Honest tracking

Dexy24
Dexy24 Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Something tough for me is keeping my tracking honest, such a struggle sometimes because ignorance is bliss when it comes to how many calories I'm actually eating

Replies

  • Bobbie8786
    Bobbie8786 Posts: 202 Member
    Well, since the "tracker" isn't a sentient being it doesn't have the capacity to care if you are honest with it. The key to success is being honest with yourself.
  • djkronyx
    djkronyx Posts: 77 Member
    Do you have a food scale? That is one of the most useful and important acquisitions I've made through all of this!
  • shortie_sarah
    shortie_sarah Posts: 177 Member
    Your body knows the truth whether your diary does or not. Maybe it will help you to see on paper (or screen) everything that you are eating. It may end up being a wakeup call for you so to speak...
  • ToolRat
    ToolRat Posts: 42 Member
    Scale don't lie!
  • lee91356
    lee91356 Posts: 330 Member
    yes I finally started tracking my splendas and crystal lights and man did that stuff add up! Thinking I was doing good because now I can actually drink water - in crystal light form or caffeine free iced tea form, I didnt really think about that stuff. Well yesterday I finally (after almost a year) entered it in and saw that I was consuming between 50-100 extra calories a day (I thought hey why bother splenda is the "no calorie sweetner" - but actually each packet is 3 or 4 calories and when you have about 10 a day thats alot lol). In itself its not too bad, but then it I makes me wonder what else I have been neglecting to log and what other hidden calories are out there.
  • V3XES
    V3XES Posts: 17 Member
    In reality the only personal scale I find accurate is the fit of my jeans. They know exactly how many unrecorded Snickers bars have been gulped down on the sly.
  • ChristinaR720
    ChristinaR720 Posts: 1,186
    If you are struggling, being 100% honest in your tracking will benefit you greatly. We all have good days and we all have "bad" days. Being able to see what you are eating and how much you are eating will aid you in being able to see the big picture and determine where improvements can be made. Food is fuel and nourishment for your body and should not be seen as a source of guilt or shame. Eat it, track it, and make adjustments as needed.
  • MoreLikeMe43
    MoreLikeMe43 Posts: 21 Member
    One unexpected benefit of honest tracking is that when I have a "bad" day now, and I start feeling down on myself, I can look at the graph for the past 90 days and see, in a glimpse, that my worst days now are an improvement over my average days back then. As the song says, "And then I don't feeeeeeeel soooo baaaad." hehe
  • snowboardandasuitcase
    snowboardandasuitcase Posts: 222 Member
    I would suggest doing an honest track for one week. Maybe this means you turn off the visibility for you diary until you feel more comfortable, but whether you do or not, just make the effort.

    It's happening to your body, so why should your mind be outta the loop? Seeing extra calories doesn't mean you're being bad, maybe it just means you can reconsider your exercises and work a little bit harder to get the same outcome while enjoying everything you want!

    Plus, that might be just the motivation you need to kick those last few habits and start allowing yourself to eat healthier! :bigsmile:

    Best of luck to ya, and keep in mind: you know it's happening so you might as well get all the facts to help you make the best decisions about your weightloss!
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
    I can relate, but the only person who will feel the negative results from this will be you. If it's because your diary is visible to your friends and you feel like you have to be perfect, why not keep it private until you can conquer this?
  • MzzFaith
    MzzFaith Posts: 337 Member
    It's not hard 1st. I'm honest with myself. Therefore It will tell if I'm not honest tracking. If I miss something. I usually puts it under the exercise & food notes. The improvement will tell itself
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Ignorance is bliss right up until those missing calories start to show up on your body. Then, ignorance is out of breath, overheated and unhappy.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    The body keeps an accurate journal of what we eat, even if we don't. :tongue:

    I log everything, even if I'm way way over. it's part of the learning experience for me - tracking everything helps me see where I can do better, where I have done well, how to eat better, how to enjoy treats and not stress about it.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Something tough for me is keeping my tracking honest, such a struggle sometimes because ignorance is bliss when it comes to how many calories I'm actually eating

    I struggle with this sometimes too. I find it helps to tell myself that it doesn't matter if I log it or not, my body knows the truth
  • BrattiAtti
    BrattiAtti Posts: 9
    I'm being honest with my tracking because I want to identify the patterns and tackle (or at least reduce) my bad eating behaviors. I feel like if I'm not honest with my food journal here (where I can always be threatened with public flogging or whatever), I will deliberately delude myself into thinking I'm "fine" or "normal" or whatever. I am sick of my "Good enough, Chuck" approach to life.

    I'm also using this as an incentive to take the time to find out what will work for me, regardless of anything else. Keeping it honest lets me experiment, making slight adjustments through trial and error, with the end goal (again) being realistic sustainability.

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