Food/Calorie activity tracking

[katluvr]

Probably already discussed. I am going to TRY yet AGAIN to log my food.
I last used fitday.com--but find it a bit cumbersome on the food selections to add. I like the way it does calories expended form exercise and takes into account the calories burned (at rest) minus the time in the activity.

What food/calorie/activity tracking on line programs do you use....and why do you like them (especially if you have tried others).

Thanks!
K

[witeowl]

I find any website logging to be cumbersome, so I purchased and downloaded fitday pc. (I'll email myself a note if I eat something unplanned while I'm out and about.)

I like it because I can copy/paste meals (so when I put away a portion of my dinner for the next day's lunch, I can copy/paste rather than retyping or creating a recipe for every meal). I also like it because it easily tells me what my deficit for the day is.

For reference, here is what I've tried before turning (and returning to fitday pc): SparkPeople, DailyBurn (formerly Gyminee), FitDay online.

[katluvr]

So Fitday PC is different? I don't have a handheld, so it will work coming to my computer/email?

[GLC1968]

Fitday PC is great. I have an old version (10 years old now?!) and it still rocks. I'd like to buy the newer one but until I'm more consistent about logging, I'm not going to.

I'm currently using Fitday online right now because I like having access at both work and home. It is cumbersome, but I find it works much better with Firefox than with Explorer.

I've also used The Daily Plate, Sparkpeople, and My Food Diary. I LOVED My Food Diary, but you have to pay for it and I can't justfy it when I suck at logging. The Daily Plate and Sparkpeople both annoyed the crap out of me - too much flashy stuff and the food options didn't jive with my eating patterns.

[witeowl]

so it will work coming to my computer/email?

I'm not sure what you mean by this. There's no official way for fitday pc to work over the internet or through email, but there is a way, depending on how much effort you want to put into it.

When I said that I email myself a note when I'm out and about, that's just a quick "apple and string cheese" to myself and then I enter the info into fitday when I get home and read the email.

That said, there is a way for fitday pc to work across multiple computers... as long as you're willing to do a little more and install syncing software like dropbox. Let me know if you want more info on that.

[VeloVT]

I like CalorieKing. I bought the software (it was a one-time fee of around $40). It's a lot less clunky than some of the other options I looked at. I think it's terrific -- my only complaint is that I think the exercise estimates are off, so I do my own estimate and do fuzzy math to make their formulas end up with my estimates.

Has anyone been able to successfully use Beginner Triathlete's nutrition tracker? It's super-awkward. In general, I keep trying to use BT for workout logging and I just can't stick with it because even though the features appeal to me, using it is just so damn cludgy.

[shootingstar]

I'm impressed by anyone who tracks their food calorie intake regularily.

I would probably shock myself if I knew precisely the number and composition of my calorie intake.

Over the years, I've just eased away from certain foods and switched more/increasingly to others ..but still hang onto certain foods that aren't good for me.

[txred9876]

I have only tried livestrong.com and I like it pretty good. I am very good about doing my stuff during the week but its harder for me during the weekend.

[marni]

4 years of biking and 125 pounds later I swear by body bugg available from apexfitness.com.


the bodybugg is a monitor that I wear during waking hours that logs all of my activity and then works out the tootal calorie expenditure based on body parameters that I enter from my moonthly weigh in. These perameters includ weight, height, measurements, % body fat sleep hours, inactive hours. I log my food and drink in their data base and then the web site breaks down the nutrition information so I can track fat, protein,carbohydrates, sodium, cholesterol, and tells me what my total caloric intake was . I have a baisc caloric expenditure and a deficit that I try to match day to day.

The initial cost for the body bugg is about 200 dollars but it comes with full technical support, an extensive food data base and a daily evaluation of how I am doing. After the original expendituree for the bodybugg itself, there is a yearly charge of 50.00 a year which in view of what I have gotten from it in terms of maintaining my weight loss and improving my health and eating habits.


marni harang, sugar land texas

[tctrek]

I use myfooddiary.com -- there's a $9 monthly fee, but I LOVE IT! I've been using it for about a month and have yet to run into a situation where the food I eat is not in their database. It is amazing.

The user interface is so goof-proof and easy, that logging takes only a second.

You get a daily report of all your nutrients, breakdown of Carbs, Fat Protein and you get smiley :D faces for hitting your RDA of all the major nutrients... of course you get frowney faces if you eat too much fat or too much sodium, etc. :(

You can also log your measurements, weight, etc. and keep track of your exercise. It has an amazing array of exercises to choose from or you can add your own. It has a discussion forum and online resources and support groups, if you're into that.

I just find that I must log my food in order to keep my weight under control -- I'm too scatter brained to just "remember" what I have eaten.