Strength / Weight Training

Morning meatheads!

What do people use for tracking their diet?

I largely cook from scratch, so it needs to be able to handle ingredients, rather than products.

TIA

MyFitnessPal works but it will take effort for you to input the ingredients. I suspect that the 'full' version of MFP may have these details.

Excel - it's the only way.

One sheet for daily tracking of macros (I've got a side section of commonly eaten foods so I can reference those cells for macro content rather than calculate and input from scratch each time).
One sheet for daily calories in vs. daily weight with an auto-adjustment of TDEE based on weekly averages for each.
One more just for looking at general trends over time.

For ingredient info, anything that doesn't have a nutritional label I use Wolfram Alpha to search for.

I thought MFP did that too - the macros etc. Obviously, on the free version, you have to input them initially.

Excel if you need mad analysis skills, if not then just track MFP by week.

I used to key things in by hand, I found it too much of a PITA and stopped doing it. Better to get it 90% right with MFP rather than not to it at all?

MFP is the most comprehensive I've seen.

Cook from scratch, make it up or cook from scratch following a recipe? Because if it's the latter, many recipes will have nutrition info provided, ie. BBC Good Food and that kind of thing. You will also often find things like recipe book meals estimate by existing MFP users - Racing Weight recipes, for example.

Ain't nobody got time for that.

Honestly, it takes me less time than MFP used to (this is MFP five years ago though). Having a monotonous diet helps a bit but it makes it so much easier for me to have the extra control.

My point exactly

I eat differently every day. If it has a barcode it's scanned in seconds, if not, someone's probably already entered something close enough. It's available on mobile and browser (you meant Google Sheets, or Office365 not an actual Excel file right?).

Of course I still don't bother with it most of the time because I'm lazy and this is why I'm still fat.

Thanks all: I think I'll have a look at MFP.

I've neither the will nor the need for a spreadsheet and macros: I'd just like a ballpark and, no doubt, a reality check.

Also thanks to whoever recommended Stronglifts 5x5: short and sweet is right up my street!

Office 365, you're right, but I usually just update on the laptop in the evening rather than updating after every meal throughout the day.

If there are apps with barcode scanning and a UI that doesn't drive you mad then I'm way behind the times and you all need to ignore me.

Does broccoli have a barcode? Or any vegetables for that matter? I need to get with it.

I'd miss stuff.

Like I always come home going "oh I didn't drink that much" forgetting at least two entire bars we were at in a given night. :)

No, but someone will have already entered broccoli and you just set the quantity.

"If it has a barcode it's scanned in seconds, if not, someone's probably already entered something close enough"

Almost certainly British fuckers will have it in a packet, which will have a barcode, so probably is scannable. So much fucking packaging in this place...

Cold shower immediately after heavy leg workouts. Am I undoing gains? Doing this and rolling the day after (in addition to riding of course) seems to be avoiding DOMS but I read somewhere that the cold aspect hampered growth, or something.

Almost certainly not. There's been more recent studies on cold water immersion that basically say it's useless for something but I can't recall the specifics of what in particular they were studying. You'll have to google it. Also, a shower isn't going to have the cooling effect an ice bath will so any effect of ice baths is likely to be much less for a cold shower. Basically, worry about your gym work, not the temp of your shower.

Has anyone found strength training/weights improved their knee pain? I've been diagnosed with patellofemoral pain (poor kneecap tracking) for the best part of a year now and its ruined/reduced all my riding. Have been told various things by various physios and have decided to consider strength training proper. I have been twice this week and apart from DOMs haven't noticed any change in pain (would expect it to take months ofc). Just wanted to check before I forked out on a gym membership
Cheers

Obvs not verified medical advice but when I injured my Patella and miniscus skiing the recovery exercises prescribed by the physio were all stability and lateral strength focussed. I would be thinkin about laterally banded air squats and pistol squats on a bosu board to build strength and stability .

laterally banded air squats and pistol squats on a bosu board

dafuq did I just read?

Did it help?

lol Im sure these are not the actual terms but the best descriptions I could think of for the exercises.

Very much so , My knee is fully functional now but my injury was in 2009 , took about a year to get back normal. I would stress that I am not a qualified medical person in any way so if the suggested exercises mess you up then it aint my fault guv.

Good to hear. I think I will give strength training a go for 3/4 months and see where I am on the bike.

I don't know any fancy gym terms. I just do what I'm told.

Lift that. Lift this. Push that. Pull this. Open wide... etc ;)