Tweet, Eat, Post!

by roni

Twitter to Food Journal _v3!

Many experts agree keeping a food journal is an easy way to stay accountable on your weight loss journey. I know it was a big part of my success!

Now you can use Twitter to help! Why? Well... it's fast, free, and EASY! Click here or scroll down for an overview and tips on using this simple tool to help keep a food journal. Use it just for you or generate a table to paste in your blog. Either way being conscious of what you eat is helpful for those of us who mindless much. :~)

Want to see it action try my username: RonisFood if I'm food journaling today you'll see what I ate so far! To see twitter page (the source), click here.

Twitter to Food Journal (aka Tweet, Eat, Post) Overview

If you don't know what twitter is click here. In short, you create an account and tell people what you are doing in 140 characters or less. Some of us geeks (admit it, if you have a twitter account you're a geek ;~) "tweet" all day and use it as a way to communicate with friends and family and, in my case, other blog losers. :~)

Ok, so how does it work?

Step 1: Get an Account

Click here to sign up for a Twitter account.

I recommend creating a twitter account just for your food journal and naming it YourNameFood, for example I use RonisFood. This way you can keep them separate if you are already using twitter.

If you already have an account, you can journal with it but are some downfalls. For starters, you may not want all of you followers to know what you are eating. I don't mind, but you may not want to bug them with those types of "tweets"(aka posts). There is also a 20 tweet limit that I can access (for now) so your non-food journal tweets may effect the summary of your food journal summary.

Step 2: Tweet what you Eat!

There are many ways to do this and I'll get into that in a minute but you have to know the format rules. There aren't many, don't worry. :~)

If your twitter name is somethingFood then all you need to do is format your food journal tweets like so...

Whatever you ate today [units]

The script will then simply tally and display your entries and give you a total for the day. Units, by the way, can be anything, points, calories, carbs, whatever you want to track. For example...

Slice of pizza [5]

Before you ask, YES you can give something negative units and it will subtract. For example...

I ran 2 miles [-3]

Is the same as saying I earned 3 activity points.

If you're twitter username does NOT have food in it you're rules are a little different, but again, not complicated. You just need to "mark" your tweets with as food journal tweets like so...

#food Whatever you ate today [units]

#activity What ever you did today [-units]

For example...

#food slice of pizza [5]

#activity 20 minute walk [-1]

I told you, not hard! :~) Now HOW do you tweet? Well there are a number of ways.

Navigate to twitter.com come, login and and tweet your food posts.
Use a program like Toro or TweetDeck. They work the same as posting from twitter but some like the convience of having a small program.
Not near a computer? Access mobile twitter (m.twitter.com) from your phone web browser. (my personal favorite)
Twitter right from your phone via text!
If you're real clever! Use TwitPic to not only post what you ate and how many "units" are in it but share a photo of it as well! SO COOL! ;~P

The beauty of using twitter as your food journal tool is the number of ways you can access it. I don't know about you, but I always have my phone so I have no excuse.

Step 3: Check Your Totals

At the end of the day, simple come back here and check out your summary by typing your username and when you want to track from. I realize not everyone tracks from 8AM - 11PM like I do. So I allow you to pick the time you want to track from.

Remember, for now I only have access to your last 20 tweets. So if you tweeted more then that on a given day you will "lose" some entries in your summary table.

Step 4: Post your Food Journal to Your Blog (Optional)

If you have a blog and want to post your food journal table, simply copy and paste the code that is generated under your summary table into the code view of your blog.

Step 5: Share and See What Everyon'e Eating! #tep (Optional)

Here may be the coolest part of all. Well, I think so anyway. :~) Have you guys seen those little hash marks in twitter. For example #gno well that's a way for people to tag or mark their tweets so others can find them using Twitters Search Engine. So if we all start to use our own harsh mark, for example #tep (standing for TweetEatPost) we can keep tabs on each other.

#food slice of pizza (5) #tep

Of course this is completely optional but it may be a nice way to find other Tweet Eat Post users like yourself. Try it now by search for #food or #tep in the search engine.

Please leave any comments, ideas and questions below and if you want, your food journal Twitter name, so I can follow you! :~)

39 comments

1 Geri { 03.28.09 at 7:13 pm }: test
2 Cara { 03.31.09 at 2:45 pm }: Roni, this is GENIUS!!!!

I’m a total Twitter addict and so this is right up my alley. This is such an ingenious use of Twitter.

I’ve already set up a new Twitter account and I’m using it on my blog.

