Calorie tracking (online) is getting tiresome...
Michifan
Posts: 95 Member
I'm in a good groove, and for the most part I know that I'm staying in my goal calories every day (and +/- my misses are not something I care about).
I have to say that it's easier to eat right, exercise and get good sleep than to login every day and lookup complicated meals that I either make at home or request at a restaurant (give me as much vegetables as you can and just "this" much chicken, salmon...).
I've been doing this for 3.5 months now - and I'm definitely on-track to all my goals, but the more comfortable I am with doing calorie calculations in my head, the more work it is to log it here.
It's been a great education - so I don't regret doing it for as long as I have - but sometimes I just want to eat the same thing just so I don't have to add another "meal" into the system.
The plus side is that I've got likely only 3 more months to go - including a month of plateauing. I should be hitting my goal weight around the end of January and crossing the century mark (100 pounds lost) between New Year's and the Super Bowl. I wanted to hit 100 pounds lost in 6 months - but I'm trending closer to 95 - and I am not going to cut any more calories or add any more exercise just to hit a speculative number.
I have to say that it's easier to eat right, exercise and get good sleep than to login every day and lookup complicated meals that I either make at home or request at a restaurant (give me as much vegetables as you can and just "this" much chicken, salmon...).
I've been doing this for 3.5 months now - and I'm definitely on-track to all my goals, but the more comfortable I am with doing calorie calculations in my head, the more work it is to log it here.
It's been a great education - so I don't regret doing it for as long as I have - but sometimes I just want to eat the same thing just so I don't have to add another "meal" into the system.
The plus side is that I've got likely only 3 more months to go - including a month of plateauing. I should be hitting my goal weight around the end of January and crossing the century mark (100 pounds lost) between New Year's and the Super Bowl. I wanted to hit 100 pounds lost in 6 months - but I'm trending closer to 95 - and I am not going to cut any more calories or add any more exercise just to hit a speculative number.
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Wow! That seems to be awfully fast to be losing that much weight. That's great that you can do the math in your head. I don't estimate well. I can't wait to see your success post
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Have you experimented with dropping the tracking and seeing if you are able to continue losing with just portion control and head counting?0
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So take a break from logging. Keep tracking your weight/measurements/how you feel and come back if and when you ever feel like you need to get back on track. 0
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Dont log it then and see how you do. I assume you wont be logging once you reach target either?0
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Personally 3.5 months wouldn't be long enough for me. I've been doing this for 2.5 years and I'm not comfortable giving up logging. I know if that incentive isn't there then I'll slowly, bit by bit, start thinking that one more slice of cheese won't make a difference or one more scoop of ice cream will be fine.
If you think you can stick to your eating habits without logging then go for it. But if you find yourself slipping then you'll need to start logging again.0 -
I don't need to log, but it helps. I'm an accountant, so logging is measuring, measuring something leads to improvement. Improvement leads to success...
But I've taken day breaks from logging - but this weekend I had a lot more meals that I know are fine, but would take me too long to log - so I skipped it. During the week, I eat a bit more routinely.
The speed I am losing is based on the fact that I am on a very very low calorie diet - as monitored and prescribed by a doctor and dietician. It's lower than 1,000 calories a day, it includes low heart rate exercise every day, and my 'diet' can be best described as a combination cardiac/diabetic diet (though I don't have a bad heart or diabetes).
It's basically pounds of ruffage/green vegetables, 4oz of lean protein for lunch and dinner (2 eggs for breakfast) and no added sugar, minimal bread and fruit.
I've gotten into too many arguments with people on this site about whether what I am doing is healthy, but I am under regular medical review, my blood is taken every month and I monitor my pulse and blood pressure.
I also had a rapid increase in weight (80 pounds in 4 years) due to some medical conditions / medication that was supposed to improve other areas. If anything, my body is just getting back to its 'set' point, and I'm taking down another 20 pounds to get to a reasonable BMI since I'm already losing weight.
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I didn't realize I was that tired of logging after 6-7 months of it but I stopped after starting the Every Other Day Diet and I'm so glad to have that monkey off my back, the last couple months. I still log my 500 calorie days but it's so much easier. You might want to look into intermittent fasting. Good luck!0
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After a while it becomes second nature. You've lost awfully fast for so much weight and the concern would be you would put it back on just as fast.
I'm at maintenance. It took me a year to lose 30lb, and a year to stabilize. Now I can log or not, but I usually do. I'm not gaining anything back. I didn't even gain during my so far month of no gym, although my leg did atrophe somewhat.0 -
47Jacqueline wrote: »After a while it becomes second nature. You've lost awfully fast for so much weight and the concern would be you would put it back on just as fast.
