How precise should I log?

cmriverside

SideSteel wrote: »

TR0berts wrote: »

As precisely as is necessary and you are comfortable with.

I know - vague, huh?

Some people can have great success at eyeballing and estimating. Others are absolutely terrible at it.
Some people find it sufficient to use measuring cups/spoons. Others (typically) misuse them and end up eating more than they think.
Some people absolutely must use a food scale for accuracy. Others - as noted above - may never use one and be fine.

Additionally, some people find using scales quick, easy, and have no issues using them. On the other hand, some people get overly stressed and/or obsessive about either trying to get an exact number on the scale or what happens when they can't use it - such as at restaurants or other people's homes.

Finally, many people start by weighing/measuring everything. Then, later, they learn to estimate pretty closely and are able to tweak things, when/if necessary. They may only weigh/measure certain things, while simply estimating some/many items that are generally low-Calorie and that you don't use much of.


The point? Ultimately, it's up to you. If you feel like you can easily use a food scale and have no issues? Great! If not, then there's other options.

^ Pretty much exactly what I was going to type, great post.

I'd add that if you DONT log meticulously you should be open and aware of the fact that you probably are eating more than you think you are and that you may need to temporarily log accurately at some point, or reduce your calorie intake, or both.

Point being, acknowledge the lack of accuracy.

...and by "acknowledging the lack of accuracy" one must concede that they really don't know how much they are eating.

Honestly, as I said above I couldn't live without my food scale but I don't weigh everything. I didn't even get a food scale until I was about 30 pounds from goal - so the first 40 pounds I lost were done by package/portion sizes and guesstimating. I didn't start to rely on or even need a food scale until I got within 20 pounds of goal. I've been in Maintenance for years, and I don't even weigh vegetables that have negligible calories like spinach, lettuce, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, garlic, cabbage, and others. I eyeball it or sometimes just use the entry for "medium" or "one stalk" or "medium orange."

I DO weigh fats, oils, cheese, meats, potatoes, squash, carrots, corn, rice, oatmeal, beans, nuts, and some other vegetables and fruits. I don't eat a lot of packaged things, but when I do I just use the package (like bread or crackers or cookies, I don't weigh those. A large egg is a large egg. Meh.)

It took me a while to figure out my Maintenance calories. I *know* when I've been cheating...and so does my weight.

cebreisch

I like to eat out too. I don't use a food scale either. BUT I will say that there are ways out there to estimate how much of what you're consuming. Sometimes you just have to make a "best guess". If you've been to restaurants enough - you can tell that the fettuccini you get at Fazoli's is different than at Olive Garden. So if you're out - and you have fettuccini at some other restaurant or at someone's house - you can use one of those when you log it as to which it was more similar to. Also - it's good be cautious. Don't "leave the last two bites" and only count it for 75% of the dish. Count it as the whole dish. Better to count it on the high side than the low side, if that makes any sense.

Make sure you look at the nutritional information on what you select also. SOmetimes people put in foods for their counting method, and it might be different from your counting method. It might only show carbs, and you want it to show proteins - for example.

Just a few thoughts....

paperpudding

yes - I acknowledge my lack of accuracy in every post on this subject - and I acknowledge that therefore I concede I do not really know how much I am eating.

Agreed.

But why does this matter???

What I thought I was eating made me lose weight at expected rate and what I think I am eating now makes me stay in maitenance - ergo it is accurate enough for me.

Results are what matters - not accuracy of method to obtain them.

everher

paperpudding wrote: »

yes - I acknowledge my lack of accuracy in every post on this subject - and I acknowledge that therefore I concede I do not really know how much I am eating.

Agreed.

But why does this matter???

What I thought I was eating made me lose weight at expected rate and what I think I am eating now makes me stay in maitenance - ergo it is accurate enough for me.

Results are what matters - not accuracy of method to obtain them.

I don't weigh my food either, but I will say that doesn't work for everyone.

I've been yo-yo dieting since I was a preteen. I know what a serving size looks like. My problem has always been I constantly want to overeat - it's not that I don't know what a portion size is but some people genuinely do not know.

I probably am not accurately logging things either, but I am losing at exactly the rate I set on MFP eating exactly the amount of calories MFP says I should and every time I've lost weight I've done it the same way.

I imagine though I'm overestimating some things and underestimating others and it just evens out.

everher

OP, as far as eating out goes I was someone who ate out all the time and now I've pretty much cut it out and do not miss it.

For me, it wasn't sustainable. Most of the dishes I enjoyed were high in calories and even eating half of the dish often was more calories than I wanted to spend on one meal. I could often make the same dish at home for fewer calories and enjoy the taste better.

I still do go out occasionally. When I go out now I plan ahead, find a similar restaurant if the nutritional information isn't available for the one I'm going to, and I usually will forgo breakfast and have a light brunch beforehand.

Usually don't finish my food either because what they give you in restaurants is usually two portions of food not one.

23susu23

I'm not sure that anyone mentioned that some portion sizes on the labels of food are way off. I just bought some sliced swiss cheese and the slices weigh twice as much as it shows on the label. If that happens often to the foods you eat regularly, your deficit is not as much as you think and you won't lose like you are expecting to.

Also if you eat out a lot, keep in mind that they probably are not all accurate with your serving of food, depending on the chef or server. They can give you more or less than their calorie count would suggest. Not that you have to be so rigid, but keep in mind if you don't lose like you expect. I have measured very precisely and the calorie count I was given by MFP is pretty darn accurate to how many pounds I lose. I set to lose 1.5 pounds per week and if I take my total loss and divide by number of weeks, I have lost 1.5 per week. (Some weeks I lose 1 but the next week I lose 3 but my average is 1.5. Good luck!