I'm researching another project Naturally, I turn to the home team because you guys are IN THE KNOW and the true experts!
To lose weight, what do you keep track of and how?
Calories? Fat grams? Carbs? Portions? Portion sizes? Exercise calories burned? Number of minutes spent exercising? Number of meals cooked at home? Number of meals eaten out?
What numbers have the most impact on your progress? How do you keep tabs? If you don't count exact number of calories, what do you count?
If you could ask someone to come up with a tool to help you lose weight, what would it be?
Thank you in advance for your gracious input. It's extremely important to know what you need to better serve your needs. I truly appreciate your feedback.
Originally posted by Sheltieguy: IMHO, focusing on one's worst food habits is a great place to start.
I think so, too.
I also think that it is good to ditch all or nothing thinking. I know that when I was giving up fast food breakfasts that it was really important to me to make a goal of McBreakfast only on Saturday morning.
This seemed really reasonable to me... the goal wasn't to give up fast food forever... just 6 days a week.
I know that food rewards are sort of frowned upon, but knowing that a McBiscuit was waiting for me on Sat. AM, made Monday-Friday oatmeal and cereal doable.
Somehow that could be incorporated into the form, too.
Denise
Posts: 9221 | Location: Silicon Valley, CA | Registered: March 17, 2004
I never implemented it, but once made a Bad Habit Form. The subject was "Eating After Dinner", and the columns were "Date", "Yes", and "No". The user could check the yes/no box to record if they passed or failed for the day.
IMHO, focusing on one's worst food habits is a great place to start.
Update:
To reduce all/none thinking, the daily pass/fails could be translated into a weekly letter grade.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sheltieguy,
I have used portion size, and food guide as per docs orders. I have use ww points 1 point per calorie but have found that now that I do not go to meetings it is hard to fig out calories so I am now working on how to learn how to count calories. I have also cut out all fat. that was a flop big time. But the good thing is we ar enever to old to learn from our mistakes and never to old to learn new things. rule of tumb burn more then take in. vett
high at my lowest point in life i was 250lbs now 225 and still lossing.
Posts: 53 | Location: http://users.xplornet.com/~angelsentnails/ | Registered: August 18, 2005
I started to answer this the other day and got interuppted. As it turns out, I'm glad because some other posts have triggered some more thoughts.
I have done all sorts of different tracking over the past 4 years or so. I started on the exercise end of things and it started that I tracked minutes walked. I then eventually got a pedometer and for a period of many months, I tracked steps. I'm back to tracking minutes of exercise.
Food wise, I started w/KD's 5 point plan so I was counting good, better best choice, exercise, water, me time and accountability for the first couple of months. Later that morphed into the current minutes of exercise (with 30 min being pretty much a minimum now for me to 'count' it), I still count water servings most days, I count fruit/veggie servings (2 fruit, 3 veggie minimum) and I still do the accountability piece on here. When I am doing these things, I maintain. When I don't, I gain. It's really that simple. Oh, and I also used FitDay most days early on as I was learning about what food = the 1200-1500 calorie days I was shooting for. I'm terrible at remembering actual calorie counts for foods but I do keep an eye on labels as I purchase and try new foods.
Serene mentioned about allowing people to start where they want to and I wanted to encourage that thought. Maybe make it modular in some way (ala Franklin Planners) so that if someone just wanted to use the exercise piece or the food piece they could and then add on. Not sure what you have in mind in terms of a tool but this would be easier to do in some types than others.
I always liked the looks of Richard Simmons' food mover thing. Essentially it was/is an exchange counter but it also had switches for water and exercise I think. I never bought it but what appealed to me was the portability and simplicity of it.
I think making these things as flexible and inexpensive as possible is a great goal because as you can see by the posts, people change what they are tracking along the way. Either for boredom reasons, adding new baby steps or whatever, people switch things around a lot.
Thanks for asking! Any new updates on availabililty of the date book before Christmas?
There are more gadgets and services out there than I ever dreamed of.
quote:
From a webmd.com article:High-Tech Weight Loss Do electronic devices and services designed to help you drop pounds actually work?
The Food Phone
Keeping a food journal is one of the oldest and best-known ways to launch a successful diet. By writing down everything we eat, experts say, we can clearly see how much and how often we're eating -- and take steps to deal with bad habits. The Food Phone service takes it one step farther by providing you with instant "live" feedback on every meal.