GENIUS!!!
3 Laura Brandon { 04.01.09 at 12:49 am }: Is the chart supposed to come out pink on our blogs? Because mine isn’t.
4 roni { 04.01.09 at 8:05 am }: Great question! No it will be styled the way your theme or template has defined tables. For example if you paste it into a BlogToLose blog it looks like this… http://www.blogtolose.com/profiles/blogs/day-8i-ate-and-ate

(well that’s the other generator but same point)

If you want it to look like mine I can give you the CSS to paste in your css file.
5 Betty Adams { 04.03.09 at 7:40 pm }: Roni, I am new at Twitter, but I do have an account. I would love to twitter my food diary. I am thinking I only have to copy and paste the above XHTML code. Well I shall soon see. Thanks for your blog, I love it.
Betty
6 koko { 04.08.09 at 11:52 am }: Hey Roni!

I’ve been reading your blog for months now and like to watch AskRonis when I do my dishes at night :)

Anyway, this wole Twitter thing is absolut genius! My screen name up there is ShhhFood. I missed the #-tag today, my first day, but will be posting it by dinnertime!

Thanks for the crazygood idea!
7 Betty Adams { 04.19.09 at 7:13 pm }: Roni, I signed up for twitter, and I have been posting my food journal. I think I have been doing it wrong. I never seem to be able to copy and paste the table directly to my blog.( in fact I never get a table) I have to go to your page each time and add everything individually. What do you think I am doing wrong. Thanks, Betty
8 roni { 04.19.09 at 7:21 pm }: Hi Betty! I should be able to help. What is your twitter username?
9 Betty Adams { 04.20.09 at 7:46 pm }: Roni, It worked, thanks so much. BTW, I love your site, I made the pinto bean soup this weekend it was very good.

Betty
10 Julie { 05.25.09 at 1:13 pm }: Roni, I would LOVE your css to paste into my blog to make my chart look nice like yours ;) I have a blogger blog I am not sure if that will make a difference?
11 roni { 05.27.09 at 10:15 pm }: Nope.. it would make a difference. Do you know where to put the css?

Try to copy and paste this…
table{border-spacing:1px;border:1px solid #c0e2f3;margin:5px 0 10px 0;}
td, th{padding:4px;}
th{text-align:center;background-color:#d4effd;color:#666666;border:0;}
tr{background-color:#e6f3f9;text-align:left;border-bottom:1px solid #c0e2f3;}
12 Katali { 05.31.09 at 4:32 pm }: Hey Roni! Have been reading your blog(s) for a while now and finally decided I’d delurk and also give this a try. I do not understand twitter at all, but I do understand that it will let me track consistantly, so I am giving it a shot! Particularly since it’s become clear recently that my track-book method is no longer working.

Just a random question/suggestion: I use tables on my blog for all sorts of random “I-hate-HTML-lets-just-bloody-do-it-this-way” moments. Is it possible to include a specific css class/style ‘tag’ for the table/tr in your generator? For people who don’t use HTML, it’d just revert to a normal table (right? My HTML skills are a little patchy), but for people like me, I could write those specific classes into my CSS to make it all pretty. Does that make sense?

Also, thanks so much for posting…well, everything. You’re a daily read for me and I find it so motivating. You’ve also inspired me to start cooking and to play when I cook, which is wonderful! Thanks again for this,

Katali.
13 roni { 06.01.09 at 10:15 pm }: Katali – GREAT idea! Of course I understand. For a quick fix I just added “foodjournal” as the class for the table. Hope that helps!!
14 Jan Lowry { 06.04.09 at 1:40 am }: Great idea Roni. Congrats on a fantastic job. Good luck in your new job also.
Thanks for all your good ideas.
Jan
15 Robin { 06.23.09 at 2:17 pm }: Just started to use twitter for my food journal today! I am sooo excited to not have to be carrying around my ‘form’ that I made to track my week. Thank you sooo much Roni! Brilliant, I say, Brilliant!
16 Jim { 06.29.09 at 3:35 pm }: have you seen ?
17 Jim { 06.29.09 at 3:37 pm }: have you seen tweetwhatyoueat ?
18 lori { 10.22.09 at 7:03 pm }: Is there a way that this can be done as a “feed” – to continuosly update what you eat. Do you know what I mean?
Thanks!
It’s a great tool
19 roni { 10.22.09 at 8:22 pm }: Lori – twitter already has a feed. For example my food journal feed is… http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/17754465.rss

You can simply add the feed to your sidebar!

Does that make sense?
20 lori { 10.22.09 at 8:46 pm }: I see it now! I am REALLY new to twitter, so thank you for your insight. Roni – you simply ROCK!
21 Becca { 11.02.09 at 6:09 pm }: Roni,

Just read the article about you on CNN and found my way here. I’m a huge twitter fan and I’m trying to become a fan of eating right too. I’ve protected my feed but feel free to follow.

