Food you don't bother logging

lc355

In the beginning I logged 'pinch of salt'
I don't log squash as I don't drink much and would just not drink anything if I had to log it.
I try to avoid 'tastes' now and ask my family to scrape their plates when they've finished, they used to just give me their leavings

lemurcat12

Herbs, spices, coffee (I drink it black), tea. Sometimes I log garlic, sometimes I don't -- no real reason. Lately I've been lazy about stuff like mustard and vinegar and sriracha and have been doing a quick add of 20 calories to more than cover what I used (for example when making a dressing or marinade -- although I always log olive oil if I use it, of course).

Basically, the pattern is I don't log things that have very few calories and that I don't need a record of. I log greens (even when they are 5 calories) because I like a record of the vegetables I've eaten. Stuff like herbs and spices are reasonably consistent so won't be a difference in a day, and aren't something I feel compelled to have a record of. Coffee I should log based on this reasoning, but I just don't feel like it.

Francl27

I don't log black coffee, 0 calorie stuff, and spices (because I have no idea how many calories there are in those, except cinnamon, so I log that one).

I log mustard (the one I use is 10 calories for 10g), my daily vitamins, condiments, heck even the '0 calorie' oil sprays I often end up logging half a teaspoon because I'm just skeptical that it's really 0 calories when I see it in my pan.

I'd log more things probably if I cares about tracking sodium but I don't.

SingRunTing

I don't log anything 0 calories (spices, black coffee, black tea, diet coke). I just don't see the point.

Every once in a while I'll have a piece of chocolate that I don't log (like a 40 calorie dove chocolate square or a few m&m's, not a full hershey's bar or anything). But I've been really diligent about it lately.

I_Will_End_You

Spices, herbs, diet soda...the common stuff that a lot of people don't log. If I put a piece of lettuce on a sandwich or some dill pickles, I usually don't log that, either.

arditarose

Gum (though I chew so much I probably should), diet soda/seltzer, cinnamon.

I do eat a couple of "zero" calorie things and I find ways to log them, usually at 5 calories per serving. May sound dumb but I eat a lot of little 10-20 calorie things and they add up at the end of the day/week.

whatatime2befit

Coffee (I do log the milk I use, but not the coffee itself)
Gum
Mints
Diet soda
spices

ki4eld

I don't log...

-Vitamin and mineral supplements. I know how many calories are there, but I absolutely cannot avoid them. I also can't choose a vitamin or supplement with fewer calories, so I ignore them. They're so few that they alone fall within the margin of error of some of the foods I have to weigh to eat. Besides, vits make me He-Man. Ok, She-Ra, but even She-Ra can't do anything about the extra cals.

-Herbs and seasonings. They simply don't have enough cals for me to worry about. I tracked my herb use for two weeks of typical cooking and the total was less than 100 cals for 14 days. Again, well within the margin of error of my daily food weighs. If I eat a pound of the stuff, I'll log it. I'll also be calling my psychiatrist.

-Beverages that have essentially zero calories like tea and coffee. (Starbucks tall skinny vanilla lattes are logged exactly as that). If I add cream to coffee or tea, I log both pieces just so I know why I had that cream. Maybe one day I'll lose my mind and chug 1oz of heavy cream. I don't know, but it could happen. By logging both pieces, I'll be able to see the cream-only log entry and pinpoint the day I lost all the cheese on my cracker.


I log everything else, including condiments, tastes from hubby's plate, and ZOMG! the samples at the grocery store. I don't log all the times I end up swallowing dog or cat fur, but I'm pretty sure those are low cal enough I'm ok.

ald783

I don't log coffee or the splash of milk I add to it. I don't log most condiments or seasonings unless they have substantial (more than 20 or so) calories, or I know they have a high sodium content because I try to keep an eye on sodium. I guess generally I don't log anything with nominal calories (diet soda, cooking spray, sf gum, etc.)

DeguelloTex

Not that I'd log vitamins, but it's not really a question of whether those calories are avoidable, it's a question of crowding out calories that are avoidable. Yes, I get that it's not many calories, it's more the logic of it.

nordlead2005

0 calorie and near 0 calorie items. So, tea, spices, diet soda, etc... don't get logged.

