Just curious about how you log

nxd10

I have logged everything since I've been on MFP (3+ years). I skip lettuce on hamburgers sometimes and never log tea or water, but basically, if I eat it, I log it. I find it helpful.

I don't like sharing my diary because it makes me self-conscious (and tempts me to lie on it), so I rarely see anyone else's diary.

Question: Do you log most things? I have looked at other folks diary with long strings of days and they have only one or two things entered. And, if it's not complete, why do you do it?

lilRicki

I log everything but spices...I can't be arsed to figure out how much a tsp of parsley is worth. I also log everything first thing in the morning so I know what I can and can't do throughout the day, or if I have to go for a walk on my "off" days. I don't log tea because I never put anything in it, and I don't log the splash of lemon juice I sometimes put in my water.

Artemiris

I log everything to the point of obsession, I have always done it when I used MFP. I skip the same things you mentioned though, lettuce and tea. Oh, and my vitamins and iron.

If I put 11g of olive oil instead of the 10g I logged, I go on the app and add them.

sscarmack

I try to log everything within reason.

Like, if I get a burger with pickles, I most likely won't log the pickles.

Francl27

I log everything but spices (because I don't know how many calories they have, if I do, I log it), black coffee, 0 calorie stuff. I don't log the vinegar I use because the bottle says 0 calories a serving, although I doubt it's accurate... need to look into that...

kommodevaran

I have logged accurately for 1 1/2 years - weighing everything, using some clever techniques I learnt her on MFP, the tare function on peanut butter jars, using 1 grams portions of homemade soups, subtracting weight of bones and peel and cores. I never logged things like coffee or tea.

Logging and aiming to stay within the calorie goal made me aware of what kinds of foods/combinations that work best for me, what it should feel like before and after a meal, how big and how many meals are right for me - so that I, when I 3/4 year into maintenance got bored with that degree of meticulousness, was able to stop weighing everything and logging religiously, and continue to maintain, with a few corrective actions. I still log what I eat, but not how much, and only as a part of a meal planning system that I still find exciting.

sijomial

Caveat - I've always chased consistency rather than accuracy and worked from actual results rather than blind faith in numbers.

When losing initially:
Logged fairly comprehensively (very educational to see what my portion size was compared to the suggested portion sizes!).
But gave up logging water and zero calorie drinks very quickly as it seemed ridiculous and still does.
Happy to guess-timate amounts of very low calorie foods (salad for example)
Would have a rough guess after holidays/vacations when logging suspended.

After hitting initial goal:
Consciously relaxed logging, more eye-balling and estimating. Still tended to weigh high calorie items (cheese, cereal as examples). Used quick add calories rarely.

After hitting final goal relaxed logging even more. More likely to use educated guesses and quick adds. Really as much interested in macros as calories.

After a long while maintaining successfully I stopped logging completely. Found habits and choices entrenched enough to maintain easily. Not so easy to lose a few pounds after a holiday/vacation though but there's other tools and tricks to create a temporary deficit without logging.

patrikc333

I weigh everything, so no general entries (unless I really need to, picking the highest one)

I log everything except

- spices, but if there are nutritional info then I do if it makes sense (chow mein condiments, 200 cal/100g for example)
- diet sodas
- chewing gums
- a couple of sweets I might eat (I know how many cals they got)

I always end up with ~120 cals left/day, that will cover the above (really cannot be bother for example to weigh the grated parmesan I put on my pasta, I did it a couple of times and it was ~15 cals)

I log my HMR estimation (garmin) and my walks (or better, the planned walks)

when losing I was interested in just the cals, then I discovered the macros

ahoy_m8

I've done it a couple different ways. Bottom line--when I'm cutting, I strive for maximum accuracy; when maintaining, the need for accuracy is less. Inevitably, my weight creeps up 5 pounds... maybe in 3 months, maybe in a year. At 5lb up, I switch to a slight deficit with as much accuracy as I can.

I have gone periods in maintenance not logging at all and logging only the first 1200 kcal in which I try to hit all the macros/micros I care about. I will count low-calorie vegetables for the fiber, for example, but not stuff that contributes few nutrients or used in tiny amounts(vinegar, garlic, spices). I also estimate things that don't vary much in weight and that I use a lot (milk in coffee, tortillas, oil spray in pan). Once I have the nutrition covered, I know I have several hundred calories for extras and only give them a rough count. My tracking data for these periods isn't very useful since the count is pretty inaccurate. I concluded it's not that much more effort to log accurately and have good data.

