An overly obvious epiphany...

RuefulRabbit
RuefulRabbit Posts: 42 Member
edited November 20 in Social Groups
And perhaps because it's so obvious, that's why I didn't see it until today.

Logging food and exercise is not going to help if I kid myself about what I eat, or fudge things so that the numbers come out looking good on my chart. It's the worst kind of dishonesty, and I didn't realize I was doing it until I was logging today's lunch.

Makes me wonder what other obvious epiphanies I've overlooked.

Replies

  • BRaye325
    BRaye325 Posts: 1,383 Member
    Yes, lying to ourselves is how many of us got to be at our worst. Whether it's not counting at all, cheating on our logging, not really looking at ourselves in the mirror, etc. If we truly take control of our minds and start being responsible to ourselves, magic happens!
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Don't beat yourself up. Fudging the numbers is human nature. If I search for tuna salad in the in the database it brings up several entries; tuna salad (175 cals), tuna salad (260 cals), tuna salad (410 cals). I'll take a glance at my sandwich and rationalize that it's exactly 175 cals. "Yeah that sounds about right, 175".

    A bought a food scale a few years back and quickly realized how much estimating goes on with food labels. The labels say something like, 1 serving equals approx. 12 pieces or (47grams). Out of curiosity I weighed out a serving size and it amounted to about 6 pieces. With my new kitchen toy I started weighing other items and discovered that very few of the "pieces" estimates were accurate. I also started portioning out a single serving (measure in grams). It's quite depressing how few almonds it takes to amount to 30 grams. In the long run it has helped keep the calories under control.
  • marekdds
    marekdds Posts: 2,233 Member
    We all do it sometimes. The trick is to be real most of the time. The food scale is an eye opener. The packages lie, we lie to ourselves. The mental challenges are sometimes the hardest.
  • Cheryllynnhagen
    Cheryllynnhagen Posts: 51 Member
    I was doing that, making the numbers look good. I wised up and realized there is nobody on the other side of the button who cares.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    "What you eat in private, you wear in public".
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    I hear ya'. The difference in attitude, for me, depends on whether I'm maintaining or trying to lose a few. I've been essentially maintaining the same weight (pregnancy excluded) for ~30 years. I tend to slack in summer then buckle down in the fall. When I have a few lb to lose, I log as accurately as I can. Otherwise I log, but not as carefully. E.g. I might skip several days when traveling whereas if I were losing, I would make an effort to log. I also stop counting stuff like milk in my coffee and garlic&onions in recipes. The undercount can add up, but the honest truth is my weight does not creep up because of milk in 2 cups of coffee or a couple Tbs of aromatics in a dish. It creeps up because I drink more margaritas and slack on exercise in the TX heat.

    The other thing I do, which I am trying to change, is just grab a handful of nuts. I don't do it when I am logging accurately to lose, but when maintaining, I'm not as conscientious. Of all the things not to log, nuts have got to be one of the worst.
  • nikkib0103
    nikkib0103 Posts: 969 Member
    BigGuy47 wrote: »
    Don't beat yourself up. Fudging the numbers is human nature. If I search for tuna salad in the in the database it brings up several entries; tuna salad (175 cals), tuna salad (260 cals), tuna salad (410 cals). I'll take a glance at my sandwich and rationalize that it's exactly 175 cals. "Yeah that sounds about right, 175".

    A bought a food scale a few years back and quickly realized how much estimating goes on with food labels. The labels say something like, 1 serving equals approx. 12 pieces or (47grams). Out of curiosity I weighed out a serving size and it amounted to about 6 pieces. With my new kitchen toy I started weighing other items and discovered that very few of the "pieces" estimates were accurate. I also started portioning out a single serving (measure in grams). It's quite depressing how few almonds it takes to amount to 30 grams. In the long run it has helped keep the calories under control.

    This has been a real problem area for me too. I have to follow your lead and do a more rigorous job of weighing and measuring. It is shocking how amounts and calories vary.
  • 460mustang
    460mustang Posts: 196 Member
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    I hear ya'. The difference in attitude, for me, depends on whether I'm maintaining or trying to lose a few. I've been essentially maintaining the same weight (pregnancy excluded) for ~30 years. I tend to slack in summer then buckle down in the fall. When I have a few lb to lose, I log as accurately as I can. Otherwise I log, but not as carefully. E.g. I might skip several days when traveling whereas if I were losing, I would make an effort to log. I also stop counting stuff like milk in my coffee and garlic&onions in recipes. The undercount can add up, but the honest truth is my weight does not creep up because of milk in 2 cups of coffee or a couple Tbs of aromatics in a dish. It creeps up because I drink more margaritas and slack on exercise in the TX heat.

    The other thing I do, which I am trying to change, is just grab a handful of nuts. I don't do it when I am logging accurately to lose, but when maintaining, I'm not as conscientious. Of all the things not to log, nuts have got to be one of the worst.

    Guilty! I grab a handful of nuts and say that's about a half a serving, so I can eat 2 handfuls.
    I never even thought about logging garlic and onions.
    I do log milk in my coffee
  • marekdds
    marekdds Posts: 2,233 Member
    The really sad part for me is how little I actually need to eat just to maintain. With my age and size, my bmr is @1250 and even picking slightly active my tdee is @1650 . Not a lot of room for error, that is a handful of nuts, lol.
  • 460mustang
    460mustang Posts: 196 Member
    marekdds wrote: »
    The really sad part for me is how little I actually need to eat just to maintain. With my age and size, my bmr is @1250 and even picking slightly active my tdee is @1650 . Not a lot of room for error, that is a handful of nuts, lol.

    That is something I never realized until joining MFP and reading the forums, that calorie burn depends so much on body mass. When I overeat I can hop on the treadmill and burn it off quickly, but smaller people it's not as easy. Also never realized how many calories some of the nuts have, I use to use nuts to curb my appetite thinking the were low calories.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    marekdds wrote: »
    The really sad part for me is how little I actually need to eat just to maintain. With my age and size, my bmr is @1250 and even picking slightly active my tdee is @1650 . Not a lot of room for error, that is a handful of nuts, lol.

    Yes! Exactly!
  • 460mustang
    460mustang Posts: 196 Member
    I just realized I do not need antacid tablets anymore. I have them on my night stand, since I usually get heart burn at night. I don't know if it is losing weight, exercising, or change in diet. I am sleeping better too.
  • marekdds
    marekdds Posts: 2,233 Member
    That is a super NSV!
  • BBee5064
    BBee5064 Posts: 1,020 Member
    "What you eat in private, you wear in public".

    Amen to that
  • 460mustang
    460mustang Posts: 196 Member
    marekdds wrote: »
    That is a super NSV!

    Thought about posting it on the NSV thread, but since epiphany is an illuminating discovery or realization I figured I'd post it here. Maybe I should post on both
  • BRaye325
    BRaye325 Posts: 1,383 Member
    Yes that is a huge NSV. I had severe acid reflux before and now I haven't had it once in the past 11 months - good ridens!
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
    Sleeping on my back again without waking up choking. Bending over to tie my shoes. This morning I put my foot on the edge of a kitchen chair to tie my shoe. It was nothing to do.


    I look back and am amazed at how slowly gaining weight over the years I never felt my life slipping away.

    It really was gradually taking away from every aspect of my life.

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