Log your food intake

I have heard may people talk about how much of a difference it makes to log your food intake.  Whatever system you are using (counting calories, low-fat, weight watchers points) to log what food you are eating can make a HUGE difference in your progress.  It allows you to plan your progress, see trends and problem areas.  I know for me I thought I was good estimator of my food totals.  Prepackaged foods were pretty easy.  But for eating out or cooking at home it was much more of a challenge.

I personally like Weight Watchers because it’s easy to know how many points I am allowed for the day, adding points for any physical activity I do, how many points food items are, how many food items are in databases, and how easy it is to calculate points for meals, foods that aren’t in database, or recipes.  My favorite part though is probably the flexibility.  If I know I am going to have a higher point meal, it is easy to adjust my day or week to accommodate.  

I also like how many tools there are for tracking your points using the Weight Watchers points program.  Again, I personally have my phone near me pretty much at all times.  So I LOVE having an app on my phone that I can log my foods, look items up, or calculate the points.

I have an android phone and am using the “Ultimate Weight Watcher Diary” app.  It also looks like it is now available for iphones and ipads.     It was only $3.99 and is a GREAT app.  A large database, easy points calculator, AND my favorite feature is that it now has a bar code scanner!  Simply scan the snack you have had your eye on to see just how many points it is without having to input the nutritional information into the calculator.

I had been logging some of my food, but not all.  I am now trying to be committed to building my database of foods I eat and logging everything I eat.  I am taking the time to research and look up foods.  WOW it’s amazing how they all add up so quickly!  It sure makes me think twice whether I really want that Starbucks latte or not and know how good I need to be (or how bad I can be).  So here’s to positive results!