Does anyone else keep a nutrition log?

Does anyone else keep one? I just started because I want to lose 5-10 pounds over the summer but I also want to make sure I'm eating healthier. Right now I'm tracking calories, and grams of protein/fat/carbs/fibre. I'm working out my percentage of protein/fat/carbs (aiming for 25%/25%/50%) just by total mass in grams of each. Does this give me a good estimate of the calories I'm geting from each nutrient? Most nutrition labels don't give number of calories from protein - they just give the amount in grams, so I don't know any other way to track my intake. Anybody have any other insight?

1 gram of protein is 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate is 4 calories and 1 gram of fat is 9 calories. So if you know your grams, you can do the math. I have found that I think they round the grams to whole values and the calories to round numbers on many of our US labels. But I definitely think it gives you a good ballpark of what you are eating. I don't know what you are using to track, but I like fitday.

I did WeightWatchers for about a year. although I was motivated by weightloss, I found that it gave me a greater appreciation for portion control.

I also tried FITDA you can created a (free) user profile and enter your foods. this site isn't bad as it tracks the fat, protein, carb, etc values for your day. again, it's a good reminder about what you are eating.

right now, I'm just trying to get back into running with the nicer weather coming, some resistance training for muscle toning, no snacking/treats/alcohol during the week, and be aware of healthy eating.

:wiggle:

Thanks for the info! I figured there was a simple relationship between between grams of nutrients and calories. With the fat being more than twice the calories of protein and carbs it kinda throws my current calculations for percentages out of whack. I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought - after 4 days of tracking my %calories from protein/fat/carbs is running around 20%/30%/50%. :umno:

Hey DellaG - we're neighbours! I live in Mississauga. Good luck on starting up running over the summer. I've been running outside through the winter for the first time this year and our recent bout of nice weather has been great!

Cheryl
thanks for that info. I didnt know the calories/gram of the different "nutrition-types". I'm going to have to take a wee bit closer look at my daily intake now.

Steve:
hey neighbour !! I dont head into Mississauga much, except for the odd shopping excursion. we've some lovely trails in Oakville if you're looking for some new scenery. the Oakville Runners club meet every Saturday & Sunday morning @ 8:30, and I know you'd be more than welcome. (I'll be getting back with them, hopefully, when the trails are "runnable"). I've a 1-year old lab that just loves to run with me, so that will add some interest & company to my getting out this year. (the new puppy and 2 cats just dont get it, unfortunately). good luck with your nutrition logging, I'm sure it will help keep you on track !!

I've heard Oakville has some nice trails. I'll have to look into that as the weather improves - I could use a change of scenery after the monotony of the winter.

I have started tracking my intake again today via Fitday. I am finding it hard to figure out how much I eat of each item. Does anyone else have this problem?

Yes! Since I try to cook my own food so that I know what exactly is in (and what isn't) it, I usually don't know how much of what I'm eating. What's an ounce of fish? Or fish? Or steak?
I've just been making the portions smaller and eating more often throughout the day, and that seems to work well.
~Astara~

I use a kitchen scale. Once you've done it for a while you can guesstimate based on experience. Kinda tedious at first though.

its darn near impossible!

see ya'll need a little bit of OCD like me, and eat the same thing pretty much everyday in almost the exact same portions :) weekends normally throw me a curve ball. mostly it's my irritable stomach that makes me eat the same stuff.. but my parents are really good with measuring out their portions and stuff, and it's done wonders for them coupled with exercise.

i'm going to check out this fitday site.

all i know is, i'm trying to put *on* muscle, and my menshealth calculator says i need 3000 calories a day to do it. i'm having a pretty hard time with that...