How is LOGGING a way of Life???

Francl27

I don't do many recipes, to be honest, and often it's just one serving anyway so I don't have to deal with the recipe builder... which I hate (it's buggy for me and I can NEVER change the serving size on my computer).

amusedmonkey

Francl27 wrote: »

I don't do many recipes, to be honest, and often it's just one serving anyway so I don't have to deal with the recipe builder... which I hate (it's buggy for me and I can NEVER change the serving size on my computer).

I use a different recipe builder and just add a "new food" with the readily generated nutrition label from that builder. If you like I could you pm you the link.

Tahlia68

It's much easier on a pc. I use my mobile when I'm in a hurry and get frustrated at times because it's a lot slower. You will get used to it in time. Stress less lol

jennifer_417

As with anything you do in life, you can expect some moments of frustration on your weight loss journey. If you can accept that as part of the process, you're well on your way.

WBB55

I usually build new recipes or find new ingredients using the computer. Existing recipes and foods I use are easier to find on the app, for me. I'm also someone to save a meal or copy a meal from a similar one I ate last week, just changing to the exact new quantities.

Most things in life worth doing and making habits of are, not surprisingly, not easy to do at first.

47Jacqueline

It becomes a routine. After 3+ years I don't think about whether to do it or not. I don't build recipes, though, I look for foods in the database that are similar and don't worry too much about it. I enter components of a sandwich instead of worrying about the specific sandwich, for example.

shadowfax_c11

I am with the use the PC for logging crowd. I will sometimes add food with my phone but only things that are already in the database. Yesterday I had trouble trying to log some exercise through the phone to and just waited until I got home and used my laptop.

I only do things like add recipes when I at home on my PC when have time for that. This site does sometimes respond very slowly and time out on me which can be frustrating. But nothing worth doing is easy. And this is totally worth doing.

rjan91

I log on a desktop computer - much faster. Because I am near a computer all day I log as I eat. I only use my phone when I'm out or on vacation. I think if you could get to a laptop/desktop it would be so much easier. It does not take me long at all.

paperpudding

Can't speak about phones, have never logged on one.

But I find it easy on my tablet.

It's a way of life for me, have done it for over 2 years.

But I admit I don't stress the minutiae of it - not sure if this is a popular mindset - but I think you can stress too much about being too accurate and doing it too perfectly.
Log accurately enough for it to work but loosely enough for it to be user friendly and thus sustainable long term.

GaleHawkins

Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »

Leka1000 wrote: »

I've been logging everything AND accurately for the last month! I went insane today because it literally took me about 30 min to enter a Naan Pizza recipe into MFP. A recipe that I want to easily use over and over again. I was so frustrated I actually threw my phone! How is this lifestyle sustainable? Seriously! Accuracy is KEY but what about staying sane? What about exercising during logging time? I don't know what to do? Please help!

I logged for 2 years losing 100 pounds, and for an additional year maintaining weight. Logging became so natural that I have developed the ability to track by feel.

I just look at any food and know it's calorie content and macro breakdown.
When I exercise, I just know the calorie burn.

I stopped logging almost 2 years ago and have maintained weight all this time.
It's sub-conscience now, and totally a way of life.

Logging seems to be a pain for some of us and is something we are not willing to do for life. In fact I know it is not sustainable in my case but I also know there is NO way to learn how to lose/maintain if one is clueless of the number of calories one is consuming.

@Pinnacle_IAO story about his experience with counting is helpful for some of us that struggle with counting apps. His success at losing then the hardest part which is maintaining is evidence that one has to be aware of calories being consumed/burned where the tracking is on paper, on a computer or in the head. I think all of us are working to stop the 'dieting' mindset promoted by the media and make our eating a subconscious event and totally a way of life.

Maybe it is due to my age but I find jumping on the scales each morning takes no more than 10 seconds and is the best way for me to track the results of my eating. Yes I have to go back and count again when the numbers are not as expected.

This time around of losing weight I decided to do nothing or eat nothing that I could/would not do or eat for for the rest of my life. Yo yo dieting had about killed me literally.

@Leka1000 there is hope in your case but you do need to fully learn and track your calories over time and that will happen I am sure. When I counted I realized I was living on mainly carbs and when I tried different macros I found the weight gain/loss would change in most cases. A macro that may work well for one may be very wrong for another person. Learning the macro that works best for one takes time and can actually change as we age as it did in my case. Best of luck. The first year of learning has not been easy for me but I had my annual physical yesterday and was down 40 pounds. Just losing 1/2 pound a week on average is still 26 pounds a year. When we start eating and moving correctly time is on our side when it comes to weight loss.

zyxst

ogmomma2012 wrote: »

How does it take 30min to make a recipe? With the new layout on PC it's much easier. If you want to guesstimate, by all means guesstimate.

It can take long because MFP probably doesn't have the items you're using in recipe in the database, so you have to add those first, then go back through and add them to the recipe. Gods forbid you've gotten everything but the last item entered and find out MFP doesn't have it in the database so you have to enter it yourself and oh look, you've got to redo the whole recipe AGAIN.

shadowfax_c11

zyxst wrote: »

ogmomma2012 wrote: »

Gods forbid you've gotten everything but the last item entered and find out MFP doesn't have it in the database so you have to enter it yourself and oh look, you've got to redo the whole recipe AGAIN.

No you don't.... just save the recipe as it is without that last ingredient. Then go and add the ingredient to the database. Then go back and edit the recipe to add that ingredient.