How it works: Dieters pay a monthly fee to stay hooked up, via cell phone, to dieticians who are available 24/7. Whenever you get the urge to eat, you snap a digital picture of what you want to chow down on, and send it electronically to a food phone coach. The coach phones back with an instant "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" along with suggestions for what to do instead, such as eating half a portion of your desired treat.
Originally posted by Pam: Now I am doing WW and use the point system but I don't like it. For one thing I think the points values for protein make it hard to get as much protein as I like. I am trying to adopt a regimen of a little more protein and fewer (not low) carbs.
Have you tried the WW Core plan yet? It sounds like it would be a better fit than Flexpoints for the way you are trying to eat.
----------- Jen
Posts: 2872 | Location: Ohio | Registered: March 11, 2004
Originally posted by kd: I'm researching another project Naturally, I turn to the home team because you guys are IN THE KNOW and the true experts!
To lose weight, what do you keep track of and how?
Calories? Fat grams? Carbs? Portions? Portion sizes? Exercise calories burned? Number of minutes spent exercising? Number of meals cooked at home? Number of meals eaten out?
What numbers have the most impact on your progress? How do you keep tabs? If you don't count exact number of calories, what do you count?
If you could ask someone to come up with a tool to help you lose weight, what would it be?
Thank you in advance for your gracious input. It's extremely important to know what you need to better serve your needs. I truly appreciate your feedback.
I don't count calories, or fat grams. I was counting carbs per the nutritionist I have gone to see. I am now see another nutritionist due to an insurance mixup. I have a feeling she is leaning more towards portion sizes. She has given me one exercise so far. She is also a licensed therapist. I hope with her, I can learn to tools to stop bingeing basically for good. I need to get a handle of my eating problems, because of my health and I don't want to overweight anymore. I want to be able to enjoy life, to shop off the rack, to be able to go up a couple of flights of stairs without feeling like I'm going to die.
I went out and found the cutest blank book. I use that for a food journal...well up until the past week or so, because I have been busy and I have been bingeing. I feel more shame with having to write that stuff down. I feel weak and hate myself...and all that other stuff that goes along with it. Only a few of my binges have made it into the journal. The only drawback I have found with using a form, sometimes there just isn't enough room.
Keeping a food journal has helped me to balance out my diet more. It can be a deterent for bingeing. In the journal, I keep track of the food, BGs, BPs, HRs, and how much exercise and sometimes feelings.
When I was a teenager, I saw a nutritionist who had a form that also added the emotional component, where I wrote down what I was feeling.
In general I have tough time with numbers. My BG and my BP numbers have had the most impact..since that is critical for my diabetes control and my overall health. I am required to look at those.
I avoid the scale like the plague, because as much as that can be helpful it also causes me to obsess about it. When I get weighed at the doctor's, I don't look and they don't tell, unless I ask them too.
I have taken things in small steps. I think that has had the most impact. For example, I worked on just exercising regularly before I even started looking at the food issues, because I knew I had major problems there. Maybe developing something that allows the person to start with one small step at a time, instead of doing everything at once which can be overwhelming
While, I still have issues...I am alot healthier and I still have lost weight even though it has been slow. In fact I have been kind of down these past few days because I haven't been able to workout due to a bug.
There has been alot of great stuff posted already. I think if there was one thing to add, which maybe it's just me, but a reflection component to write down any feelings or thoughts for that day or even over the past week. But also a section to write down and track the NSVs.. I have found the NSVs to very motivating for me, since I can't look at the numbers without berating myself because it's not good enough.
It makes me feel so good, that I can go up the stairs at my office building without knee pain and holding on to the rails for support. This message has been edited. Last edited by: Serene,
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals
1. Binge control: no more than 2 times per week 2. Think positive and give credit for all the little successes 3. Go swimming
I was thinking about this some more, and realised that I tend to track meals more than anything. I aim to eat mini-meals every three to four hours. I don't always succeed. But that was how I started, by tracking my meals to eat regularly, since that is my biggest problem, really. I forget to eat.
Now I'll keep an eye on what I eat as well, try to have a starch, protein and veggie, or at least a veggie/fruit and some protein.
