Using fitday or other tracking software page

[fyrespryte]

For those of you who track your food, how exactly do you go about doing that when you do home cooking? Do you remember/input the exact ingredients that you used in the recipe? Do you weigh your food? Is there a "trick" to making it easier and not so complicated?

[Mel]

i never really liked fitday - i don't think there's anything wrong with it, it just didn't work for me. i use myfitnesspal.com and its been working great. we never eat anything packaged from the store (other than oil, vinegar, butter, etc) and there isn't anything that i have had trouble finding on myfitnesspal. and if there is something that i need that isn't there - for instance some weird concoction that i make often at home, then i can put all that data in and then figure out how much is a serving and it saves that so i know my nutrional information for next time. it can be a little time consuming at first, but once you go through and add most of the foods that you commonly eat (all the veggies, fruits, cuts of meat, nuts, oils, etc) then all you have to do is go through and select which ones and how much. i never got too super crazy with making sure i had every exact volume or weight of every food. i'm sure i was over on some and under on others....it just wasn't worth it to me to get that into it. In fact, i don't track anymore, other than the occasional check in just to make sure that i'm on track.

oh - one tip that i like to do....i'm a planner, always have been - can't shake it.... but i like to plan out what we're eating the day before (that way i can make everyone's lunches in the evening and it makes the morning so much smoother). so, when i was tracking, i found that if i took about 5 minutes in the afternoon to plan out the next day's meals then i was all set. there was sometimes a little improvisation, but we just adjusted as we went.

i think that it might take a little trial and error until you find a site that works for you and you find easiest, but i'm sure there's one out there - good luck and happy tracking!

[jo]

I used the Daily Plate. Not claiming it is better or anything.

You can add in your own recipe's by individual ingredients and it adds it all up for you. It then saves it for use later so you only have to do all the work once. It is a hassle, but it may be interesting to see exactly what your home cooked meals contain in terms of nutrients. I am a bit of a throw in cook, so often it is estimates, but it gives an idea I think. As a Brit, I liked the fact that there was a good range of British makes on the product list. Some are dominated by US products and measures.

[hutax]

I also use myfitnesspal.com, easy and quick to use. The thing about these sites is you don't have to do it forever. After a few months of logging food you inadvertantly memorize everything and can easily look at a meal and know what it contains.

[dacec]

I use ontri.com

The thing about measuring and weighing, is that once you recognize what a serving is then it is easy.
Approx 1 cup of greens is a serving
1/2 cup of veg is a serving
a smallish palmful of nuts is an ounce
1 oz of cheese is a smallish sized cube
4 oz meat is the size of a smallish hand

You may have to weigh/measure for a short time, but if you want to know what you are consuming, then you need to learn what is considered a portions. As others have stated, once you do it for a short time, you will internalize it and no longer need the charts.

[tooround]

It might be a matter of practice. I've been using fitday for 7 or 8 years

I make a lot of custom foods using the labels on the packages or customizing things that were difficult to find.
If you have measuring cups and spoons on the counter while you cook, you can eyeball and be pretty close with your measurements. I had a lovely scale and quite liked it but it broke. I don't miss it very much.

The things you use frequently will be in recent foods and that makes it easier too.