Advice re keeping up with MFP

futureMrsWalker

I have had the MFP app on and off for a few years now. I really want to meet or even surpass my weight loss goals this year as I'm about to turn 30 and my health isn't the best (pcos, prediabetic, bad hips and knees etc). I am starting at 244lbs and I'm 5'5" tall, end of year goal is to make it to ONEderland. Anyway, I find myself easily able to track my breakfast and lunch, snacks during the day etc but it's like once I get home from work I can't be bothered with it anymore. I struggle tracking my dinners because I don't know the appropriate serving sizes of things, the recipes I make are very amalgamated such as casseroles, stews/soups, etc. I'm also very busy in the evenings with my commute, daycare pickup, dinner prep while wrangling children then bedtime routines. Then once they're asleep I am so stressed out and exhausted I binge on sweets and tv until bedtime which I'm embarrassed to even enter in MFP. Help!!

deannalfisher

casseroles, stews etc - use the recipe builder - then input the number of servings - it is time consuming at first, but if you use same/similar recipes it will speed up in the future

eyer0ll

Pre-log your dinners, even if you don't pre-log breakfast and lunch.

ValeriePlz

I am also a person that has more trouble logging in the evening than the rest of the day, and I like to cap off a meal with a sweet.

On sweets: I sometimes have dessert or a candy treat, but most times I eat sugar-free gum until the craving is gone. I'm usually not actually hungry, it's just a craving.

On evening logging: I used to only use the website, but getting the app on my phone has helped. I also agree with the above poster on pre-logging dinners. Log it while you are still motivated earlier in the day.

kshama2001

Casseroles, stews, and soups are great make-ahead dishes and are often better the next day. How about you do some batch cooking on the weekend? Stews and soups tend to freeze well, too.

I'd be less inclined to use the recipe builder if I had to wrangle hungry children at the same time, but if you can cook in advance of dinner time, this will give you some breathing room to use the recipe builder.

CHYNArockstarr

I have had success on mfp 2x. The first before i had my 3 yo and now im doing it again. I usually keep things simple. Because we are Moms sometimes we dont have a lot of time. This is what works for me. On sundays i will usually make sure that after church i get home and prepare my meals for a whole week. I will cook 2 to 3 different types of meats and starches for me and my little one; like sweet potatoes, rice, couscous for example so that there is some kind of variety. Meats and starches often take a while to cook so i make sure that i cook them on sunday. Because veggies take no time to cook i usually cook them the night of. Sunday when laying in bed just before i go off to sleep i will pull out my phone log in to mfp and start logging the meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all snacks) in my diary of what i wanted to eat the next day. This way you are already prepared you can keep within your calories and macros and you dont have to be bothered about trying to figure out anything.Its all about preparing things aheadof time. I really hope this helps. here to help

krazy1sbk

I agree with the above and sometimes it helps me to look at the total that I cooked and how much (fraction-wise) that I ate. For example, if I had a pound of ground beef and it made 4 burgers, I know it's 4 oz per hamburger. If I'm making spaghetti, I do the same thing - it's not as precise but it helps me actually get the logging in instead of saying forget it.

If you pre-log what you know you'll eat, it sometimes helps you figure out what you have left for eating snacks. It doesn't always work, but what also helps me is having a set time that I won't eat after (for me it's 8 pm) and stick to that no matter what.

TavistockToad

If losing weight is a priority, make it happen. You say you watch telly in the evening... plenty of time for using the recipe builder, planning your menu and pre logging the next days food.