How do you track EVERYTHING??

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    I will have a nibble here and there of something, but I'm generally not much into grazing so I never bothered as I didn't see it as being overly material. If you do that a lot and are having issues losing weight, that would probably be the first place to look.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    annacole94 wrote: »
    Do you "if I can't measure it, I don't eat it" people ever travel? Eat out?

    I just got back from a business conference. Meals were buffet. I eyeballed everything, and feel like needing a food scale to eat a conference lunch would have been... problematic. I went by general rules that made sense to me, like making sure my plate was half vegetables and choosing the items that were not swimming in cream sauce.

    I do a couple of cheat days / weekends per year in which I would do a buffet. Otherwise, for local restaurants without nutrition facts (there are a lot in my rural area), I use similar items from chain restaurants or I find something in the database that is easy to match to what I ordered.

    Example: Last night I had a meeting at a local restaurant with 1 location (so no nutrition facts). I ordered a 10 oz. prime top sirloin steak, which I could find in the database and enter as 10 oz. I skipped sides, so no risk there. Is it possible that the restaurant lists a 10 oz. and instead gave me 11 oz? Yep. But I think I got pretty dang close.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    nrbutton wrote: »
    If I can't measure it, I don't eat/drink it

    So what do you do when you go to a friend's or relative's house for a meal? It seems that you only go to chain restaurants or fast food places, because small local eateries (sometimes are the best) they usually don't have nutritional information listed in their menu or websites.

    I always wonder this as well.

    Here's another example. A few nights ago Mrs Jruzer made a kick-posterior turkey pot pie. Now, turkey pot pie has multiple components with varying caloric densities and macronutrient composition. There's crust, turkey, vegetables, potatoes, and sauce. We ate this as a family. How does one practically measure all this? How do you determine how much crust you had? How much turkey?

    And today for my lunch I brought in leftover pot pie. Most of the crust is gone, but there is still plenty of filling. How do I measure that? (My answer: I estimated it based on the recipe.)

    It seems to me that insisting on measuring everything puts a large restriction on what and where one can eat.
  • cbl40
    cbl40 Posts: 281 Member
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    Jruzer wrote: »
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    nrbutton wrote: »
    If I can't measure it, I don't eat/drink it

    So what do you do when you go to a friend's or relative's house for a meal? It seems that you only go to chain restaurants or fast food places, because small local eateries (sometimes are the best) they usually don't have nutritional information listed in their menu or websites.

    I always wonder this as well.

    Here's another example. A few nights ago Mrs Jruzer made a kick-posterior turkey pot pie. Now, turkey pot pie has multiple components with varying caloric densities and macronutrient composition. There's crust, turkey, vegetables, potatoes, and sauce. We ate this as a family. How does one practically measure all this? How do you determine how much crust you had? How much turkey?

    And today for my lunch I brought in leftover pot pie. Most of the crust is gone, but there is still plenty of filling. How do I measure that? (My answer: I estimated it based on the recipe.)

    It seems to me that insisting on measuring everything puts a large restriction on what and where one can eat.

    I either "guesstimate" to the best of my ability or I use it as my weekly "cheat meal". I don't eat back most, if any, of my exercise calories so I am able to bank some for times like these and a weekly night off from logging. For people who travel all the time for work, it must be very challenging.
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    Every calorie counts, i am 100% honest and log every morsel. This food journal is for me, it is for my education and information so anything but 100% logging honestly is not giving me the information i need. I do the math, calculate the percentage, whatever i have to do to log every bite.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    lutzsher wrote: »
    Every calorie counts, i am 100% honest and log every morsel. This food journal is for me, it is for my education and information so anything but 100% logging honestly is not giving me the information i need. I do the math, calculate the percentage, whatever i have to do to log every bite.

    While I support and understand the need for calorie counting, I also want to point out that this 100% thing is completely unnecessary. If it's required there won't be any thin non counters.

    I'm honest with myself about where the real challenge of dieting lies. It's not in the accuracy of calories. It's all in the discipline that I need to stop eating when eating is not necessary.

    My wt loss effort is slow in the last two weeks since I went and pigged out at buffets two consecutive weekends. However, I hardly gain 1 lb.
  • nevadavis1
    nevadavis1 Posts: 331 Member
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    The thought of having to log stuff will sometimes stop me from taking a bite or sip.
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
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    2 sips of a milkshake and 2 pretzels are not going to kill your day on calories. But if you are really concerned with this - just guesstimate as best you can. I try to weigh most of my food but for occasions where I can't, I just guess the best I can and move on. Good luck
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    Iv been struggling with grazing at work, The candied walnuts in salads are so delicious...And obviously high calorie ....Sigh xD I try to keep to just 2-3 bites and i snack on cherry tomatoes and just track it as 200 calories in my diary at the end of the day. The 200 calorie is overexaggerated and tends to keep me from wanting to snack, Knowing illl miss out on a small meal later lol. It is beter thn starving all shift and taking a pizza home with my employee discount, Or a cesar salad (the dressing is 180 calories per 2 tbsp O_O add in bacon and cheese...)

    I walk ALOT and keep a high defecit so im alright, Just move a bit more and over track anything high calorie if your not sure.
  • nrbutton
    nrbutton Posts: 165 Member
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    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    nrbutton wrote: »
    If I can't measure it, I don't eat/drink it

    So what do you do when you go to a friend's or relative's house for a meal? It seems that you only go to chain restaurants or fast food places, because small local eateries (sometimes are the best) they usually don't have nutritional information listed in their menu or websites.

    We don't live close to family and besides my husband, I don't have any friends here. I'm not one of those people that "need" friends as I'm more of a solitary introvert. My social needs are completely satisfied just by being around my husband and children, in fact I get overwhelmed in larger social situations even when it is extended family. I actually prefer more alone time so not an issue there.

    In those one-off situations where I can't possibly know exactly how many calories are in a meal prepared in a visiting family situation, I will find the highest calorie entry in MFP that fits the meal I'm having, use a small plate to avoid over filling it, and drink a glass of water before I start eating. This would be a 3% of the time situation though, not a decision I would have to make daily or even once a month for that matter

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