Lesson 2

Barcode Scanning

Welcome to Lesson 2! Yeah!

Today we learn our first tool for our logging toolbelt - barcode scanning, which is the easiest tool. Oh and I’ll also explain the importance of logging because we should probably understand why we are doing it!

tl;dr - Food logging is important, but not because you need to know every calorie and macro (more on this later) that goes in your body (unless you’re trying to get 100% SHREDDED), but because logging forces you to learn what you’re putting in your body. Once you get really good at it, you’ll be able to estimate your intake in your head!

Christian, you want me to log my food? Ew, why? I’m glad you asked and hopefully, by the end of this, you’ll find the process kind of fun! If you’re into finances (the world’s most exciting subject I know!) then let me make the analogy. Food logging is a lot like budgeting, more specifically, tracking expenses. Right now we are just trying to take a look at our spending (eating) habits, and right now we are going to assume we have an unlimited budget. No that doesn’t mean spend (eat) as much as you can, we just want to get a look at our current habits. That way, down the road we can start making little, sustainable changes. Remember, Rome was not built in a day.

Just like logging weight every day we want to start logging our food every day. And just like weight, we want to be sure to not obsess over the numbers. Actually, Fitness Frenzy was built in such a way that focuses on fun rather than obsession. This information will be important down the road, and the beauty is - at some point, you won’t have to log your food - you’ll actually get really good at estimating calories and macros. Pair that with your newfound insights into how your body reacts to different foods and amounts and you can move to intuitive and conscious eating. Unless you want to be a bodybuilder - then you’ll have to track for every competition. ANYWAYS, we don’t have to log everything now, just what you eat that has a barcode. When we learn more tools to help us log, we’ll be able to log more and paint a clearer picture.

Let’s talk barcodes. Any packaged food you buy is required by law to have nutritional information on it: calories, serving sizes, ingredients, etc. We’ll learn about what these mean later. Normally, manual nutrition label entry is a pain in the butt. However, thanks to the good ‘ole USDA, Fitness Frenzy has a database of nutrition labels it can pull from. All you have to do is scan the barcode and tell the app how much you ate of it! However, there is a possibility a barcode is missing from the database - in which case you’ll have to enter the information into the app - however, you only have to do this once, after that, the food will be added to your personal catalog. So to get started scanning, follow the video below and finish by tapping ‘Complete TODOs’ at the bottom!

  1. Tap ‘Log Food’

  2. On the left side look for and tap ‘Add Food’

  3. Tap the barcode-looking button at the bottom

  4. Scan your barcode

  5. It will pop up on the screen if it doesn’t enter in the information and tap ‘Submit’

  6. Adjust the values on how much you ate, the ‘-’ and ‘+’ buttons to the left and right of the slider will go down and up a serving size respectively.

    • If you want to delete the item, swipe the trash can to the left.

    • If you want to scan in more food, you can do this now

  7. When you’re done scanning in food, tap the '▼’ icon at the top

  8. ‘Add Food’ should now have a 4-arrows icon next to it - drag that over to the right to the time you ate, and drop.

    • To un-log something, drag the logged time-slot over to the left

  9. Finish by tapping ‘Log’ at the very bottom to save!

  10. Bonus points - if you want to log a different barcode again later in the day, do steps 1-2, double-tap the ‘X’ in the top right corner to clear off the table, and repeat steps 3-9!

    • If you want to log the same barcode (food) as before, just repeat step 8! The ‘Add Food’ tile saves whatever you logged previously!

From now on, if you eat something that has a barcode on it, scan it in and log it. No need to get caught up in the numbers yet, at this point we’re just building habits.

TODOs

  • ☑️ Log your weight

  • ☑️ Special Challenge: Scan and log 1 food item (un-log it if you didn’t eat it)

Complete TODOs Below

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Need Help? Contact Christian Here: Fitness Frenzy University Office Hours