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How do you keep track of your diet/exercise?

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How do you keep track of your diet/exercise?

Old 07-24-07, 10:33 AM
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How do you keep track of your diet/exercise?

I am finding that unless I make an active effort to document exactly what I eat/how I exercise, I can't keep motivated. Right now I use My Calorie Counter which is free for the most basic stuff. It doesn't really let you customize anything, but by being creative I have had some success keep tabs on what I do.
  1. Do any of you guys use something similar?
  2. How do you keep track of your activity and diet?
  3. How do you keep motivated?
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Old 07-24-07, 10:37 AM
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I have recently discovered sparkspage. That is a very complete and free site
I was using Fit Day.
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Old 07-24-07, 10:38 AM
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I'm signed up for weight watchers and I'm using their flex point system to track my food and exercise intake daily.
The weight watchers sign up was more as a supportive role for my wife but since I'm paying some good dough for it, I use it now 100% and it actually worked sofar as I'm 10lbs down since I started 5 weeks ago.
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Old 07-24-07, 10:41 AM
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I just get on the scales every day and see which direction I am going. If it is going up, eat less, excercise more, if going down, eat more (and maybe excercise less) - if it is staying the same, it just depends which direction I really want to go in - or if I am happy where I am.

I am not going to count calories for the rest of my life, but this seems to require little thought on my part.
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Old 07-24-07, 10:45 AM
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Originally Posted by beingtxstate
[*]How do you keep motivated?[/list]

That's the tough one. For me it's variety, which is odd because I'm routine guy in daily life. But in order to keep thing new and exiting, which keeps me motivate, I keep changing things. I try to find new routes to bike, or new hills to climb. If I need a break from cycling, I hike or jog and swim. As for diet, I mix that up to. I keep searching for different foods that I can eat and different recipies to make stuff. If I don't do this, I will lose interest and fail. My kick right now is eating white nectarines, last month was salads, next month will be something else.

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Old 07-24-07, 10:58 AM
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I started a fitness program a few months ago that involves nutrician and exercise. One thing that has been proven to help with success is keeping track of eating and exercise. I use a journal called Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley & Henry S Lodge, MD. It is sturdy, a good size, and is made to hold one year's worth of info. I got it from Amazon.com and I believe it was <$15. There are many availlable but I like this one. BTW I have lost 81 lbs in 4 months AND taken up bike riding!! My motivation is two wore out knees and the desire to be able to do things I want to do when I retire in a few years!

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Old 07-24-07, 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by beingtxstate
I am finding that unless I make an active effort to document exactly what I eat/how I exercise, I can't keep motivated. Right now I use My Calorie Counter which is free for the most basic stuff. It doesn't really let you customize anything, but by being creative I have had some success keep tabs on what I do.
  1. Do any of you guys use something similar?
  2. How do you keep track of your activity and diet?
  3. How do you keep motivated?
[1] I don't keep a list [2] I try to eat about the same every day, I've changed from loving to eat to not careing about it and only eat because I'll get hungry if I don't. I ride the same amount every morning for now until I get in better shape. [3] Watching the pants get bigger has been a good motivator. Yesterday at work a sweet young girl from the office stopped at my machine (I'm a Aerospace machinist)and commented on my weight loss and how I looked better. THAT is motivation!
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Old 07-24-07, 11:31 AM
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I only mark down total exercise on a calendar in my living room. I get embarrassed if I have too many days without anything marked on them.
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Old 07-24-07, 11:45 AM
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Sparkspeople is pretty cool! I like it much better.

Keep the replies coming! It is encouraging and interesting to hear what all you do for monitoring our health!
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Last edited by beingtxstate; 07-24-07 at 12:32 PM.
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Old 07-24-07, 11:55 AM
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I eat whatever I want and then force myself to ride at least 75 miles every other day. Okay, I'm a bad example.
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Old 07-24-07, 12:27 PM
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SparkPeople.com

It helped me lose 80 pounds and counting!
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Old 07-24-07, 12:29 PM
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sparkspeople bodybuilders.com and this forum. You guys motivate me.
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Old 07-24-07, 12:31 PM
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Sparkpeople for weight, rarely food (when I am not sure how well I am doing.. i usually do a day every other week, or random audits if you will.. i try to naturally keep it within my SP recommended range though).

MapMyRide for runs/biking.

267 -> 235 so far.