I’ve kept a food journal before but was frustrated with having to look things up and then still having to modify the actual number of calories. I love your unit system, although I haven’t quite figured out what they’ll mean for me yet. I’m thinking more of a “star” system corresponding to how good of a choice that food was.

It’s a good thing I started this before going home to my bowl of leftover Halloween candy!

Thanks!

https://twitter.com/beccasfood
22 christina { 11.03.09 at 12:42 am }: Can I tweet my food journal from my phone without having internet on my phone? By just texting?
23 christina { 11.03.09 at 1:06 am }: test
24 christina { 11.03.09 at 1:10 am }: Im doing something wrong and I dont know what… I made my twitter account (chrissysfood) I sent a test food entry but I dont have [ ] on my phone, I have ( )… is that ok???

And I put the info into the food jounral thing on the top of here and nothing… there is an XHTML on the reply section but when I copy that, my blog wont let me paste it… although im not sure thats what im supposed to do anyways…. HELP
25 christina { 11.03.09 at 1:24 am }: ok new question – I figured out how to get it to make the chart – yaaa me! and I found out how to make the [ ] on my phone (needed to go to keyboard option) now my new issue – so when I put in toast [5] as a test… it shows up on my chart as A5N with the A and N having lines over them. And the number doesnt show on the tally side… what did I do wrong?
26 Anna { 11.05.09 at 11:08 am }: Hi Roni,

I’m having a hard time getting my table to generate – my twitter name is annafood and I’m formatting my tweets like oatmel [2] but it won’t generate!

Thanks!
27 roni { 11.05.09 at 12:41 pm }: Anna – You have to “unprotected” your updates. By keeping them secure you are not allowing my app access. Does that make sense? Let me know if you get it to work!
28 roni { 11.05.09 at 12:42 pm }: Christina – Still working on you A D issue. Have to do research.
29 Anna { 11.05.09 at 12:53 pm }: Thanks, Roni! That works! :)
30 joanna { 11.08.09 at 8:13 pm }: Hey Roni

I already set up a twitter account but want to make another one just for my food journa entries. But when I set up another account it won’t let me bc it says email address already taken. Can you have multiple twitter accounts?

thanks so much
Jo
31 roni { 11.09.09 at 3:45 pm }: joanna – You can have multiple accounts but you need another email to do so. I have about 8 so it wasn’t a problem for me. DO you have another email you can use:
32 Courtney { 01.18.10 at 5:47 pm }: Hi,
I’d like to use this twitter thing to log! :) I created my twitter account as wyrillcosfood and I can post, but I think I’m being a dummy and missing a big step in the process of being able to get my totals and then post to my blog. Can you help? I have no ide what to do next.
33 roni { 01.26.10 at 11:31 am }: Courtney – I can.. Unfortunately tweet eat post is having some technical difficulties AND I’m so swamped I can’t fix them right now. :(

I hope to update it soon. So sorry!!
34 janine { 02.22.10 at 3:33 pm }: I just found this,
and created my account, and downloaded tweetdeck…hopefully this is one move that will help me BUST this plateau!!
I LOVE LOVe this site!!
totally motivates me!!

thanks Roni!!!
35 Anna { 03.12.10 at 1:31 pm }: Hi Roni,

When do you think the bug with TEP will be corrected?

Thanks!! :)
36 roni { 03.12.10 at 2:07 pm }: Anna – Good question. I haven’t had time to fix it since I’m planning the conference. I will put it on the top of my to do once that’s behind me. The problem is with Twitter, they changed the feed dates. It’s killing me!

I’ll get to it! Promise!

-Roni
37 Laura { 07.06.10 at 12:49 pm }: Hey Roni! In an effort to be more accountable, I’ve been tweeting my foods for a few weeks now. Only a few of my friends actually follow my food journal though. In a way that’s cool, because they’re the people who really are interested to see it; but at the same time, I’d feel more accountable if more people were checking up on me. Any suggestions on how to get more Twitter food journal followers?

by the way, my food journal is @LauraWVsFood

and THANKS for the awesome idea to do this, and for doing it yourself for so long. I look forward to reading your food tweets every day, and often get ideas for what I’d like to eat from them.
38 roni { 07.06.10 at 2:35 pm }: Laura, I’m glad you brought this up! I used to tag all my food journal tweets with #tep and a few others did as well, just so we can find each other. I’ll get myself back into the habit. Then we could do a simple search for each other like this… http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23tep
39 Laura { 07.06.10 at 2:41 pm }: Cool! Sorry I didn’t read that up above… I got a bit mixed up with all the instructions (and as always, figured I knew it all and didn’t have to read them). I will definitely put #tep on all my food posts now, and will hope to find others doing so as well. Also, I realize now that I can look at who you follow (@Ronisfood), and follow those people as well.