My exercise doesn't vary, so I use TDEE rather than logging exercise.

cwolfman13

I haven't logged for over a couple of years now, but when I did I logged most things and I pre-logged most things. I did not worry about insignificant things like marinates or that piece of lettuce on my burger, etc...but I made sure I was logging what was important as accurately as possible.

many people are just really bad at this all the way around...they aren't consistent...they choose erroneous entries from the database and log wishful thinking exercise burns. that's why there's so many "it's not working" or "why am I gaining" threads. a lot of people are pretty bad at this.

LivingtheLeanDream

I now only weigh certain things like pasta/cereal now, 3 yrs of logging means I can eyeball most things really well and saying I've been maintaining my loss for 2 years I'm obviously doing something right

For my meals I eat most of the same kinds of things so its just a matter of copying each day. For all my main meals I've used recipe builder and that just gets added to when I try new recipes. All the grafting was done ref logging foods in the early days but now its a 2 minute job....

I have weeks when I don't log anything at all and then other weeks I'll log everything, I like to keep an eye on macros.

I log every single item, regardless of what it is.

If my weight loss depended on me keeping logging my food, I would do it for all the time it takes - sooo worth it

Spiderkeys

Ive been logging for over 2 years now, and i've developed bad logging habits.

I log everything after my last meal at the end of the day, starting with the food i last ate, as it's easier on me to count everything backwards.

But yeah I tend to skip the little things like carrots or chewing gum, they are hardly worth the effort logging.

nxd10

So most long term loggers log like I did. We must be a type .

karyabc

Oh no i don't log things like spices, coffee, even my veggies in my omelette or the lettuce in the burger , or to be honest nothing that I'm not really sure about the calories , amount , weight , etc . Or when I eat out or if I take a tiny bite of something

And much less thing like pre package bread, eggs and stuff like that .

moribunny

I don't log spices and gum.

marciaholland77

I try to log everything but the diet sodas I drink.

Sweetie_1103

I've been at it for 3 months and I try to log everything. But when it comes to things like salads and things like that I'll search for a general item like homemade garden salad instead of taking it appart to log it. If it takes me too long, it won't be fun anymore and I'll just quit. I do log tea of coffee because if I add sugar and cream, it's calories. And I'll pre-log the days I know I'm going to eat out so that I know what I can eat the rest of the day or how much cardio I have to do to burn enough extra calories to allow myself that meal. Whatever I'm doing I guess it's working cause I've lost about 10lbs since starting.

airangel59

I try to write what I bite, but in general don't log spices, sugar free gum or a Tic Tac or two. I will log my diet soda, teas & coffees just so I'm aware of what I'm consuming. Since there are carbs are my salad veggies, I'll pretty much just weigh it all regardless since I've got the food scale out (i.e lettuce)

I always end up with extra calories at day's end so figure I'm covered. I realize that no matter how anal we are about weighing/measuring/logging....it's really not as accurate as we'd like.

As long as I stay within my goal weight I figure I'm doing something right. I hit what I thought my goal range was in 3/2014 and since then have dropped another 15+ lbs while trying to get the hang of maintaining & being where I'd like to be.

airangel59

I try to write what I bite, but in general don't log spices, sugar free gum or a Tic Tac or two. I will log my diet soda, teas & coffees just so I'm aware of what I'm consuming. Since there are carbs are my salad veggies, I'll pretty much just weigh it all regardless since I've got the food scale out (i.e lettuce)

I always end up with extra calories at day's end so figure I'm covered. I realize that no matter how anal we are about weighing/measuring/logging....it's really not as accurate as we'd like.

As long as I stay within my goal weight I figure I'm doing something right. I hit what I thought my goal range was in 3/2014 and since then have dropped another 15+ lbs while trying to get the hang of maintaining & being where I'd like to be.

PonyTailedLoser

I log everything but spices. Slowly becoming more accurate as time goes on.

