Easy Food Logging

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I recently heard someone say that you have no idea what you are eating until it is logged for a month. Honestly, I have never really logged what I ate or seen the importance of it; until hearing this. Maybe, this random person who said that random thing is right, I could be thinking that I am eating healthy, or not-so-healthy, and be completely wrong. Logging every. single. thing. we eat can, for sure, show us things that we skimped over, and more importantly, show us those nasty habits in our eating schedule. 

What I have really found from this is 1) I am a snacker and a person who only eats one big meal a day, and 2) the days I drink more water I have more energy. Although I have not been food logging for an entire month yet, it is very easy to see the rewards in it. What is even more important for a girl on the go like me, however, is the ease of use. I have tried a handful+ of free apps and decided that my absolute favorite is MyDietDiary. Although, MyNetDiary's takes a close second. 

The absolute best thing about MyDietDiary is that it has a bar code scanner. This app takes a picture of the bar code and logs all the nutritional information for you. Of course, it is better if we are not eating foods with bar codes, but snack bars, protein shakes, and even fruits and veggies have them. Chances are, however, that if we are eating something with a bar code (healthy or not) we are a bit too stretched for time to also look up the food we are eating, or worse, have to sit and input all it's nutritional information. Really, could there be anything else less likely to happen on a busy day? Probably not. 

This app is also super pretty and, like most others, calculates how many calories you should eat each day to achieve your weight and health goals. There are also tons of pre-logged activities where all you need to do is select which activity you completed and add the number of minutes. The app will calculate the calories burned. So far, the calculated calories seem to be pretty close to what my HRM says as well! If you have a FitBit, Jawbone Up, or use Run Keeper, you can just connect your devices to the app for easier logging. 

A place where MyNetDiary has it beat is with the interface. If you are all about the bells and whistles and do not mind taking a bit more time to log things, MyNetDiary may be more your style. On MND you can add body measurements, before and after photos,  diet plans, and you can log vitamins. Since I do take vitamins, that is something I seriously wish was on MyDietDiary. 

Both these apps do have charts, calendars, and communities to get support from. Really, either one is a great option, it just depends on how much effort you are ready to put into logging what you eat. 

Things I am Loving

Happy Friday! Will you be doing anything super fun this weekend? Staff training starts up here at camp and I am so excited. This week is one of my favorites and the weather in Michigan is simply beautiful right now... Except for three days ago when it sounded and felt like the world was going to end. That thunder storm was beautiful, but quite a bit intense! 

It seems like it has been f-o-r-e-v-e-r since we did a "things I love" post, and with all the things to love this summer, today seemed like the perfect day to do it. Do you have anything you are currently obsessed with? This will not be on the list, but I think I have worn this pair of jean shorts five out of seven days this week. Surprisingly, they look and feel freshly cleaned! 

My new favorite running app I am soooooo excited to be doing this with all of you and am LOVING logging my runs to see my little avatar move along the route. It is so much fun and has gotten me back running again after a few weeks off. 

Outdoor running One of my favorite parts of being in Michigan is running outside on these country roads. Being up here does not feel official until my first run. Then, jogging in the crisp, clean, refreshing air is a better start to my day than all the guilty pleasures in the world! To log runs, I have been using the Nike+ Running app and loving it! 

Graze We talked about it on the blog yesterday, and I am still loving it. Yay to snacks and yay to yummy snack popcorn that does not leave me feeling like a buttered-up turkey after eating it!

This article My sister-in-law wrote it, so, I may be a bit biased since she is one of the coolest people I know, but it is great! Our whole family has gotten into running this past year and the article is all about it. Yay for having a family of fitness enthusiasts and writers, gotta love it! 

My iPad mini case I love this case. It was bought to second as a clutch when needed and works great as both clutch and case. I have also recently discovered that it is [somewhat] water proof. Since my iPad was in it at the time, I will forever be grateful for this little guy! 

This shirt The hubs found this shirt and showed me it telling me that it is the perfect description of me on a shirt. It is nice to be so known by a person; he was completely right. After seeing it, I did the most mature thing a 27 year-old who sees something they like can do... I jumped up and down and begged him to buy it for me by simply singing "buy it for me, buy it for me, pllleaaaassee" over and over. Yes, I know, my maturity is far beyond my years ;)