Carb tracker

hawk18

I tried to post this earlier, but, I apparently failed. If this is a repeat, I apologize. 

As I approach 71, I'm in pretty good health with the exception of being a little overweight and my blood sugar has slowly risen to a level of concern. As a result, I need to lose some weight and lower my blood sugar before I'm classified as being diabetic. I walk a couple of miles, six days a week and work out at the gym three days a week but I need to reduce carb intake and also reduce calories to try and get my weight down closer to 200#. (I'm 6'1"/230# now)

My question is: do any of you guys use a phone app that helps you keep track of intake. And, does it do anything else to make monitoring and control any easier?

Hawk

Fisheadgib

I went to Adkin's website and downloaded a list of common foods and their amount of carbs, fiber, fat, protien, and calories and it comes in handy when I put together our meals.

Big Al1

Go to a nutritionist and they will design a proper diet to help you lose weight. It's amazing how a few changes in what you eat will help your weight. It's also covered by insurance.

Avoid processed foods, bread, rice, pasta, etc. Bread was my downfall, now I only eat P28 high protein bread, or dark rye's. 

Jermanator

Myfitnesspal.com has a good app you can use to track calories, carbs, etc.

Tugar

Like Jerm said. Myfitnesspal is a good one. Also you will get very good at doing math and reading labels. 

Never buy low fat. It means they take out the fat and now it has more carbs instead. Also try to avoid the white stuff. More fiber means less carbs. The less fat you have the easier it is for your body to process what it does have. 

I have recipes and tips galore if you need. 

Jermanator

What I do on the app is they show calories, carbs, fat and protein. I made it so it showed me fiber too (fiber is a carbohydrate, but your body can't digest it so it doesn't count). I take total carbs and subtract the fiber to get my net carbs.

You don't have to use the app constantly, but once you start plugging stuff in there, it will go a long way toward helping you recognize what is going on. Quite often, I plug things in before I have a meal so I can stay on track.

hawk18

Thanks Jerm. That sounds like what I want. I've had the benefit of good doctors, one of them was married to a nutritionist and even though they were vegans, they gave good advice. Also, being married to a "medical professional" for forty three years has provided tremendous benefits. We're not lacking in tasty menus with good, sensible foods. I'm interested in another tool to use outside the home when I'm on my own. 

Hawk

Tugar

Calorie King book I got for free from my dietitian. There is an app...for the miserable Iphone. The book is small enough to carry nearby though
 
It has a GREAT database for most foods and restaurants to help you know exactly what you are eating.

NN

coolgunguy

Cutting WAY back on carb intake can result in significant, quick weight loss... but it isn't for everybody.  Most food items sold these days will show in detail how many grams of carbs (includes sugar) there are.  Switching to sugar free versions of things you currently use can help, but so many of the "quick" things that we Americans eat are absolutely LOADED with carbs.  Unfortunately, they also happen to be things we love to eat.  

hawk18

I'm rejuvenating this thread to give you all an update. I downloaded the app and used it for a while. What I found was that with my personal data and goals entered, my caloric and carb intake was always lower than the apps recommendation. So, with my modified diet, change in drinking habits and increased level of exercise and activity, my weight in June was 223 and my blood sugars were well down into normal range. Today, after my morning hike and before my morning coffee, I weighed 195. That’s 40 pounds in seven months. It came at a cost. Lots of new shirts and three new belts. Maybe some new long britches too. And importantly, I feel good.

Hawk

Six-Gun

That’s an incredible and welcome loss!

GunNut

hawk18 said:

I'm rejuvenating this thread to give you all an update. I downloaded the app and used it for a while. What I found was that with my personal data and goals entered, my caloric and carb intake was always lower than the apps recommendation. So, with my modified diet, change in drinking habits and increased level of exercise and activity, my weight in June was 223 and my blood sugars were well down into normal range. Today, after my morning hike and before my morning coffee, I weighed 195. That’s 40 pounds in seven months. It came at a cost. Lots of new shirts and three new belts. Maybe some new long britches too. And importantly, I feel good.

Hawk

Good for you!  Congratulations!!! 

GunNut

Losing it is one achievement, keeping it off is a lifelong journey.  As I posted on another thread this $19 investment (Amazon Prime) helps me start my day with the right mindset of what I can or can NOT eat today.  I HIGHLY recommended it as a tool for maintaining your target weight.

Renpho scale and their iPhone app work hand in hand.  Not about nutrition, it's about not getting any "surprises" on your weight.  When the graph shows me a trend in the wrong direction I can make small corrections that will make an effect in one day versus having to launch myself into another diet.





It allows you to pick your own targets and shows you how the stack up against the norm and graphs how you are doing against them.  188 is my target weight as decided by myself, my Doctor and my wife.  I went all the way to 182 but wife decided I was too skinny at that weight and Doctor agreed.  My life is run by females...  As you can see I had a "bad" weekend and this visualization allowed me to correct while it was still just a few days endeavor.