I'm at maintenance. It took me a year to lose 30lb, and a year to stabilize. Now I can log or not, but I usually do. I'm not gaining anything back. I didn't even gain during my so far month of no gym, although my leg did atrophe somewhat.
Definitely 2nd the first statement.
I personally plan to log continuously. Partially because I do not remember the macros of 6+ pages of food items and random recipes I create, and I need to track protein. Plus with my desire to cut/bulk it's much easier to just track caloriest han to guess wildly at whether I'm eating enough.
Much easier to see a trend as well. It's like when I used to not log my workouts, and once I started doing so in the summer (pen + paper) it makes it SO much easier to go through a workout and know exactly what I have left to do and how my weights have progressed or stalled etc.0 -
I usually take one day off a week, and I must admit that it is a relief not to log for that day. I don't pig out, but I do usually have a restaurant meal. But on that day, I do feel freer. For instance, I was getting a cold and the day I didn't log, I actually drank a big glass of orange juice and really enjoyed it, something I would never drink on a day I was tracking because it has too many calories. Even though I still exercise that day, I don't have to keep looking at my tracker for calories.
My husband says my tracking has become obsessive and I should stop. He thinks that I would maintain my weight "naturally" by eyeballing my portions, but I don't trust myself.
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I don't mind it, but then again, I like projects.
I say do what works for you and what you're comfortable with. If you're able to do it mentally, dislike logging and are still seeing a downward trend, then it seems as if there isn't a problem.
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I don't log. I use the app to check in if I'm trying a new food at a chain restaurant, or if I'm adding something I've never eaten before to my diet. Sometimes I'll use it to assess a restaurant to make the best choice (P.F. Changs comes to mind there). Otherwise, I use my best judgement and try to make good and tasty food choices with lots of vegetables and eat til I'm satisfied.0
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I logged while I was losing but maintained for 18 + months without logging save for a spot check here and there. I'm currently in another small cut and I logged a few days last week just to make sure I was good...and I'm good...so I won't be logging during this cut except for maybe every once in awhile to make sure my estimations are more or less correct.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I don't log. I use the app to check in if I'm trying a new food at a chain restaurant, or if I'm adding something I've never eaten before to my diet. Sometimes I'll use it to assess a restaurant to make the best choice (P.F. Changs comes to mind there). Otherwise, I use my best judgement and try to make good and tasty food choices with lots of vegetables and eat til I'm satisfied.
Did you log before? When did you get to a point where you didn't need to count?0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I don't log. I use the app to check in if I'm trying a new food at a chain restaurant, or if I'm adding something I've never eaten before to my diet. Sometimes I'll use it to assess a restaurant to make the best choice (P.F. Changs comes to mind there). Otherwise, I use my best judgement and try to make good and tasty food choices with lots of vegetables and eat til I'm satisfied.
Did you log before? When did you get to a point where you didn't need to count?
I actually never logged in the traditional sense. When I was losing I followed the principles of the mediterranean diet (and later much of the south beach diet), both of which I still use (vegetables, lean meats, limited (whole, not overly refined) grains, limited added sugars, some fruit, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes. All this leads to very little fast food, and very little heavily processed convenience foods. The rest took care of itself. So no, I didn't log, except as I described above.
ETA: had iPhones and MFP existed? I might have for a while. Back then it was fitday on my mac, not very user friendly, so I mostly used it as a reference from time to time as I mentioned.0 -
I totally understand the getting tired of logging thing. I've been on and off this site so many times over the years. Then I went and bought the containers for the 21 day fix diet as you can just buy the containers if you want. I about fell over when I saw how small a portion size is. Wow was I wayyy off! So I'm back. I gained weight because I quit tracking what I ate and was not paying attention to portion sizes. Tracking forces you to pay attention. If I were you I would force myself to keep tracking until at least 3 months after you hit maintenance and make a deal with yourself that if you gain more than 5 pounds you would to right back to tracking. One thing that's helping me is that in the evenings I log everything I plan to eat the next day and you know you can copy meals and whole days from one day to the next. Then I make adjustments as I go through the day if I eat something different or like today I was in meetings all afternoon and didn't get a break to eat my afternoon snack. Those are usually minor adjustments so it only takes a second.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I don't log. I use the app to check in if I'm trying a new food at a chain restaurant, or if I'm adding something I've never eaten before to my diet. Sometimes I'll use it to assess a restaurant to make the best choice (P.F. Changs comes to mind there). Otherwise, I use my best judgement and try to make good and tasty food choices with lots of vegetables and eat til I'm satisfied.
Did you log before? When did you get to a point where you didn't need to count?
