How to Keep Track of Your Calories

Keeping Track of What You Eat: USDA SuperTracker

One of the best ways to enhance your athletic experience is to eat a balanced diet that meets your nutrient needs. A great way to make sure that you are meeting these daily nutritional needs is to keep track of the food and beverages that you consume. With the USDA’s SuperTracker, you can easily track and analyze nutritional needs that are personalized to fit you and your exercise routine. Start by visiting the USDA’s SuperTracker website and following the steps below: 

1.    Select Create Profile and create a username and password. This will assure that the recommendations made are tailored to your specific needs and that only you have access to your records.

2.    After your profile is created, you will see an individualized plan with daily physical activity, calorie, and food group goals. Use these guidelines to plan your meals, snacks, and physical activity routine.

3.    Select Food Tracker from under the Track Food & Activity bar at the top of the screen to start entering your daily food and beverage intake.

4.    Using the “Type in your food here” box, begin looking up food and beverage items (e.g. granola bar, milk, whole grain bread). 

5.    For each item, select the amounts consumed and select the appropriate meal(s) when that item was consumed, and select Add.

6.    Continue to add all of the items you consumed that day.

7.    Once you’ve added all of your items, check out the graphs on the right to see how well you met your food group needs for the day.

8.    You can also select My Reports from the above bar to view additional reports pertaining to your nutritional needs.

In addition to the Food Tracker, the USDA SuperTracker website contains tools to help track physical activity, plan meals, journal, and set goals. Hopefully, this tool will empower you to make healthy food choices that adequately meet your dietary needs.

Guest Blogger: Emily Seidl, USD Dietetic Intern