Logging food

[Collinsswift]

Do people use the fitbit app to log the amount of food they eat, and if so is it worth it? It sounds good in theory, but I find it very encumbersome. 

[LennyMat]

I find the phone app easier. It's more intuitive and easier to navigate.
That may be because I've used it so regularly but I prefer it.

[SunsetRunner]

When I did log my food I prefered using MyFitnessPal to log the items, it syncs the totals for Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Dinner without carying over the details to FitBit. Which didn't really matter to me since I just used the MyFitnessPal to analyze my food intake. I felt it gave me a more intuitive interface and better customizations. Since I am on a keto diet I am interensted in a different fat, carb, protien ratios. It was very easy to customize and keep track of through MyFitnessPal.

[glitterNfunk]

I log my food everyday.  I have meals set up for things I eat often and favorites that change weekly.

It used to take a lot of time.....but once you get in the habit, its just something you do.

[dragonpupps]

Personally I log food in MyFitnessPal, and it is worth the extra minute or two to log it in. For MFP (MyFitnessPal), once you log something once, if you eat it again, you don't have to search for long to log it, so it saves time the more you log. It helps me make sure I don't eat too much, and to watch calorie intake anyways.

[IzzyGirl]

Just wondering Instead of entering food if I know how many calories I've eaten is there a way of just entrying the calories?

[Nannymag65]

I find as I have emphysema exercise  a bit hard any ideas please

[glitterNfunk]

Is your medical provider recommending exercise?  There are lots of chair workouts to be had if being up and around is an issue......or if its a matter of stamina, start small by using your average daily steps and adding 100 steps to your goal each week.

If your provider is saying no exercise, then its a matter of keeping a calorie deficit each day.  There are plenty of meal planners out there.  My favorite is eatthismuch.com .  Again, I suggest starting small with a 500 calorie deficit.  That way, you set yourself up for success!

Good luck!

[glitterNfunk]

yup....on the app, there is a 123 button at the top of the logging screen where you can just enter a number of calories.

I haven't found a similar button on the website log so I created a custom "calorie" item worth 1 calorie.  That way I can enter any number of calories.

[cosmonew]

I love MYFITNESSPAL. Pretty much anything I want to eat is already in there. The community is full of information.  FITBIT for tracking my steps, MFP for tracking my food. 

[glitterNfunk]

I do my meal planning on eatthismuch.com and then dump those calories into the fitbit app so I can monitor my calorie deficit and keep track of all my goals in one place.

I don't think it really matter all that much where you log.....and there are a lot of options....as long as you are logging. 

That being said, there are options in the fitbit app to create meals and custom foods that might help make the process less cumbersome.  Some tweaking may be all you need.

[Bill_k]

It's too much trouble for me so no. I have it to the point now where i can add up the calories roughly in my head and subtract at the end of the day.

[BathHammer]

If I start using MYFITNESSPAL to track my diet do I have to enter all my exercise as well or can I use it just for a record of what I eat for the moment? I don't want to spend loads of time entering things but am interested in the nutritional values & balance of what I eat. My weight has been stable for years. It seems that most people are  completing this to lose weight but I just find the whole concept interesting if it is straightforward.

[Dominique]

@BathHammer: MFP <-> Fitbit integration works both ways: MFP gets exercising information (calories burned) from Fitbit, and Fitbit gets information about your intake from MFP.

[BathHammer]

Thank you for that Dominique. I'll give it a go shortly.

[Shadowsforbars]

Logging my meals is a complete pain in the butt, but I do it.  After almost 5 months it seems to be helping me control what I eat & drink.  It is my habit to enjoy a sundowner starting about 4 hours before I plan to sleep.  If I have had a good day & I have plenty of calories to spare, I sip a craft beer with around 450 kcal over a 2 hour period.  If I have fewer kcal to spare, I have a scotch over the same time period.

When I go out for a meal, I take a photo of everything I eat & drink and enter it on the app when I get home.  

[BathHammer]

Thank you Shadow. I'm getting less enthusiastic about doing this. It also seems there might be a lot of hassle in joining MFBP. I have a stable weight but could do with reducing my waist so need to focus on that. Whether recording meals will help I don't know as I weigh myself daily.
John

[Daves_Not_Here]

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@Collinsswift wrote:

Do people use the fitbit app to log the amount of food they eat, and if so is it worth it? It sounds good in theory, but I find it very encumbersome. 

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It's not worth logging your food unless you want to manage your weight.  Fitbit can discover a lot of data, but does not know what and how much you eat.  Once you log your food, Fitbit can determine your energy balance and give you insight as to why you are losing, gaining, or maintaining.

[BathHammer]

Thanks Collin

[Dominique]

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@BathHammer wrote:
I have a stable weight but could do with reducing my waist so need to focus on that.

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Seeing your waist shrink almost always means dropping some weight. Your waist is what it is because there’s a certain amount of fat stored there: for it to shrink, some of that fat has to go. It’s hard to lose fat while maintaining your weight.

[Nannymag65]

Cheers for reply , I to have come to that conclusion it's not important thank you for reply

Sent from my iPhone