I actually never logged in the traditional sense. When I was losing I followed the principles of the mediterranean diet (and later much of the south beach diet), both of which I still use (vegetables, lean meats, limited (whole, not overly refined) grains, limited added sugars, some fruit, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes. All this leads to very little fast food, and very little heavily processed convenience foods. The rest took care of itself. So no, I didn't log, except as I described above.
That's great. I am starting to get a better sense of when I am done. I don't have to be full. But, not like that.0 -
Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.
Eventually it leads to what the forums are littered with - failed attempts to lose weight and keep it off.
Best of luck with not logging. 5 minutes a day is all it takes - at most.
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And the forums are littered with loggers who regained.SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.
Eventually it leads to what the forums are littered with - failed attempts to lose weight and keep it off.
Best of luck with not logging. 5 minutes a day is all it takes - at most.
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SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.
Eventually it leads to what the forums are littered with - failed attempts to lose weight and keep it off.
Best of luck with not logging. 5 minutes a day is all it takes - at most.
It is quite possible to learn how to eat without logging...
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Wrong. I lost 70 lbs without logging. I ate what I wanted, just less of it. I stuck to the portion size on packages and nothing more. Palm size of meat and measured out 1/2 cup rice servings. Get my drift. Portion control works when doing it right.SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.
Eventually it leads to what the forums are littered with - failed attempts to lose weight and keep it off.
Best of luck with not logging. 5 minutes a day is all it takes - at most.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.
Eventually it leads to what the forums are littered with - failed attempts to lose weight and keep it off.
Best of luck with not logging. 5 minutes a day is all it takes - at most.
It is quite possible to learn how to eat without logging...
Yes. Most have been eating for decades without logging. Then they end up on MFP (or another site) wondering how they have gained so much weight. ;-)
Just sayin' my orchestra of small violins are bowing away on the strings playing "cry me a river" for those who think it is such a laborious and tiresome task to spend only 1 - 5 minutes a day keeping tabs.
Routine leads to long term success...
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I found it tedious too. Which is why I quit both previous times I tried this.
But then I realized it's the same thing as balancing my chequebook and logging my spending. I've been doing that for my entire adult life and don't find it tedious -- it's just one of those things I do. Well, this too, I guess.
And it's working. So, hey. Worth the time.0 -
Well, the body does have gauges of a sort. Humans have been 'filling up' ok long before calories were even invented, much less counting apps.SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.0 -
SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.
And yet human beings were losing, gaining and mostly maintaining weight for the vast majority of our history without knowing what the hell a calorie even was.
It's one thing to appreciate calorie counting for yourself. It's another thing to zealously elevate it to a point of true religion.
- Signed someone who has lost over a 110lbs...not counting calories.0 -
As said time and again on this site, do what works for you. Me? I'm logging.0
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I reached my goal weight after 2 years of faithful logging and felt pretty confident to maintain without logging...........wrong!! I have gained 10lbs after 6 months without logging but realise it will continue to creep back if I do not do something about it. There is NOTHING like seeing your daily intake in black and white to make you think about eating that extra biscuit or square of chocolate. I am back to logging.
Good luck in whatever you choose :-D0 -
Kudos to you on your weight loss, and I hope you are able to keep it off without tracking.
Personally, I know I need to do some level of logging to be able to maintain. I am hoping that I can loosen the reins a bit and maybe skip tracking on the weekends (without going too crazy) when I hit maintenance, but... baby steps, you know?0 -
A break from logging here and there has been a good thing for me at least. When others talk of "cheat days" I look forward to non-logging days, maybe 1-2x per month. I don't stuff myself silly, I don't skip an exercise routine, but I may eat a meal at a restaurant and not stress trying to figure out if the steak was 4 oz or 6 or if my green beans were cooked in butter or steamed.0
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How did millions of people stay at a healthy weight before the magic of myfitnesspal?SingingSingleTracker wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Not logging - no matter how good of an accountant one is - is like guessing at how much gas you put in the car. No fuel gauge. No reading on the gas pump of how much you put in. Just blind faith.
Eventually it leads to what the forums are littered with - failed attempts to lose weight and keep it off.
Best of luck with not logging. 5 minutes a day is all it takes - at most.
It is quite possible to learn how to eat without logging...
Yes. Most have been eating for decades without logging. Then they end up on MFP (or another site) wondering how they have gained so much weight. ;-)
Just sayin' my orchestra of small violins are bowing away on the strings playing "cry me a river" for those who think it is such a laborious and tiresome task to spend only 1 - 5 minutes a day keeping tabs.
Routine leads to long term success...
And dial back the hyperbole and snark please.0
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