Food Journal started!

I want to thank everyone with the encouraging words on starting a food Log. I found the one on this web site and started my journal today! I have several; one liter bottles that I fill with water. My goal is to drink two of these bottles a day to get my required water regiment in. I also has two 16 oz. cups of coffee today too. So once again thank you for all the encouragement. 

Getting started on water early is a great idea! I carry mine with me and try to drink a full one before lunch, and a second one after; having it nearby makes it easy. :)

Great job! I actually enjoy logging my food and water intake. 

I know if your previous post you said you thought it was going to be boring to log your food.  My thought on it is that I use it as a challenge.  I could eat anything that I wanted for years, and got super morbidly obese for that.  Now I plan my food in advance.  I try to find the yummiest, most creative way to fit what I want to eat into my plan.  So, at 1 year out my plan is less than 1200 calories and 80g of protein, 50g of carbs.  

Like tonight I'm making meatloaf for my family.  I'm using half ground turkey and half ground beef mixed together, and topping it with reduced sugar ketchup.  I'm able to eat 1/6 of the recipe for 300ish calories and I am keeping very close to my limits on all my food.  

I use www.myfitnesspal.com because they have a huge database of foods.  

I'm so glad you're starting to log and track before surgery.  I didn't get the hang of it until about 3 months post op and I know that if I had tracked regularly from the beginning I would have lost the weight a little faster than I did.

I have studied the food log on this website and I purchased a small notebook for when I go out. If I eat something I will log it in that book and transfer it to this web site when I get home.

Thanks for all the advise, I will use it to the best of my ability.

You will get to a point where you get a weird sense of gratification from looking back and seeing you are on point and eating the way you are supposed to.  And it will motivate you.   

While you are at it keep a journal of your weight and measurements.  I did and kept track of it weekly.  It will astound you when you add up your pounds and inches. 

Great!! I just logged my 300th consecutive day on my fitness pal-- its definitely been critical to my success. I carry the same 32oz water bottle to work daily.repetition can make for great habits

Great job!  Probably one of the best tools for helping me stay on track with calories/carbs/protein/water, etc.  i am one of the few fans of Lose It! On this site but I also started before my surgery.  I lost 20 lbs pre-op and I'm sure keeping a journal helped.  I also know when I get to the maintenance phase it will be super important so the sooner we get in the habit, the better.