PegMoffat

I log as accurately as possible. I will have been logging for 1 year on Monday and have been maintaining within a range of 2 lb. up or down since last December. I do meal plan so if I'm not eating out I try to pre-log in the morning so I know if I have any wiggle room. MFP and logging has really helped me with portion control.

bioklutz

I don't log items that say 0 calories. For example, I won't log hot sauce that I put on my turkey burger. I don't log vitamins. I don't log spices.

I pre-log my meals and snacks most of the time. If I log 28 grams of chocolate chips and later weigh out 29 grams I may or may not remember to change it.

When I was eating at a deficit I used to try to guess how many calories I had when eating out. Now I don't bother. If the nutritional is not available I type what I ate in the food notes.

myfitnesspale3

I don't log anything but weight after the first six months, during which I logged everything down to 1-2 guessed calories. Ignoring water and diet soda. EXCEPT special days when I go big off low carb, about 6-10 days a year, to see the macros and gauge the next day's reaction in appetite, weight, other things.

20yearsyounger

I log spices only because I need to control my sodium intake and I need to remember which ones I used that taste good. Usually there are 0 or 5 calories though so perfection isn't important. I don't log water but I do log my diet sodas. I don't log gum. I log coffee to measure potassium. I log my vitamins. At this point though 80% of my meals are either very frequent or saved so logging isn't a challenge for me.

jennifer_417

I can be slights sloppy with my logging (I don't weigh everything and I fairly frequently use generic entries) but I am consistent.

nxd10

I think the consistency is what's important as long as you're stable. So I may not be perfectly 'accurate' from a scientific perspective, but I am completely consistent so my weight remains stable. And I'm always under a few hundred calories, which absorbs the slop.

arditarose

I don't log diet drinks, water, and spices.

I recently started chewing a crap ton of gum and started logging that because it was getting out of hand.

runningforthetrain

Like jennifer_417 I regularly use generic entries from the database- especially because I eat out often and not at chain restaurants. I log everything I eat everyday except for small portions of veg and do not log 0 cal drinks generally. I have been using MFP just over a year and have lost 10 pounds- which is extremely hard for me to keep off! I am back up 3 already. I LOVE good eats and cocktails. I find I am less angry now about my weight because I log-

MeiannaLee

I used to log everything when I was losing including gum, spices, pickles, soy sauce, hot sauce, everything!
Now that I'm maintaining, I dont weigh spices, lettuce on burgers, lemon juice, peppers etc.
However, I still try to weigh almost everything I eat. For example when I make myself a salad, I weigh all the lettuce and tomatoes and croutons

sardelsa

To be honest, I wasn't very strict with my logging. I would weigh some stuff up until dinner most days, but once I got a feel for the portion size, I stopped. Dinner I guestimated 75% of the time. I also left out a lot of little things, but I think it's about being consistent. It worked for me.

As for one or two things entered on random days, not sure why others do it, but for me sometimes I like to check the calorie count on a snack or food item I'm having so I will enter it to see what the total comes to.

Maries_wine_calories

sijomial wrote: »

Caveat - I've always chased consistency rather than accuracy and worked from actual results rather than blind faith in numbers.

When losing initially:
Logged fairly comprehensively (very educational to see what my portion size was compared to the suggested portion sizes!).
But gave up logging water and zero calorie drinks very quickly as it seemed ridiculous and still does.
Happy to guess-timate amounts of very low calorie foods (salad for example)
Would have a rough guess after holidays/vacations when logging suspended.

After hitting initial goal:
Consciously relaxed logging, more eye-balling and estimating. Still tended to weigh high calorie items (cheese, cereal as examples). Used quick add calories rarely.

After hitting final goal relaxed logging even more. More likely to use educated guesses and quick adds. Really as much interested in macros as calories.

After a long while maintaining successfully I stopped logging completely. Found habits and choices entrenched enough to maintain easily. Not so easy to lose a few pounds after a holiday/vacation though but there's other tools and tricks to create a temporary deficit without logging.

Thanks for your honesty!
I'm somewhere between final and long term according to your outcome and I'm happy with that. I enjoy the math of my eats/burns but although I'm not afraid to return to "checking myself" this (logging) will not be a forever and ever regimen for me (if I've gotten it right).