Why is food logging important?
- It helps you develop mindful awareness of food choices.
- You can see what you are doing well, and what needs improvement.
- It keeps you accountable.
- It helps your DayTwo team understand your food preferences and eating habits so they can personalize their recommendations.
- Members who are the most successful with the program are those that log consistently and accurately.
After receiving your stool sample results, the app will predict your blood sugar response to food before you eat by providing you with meal scores. This gives you the chance to adjust your meal ahead of time to make sure you have the best response after. The more accurate you are with logging, the better the app will be able to predict your blood sugar and calorie intake. Here are some best practices when logging:
Log the entire meal or snack as one entry. You can do this by clicking the “+” sign to add each item. Once everything in the meal is included, click “Log” at the bottom of the screen.
Log the time you began eating the meal or snack. If you forget and log the meal later in the day, you can edit the time.
Keep meals and snacks spaced at least 2.5 hours apart. This will allow time for your blood sugar to come back down after a meal and prevent spikes. If you do eat something less than 2.5 hours apart, be sure to log it with the previous meal. For example, if you had breakfast at 9am and a snack at 10:30am, then you would add the snack to your breakfast entry.
Double-check portion size. How much we eat is just as important as what we eat. Here are some ways to make sure your portions are correct:
- The food scale is the most accurate tool. Some members find it helpful to use the food scale for a couple of weeks to learn portion sizes.
- Serve your food with measuring cups or measuring spoons.
- Measure the size of your favorite cups or bowls so you know how much they hold.
- Use your hand as a rough estimate when the above tools aren’t handy:
- Fist = 1 cup
- Palm = 3/4 ounces
- Cupped hand (leveled) = 1/2 cup
- Thumb = 2 tablespoons or 1 ounce
- Here’s how you can enter fractions into the DayTwo app:
- 3/4 = 0.75
- 1/2 = 0.5
- 1/3 = 0.3
- 1/4 = 0.25
Use the barcode scanner. Each brand of food may score differently in the DayTwo app, so be sure to search or use the barcode scanner to find the specific brand.
Use restaurant menus in the app. It’s important to find the specific food item from a restaurant. For example, rather than searching for “beef taco” search for “taco bell beef taco” to ensure the. most precise information. You can also use the restaurant icons under the search bar to look through the restaurant’s menu. If the restaurant is not in the app, find another restaurant that serves similar meals, or use the generic meal name like “beef taco” and try to find an option with similar calories.
Three things you don’t have to log:
- Spices, herbs, and seasoning mixes.
- Any drinks that are 10 calories or less, like diet drinks, black coffee, etc. If you do add something to that low-calorie item, like creamer to coffee, then be sure to log that.
- Water. You don’t have to worry about logging water with your meals, but you are welcome to keep track of your water intake using the water tracker in your diary.