Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I recently started a food log just out of pure curiosity. I usually have an idea of what I eat and try to keep my non-paleo meals to a max of 3 per week. I am keeping a food log for a month and wanted to know if you ever kept a log and what format did you use? Did you write down just meals? or meals + nutritional information? specific times you ate (8am, 4pm...)? I don't want to weigh food but I would like to keep nutritional info in my log to get an idea of fat, protein, and carb intake. What's the easiest way of doing this? Is there a website that can help me?

**UPDATE: I've been using fitday.com and I like it. Thanks!

edited Mar 22 2011 at 14:15

asked Mar 16 2011 at 12:18

Eric
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	Not to be Debbie Downer but if you don't want to use a scale, your results might be quite doubtful. – Ikco Mar 17 2011 at 8:47
	Yay! I'm glad you like fitday! I had a lot of success with it. If I had been able to have "friends" I would have stayed with it always. – sherpamelissa Mar 21 2011 at 23:45

sherpamelissa · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-16 13:17:22Z UTC

I am the food logging queen, self declared title, of course. ;)

In order to get enough detail on carb, fat and protein, you are probably better off using a computer program or app, rather than trying to write it all down on paper. If you aren't willing to weigh/measure your food, then it may be tough because you will just be guestimating quantities. It is easy to mistake 5oz of meat for 3oz of meat when you are just eyeballing it. Even if you only measure for the first week to get an accurate visual of how much = each quantity you will get more reliable numbers this way.

www.livestrong.com/myplate is what I use because it allows me to have friends and see what they eat and comment on it. Beware, because the food database is a wiki so people enter really weird information. If you don't have a basic idea of what foods have in it, then this one is not for you.

www.fitday.com is what I used for YEARS, it is fairly easy to use and you can create "custom foods" when you have nutritional information for something you eat all the time or a recipe. It's easy, but the database is somewhat outdated.

www.sparkpeople.com is a great site with a lot of resources, but it was really, really busy for me. They send a lot of email too.

All of these will break down your percentages and give you the information you need.

Karen · Answer 2 · 2011-03-16 12:42:29Z UTC

I use a food log periodically to check up on various factors I'm interested in. Many people will say not to, but I found it useful especially while learning the basics and for seeing some places that needed tuning. Cron-o-meter is free and easy to use http://spaz.ca/cronometer/ I use the desktop version.

familygrokumentarian · Answer 3 · 2011-03-17 02:18:04Z UTC

I've been logging on fatsecret.com since March 1 - account setup is easy and free. Bonus: it has highly rated free apps out for various smartphones (I use my Droid FatSecret app every day!). There's also a barcode scanner available within the apps!

It's been great to see an autoreadout of my percentages of macronutrients and watch them shift over the day on the pie chart as I add to my food intake for the day. Since I wanted to get to under 50g of carbs/day, it's been a terrific resource. The food diary is a wiki but it is very comprehensive and has just about anything you'd eat listed, including paleo favorites like Tropical Traditions products.

I also like the other FatSecret data tools - exercise journal, weigh-in history/chart, forums, groups, challenges, etc. For the data geek in you! You can participate as much or as little as you want, and there are a few privacy controls that you can change per your preferences.

In fact, there's 43 folks (and counting!) who've joined a 3 Month Primal / Paleo Challenge for those looking for body composition change before summer arrives - it starts on Monday 3/21.

Jules K · Answer 4 · 2011-03-16 12:43:16Z UTC

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If I find myself gaining a few pounds, sometimes I'll log a few days of meals at fitday.com; I think livestrong has a similar tool.

answered Mar 16 2011 at 12:43

Jules K
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I will check out fitday.com. THanks Jules. – Eric Mar 16 2011 at 13:36

oliverh · Answer 5 · 2011-03-16 12:43:17Z UTC

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A suggestion is to just use a notepad: track time of day when you eat and what, how much sleep you get, your weight (fat, muscle). Also the amount of exercise and when.
Some of these things you could equally well do with a phone app - but I haven't seen an app that complete yet.

answered Mar 16 2011 at 12:43

oliverh
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	I like the idea of keeping track of sleep. Thanks! – Eric Mar 16 2011 at 13:34
	there is this app, but I am not convinced it's not a scam mdlabs.se/sleepcycle at 1$ it's worth a try – oliverh Mar 16 2011 at 15:16

Ben · Answer 6 · 2011-03-16 13:46:01Z UTC

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I've had good success with creating a google doc spreadsheet and sharing it with someone who can keep me accountable.

answered Mar 16 2011 at 13:46

Ben
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Sergey · Answer 7 · 2011-03-16 15:18:53Z UTC

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The best way is not to log anything at all. Enjoy your paleo meals!

answered Mar 16 2011 at 15:18

Sergey
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I do enjoy my meals. I'm want to know the breakdown of my macronutrients. – Eric Mar 16 2011 at 15:28

Jules · Answer 8 · 2011-03-17 01:10:45Z UTC

We actually are using Evernote to take pics of every meal, every snack, every beverage we take in. It allows us to see all that we're consuming, and can comment on when it's a pretty fruit-heavy day, etc. Kind of cool to "see" what you're eating. I loathe weighing and measuring my food, so this is a great way to get a good idea as to quantities.

Laurie · Answer 9 · 2011-03-17 03:50:47Z UTC

I am a food coach, personal trainer who created Loseitwrite! I found nothing beats pen and paper. I recommend writing down every bite and then counting calories. If you would like one, I will send you a complimentary one! Let me know, email me at info@Loseitwrite.com and give me your address!

VandyGear03 · Answer 10 · 2011-03-17 04:07:28Z UTC

I have had a great experience with www.mynetdiary.com. They have a free app for the iPhone (and an app for Blackberries) and a comprehensive catalog of foods. One of the key differences between their site and many of the others is that they actually have tens of thousands of food items that are entered by the website moderators, so they are quality-controled. Users can also enter their own foods if they are not in the database. It's an easy user interface, with a strong community forum offering support to the users.

I have been using mynetdiary since September, and I have lost nearly 35 pounds. You can set your weight loss or body composition goals, and it will tell you how many calories you need to take in to reach the goal by a certain date. If you pay the monthly fee to upgrade, you can also set your macro and micronutrient goals for each day. Even if you don't, you can track the nutrients - you just can't change the goals.

In the past, I've kept food diaries for a couple of months at a time, but it's hard to maintain when it's just a notebook in my pocket. With the iPhone app, though, I have it with me all the time, entering data is quick, and there are lots of supporting features. I highly recommend it.

Adah · Answer 11 · 2011-03-22 20:42:38Z UTC

I have an unhealthy love for statistics and patterns, so I've recently started keeping a relational database to keep track of things like food (and ingredients!) consumed, weight, overall mood, exercise and supplements taken. It's pretty cool because I can run specific queries to, say, figure out how too-little sleep correlates with mood and weight, and I can always start tracking something new by adding a new table.

I don't think all that is necessary to maintain your health, but it's pretty neat to see how one thing is connected to another.

What’s the best way to keep a food log?

11 Answers