What is the best method for keeping track of my daily calorie consumption and energy expenditure?

[mycalsuite]

I have been trying to understand how the balance of calories consumed and burned affects weight and energy levels.

It seems that many calculators exist for BMR, daily calorie needs, and energy expenditure. I’m curious — what is the best way to monitor and manage your daily calorie consumption?

Do you have any advice or simple approaches that guarantee the accuracy of the calculations involved in calorie tracking and make it easy to follow?

 

[dianeseattle]

I kept a journal of every crumb I ate and drop I drank. I also listed, in advance, what I planned to eat and how much of it.

Unfortunately, the USDA resource I used to track food values has become victim to the current bullshit partisan squabbles. But it's a searchable database with factual information that helped me track my food precisely.

USDA FoodData Central

USDA FoodData Central produces thorough resources for navigating and understanding nutritional info to support dietary choices and nutritional analysis.

fdc.nal.usda.gov

In my food journal I actually kept lists by food type--meat, dairy, baked, vegetable, fruit, raw, canned, prepared--so I had them at hand and didn't have to look up those values every time I thought about eating. If I didn't have the information on hand, I simply didn't eat it and went for a known quantity instead.

"Ignorance is bliss" is an appropriate old saying which applies perfectly to overeating. My relationship with food was the greatest love affair I ever had. Unfortunately, it was the stupidest, as its power to dazzle me far outweighed my common sense and willingness to seek truth. "Ignorance leads to obesity and death and disability and misery" is more accurate.

Coming out of denial and making the hard decision to make healthy choices which may not be fun and which might lead to a divorce from a beloved snack is HARD. But for me, finding my figure, buying smaller clothes, enjoying sports and outdoor activities, feeling like one of the guys instead of a freakshow, all those things overpowered my old obsessions.

 

[Drewdrewmama]

I’ve been using MyFitnessPal. I log in my water, food, and exercise. I have my Apple watch linked to my app so my steps are tracked. It has a dashboard that gives a quick glimpse into my day. Here’s a snapshot of my day (I know my steps are low for the day!).

 

[pat222]

That looks like a pretty sweet setup, myfitnesspal connected to your apple watch. I use myfitnesspal just to log my distance when I go for a walk but haven't really looked into doing more with the app.

 

[GiantsLola]

I have been trying to understand how the balance of calories consumed and burned affects weight and energy levels.

It seems that many calculators exist for BMR, daily calorie needs, and energy expenditure. I’m curious — what is the best way to monitor and manage your daily calorie consumption?

Do you have any advice or simple approaches that guarantee the accuracy of the calculations involved in calorie tracking and make it easy to follow?

The best app I found to track calories, water, etc (not burned) is the Baritastic app.

I don't track my calories used.

 

[KPizzle]

I use Baritastic. Love it! Track food, weight, water, poops, add vitamins and meds, get reminders has all macros and pie chart view.

Some clinics have a code you can add to connect to your program (mine did not offer a code).

I also use the Reports feature to pull my food log for my dietitian appointments. FREE!!

 

[SEvrard1]

Baritastic app

 

[Turtle]

I have been trying to understand how the balance of calories consumed and burned affects weight and energy levels.

It seems that many calculators exist for BMR, daily calorie needs, and energy expenditure. I’m curious — what is the best way to monitor and manage your daily calorie consumption?

Do you have any advice or simple approaches that guarantee the accuracy of the calculations involved in calorie tracking and make it easy to follow?

Honestly keep it simple or you’ll quit. Use one app like MyFitnessPal or Cronometer and log everything you eat, even the small stuff. Weigh your food for a couple weeks so you stop guessing, that’s where most people mess up. For calories burned, don’t trust trackers too much, they overestimate, just use them as a rough guide. The real check is your weight trend over 2 to 3 weeks. If it’s not moving how you expect, adjust intake, not the math. Consistency beats perfect accuracy every time.

 

[StephT]

I started using MyFitnessPal in May 2021 when I began the pre surgery diet. I use the premium option which allowed me to customize my dashboard and track macros - carbs, fat and protein. It also automatically tracks my steps and I manually add any other daily exercise.

 

[JustMe]

The best app I found to track calories, water, etc (not burned) is the Baritastic app.

I don't track my calories used.

Me, too. I love this app. I use it every day.