To log or not to log?
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Great post.
Logging doesn't bother me, but I look at it differently, I guess.
I'm really busy every day and I can't wait until mealtimes to figure out what I'm going to pull out of the fridge and cook. I also can't possibly remember what I might have planned for the next meal, so I use pre-logging to make sure that (a) I can get in the house after DD's swim practice, know exactly what I'm going to prepare immediately AND still manage to get a spot of work done at the same time, (b) I'm eating in the healthy way I've spent the last year working on, and (c) DH can see what's for dinner tonight by checking out my diary and make any adjustments he wants to (he has to watch sodium/potassium for blood pressure control).
For me, pre-logging allows me to separate the planning phase (usually done the evening before while chillin' out) from the execution phase (usually done under considerable time pressure). It honestly makes my life a LOT less stressed.0 -
I'm in the no-logging camp, but I do love my scale. So I guess that's my accountability/security blanket to make sure I don't slowly creep up to a size I'd rather not be. Also, eating too much food was not how I gained 20 pounds, I've always loved to cook and cook relatively healthy foods. I gained 20 pounds by drinking every delicious beer in sight, so my relationship with food might be a bit different than the average MFPer.0
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Good post, and timely thread personally as I'm currently in the process of stepping away from logging in a staged manner, and am always curious to absorb opinions and info far and wide around any new courses of action or curiousity.
When I first came here to MFP about 7/ 8 months ago to lose weight, I logged everything and did so religiously. It was a good tool for that time, and even then a tool is exactly what I regarded it as, harbouring no personal intention of logging for life. I don't particularly feel logging is necessary, but it can be beneficial, as well as imparting benefits.
For me, I already a pretty good idea of calorie counts, but logging was a good way to keep me honest initially, at least when starting out last year. I will add though that I was eating low-carb at the time, and having lost weight in other ways before also, I have no issue acknowledging I could have done so without logging, whether I ate low carb or otherwise. The logging did give me a nice body of data to work with though, something which with my analytical curiousities, definitely helped me develop a greater understanding of things. As such I'm not sure I would have as deep a pool of knowledge about myself if I had not logged and accumulated that data.
Anyway, times change, and while logging worked for me previously, especially when I was able to adhere to whatever intake and activity levels I reasonable imposed on myself, it no longer worked so well. Logging, like anything, can become a crutch for some, and when I found my adherence faltering, I quickly realised my behaviours around food intake and eating could have been a lot better, but logging for me took away or delayed the need to develop those behaviours.
Anyway, something a little looser and slightly systematic was called for, and what I find working perfectly for me right now. Logging was never going to be long term for me, and personally feel that anything that requires dedicated and regular focus, as well as being dependent on specific tools, is always likely to fail over a long enough time scale. I am sure many feel differently, but my point is for me the long term solution was going to be something more flexible, and capable at handling most things thrown at it.
When I lost weight previously, it was through such sort of systematic eating, it just turns out my system in question was just not flexible enough to deal with some of the things thrown at it over time, and it broke down, with weight gain the result.
As things stand, I've found something that works for me at the moment quite well. It's still early days but I can see how I eat currently being an effective long term solution, although who knows, only time will tell, as well as what my own personal preferences shall dictate when they change over time. What I do know, is that there are enough levers to steer towards and control things to meet my goals, as well as having enough inherent flexibility to ensure none of my natural tendencies are repressed (or dammed) which could lead to a breakdown of productive and enjoyable eating habits down the line.
In this matter, I will probably always believe a little restriction can offer great freedoms, as long as that restriction does not end up throttling things. Mindful/ intuitive eating as the sole arbiter of how much I eat is probably a bridge too far for me right now, but I am definitely happy with my chosen path and system that shall eliminate logging from my life, yet still allow me to meet my body goals. Maybe mindful/ eating eating shall be in the future for me, who knows, but one thing's for sure - logging is not the only tool in the toolbox
I do agree however specific and ambitious goals require suitable tools, and for those with such goals, logging may be the best and most suitable way to achieve them. For the rest of us, more general measures may be just as suitable, or even more suitable. The most important thing is finding what tool(s) are the ones that suit us best
Re: specifics, I've tried avoiding mentioning those above, as the best option is the one that's best for each of us individually, I believe. For me right now though, that is a looser version of Martin Berkhans Leangains system, ie restricted eating window, regular resistance training, more carbs and calories on workout days, less on non-workout days, etc. There are one or two adaptations of my own, and am sure there will continue to be some experimentation, knowing my own nature, but other than that it's an intuitive way of doing things, something that's important to me.
Anway, didn't mean for this post to end up so long - perhaps I should have posted a video, lol 0 -
Derp_Diggler wrote: »I anticipate cutting will be more difficult just by it's nature, but I am going to attempt it.
Dropping in a fasting day or two each week, something like 7/ 8pm one night to the same time the following night, can be a handy way of creating a calorie deficit I found. Might not be for everyone, and you might want some muscle insurance (ie BCAA's) during your fasting time, but might be food for thought for a cutting strategy if you didn't want to change up too much if you maintain without logging otherwise
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Derp_Diggler wrote: »I find constant logging tedious and a bit of a deterrent toward achieving my goals. I can only speak for myself, but over the last eight months I have had pretty good success maintaining and bulking while not logging. I anticipate cutting will be more difficult just by it's nature, but I am going to attempt it. I think that I, like most people, tend to eat many of the same foods over the course of a week or a month. As long as I don't deviate from that too much and burn more calories through increased exercise I'm hoping that these habits, coupled with the nutritional knowledge that I gained while logging, will be enough for me to achieve some success. I liken it to being a student. Study hard, but eventually I want to be able to leave school and put all that I have learned to use in practicum.
This was mostly me. The cutting isn't really that much more difficult, but there have been a few bumps. For me, it basically came down to simply eating a little bit less and not having as many desserts. But yeah - it definitely helps if you're eating a bunch of the same types of foods consistently.0 -
I log. I expect I will always need to log. Here is an example:
I did not pre-log lunch (or even check my total available calorie budget for the rest of the day, etc). I just consumed over 800 calories in lunch (and I still felt like I could eat MORE) leaving me with approximately 300 calories for the rest of the day (I had a reasonable moderate sized breakfast). I know better, but somehow if I don't see the numbers, I can convince myself that it will fit.
It is gonna be a hungry night.0 -
AllonsYtotheTardis wrote: »serious answer - while I found logging to be uber tedious at the beginning, now that I have my favorite recipes entered in MFP, it's really not much a time commitment in my day to log.
I've been maintaining for about a year, and for a few months in the fall, I wasn't logging consistently, and I found that I'm not mindful enough about my eating when I don't log. I can see that *I* will do better in the long run, if I log.
And while you certainly may be correct, another thing to be open to is the idea that you may just not have dialed in the necessary habits (yet) in order to maintain without logging.
For me, the question is, will I ever be... Right now, it is difficult to imagine because, as I log, I find myself underestimating from time to time. But then, every mistake I make now becomes a piece of knowledge for me to form better habits...
I guess, if I ever reach that point of maintenance and ease myself into not logging, it is probably a good habit for me to at least keep track of my weight and to start logging again when things seem to go the wrong way.0 -
I like logging, its like a little hobby. I think I could step away from it as I have maintained for a while now. But I think I would err on the side of caution and maybe under eat. Tonight I had dark chocolate and a slice of bread and peanut butter because I was quite under my calories. Now I knew I was going to be under, but without the logging I would not have guessed I was more than 600 calories under.0