I didn't log my ketchup with my hot dogs last night, it may have been 5-10 calories, but oh well. It will typically get logged if more is used.

enterdanger

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Herbs, spices, coffee (I drink it black), tea. Sometimes I log garlic, sometimes I don't -- no real reason. Lately I've been lazy about stuff like mustard and vinegar and sriracha and have been doing a quick add of 20 calories to more than cover what I used (for example when making a dressing or marinade -- although I always log olive oil if I use it, of course).

Basically, the pattern is I don't log things that have very few calories and that I don't need a record of. I log greens (even when they are 5 calories) because I like a record of the vegetables I've eaten. Stuff like herbs and spices are reasonably consistent so won't be a difference in a day, and aren't something I feel compelled to have a record of. Coffee I should log based on this reasoning, but I just don't feel like it.

this for me. I do log fresh garlic, but not if it it's dried. I don't log any zero calorie beverage which is pretty much all I drink. (water and unsweet tea)

vespiquenn

Soopatt wrote: »

I log tea and coffee, even black (I find it interesting to look back on my habits), but I do not log salt, pepper, herbs and lemon juice. I log and weigh everything else including all veggies.

The only guesswork I do is the amount of milk in my coffee. I use an average, which I worked out over a couple of days.

I don't taste food off anyone's plate ever and it annoys me when they offer and get pushy. They must also keep their mitts off my food. I weighed that carrot! It's mine! It is a little quirk I have developed since joining MFP six months ago. I think I used tasting as an excuse to eat bites of the wrong stuff in the past and pretend it didn't happen. It is a habit I am glad to get rid of.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets defensive over someone taking from my plate after I got done weighing it all. Haha.

ki4eld

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Not that I'd log vitamins, but it's not really a question of whether those calories are avoidable, it's a question of crowding out calories that are avoidable. Yes, I get that it's not many calories, it's more the logic of it.

I'm still mid-caffeine intake after a very long night of work, so forgive me for totally missing what you're saying here. Can you please use smaller words and type slowly, because I'm gonna read slowly this morning.

LaceyBirds

I log everything but spices. I log my multivitamin and Tums and Altoids, and all condiments. I even log coffee. At 1200 calories, I am being really careful with my logging and weighing.

As somebody with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and being pre-diabetic, it is very important for me to keep sodium and sugar as low as possible. Just for an example, I was using Grey Poupon Dijon mustard for a while. Then I noticed the incredibly high amount of sodium - 1 tablespoon has 360 milligrams of sodium! By comparison, Gulden's Spicy Brown mustard has 150 milligrams of sodium in a tablespoon. Half a teaspoon of Tabasco Chipotle has 60 milligrams of Sodium - that's a lot for such a small amount. Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce has 18 calories in a half tablespoon - which is a very small amount - and has 73 sodium, and 4 sugars. It all adds up quickly, especially if you're not weighing everything. So I log it all.

YellowApple666

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

As far as estimating goes, after weighing a banana with peel and without peel several times, I just weigh the whole thing now and take a third off and log that. Same with my navel oranges...weigh the whole thing, multiply by .67 and log that. It's close enough for maintenance logging.

Yeah, me too. I also don't weigh the kernel or the core when I'm eating apricots or apples. I came to a point in the past where logging accurately was becoming very stressful so I don't want to get there again.

tincanonastring

Sometimes I don't log spices. That's about it.

ETA: And weekends. I rarely log on the weekends.

DeguelloTex

2Poufs wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Not that I'd log vitamins, but it's not really a question of whether those calories are avoidable, it's a question of crowding out calories that are avoidable. Yes, I get that it's not many calories, it's more the logic of it.

I'm still mid-caffeine intake after a very long night of work, so forgive me for totally missing what you're saying here. Can you please use smaller words and type slowly, because I'm gonna read slowly this morning.

It doesn't matter if there's no replacement for your vitamin's calories when it comes to logging it or not. If taking a vitamin with X calories is an absolute given and can't be reduced, that's still X calories of something else you can't eat and stay at goal.

