Day 4, food journaling question

Hi, I'm on day 4 after lap RNY. I am on "full liquids" and I'm doing ok. I had to go to the dr due to an allergic reaction to the pain meds and I weighed I've lost 4lbs!

I am trying to journal my food.... I like Spark people.com but, it does not track Sugars. Dailyplate.com seems to be the best overall. Any recommendations? I have actually thought of just keeping it by hand? anyone do this?

Hi Charrece!  It's good to hear from you!  I'm so sorry about the allergic reaction to the pain meds.  I take hydrocodone as needed for pain issues and the front of my face "buzzes" and itches when I take it!  It's the only thing that helps though, so I only take 1 low-dose pill once a week at the very most.  I hope your reaction wasn't severe.

I just went through the various sites trying to figure out where to journal also.  (I'm pre-op.)  FitDay.com doesn't track sugars either and that was something I definitely wanted to track.  I didn't have success with DailyPlate.com working for me.  I would save info and go back to the site and BAM!  It was gone!  Such a disappointment after logging so much, ya know?

So, long story short, I am keeping it by hand now.  It's so easy since my tablet is right there in my hands in the kitchen as I make whatever.  We have a calorie counting book and I use CalorieKing.com when I can't find what I'm looking for in the book or on labels.  I started charting sugars, protein, fat, etc. but find that when I'm within my calorie range, and making good choices, those grams always fall where they are supposed to! 

( (( ((( congrats! ))) )) )

And also sympathies for the allergic reaction.  After my LapBand surgery, I had an allergic reaction to the dyes in the chewable vitamin supplements (seriously?!??! the dyes?!?!).   First time such a thing has happened to me in my half a century of life!  But last week I was stung by hornets (another story altogether!) and had another bad allergic reaction ... thank goodness I'd been given EpiPens after the postsurgery reaction and had them on hand.

I wonder what it is about surgery that maybe makes us more susceptible?

I use mydailyplate.com and haven't had any issues with it.  I would love to have a tangible, hands-on paper diary, but then I wouldn't have access to the database of information.  Perhaps combining a paper recordkeeping system with the mydailyplate.com database of nutrition information would be helpful?  I had made a nice journal form via MS Word that included checklists for protein (in 20g blocks that I crossed off), my daily vitamins/minerals, etc.  It was a handy thing to carry around in my purse.  But these days it's so much easier just to log everything online.

Hope your weight-loss journey continues to be more steps forward than back.  And here's to no more allergic reactions for you!

Hi Charrece,

It's good to hear from you and I'm glad that you are doing well.

I prefer mydailyplate.com because it has such a comprehensive database that I don't have to reinvent the wheel everytime I want to log something. It might not seem like a big deal now because your diet is so very limited, but as you expand your horizons you  may find that having such a broad database is a good thing and I like the detail it provides. I much prefer to log my intake with a program because it helps me really 'see' the impact of what I'm eating. I get to see the protien, sugar, carb, fat and caloric impact of what I'm choosing and to be honest over time I've made changes from things I'd assumed were okay and weren't 'best choices' for me. It also really helps keep me 'honest' with myself because I'm not guessing about the nutritional value. It's really helped me to learn much more about what I'm consuming.

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Statistics show that those who track what they are eating to do better in the long term, so keep up the good work.

Barb