thedailyplate.com

[brikis98]

Hopefully, this isn't a repost... I was using fitday.com to track my diet & exercises for a while, but I just recently ran across www.thedailyplate.com and gave it a shot.

Pros

* The food database seems significantly bigger than fitday.com. I easily found absolutely everything I ate today, including my protein shake, the exact fish oil pills I take, my multivitamin pills, and the exact restaurant sandwich I had.
* The UI is a bit cleaner, friendlier, and more modern. I really like how you can create "meals" (so you don't have to enter the same thing over and over again), "workouts", and how it shows you the foods/exercises that appear most often.
* There is even some social networking aspect to this site, as you can view others' profiles, pictures, leave comments, write a diary, etc.
* Free and quick sign up

Cons

* They occasionally try to push a "premium" account on you which is not free. However, it's fairly easy to ignore it and the premium-only features are not terribly crucial.

 

[KoolDrew]

sparkpeople is another good alternative. I've been messing with all three of them recently and think I've decided I prefer thedailyplate over any of them.

 

[Special K]

Interesting - it looks like you add foods to a global database rather than to your own list of custom foods in Fitday, which explains why they already have data for every random thing I searched for. I can't believe how many items they had in there. They even had Nitrean protein powder.

The only downside I see is that if everyone is allowed to modify the database, then I really can't be sure that every item has the correct data every time I add it again, as someone might have changed it or entered the info incorrectly. At least with Fitday's custom foods, I know the information is correct and won't change unless I modify it. Assuming the data for all of their items is correct and stays correct, it virtually eliminates the need for a custom foods list. Seriously, I found all of the foods I eat on a regular basis in their database, even down to the exact brand name. It even has all of the "secondary" info listed, such as fiber and cholesterol. Entering custom foods into Fitday was perhaps the most tedious aspect of using it, and thedailyplate eliminates this by spreading the task among all of its members.

Also, I don't like how you are forced to use the units they have set for each food item. Fitday let you use any number of different units. Normally the units used by thedailyplate are the most intuitive choices, but it looks like fruit, for example, is only given in terms of weight in grams. Fitday had other choices, like a "cup" of whole strawberries. I guess I'll have to bust out my scale a lot more often if I really want to use thedailyplate.

If I can overcome my paranoia of the data being accurate and not changing, and don't mind being restricted to using their preset units, then I might just switch over from Fitday.

 

[GenHoth]

How accurate are they? I entered my info today for fitday and it shows me running a 1000 cal deficit, which I don't think is right.

 

[scootermaster]

I just signed up.

And, as I thought, I don't eat enough. I'd link to my day's food, but I don't know how.

I ate:

Raisin Bran crunch (love that shit, but I don't buy it, too much sugar. Spent the night at a girls house, and that's what she had. I stick to Kaschi and grapenuts) and 1% milk for breakfast

Turkey sandwich for lunch. I let myself have cheese! Woo hoo!. (This is where I'm likely not getting enough calories) While I was toasting it, I ate some Reduced fat tortilla chips with some leftover Dennison's 99% fat free chili.

Reduced fat triscuits (about 7) and reduced fat salami for a snack. A piece of costco spicy jerky a little later.

2 scoop ON whey shake

3 Tyson breaded chicken filets for dinner. This is probably where 60% of my day's fat came from.

Zone perfect fudge graham bar for desert. I love those things! Eat them like candy bars.

All of that was just under 2000 calories. So I'm making a Costco teriyaki bowl for a midnight snack, but I'll still be under the 3400+ I need to gain weight.

Perhaps this is why I never get any bigger!

Sigh. HELP!

 

[GenHoth]

I'm in the same boat, I was fine at what fitday said was 1500 calories but it claimed I was burning 3000. my weight has been stable or increasing for about 2 months now...

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: GenHoth
I'm in the same boat, I was fine at what fitday said was 1500 calories but it claimed I was burning 3000. my weight has been stable or increasing for about 2 months now...

I noticed that.

According to the machine, the 12 minutes I do on the elliptical (6 at normal height, 3 all the way up, 3 all the way down) burns approx 135 calories (I'm 208 pounds, my heart rate is usually around 125 and peaks at 155 at the end of the all the way up part) and it says that burns 180 cals.

It also says 60 minutes of "vigorous" weight lifting burns 540 calories. Is that right? What else should I put for doing an average SS routine?

 

[powpowpow]

I just signed up. Whenever I reach for something unhealthy to eat I just think about how I'm going to have to log this into my MyPlate and I hold off.

 

[nervegrind3r]

i have always used fitday, but I will give this a try. One of the things I hate about fitday is the database, and I continually have to add custom foods to get correct data.

I just put my first food in to tdp, and I can already tell this will be some work too. I search for edamame, and a bunch of hits came up (great because fitday has no hits for edamame, but you can search for soybeans). I then chose costco because thats were I bought them, but the data is very different from what the label on the costco box says (uggg). In fact, I have found too many variations of the nutritional value for edamame over the past few days thats its become quite annoying. I will definitely give this site a shot though.


