How is LOGGING a way of Life???

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.

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.