6 food tracking tips to improve your accuracy and meet your weight-loss goals

Learn these essential food tracking tips for a more accurate food diary, a proven weight-loss strategy.

Follow these six dietitian-recommended food tracking tips

1. Log as soon as you eat

• Don't let "calorie amnesia" set in. It is too easy to forget foods you've eaten throughout the day.
• Consider logging foods before you even eat them. This strategy can help you plan out your meals and stay on track. You can always adjust your entries if your plans change.

2. Log the correct food

• Use our barcode scanner for packaged foods. It quickly brings up the correct item.
• Use PhotoFood Service to enter a new food or request a correction to an existing packaged food.
• Learn how to enter and edit your own recipes.
• Double-check the nutrition information. Do the calories look reasonable for the food you are logging?

3. Log the right portion

• Measure portions whenever possible. Unfortunately, most of us are not accurate at guessing.
• Use a digital kitchen scale if possible. It is inexpensive and the most accurate way to measure portion sizes.
• Use standard measuring spoons and cups to measure food volume.
• If you can't measure, estimate portion size using a visual guide as described here. For example, a cup is about your fist's size, and a tablespoon nears the size of a poker chip.

4. Log everything

• Record every bite. Even samples at the grocery store count!
• Remember to account for condiments, dressing, creamer, and other add-ins in your calorie counting.
• Log all beverages, especially alcoholic and other caloric drinks.

5. Review and correct your logs

• If your calories seem low, check your log for missing meals, snacks, or drinks.
• Review your daily reports. Daily reports include full food names, so you can easily spot incorrect items logged (e.g., hamburger with bun vs. hamburger patty). On iPhone, from the app's Dashboard, tap View All Meals, tap the circle with three dots, then tap Day Totals Report. On Android devices, tap the three dots in the upper right corner, then tap Day Report.
• Correct errors as soon as possible, so they don't carry over to multiple days.

6. Be honest with yourself

• Although it is tempting to omit splurges from your log, mastering these food tracking tips will help you learn what does and doesn't work to succeed in the future.
• Log the food, learn from it, and move on.

Reviewed and updated by Sue Heikkinen MS, RDN, CDCES

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