Log what you eat or Eat for your log? :)

Log what you eat or Eat for your log? :)		ahazel1980
		Jul 23 2008 19:04
Every time I make a habit of logging my intake I find myself making some, i guess you could say, "strange" meal choices. :) I always check my page before a meal and try to round out the numbers, making food choices based on what I'm low on at the moment... For example, a lunch (when I'm not logging) would probably consist of a sandwich and chips, pretty normal. However, when I record my intake I become almost obsessive over getting in the right amount of protein, healthy fats, whole grains, veggies, etc. So I end up eating meals like my lunch today: Naturalite 3% fat ground beef sauteed in a pan with 1/2 a yellow onion and garlic (for protein), 1/2 an avocado (for fat & fiber), a slice of whole wheat (for grains), and an individual cup of cottage cheese (for a little MORE protein and some calcium). I suppose it's not a BAD thing, I mean I wound up with a decent lunch of 450 calories and 40 grams of protein, it's just that my family has started looking at my meal choices and saying things like "Eeeewww, gah, sorry." LOL Just wondering if logging has the same effect on others... Do you log what you eat? Or do you eat for your log? ;)

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#1	susiecue	Jul 23 2008 19:13
I log what I eat. It can affect my choice of snack later in the day though. If I'm really low on protein, I may make sure to have a yogurt or some turkey for a snack instead of cereal or fruit. (I do think the amount of protein some people recommend is way higher than necessary, though. As I understand it, we need a minimum of 0.8 g per kg of body weight - which for me works out to about 20% of my calories. I read other people recommending as much as 40%!)
#2	ahazel1980	Jul 23 2008 19:16
I've read that too! I struggle to get in 90-110 grams a day (and that only puts me around 20%) If I tried to get 40% I'm not sure I'd be able to eat a healthy balance of foods!
#3	morrighu	Jul 23 2008 19:21
Back in the day, when I was a workout diva, it wasn't unusual for us to go one of the places in town that had whole roasted or rotisserie chickens. We'd skip a lot of the other stuff and just eat an entire chicken each.
#4	ahazel1980	Jul 23 2008 19:22
Yikes that's a lot of protein, I wouldn't be able to eat again for the rest of the day! LOL
#5	clairesty	Jul 23 2008 21:27
Ha! Ha! Oh I do agree! I've just made myself some lunch for work tomorrow = tiny slice of veggie quiche (protein & it was in the fridge) salad (1 of my 5 a day) 50g of cooked chicken (protein & again it was in the fridge & needs to be eaten soon) a slice of lightlife Leerdammer cheese (calcium) which will be eaten with some Japanese rice crackers a glass of almond milk (good fats & vit E) followed by some dried apricots (fibre & vit A) Bit random & thrown together, though as long as your enjoying what you're eating, carry on!
#6	ahazel1980	Jul 23 2008 21:41
Ooh your lunch sounds better than mine :) Now you've got me craving dried apricots and quiche! LOL
#7	valsgoal	Jul 23 2008 21:53
I go both ways. I mostly log what I eat. I'll go the other way if I'm being very strict with my calories. My nutrition usually balances itself out at the end of the day regardless which way I choose to do it. I say usually because I do get on those kicks sometimes...all protein, all day or all carbs all day, more so the later. Not often but it does happen.
#8	samesofam	Jul 23 2008 23:48
i plan ahead of time what i shall eat the next day. i enter it all in the day before. i find that having a plan helps me stay on track, whereas on days i don't log, i often end up making poor choice after poor choice and going waaaay over my calories. so i decide what to eat, enter it, and eat for my log.
#9	ahazel1980	Jul 24 2008 02:43
That's actually a pretty good idea! Only what do you do if you get hungry between meals?
#10	miliejolie	Jul 24 2008 16:57
I log what I eat for breakfast and lunch, and then I eat what I log for dinner. I usually need to eat more protein for dinner so eating what I log is a good way to correct what I've eaten so far in the day. Also, I know what I'm going to eat when I get home so I'm not tempted to stop at the store/restaurant on my way from work and get junk food.
#11	tankerraid	Jul 24 2008 19:42
I log my meal plan for the day first thing in the morning. Works great for me. I also make room for a few snacks in case I get hungry through the day. If I don't eat them I remove them at night. Of course, I usually do eat them. But having the knowledge that if I DO get hungry I can eat something and don't have to suffer does wonders for my psychology.
#12	durgy	Jul 24 2008 20:08
Today I knew I would have no time to do an update until about now, so I ended up entering all the foods I thought I would eat during the day. I did nto get to the orange I brought to work so ended up deleting it later. So I guess that makes me eat what I log, and unlog what I do not eat?
#13	xy8015	Jul 25 2008 16:27
Normally I just log what I eat, but when I check the analysis and things are out of whack, I will adjust my choices. This is the usefulness of such a tool for me and one of the reasons I use this site. This topic caught my eye because yesterday afternoon I noticed that about 2/3 of the way through the day my calories were coming from something like 75% carbs, 10% fat and 10% protein. So I had a protein shake with some peanut butter to even things out a bit (I am going for 50-25-25, respectively).
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