Tracking yes or no

(Theresa Hogsett) #1

I have been using m f p for my tracking it’s that the best free app for keto ?

(Steaks b4 cakes! 🥩🥂) #2

I was all about MFP for the longest time, but I switched over to Cronometer a few months ago and I love it!!
Much more accurate data in there - I love how it’s all checked by someone rather than just anyone entering the data like they do on MFP. I’m still learning how to use it but definitely prefer it to MFP :slight_smile:

(Carl Keller) #3

I also recommend cronometer.com. It’s very user friendly and has an expansive database for brand specific foods as well as a recipe feature that allows you to customize multi-item dishes you might eat frequently (like a casserole or salad).

(Steaks b4 cakes! 🥩🥂) #4

One thing I noticed the other day: I had to add a new food…it was a smoky chorizo from the Co-op…I was in a hurry and entered it all in lower case/no hyphens, I noticed not long after that it had been verified, and they had even added the proper punctuation! :rofl: I was really impressed with that!

(George) #5

I used MFP in the beginning, but recently switched over to Carb Manager, and I love it, especially because it has a keto setting, lets you set your perfect macros, desired calorie deficit (or surplus), etc.

(Scott) #6

My body tracks but I don’t. :laughing:

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #7

@Treesa/@CarlKeller/@ClareBear/@JRS08 Get ready, folks. The ‘listen to your body don’t bother to measure anything’ brigade has discovered this thread.

(Scott) #8

It doesn’t matter to me as I can only say what works for me…at least until it doesn’t.

(Carl Keller) #9

Cool. Tracking helps me understand exactly what I am eating. Plus I’m a stat nerd and I love sorting through data to see what is applicable and what isn’t. If someone doesn’t feel this is useful to them, then that’s their choice.

(John) #10

If tracking helps you, then track. I have not needed to track. If I find at some point that I need to, then I will start.

In a thread titled “Track yes or no” you should expect to see both “yes” and “no” answers depending on what works for different individuals.

I did Weight Watchers years ago, before smart-phones and apps, and we had little paper tri-fold ledgers to track what we ate and how many points it was. The point system in use at the time was basically a short-hand for the calories, fat, and fiber in a food, distilled into a single number, but you still had to measure or estimate serving sizes, or actually do the math based on the nutrition label and serving size to figure out the points. Then you just had to stay within your daily point allowance.

It was a worthwhile process, because recording everything made you pay attention to what you ate, how much, and the overall nutrient profile. You’d be surprised how often people tend to eat something without really thinking about it, or even remembering it later, and wonder why they aren’t losing weight.

I think I may have internalized that process enough to where I know about how much I am eating by looking at it, and I control for a lot of it by just not snacking (so I don’t have to worry about not remembering what I ate), and sticking with keto-friendly foods so that I don’t need to focus that heavily on every carb gram.

But if you’ve never done it enough to make it a habit, then having an app or other tool that reinforces you paying attention to what, when, and how much you eat will be useful.

If I ever get to a point where I am stalled or having other issues achieving my goals, I’ll probably start tracking to see where I am off base, or to at least give myself a baseline to experiment with. However, currently I don’t track anything.

(Cristian Lopez) #11

Exact same here! I have been tracking for 2 years (For athletic performance and longevity) and wonderd if If could pick up an 8oz portion of meat along side a perfect 8oz of almond milk and I got both to weight out to no more than >8.3 oz with my knowledge

#12

I tracked for the first month or so. Now that I have the hang of it, and can pay closer attention to what my body is trying to communicate to me- I’ve stopped tracking for the most part.

(John) #13

What I tend to do is measure until I don’t need to. I have a set of kitchen glasses I regularly drink from. I used a measuring cup to measure 8oz into those glasses, and visually marked where the water level was. It’s about 2/3 of the height of the glass. So I can do a perfect 1-cup pour into those glasses, because I calibrated my eye.

I weighed portions of different nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds), 1oz and 2oz servings using a kitchen scale. Then I dumped that into my hand and closed my fist around it. I did that a few times, and now I know how much of a fistful = 2 oz of nuts.

Same with most meats. I have cut and weighed portions before, so I can eyeball an 8 oz (half pound) serving of meat. I know that 1 egg plus 1 strip of bacon = 150 calories. I know that plain lettuce is so low calorie and low carb that I have no need to measure it, I just eat as much as I want to, which is usually a moderate amount anyway.

It’s a good skill to develop, but so far I have not needed to input everything I eat into a phone app.

#14

Does it scan barcodes like MFP? I haven’t tracked in a while, but that was my favorite MFP feature.

(Cristian Lopez) #15

Yeah that’s how I do it now! I stopped using the app daily after I realized I was able to hit my macros spot on for the day, I even have all my micro nutrients memorized and have skillful knowledge on when to eat certain things and the load on digestion time vs fast acting

This is is very useful in my 6 hour eating window because sometimes Ik I’m gonna go be active but it’s within my eating window so I usually just have something small like a smoked kipper or one of my dairy free flax/brownies before and save the big meal when I get back

(Carl Keller) #16

I haven’t used this feature but apparently you can:

You can scan bar codes with the mobile app. Tap the orange +, then ‘Scan Food’. Allow Cronometer permission to access your camera to start scanning.

#17

Very cool. I might check this out.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #18

I track because I’m trying to figure out how to manipulate my glucose and ketone ratio (GKI).
But of course, factors other than food affect it…like how active I am (not that I am super active)…but I think sitting around the house makes a difference compared to getting up and watching my kid’s baseball game.

(Jane) #19

I like Chronometer. You can also trend your weight, ketones and glucose if you measure those.

(Scott) #20

Tracking to me is like watching a great cook. They don’t measure anything and the meal is perfect.