110challenge

I meal plan once a week. Ive entered a large number of recipes in advance, but if any are missing I'll add them then. Then I go grocery shopping. I stick to the list and do not deviate. It's not a lot of fun on meal planning night, but its an hour or so of frustration and I'll run a movie in the background or something like that to make it a bit more enjoyable. It definitely makes things easier in the long run.

supersocks117

Well, it is easy for me because:
I rarely try new recipes (and if I do I can import them in the app from their website)
Once I make a recipe I eat the food frequently, and eat typically similar meals daily
I have gotten into a groove of knowing about how much my (same) foods will weigh, so I can eyeball and then verify - I plug all my ingredients in, then weigh or measure

It can be a pain sometimes, but so is any app I'm trying to use, lol. Maybe enter the recipe from the computer before you make it?

cwolfman13

I don't think logging is a way of life...I think it's a tool, much like training wheels on a bike...IMO it should be used to learn...but logging isn't the lifestyle change...people always miss the boat on that one.

also, make life easier on yourself and use a PC and the website most of the time

sashayoung72

I was trying to build a recipe on my phone and became frustrated also, so I broke down my calories and figured out calories per ounce THEN I typed similar item (homemade chili, soup whatever) on lookup and bam, someone had fixed something with the exact same calories. I am NOT worried about exact micro whatevers so I use that item for my calories and move on.

abatonfan

Could you dedicate an hour or so each week to pre-logging the upcoming week? Typically, I like to sit down while eating breakfast on Saturday/Sunday and log what I plan on making for the next week. If it requires me to build a recipe, then I do so during that time (and put down "serving size TBD" and update it once I get the weight of the entire dish). That way, all I need to do when that meal comes is to update the serving size of the recipe and update the portion size I'm having into my food diary.

20yearsyounger

I haven't used recipe builder but I do save my meals/ingredients using My MEALS. Between the frequent, recent, and my meals options, logging is a breeze for me

jgnatca

Because I want this weight loss enterprise to be a one-way trip.

http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm

Longitudinal Improvement of Self-Regulation Through Practice

NoIdea101NoIdea

I pre-plan my meals for the day, weigh everything, work out the calories by either looking at the packet and doing the math or by finding something via google that would be very close, and just keep a 'log' in the calculator on my phone, so if i do fancy anything else it is easy to just add it on as i always have my phone on me and don't need to be connected to the internet to use the app.

brendak76

I'd love to hear from people who have been logging for 15-20+ years. Obviously it wouldn't be logging electronically for that time, most likely pen and paper. I'm great at going all in on something for 2-4 years but then I just quit. How do the true long term loggers handle the psychological aspect of logging everything for decades? Do you have anxiety over times where you can't weigh out a recipe or measure? Do you just estimate those times? Are you able to relax about food if you know you can't be 100% accurate?

echmainfit619

Funny...I much prefer the iPhone over the website for day to day usage.

Unknown

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Francl27

brendak76 wrote: »

I'd love to hear from people who have been logging for 15-20+ years. Obviously it wouldn't be logging electronically for that time, most likely pen and paper. I'm great at going all in on something for 2-4 years but then I just quit. How do the true long term loggers handle the psychological aspect of logging everything for decades? Do you have anxiety over times where you can't weigh out a recipe or measure? Do you just estimate those times? Are you able to relax about food if you know you can't be 100% accurate?

It's only been 2.5 years for me and I have no problem relaxing if I can't be accurate.

Bshmerlie

As someone said earlier I don't think logging is our ultimate lifestyle change that were talking about. It's just a tool we are using right now to train ourselves to eat proper meal sizes. For example I eat one ounce of nuts everyday. At first I would grab a hand full and drop them into a cup on my scale. Three months ago my estimated guess of that one ounce was actually around two ounces. But today when I grab them out of the bag and put them in the cup I'm grabbing anywhere from .9 to 1.2. I'm almost right on. I can do the same thing with chicken or steak or a piece of fruit. I now know just by looking at things how many grams or ounces they are going to be. I've been on two cruises since I've started on my weightloss journey and I still continued to lose weight even without logging and weighing. Give it time. No one ever said this was going to be easy. But it will be worth it. Think of your goal weight and how bad do you want to get there.

Mr_Knight

Leka1000 wrote: »

I've been logging everything AND accurately for the last month! I went insane today because it literally took me about 30 min to enter a Naan Pizza recipe into MFP. A recipe that I want to easily use over and over again. I was so frustrated I actually threw my phone! How is this lifestyle sustainable? Seriously! Accuracy is KEY but what about staying sane? What about exercising during logging time? I don't know what to do? Please help!

Unless you eat a limited palette, logging is a PITA. No doubt about it. If you're lucky, you eventually learn how to estimate portion size, and then you can just watch the scale and start eating "less" when weight creeps back up.

But for some people...yeah...weight management will mean a lifetime of logging...which is undoubtably a PITA...

_The_Lone_Wolf_

atypicalsmith

brendak76 wrote: »

I'd love to hear from people who have been logging for 15-20+ years. Obviously it wouldn't be logging electronically for that time, most likely pen and paper. I'm great at going all in on something for 2-4 years but then I just quit. How do the true long term loggers handle the psychological aspect of logging everything for decades? Do you have anxiety over times where you can't weigh out a recipe or measure? Do you just estimate those times? Are you able to relax about food if you know you can't be 100% accurate?

That would be me. I have every calendar from about 1998 where I sporadically logged my weight and calories. I see where I went nuts before my son's wedding and lost 20 pounds in two months, then gained it back plus ten more in a year. I see now where I am losing. But there are lots of gaps in between.

BigGuy47

I agree that logging is a valuable tool for weight loss and maintenance. I respectfully disagree that "logging for life" is required for everyone.

atypicalsmith

All you need for maintenance is a scale. Weigh yourself every day. If after a week your weight has gone up, then curtail your calories until it gets back down. Simple.