Also, when I select a food, I dont see a way to change to different conversions, like from cups to oz. I dont measure everything in cups, I actually put it on a digital scale to get a more accurate value of what im eating.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: scootermaster
I just signed up.

And, as I thought, I don't eat enough. I'd link to my day's food, but I don't know how.

I ate:

Raisin Bran crunch (love that shit, but I don't buy it, too much sugar. Spent the night at a girls house, and that's what she had. I stick to Kaschi and grapenuts) and 1% milk for breakfast

Turkey sandwich for lunch. I let myself have cheese! Woo hoo!. (This is where I'm likely not getting enough calories) While I was toasting it, I ate some Reduced fat tortilla chips with some leftover Dennison's 99% fat free chili.

Reduced fat triscuits (about 7) and reduced fat salami for a snack. A piece of costco spicy jerky a little later.

2 scoop ON whey shake

3 Tyson breaded chicken filets for dinner. This is probably where 60% of my day's fat came from.

Zone perfect fudge graham bar for desert. I love those things! Eat them like candy bars.

All of that was just under 2000 calories. So I'm making a Costco teriyaki bowl for a midnight snack, but I'll still be under the 3400+ I need to gain weight.

Perhaps this is why I never get any bigger!

Sigh. HELP!

You're making this way too difficult. Put the following into a blender:

2 cups skim milk
2 scoops whey
1 cup oats
2 tbsp natural PB

That's an easy 900 calories right there. You can add even more by switching over to whole milk. You don't want to go overboard and start gaining fat, but it sounds like you need a big boost in calories to gain weight.

Also the foods you did eat aren't particularly good choices either.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: GenHoth
I'm in the same boat, I was fine at what fitday said was 1500 calories but it claimed I was burning 3000. my weight has been stable or increasing for about 2 months now...

Don't pay attention to what it says you are burning. Those are very vague estimates. Just focus on what you can measure - your calories, and your weight each morning.

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: Special K

Also the foods you did eat aren't particularly good choices either.

I'm not sure how you can say that. Considering my body type, age and my fear of getting fat, I try to avoid high-fat (especially saturated fat) foods. Regardless of anything weightlifting related, it's just good business, health wise. So I'm not sure why whole-grain cereal, a turkey sandwich, some crackers and salami, some chicken planks (granted, breaded, but considering I'd eaten around 15 grams of fat by dinner time, I think I can spare it) and a veggie teriyaki bowl are "not good choices".

Are they the best things to eat for bulking? Probably not. But otherwise, I'd say that's not such a bad diet.

But anyway, I'm interested to see how many calories I really do eat a day. I'm guessing it's a lot less than I think.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Special K

Also the foods you did eat aren't particularly good choices either.

I'm not sure how you can say that. Considering my body type, age and my fear of getting fat, I try to avoid high-fat (especially saturated fat) foods. Regardless of anything weightlifting related, it's just good business, health wise. So I'm not sure why whole-grain cereal, a turkey sandwich, some crackers and salami, some chicken planks (granted, breaded, but considering I'd eaten around 15 grams of fat by dinner time, I think I can spare it) and a veggie teriyaki bowl are "not good choices".

Are they the best things to eat for bulking? Probably not. But otherwise, I'd say that's not such a bad diet.

But anyway, I'm interested to see how many calories I really do eat a day. I'm guessing it's a lot less than I think.

Christ, people, when will you understand that fats really aren't bad for you? If you are active, fats are just another fuel source. Fats are often used in the body and it's the carbs that are converted to fat and stored. Please incorporate more fat into your diet. You will form fewer adipocytes (fat cells). I guarantee it.

 

[crt1530]

Way too many people get caught up with their BMR and total caloric expenditure numbers when they start screwing around with those (highly inaccurate) calculators.

Figure out how many calories you're eating on a regular basis. Keep track of how much you weigh. If your weight isn't moving in the direction you want, adjust your food intake accordingly. It isn't rocket science.

"I eat a lot, but I just can't gain any weight. I must be a hard gainer."
No, you are not a hard gainer, you need to eat more.
"I barely eat anything but just can't seem to lose weight."
I've seen those cookies you have stashed in your desk, fatty. Eat less and cut out the junk food.

 

[GenHoth]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Christ, people, when will you understand that fats really aren't bad for you? If you are active, fats are just another fuel source. Fats are often used in the body and it's the carbs that are converted to fat and stored. Please incorporate more fat into your diet. You will form fewer adipocytes (fat cells). I guarantee it.

Half my diet yesterday was fat. I just love bratwurst :evil:

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Special K

Also the foods you did eat aren't particularly good choices either.

I'm not sure how you can say that. Considering my body type, age and my fear of getting fat, I try to avoid high-fat (especially saturated fat) foods. Regardless of anything weightlifting related, it's just good business, health wise. So I'm not sure why whole-grain cereal, a turkey sandwich, some crackers and salami, some chicken planks (granted, breaded, but considering I'd eaten around 15 grams of fat by dinner time, I think I can spare it) and a veggie teriyaki bowl are "not good choices".