I don't really pay attention to the Food Pyramid, I just try and eat moderate amounts of things... like chocolate, for example. I get a bar of the Green and Blacks chocolate every so often. Now their example of a serving is about 1/3 of a bar. Usually, 1/3 of that is enough to satisfy the craving for me. Or if I'm craving ice cream, I'll have a bite out of the carton, something like that
I keep track of exercise, calories, fat, when I'm eating out, when I'm deliberately cutting out an extra starch serving, and days that I work versus days off. I also track when I'm sick or what may have been going on special, like a wedding reception, birthday party, etc. This covers portions, because I can't tell where my calories are if I don't track the portions. But I don't mind doing this. I'm a detail oriented person, so this works for me.
Most of this is at my nutritionist's request so that we can watch for patterns and potential problems.
Seeing each daily calorie total really gets my attention. If it reaches above a certain level, I start looking for where I was loose in my eating.
My food log is very simple...just a page of boxes (7 rows with 6 boxes---3 meals, 1 that puts in the day and date, 1 for snacks, 1 for exercise, and one for notes). I simply fill it in as I go.
I love the darn thing. I can't lie to myself, and I know that my nutritionist knows me well enough to not be able to lie to her. She can immediately tell if my food log does not match what my body is doing.
I do this because I need the accountability. I also have a personal trainer, for the same reason. The more of a support team I have, the better behaved I'll be. And that is why I haven't regained the weight that I've been able to take off.
Laura
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
I have tried keeping track of many things. I found counting calories (using fitday.com) was fun and informative at first, but as my days got busier I was forgetting to log what I ate in and found myself trying to remember what I ate for 1 week at a time.
I have gone back to what I had originally started with. the basic Canadian Food Guide and keeping track of how many portions I am eating in each group. We do this as a family activity with a poster and magnets on the fridge. My husband humors me and my 5 year old thinks that it is great fun.
Enjoy every minute!
Jennifer
Goals for April: Exercise 3 times a week. Drink more water everyday.
Long Term Goal: Weigh-in at 180 lbs by my next Birthday. (Sept-13/06)
Isn't it amazing how we can fool ourselves? ...clearly, eating a Wendy's chicken sandwich in my livingroom is NOT the same thing to a home-cooked meal. Yea. Duh.
It wasn't a Wendy's chicken sandwich and fries and I didn't "eat out." I just FELT like I did.
Yay!! Congrats Sheri!
I think that trying a variety of tracking systems has been really beneficial... Looking thru the ww Restaurant guide, I realized that the BEST fast food choice, was still more points than a similar item made at home. I can make a Boca Burger or chicken sandwich at home for 3-4 points. The best I can do out is about 7 points.
quote:
I'm fairly horrified at the possibilities of what is really being done to the food back there.
I’ve never worked in a kitchen where food was spit on or anything really gross or unsanitary like that. But, I can totally see stuff like full fat mayo being used even though light mayo is printed on the menu happening.
I know that people will insist that if you ask for what you want and are willing to send food back, you will get food prepared the way you want. But that is just not my personal experience… either as a restaurant employee or as a customer.
Denise
Posts: 9221 | Location: Silicon Valley, CA | Registered: March 17, 2004
I use a desktop/palm application called BalanceLog. I really like it when I use it consistently. Things it does not do that I would like it to: allow space for brief journaling, show exchanges so that you can get an overview of how many servings of veggies etc you are getting in each day.
Originally posted by GoingSkiing: Since I had one seriously major fast food habit going … keeping track of how many times I was eating out did make a BIG difference. My memory in this area was terrible. I totally forgot about meals or snacks that I had gotten at a drive thru
Isn't it amazing how we can fool ourselves? One of my goals this month is to limit my "eating out" to once per week. I realized, as I was driving home Wednesday night wanting to stop at Wendy's, that yes, Virginia, Wendy's IS classified as "eating out." See, I think I was subconsciously defining "eating out" as me going to sit down in a restaurant to eat a meal. I almost NEVER eat fast food on-site...I go through the drive-thru and take it home to eat. But clearly, eating a Wendy's chicken sandwich in my livingroom is NOT the same thing to a home-cooked meal. Yea. Duh. But yet my brain almost had me convinced that Wendy's didn't count against my "eating out" limit! LOL
I REALLY wanted the Wendy's, but I didn't go. Instead, to make a home-cooked meal that would "scratch the same itch," I made one of my more decadent-tasting dinners. I baked 3 lowfat Perdue chicken fingers and had them with BBQ sauce for dippin' and a few oven-roasted fingerling potatoes. It wasn't the best meal I could have had. My bag salad had EXPIRED (I put that in caps cuz it wasn't just that the pull-by date had passed, but that the salad was DOA--dead on arrival) so I didn't have a veg. But still. It wasn't a Wendy's chicken sandwich and fries and I didn't "eat out." I just FELT like I did.
