I don't know how many times over the years I've tried doing a food journal. I can also tell you the number of nutrition & exercise tracking websites I've been a member of are getting up there.
I just get a little peeved that I can't find one that I really like that gives me everything I'm looking for. Perhaps part of it is that it's just so time consuming & cumbersome to track everything. And what do you do when the site you're using doesn't have the nutrition info of what you just ate...then you have to add it manually...bleh.
I downloaded the Lose It! app on my iphone last night (free). I had downloaded it before but never used it. So I tackled it with renewed enthusiasm. Weighed myself to enter my weight, signed up for reminders, etc. To reach my goal weight (which is actually a little over zealous) by a particular date, it set my calories at 1295. Not that awful in my opinion.
Today marked my first day of food tracking.
Breakfast = 230 cals. Around 10:00am I started calculating the calories in the lunch I packed. SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE! I would've been left with only 147 calories for dinner. WHAT?! I was floored. And I thought I was packing a good lunch--turkey sandwich, two carrots, dried apricots (yes, I tried them--not sure I like the texture on the outside, but I can handle it), and I think most of the calories came from the 100 calorie Cheezit pack & the vanilla Snack Pack. But none of that mattered because...
My husband IMs me and says, "Hey, how 'bout we go to El Torito for lunch?" "Okay!" So not only did I eat a more unhealthy lunch, but I also didn't work out. :oP Needless to say, I didn't try to track my dinner.
I'll try again tomorrow.
*image from http://stolzenhaus.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/lose-it-iphone-app-wow-was-i-wasting-calories-on-junk/*
I did a 1200 cal/day diet for a while and it is surprisingly hard.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried WW? That worked VERY well for me the first time I did it and I think the big difference was that I was really good about journaling that time.
I think I've decided to try to eat mostly raw/vegan/healthy and incorporate that into a WW program and journal.
My biggest thing is that I need to start working out again. And Harvey might be going on a program with me- he's at least 5 lbs overwight and he's only 1. Hopefully I can get off the elliptical and start running outside with him.
Anyway, hang in there. The journaling does help, even if you go over on calories b/c it keeps you honest. My biggest problem is I'm a perfectionist in a bad way- if I screw up, I just start over the next day or the next week :) Anyway, good luck- the iphone program sounds cool.
LOL, you are SO like me!!!
ReplyDelete1295 is pretty gosh darned low. I'm not sure that's realistic, as you've found. At least 1500, maybe 1800 is more like it. Weight loss is not really a fast thing. What do you put in for your height? I think these calculators put you in the "tiny" category when you aren't really.
ReplyDeleteThe 1295 is based on how many pounds I put in as wanting to lose in a week. (1.5)
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to avoid paying for weight loss at this point, but I may start WW one of these days. I've always wanted to try it for some reason. I've had a lot of friends (including you) who have been helped by it. I just have a hard time paying for something like that when I have tons of free resources available to me b/c of where I work--it's just a matter of me asking for help.