Logging Your Food

By Joan Gregerson January 12, 2020 Using the Healthie App 0 Comments

Who Sees Your Food Log?
Should You Log Your Food?
Options for Logging Food
Logging Food in the Healthie App
Logging Food in Fitbit
Logging Food in My Fitness Pal

Return to the main page: Using the Healthie Coaching App

Who Sees Your Food Log?

Any food entries or other entries added to your journal will be visible by you and your coach. These entries are not be visible by other members of your group.

You are free to share photos or comments about your food in the group messaging. That would be different from the journal, which is private to you and your coach only.

Should You Log Your Food?

Good question!

Unlike other programs you may have tried, food logging definitely isn’t mandatory. It’s not even strongly recommended. It’s just a tool that’s here if you want it!

When you participate in a Food Freedom Naturally challenge or coaching program, you have the option of logging your food using the Healthie app.

How, and if, you choose to log your food is totally up to you!

Some people feel that logging every bite helps them eat more mindfully and highlights areas they want to improve. For others, logging every bite triggers anxiety and may even trigger disordered eating.

If you’re not sure how you feel about logging food or how you’ll react, we recommend starting by logging the food that you feel best about eating. This combines the best of all worlds!

It encourages you to eat that nutritious food and share about it. But, it avoids the potential guilt or shame for eating other foods or the tendency to worry about logging every bite.

Options for Logging Food

There are many ways to log your food. Some people prefer to use a couple quick words or a photo, while others want to track calories and macronutrients, “macros” (carbohydrates, fats, and protein).

That’s why when you participate in the Food Freedom Naturally challenges and coaching programs, you have options!

Option 1: Log food in Healthie as a text or photo, along with emotional eating cues and thoughts.
Option 2: Log food in the Fitbit app to count calories and macros.
Option 3: Log food in the My Fitness Pal app to count calories and macros.

Each approach has pros and cons, and the good news is that you can choose one or more options simultaneously. Healthie can handle that!

Option 1: Logging Food in the Healthie App

Many people have tried food logging in the past, but have given up on it. Sure, food logging helps raise awareness, but the whole experience can be stressful and counter-productive. Trying to track every bite, measure exact portion sizes, and stick within a strict calorie budget can trigger anxiety and feel like an all-out obsession.

Fortunately, food logging in Healthie is a fun and insightful alternative!

It’s right in line with the Food Freedom Naturally principle of helping you make peace with your food, your body and your life…

In Healthie, you let go of trying to capture the details of each bit, and instead, capture the general idea with a photo or text description. You can also indicate your own assessment of the healthiness, your pre-meal hunger level and mood, as well as any thoughts about the food.

This is a holistic approach to help you build awareness of what you’re eating, how it may be linked to emotional eating, and a chance to reflect on your choices and how the food makes you feel. (Remember: No other animal weighs and measures their food!)

A. Start at the home screen (Home) and click the “+” sign.

B. Add a description and/or photo. If you choose to include a description, it can be one word, like “salad”, or you can include details about quantities and ingredients.

C. Indicate “Healthiness of Meal“. This is your own assessment of how healthy the food is. Choose “Healthy”, “Neutral” or “Not Healthy”.

D. Indicate your “Hunger Level” before you ate. Choose “Very”, “Somewhat” or “Not”.

E. Choose the “Mood” that most closely matches your mood before you ate.

F. Choose “Meal” or “Snack“.

G. Add a “Reflection“. This can be anything that you want to share.

Option 2: Logging Food in the Fitbit app

Maybe you’re a food logging pro and you feel great when you’re able to pin down the calories for every meal. Keeping careful track helps you feel at peace!

Well, if that’s you and you want to track calories and macros in detail, then you’re in luck!

Sync Fitbit with Healthie. Track your food in Fitbit. Every day, Fitbit will send over the summary of your calories and macros so you’ll have all the data you want in your Healthie journal.

Option 3: Logging Food in MyFitnessPal

There are a lot of MyFitnessPal (MFP) aficionados out there! With one of the largest databases and some cool features for saving meals and scanning barcodes, it’s great for those who want detailed food logging.

If you’re already adept at logging with MFP, good news! Log food in MFP and the daily nutrition summary will sync to your Healthie journal.

You won’t see individual items, but you will see total calories and other details.

How to Sync Healthie with MyFitnessPal