that are gold star and say "I Did It". So because I completed my daily goals and did not go over my food limits, I received a gold star! I feel so accomplished.

I encourage you to take a look at this book.

I made one of my own, as well.   I also use Mydailyplate for actually tracking how much protein I'm getting.   But I also wanted to have a place to record when and which supplements or medications I've taken and notes about how I feel and about how my system reacts to various things.  Oh, and my blood sugar readings, too.   I also record other various bodily functions.

I had the DS and there is a lot to get used to!   I didn't do my little journal when I was away on holiday last month, but as soon as we got home, I started doing it again.  I kind of laughed at myself for doing that, but my husband said that he totally thought it was a good idea.   Everything I'm doing, even now at 9 months out, is pretty much an experiment.   So I keep track of what's happening and what follows.  

I really think it has helped me to get a handle on what I tolerate well and what I don't, more quickly than I would have done without it.

Dennie