Are they the best things to eat for bulking? Probably not. But otherwise, I'd say that's not such a bad diet.

But anyway, I'm interested to see how many calories I really do eat a day. I'm guessing it's a lot less than I think.

Christ, people, when will you understand that fats really aren't bad for you? If you are active, fats are just another fuel source. Fats are often used in the body and it's the carbs that are converted to fat and stored. Please incorporate more fat into your diet. You will form fewer adipocytes (fat cells). I guarantee it.

I thought about what you said, and figured I could treat myself to a chipotle burrito. Then I saw there was a huge line, so I went to Ralphs and was going to get a yummy steak sandwich with lots of veggies. But then I realized I really want a chipotle burrito, so I left and started to walk back there.

But then I realized I had chipotle for lunch on Monday, and frankly, I didn't need two of those in one week.

So I got the sandwich. Apparently plan "eat more fat" isn't going as well as I'd hoped.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Special K

Also the foods you did eat aren't particularly good choices either.

I'm not sure how you can say that. Considering my body type, age and my fear of getting fat, I try to avoid high-fat (especially saturated fat) foods. Regardless of anything weightlifting related, it's just good business, health wise. So I'm not sure why whole-grain cereal, a turkey sandwich, some crackers and salami, some chicken planks (granted, breaded, but considering I'd eaten around 15 grams of fat by dinner time, I think I can spare it) and a veggie teriyaki bowl are "not good choices".

Are they the best things to eat for bulking? Probably not. But otherwise, I'd say that's not such a bad diet.

But anyway, I'm interested to see how many calories I really do eat a day. I'm guessing it's a lot less than I think.

I was primarily referring to the tortilla chips, triscuts, and the fudge bar. They are just empty calories, and really don't have any nutritional value.

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Special K

Also the foods you did eat aren't particularly good choices either.

I'm not sure how you can say that. Considering my body type, age and my fear of getting fat, I try to avoid high-fat (especially saturated fat) foods. Regardless of anything weightlifting related, it's just good business, health wise. So I'm not sure why whole-grain cereal, a turkey sandwich, some crackers and salami, some chicken planks (granted, breaded, but considering I'd eaten around 15 grams of fat by dinner time, I think I can spare it) and a veggie teriyaki bowl are "not good choices".

Are they the best things to eat for bulking? Probably not. But otherwise, I'd say that's not such a bad diet.

But anyway, I'm interested to see how many calories I really do eat a day. I'm guessing it's a lot less than I think.

I was primarily referring to the tortilla chips, triscuts, and the fudge bar. They are just empty calories, and really don't have any nutritional value.

Well the tortilla chips I grant you, but I eat them because I love mexican food, and I needed a vector for the chili/beans. The "fudge bar", as you say, is actually a Zone Perfect nutrition bar, and while it does have some sugar, it also has 14g of protein and more importantly, it's actually relatively high in fiber (which is why I bought them versus similarly priced Promax bars that have slightly more protein). The triscuits also have fiber and carbs, and I eat them because they're an easy snack (with the salami) that is relatively filling. I have a problem with snacks not "doing" anything (i.e. there's no point to eating them because I'm going to be just as hungry as I was when I started...and since I'm not on a cut, that's a bad place to be).

But believe it or not, there is more to life than protein, I do worry about things like making sure I get enough fiber. So yes, tortilla chips don't really do much for you, but if that's the worst thing you can say about my diet -- that I ate 8 to 10 reduced fat tortilla chips -- that's not too shabby.

 

[TallBill]

Today I will consume.

600 Calorie Cyto Gainer Shake
1 Cup of fruit yogurt
2/3 pound hamburger on bun w/ monteray jack cheese + bbq sauce
2 slices of toast w/ peanut butter
1 banana
600 calorie Cyto Gainer Shake
200 calories from Cyto Max (carbs during workout)
6 scrambled eggs
1/2 lb of bacon
2 pieces of toast
900 calorie Cyto Gainer Shake (w/ 2 cups of milk)

Thats probably all today.

Beef, Chicken, Eggs, Tuna, Peanut butter, and yogurt dominate my whole food intake. Cyto Gainer or water is all I typically drink. Rarely some juice.

 

[KoolDrew]

and it's the carbs that are converted to fat and stored.

Not true.

Yes, consuming too many carbs can make you fat, but not because the carbs you are ingesting is converted to fat. Carbs are very rarely converted to fat in the human body. Instead your body burns more carbs for energy, and less fat. Resulting in the fat being ingested to be stored.

You're right that fat doesn't exactly make you fat though. It's an excess of calories that make you fat. In the end, that's what matters most.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

and it's the carbs that are converted to fat and stored.

Not true.

Yes, consuming too many carbs can make you fat, but not because the carbs you are ingesting is converted to fat. Carbs are very rarely converted to fat in the human body. Instead your body burns more carbs for energy, and less fat. Resulting in the fat being ingested to be stored.

You're right that fat doesn't exactly make you fat though. It's an excess of calories that make you fat. In the end, that's what matters most.

You so smart!

 

[xboxist]

I'm checking it out today. Thanks for the heads-up, OP.