As for motivation -- for me it was a dislike of my body. Everyday I workout and eat right I feel amazingly better about myself and the progress i've made. Superficial, but it keeps me going. (That, and my family has a history of high blood pressure/etc.. so I figure I should get my weight under control young.. its easier now than later).

Last edited by VTRoadie; 07-24-07 at 12:41 PM.
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Old 07-24-07, 12:34 PM
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I use mapmyride.com. It has all I've ever needed.
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Old 07-24-07, 12:38 PM
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For the diet, I don't really record anything. I look at food labels before I eat anything new. I mentally keep tabs on what foods I'll allow myself to eat and what I won't. I usually just look at carbs, protein and the fats. For instance, it's easier for me to just remember "Eggo Waffle with peanut butter" for breakfast than "XX grams of carbs, at least XX grams of protein, and no more than XX grams of fat."

For exercise, my employer is starting a wellness program which gives monetary rewards in the form of gift certificates to local fitness-related businesses. You accrue points by logging any exercise, and participating in health screens and health related seminars. So that forces me to keep a good record of my monthly activity. And since we're coming up towards the end of the year as far as the program is concerned (Aug 31), I'm finding myself busting my butt to work out more so that I can get to the next reward level and get a nicer bike.
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Old 07-24-07, 02:57 PM
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i've been using activebody.com for a while now. the fact that it was originally set-up for three sport (triathlon) training made it even better. it doesn't have any specific place for tracking diet, but does include a section for body info (measurements, body fat%, weight) and gives some nice graphing/calendar options. plus it's free and i'm pretty sure the guy who runs it is a BF member.

as for the motivation, the forums (even like now when i can't ride because my bikes are in storage pending a move) and a scale with body fat measurement
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Old 07-24-07, 05:57 PM
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I use fitday.com for food, an online spreadsheet for rides, and my kitchen calendar for everything else.
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Old 07-24-07, 06:45 PM
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Originally Posted by JoeMetal
I use mapmyride.com. It has all I've ever needed.
Neil F. persuaded me to give up mapmyride for Bikely.com. Very easy to use.
 
Old 07-24-07, 06:46 PM
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Originally Posted by BeckyW
I use fitday.com for food, an online spreadsheet for rides, and my kitchen calendar for everything else.
I was using fitday, but I gradually drifted away from it. I need to get back so I can get rid of these remaining 20 pounds.
 
Old 07-24-07, 08:25 PM
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Thanks for showing me the SparkPeople.com website. It is what I was looking for!
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Old 07-24-07, 09:18 PM
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I use the carmichael training diary.. They are good and can be found for cheap on ebay.. Much better than the original price of 14.00... Lots of entry pages and good info to keep track of.. For my calorie counting, I just use a datebook and add up each day.. Keeping track of the daily calories is so important for weight loss..

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=160091666219
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Old 07-25-07, 12:21 AM
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bikejournal.com for logging my rides. and as far as food i am eatting the same breakfast and lunch everyday (total after lunch is only 500-600 calories) then if i go on a ride i'll have a powerbar before, come home and have dinner but keep the portions down. if i get hungry during the day i'll eat some fruit. seems to be working so far since i can stick to the same breakfast and lunch.
i used to go out and get a burger, fries, and coke almost everyday or hit a buffet for lunch.
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Old 07-25-07, 10:28 AM
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Originally Posted by The Historian
Neil F. persuaded me to give up mapmyride for Bikely.com. Very easy to use.
What are some benefits of bikely over mapmyride?
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Old 07-25-07, 10:53 AM
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I signed up for the sparkpeople.com too it is what I have been looking for meals with a shopping list and easy recipes.
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Old 07-25-07, 12:07 PM
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Originally Posted by besserheimerpha
For exercise, my employer is starting a wellness program which gives monetary rewards in the form of gift certificates to local fitness-related businesses. You accrue points by logging any exercise, and participating in health screens and health related seminars. So that forces me to keep a good record of my monthly activity. And since we're coming up towards the end of the year as far as the program is concerned (Aug 31), I'm finding myself busting my butt to work out more so that I can get to the next reward level and get a nicer bike.
It sounds like you work for a pretty good employer. I suggested a wellness program at my office and was laughed at. Do you have any of the guidelines or program details that your company follows? Perhaps if I went in with a firm proposal, they would be more willing to consider it. Feel free to PM or email me (trich(at)tonyrich.org).
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