Basically, the argument for not logging a vitamin is that the calories are minuscule, not that you're going to take one no matter what.

ki4eld

DeguelloTex wrote: »

2Poufs wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Not that I'd log vitamins, but it's not really a question of whether those calories are avoidable, it's a question of crowding out calories that are avoidable. Yes, I get that it's not many calories, it's more the logic of it.

I'm still mid-caffeine intake after a very long night of work, so forgive me for totally missing what you're saying here. Can you please use smaller words and type slowly, because I'm gonna read slowly this morning.

It doesn't matter if there's no replacement for your vitamin's calories when it comes to logging it or not. If taking a vitamin with X calories is an absolute given and can't be reduced, that's still X calories of something else you can't eat and stay at goal.

Basically, the argument for not logging a vitamin is that the calories are minuscule, not that you're going to take one no matter what.

Ah yes, thank you. I agree.

I do get why some would want to log them though. We do say "log everything" and that qualifies, so I can't fault them for going to the letter.

TuffChixRule

I don't log the 10 calories in my fish oil pills, mints (1.8 in a tic tac) or zero calorie diet sodas. I also don't log one french fry, but I will log one Hershey Kiss or one Snickers Mini Bite, as those are 20 to 25 calories per piece. My rule of thumb is if it's 10 calories or under, I don't log it; however I always overestimate my calories on other foods to make up for the ~40 calories of miscellaneous items I didn't log. I also no longer log my water as it's become habit to drink 80 ounces of water a day.

Steam_Powered_Awesome

I don't long coffee when I drink it black with no surger.

Steam_Powered_Awesome

Oh and I don't log tea unless I drink it British

ebbingfat

I never log my diet soda, spices, or very minute amounts of veggies (like a piece of lettuce on a sandwich).

lemurcat12

I get the idea that you don't log something you eat every day and consider non negotiable. Say it's 100 calories and you are doing 1800. In reality you are doing 1900 (but not logging 100 of them), but when it comes to adjusting if you aren't losing and all that you still do that. As the vitamins weren't on the table to be cut, it really doesn't matter that your true number was 1900 and you are cutting down to 1800 instead of the 1800 to 1700 cut your diary shows.

It would only be an issue if you were tied to a specific number because of MFP or the calculators and weren't willing to adjust based on results.

That's kind of my logic for not logging coffee or herbs/spices, although if it were 100 calories I'd likely log, so clearly it being a small number plays into this too (if only because it would be nice to have a good sense of one's actual TDEE).

Ruatine

The only things I don't log are dry spices. I log everything else, even coffee, diet sodas, mints, etc. I want as accurate a record as possible as to what I've eaten and drank, so if I run into issues (water retention, weight gain, upset tummy, etc.) I can hopefully ID it without too much trouble.

YorriaRaine

I used to not log 0 calorie drinks (coke zero, the occasional Monster Energy drinks). I do now though because I noticed I was probably drinking them more than I should lol.

I need to learn to like black coffee.

MakePeasNotWar

I don't log diet pop, and I skip herbs and spices if I am pressed for time. I log single leaves of lettuce or splashes of cashew milk in my coffee, but I don't weigh them, I just ballpark it. Even if I'm off by 50%, it's going to be a difference of 1 or 2 calories at most (my cashew milk is 3 calories per 30 ml)

michellemybelll

i don't log gum, coffee, splenda, herbs, definitely not the squeeze of a lemon on anything, or lime for that matter. and no, i do not log tea on the off chance that i drink some (i'm a coffee girl).

ETA: i don't log the unsweetened almond milk i splash in my coffee either. an entire 240 ml serving is only 30 cals, so i'm not stressed about the little i put in my coffee.

nordlead2005

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

TuffChixRule wrote: »

I also no longer log my water as it's become habit to drink 80 ounces of water a day.

I wish this were me. If I don't log my water, before you know it I'm only drinking 3-4 cups a day. And it's not like I'm drinking other things instead. I just never feel thirsty.

That would be because you get plenty of water from your food. There is little need to drink 8 cups/day unless you only eat really dry food or sweat a lot.

Achaila

I log everything. But I don't cook with a lot of spices or anything and I'm pretty routine in what I eat.