quote:
Restaurant meals are always a challenge - who really knows how many calories or points are in them? OK… the menu says that they serve the sandwich with 1 TBS of lite mayo… but maybe the chef never ordered it… so they are just back in the kitchen slathering 3 TBS of full fat mayo on your Lite Burger.
I'll admit...I think of this a good bit when I eat in restaurants...and I'm fairly horrified at the possibilities of what is really being done to the food back there. I mean, here we are being so proud of ourselves for asking for this substitution and that on the side and we have no idea what they're really doing.
Posts: 7864 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
I have spent a lot of money in all of my many weight watching years. I have scales, portion measures, points counters and even a nutrition/calorie/carb calculater. The nutrition thingy is like an electronic wallet size calculator that fits in your bag and keeps track of everything for you like a little computer. Aside from all of the crazy money I have spent over the years in exercise equipment that was never or rarely used.
My method for the past couple of years has been to be mindful of, not keep track of, my portions sizes. I feel like I have a good eyeball for that. I have found that if I get too obsessive about measuring and stuff, I get burned out. I know that if I have cereal for breakfast, then my carbs for the rest of the day should come from fruits and veggies. I keep snacks at bay and if I do get hungry, I eat a low fat string cheese or some nuts. I am mindful of how I prepare foods. I don't fry or add butter, and I am always trying new ways to make the foods I love more healthful. I also know that in order to stay healthy I must exercise everyday. I try to do something every day. I don't obsess over that either, I have to enjoy it or I won't do it. I make sure I drink my water and try not to eat dinner too late.
Posts: 1393 | Location: West Florida | Registered: March 12, 2004
Originally posted by TriGirl: I like Palm applications but not that many people have Palms. I know that some cell phones have the ability to have stuff like this running on them -- a cell phone diet and exercise journal might be a "killer application" because I'm guessing there isn't much out there yet.
I agree. A portable mechanism that allowed the user to check off servings of fruits, veggies, exercise, water, etc. would be most helpful.
Forgot to add that I always measure portions regardless of whether I'm counting exchanges or points. I have to do this or those portions just keep getting bigger.
Forgot to add that it helps me to have attractive ways to record things. Pre WW, I would buy a really pretty journal to track my exchanges and I would also kind of keep a running record of my life. I also made exercise logs for myself with all my videos and I check off how many times I've done each one. I make the log as pretty as possible with lots of clip art from the computer.
What worked best for me was tracking exchanges: so many proteins, fruits, grains, etc. The most recent source for exchanges was the Miriam Nelson,PhD, book "Strong Women Stay Slim". She is a bona fide scientist at Tufts and I find all her books valuable. Now I am doing WW and use the point system but I don't like it. For one thing I think the points values for protein make it hard to get as much protein as I like. I am trying to adopt a regimen of a little more protein and fewer (not low) carbs. I am trying to avoid the diabetes that runs in my family. As for exercise, my system is weight training twice a week (ala the FIRM), step aerobics twice a week (also at home with videos) and lots of walking. I used to run but now have bad knees. I hope to be able to do a little running again when I lose more weight. I never subtracted calories for exercise but now with WW I do track activity points. I am also trying to incorporate a weekly yoga/stretch video. I weigh at home once every week or two. I lose slowly and weighing too often discourages me. I do need to be diligent about weighing, however, or it's gets too easy to kid myself about what I am doing. I also write down what I eat, whether points or exchanges.
Naturally, I turn to the home team because you guys are IN THE KNOW and the true experts!
… keeping track of how many times I was eating out did make a BIG difference. My memory in this area was terrible. I totally forgot about meals or snacks that I had gotten at a drive thru 
