Pyramid Based Food Tracking Chart- Rough Draft

THE PROBLEM

I am stuck! You have all heard me complain about my horrors of tracking food.  I do it....sort of, but it almost causes me anxiety to have to worry about writing down everything that I eat.  I think of things like "If you bite it, write it!" and it freaks me out! This has nothing to do with how EFFECTIVE a food diary is, but more how TIME CONSUMING keeping a food diary is.

I found that I was really not eating anything because I didn't want to log onto myfitnesspal and log it.  Anyone else feel the same way?  PLUS, I also realized that although I was tracking my calories, there wasn't a quick way to see WHERE those calories were coming from.  I could easily stay within my calories but eat crappy foods.  Not to mention, I was eating WAY too much dairy and not enough veggies (story of my life!)

THE SOLUTION

I came up with this little chart to help me keep track of not only WHAT I ate, but HOW MUCH I was eating.  I based it off of THR's food pyramid, making sure that I get more veggies and fruits and such.  THIS way, I will be able to see at a glance what foods I have eaten.  I think it will help me visually see where my calories are going.  It will also become very apparent when I have eaten too much of the "not so awesome" food choices such as grains, dairy, sugars, etc.

I also chose to add section for my emotional and spiritual health as well.  Doing things like reading scriptures and family time and exercising.

THE KINKS

This works pretty well.  I framed it and use a dry erase marker to mark off the boxes.  There are some changes that I would like to make though.  

1. Instead of a whole week, do just ONE day?  Since I am using a dry erase marker on glass, I could erase every day.  Then I would just have a physical, emotional, and spiritual chart for the day.
2.  I think that I would benefit from putting what foods are included in each category.  I included this on the food pyramid that I also printed out, framed and displayed in my kitchen, so, I'm not sure that I NEED this, but having it in one spot would be nice.
3. Since the daily serving amounts are based upon percentages of your total daily calories, it is different for everyone.  It would be nice to have a spot to write down how many servings of each category you are setting for your goal.  

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Obviously, this isn't an app!!  Although I LOVE tracking food this way, it isn't the most convenient. Of course, it is nice to have around the house, but what if I go out to eat? Right now, I just write down my food (2 veggie, 1 meat, 1 fruit, etc) Then I come home and mark it on the chart. 

I suppose that I could print it out small and carry it with me for the week, like a little booklet, but really, how long will that last?

Ultimately, I would LOVE to find an app that tracks food like this.  Since it is based off of calorie percentages, it would automatically keep you within your calorie goal without having to track each food.  I have found a couple that will let you set up your own goals for food and exercise, but I haven't tried them out.

If I were cool, I would write my own app to help me....I'm not that cool. 

Comment on this post!!  Send me ideas for the chart!  Do you know of an app that is totally awesome that tracks food this way?  Right now, I'm sticking to the framed chart and dry erase marker.  

Is there something that you think I should include on the chart? Give me your ideas!

PLEASE!!!