Logging every single morsel

flippy1234
flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This is really hard to do. Some things cannot be measured decently. What do you do? Sometimes I add quick calories or something...I am also trying to eat the same things a lot so then I don't have to worry about logging everything in a new recipe, etc...How do you guys handle it. I am trying to be accurate when logging but it really is hard.

Replies

  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    I make my food mostly from scratch and pre prepare it wth some minimally processed ingredients and a few simple packaged foods that are easy to track. I use a food scale and make sure I have my food made before I go out but this really isn’t super practical for everyone. I think inn the beginning it can be important to be super diligent so you get a good idea but then if you’re losing at the right pace with smart guessing, I wouldn’t worry about it
  • WhereIsPJSoles
    WhereIsPJSoles Posts: 622 Member
    Maybe once every two weeks I’ll eat out and have to guess my way through the calories for the meal. I don’t enjoy that so I try to make it infrequent, but still enjoy myself and not make this something that I want to give up on just because I can’t be exact.
  • DaintyWhisper
    DaintyWhisper Posts: 221 Member
    I guess it kind of depends what your goals are. When I was actively losing weight, I did log every single thing and tried to be as exact as possible. I enjoyed logging and entering new recipes to see how many calories were in things. I knew it would take for me to lose weight so I did it. Now I estimate more often because I kind of gathered a feel of how much I can eat to stay in a certain weight range.
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
    I weigh everything solid, only measure liquids. I use the usda entries for anything without a label to check against. Resturants without nutritional info i guestimate based on something close from a chain. My recipes are tweaked every time i make them. If a recipe is something that i cannot cut into even pieces to get number of servings then i weigh the whole thing and my servings are the weight in grams and whatever i eat i log what it weighs. that's how i handle it don't know if any of that helps.
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
    flippy1234 wrote: »
    This is really hard to do. Some things cannot be measured decently. What do you do? Sometimes I add quick calories or something...I am also trying to eat the same things a lot so then I don't have to worry about logging everything in a new recipe, etc...How do you guys handle it. I am trying to be accurate when logging but it really is hard.

    What foods are you having difficulty with measuring? I just keep in mind that when I eat away from home it will be a best guess on calories. The recipe builder is great for homemade meals and doesn't take very long to enter ingredients.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    edited January 2018
    I seldom weight and measure most foods and I often eat food prepared by others. It makes it hard to log exactly what I eat. It's taken some trial and error and definitely lots of patience, but I know this is the way I will eat for the long term, so I committed to learning to do it this way from the start. I do log every day to keep track of what I've eaten and estimate the calories as best as I can.

    I use a weight trending program to keep an eye on my progress and if the results are off, I make adjustments where I need to. I'm also fairly active and find that helps tremendously as it give me more wiggle room.

    I admit it takes longer to lose this way but I feel confident in my skills and know that I will be able to sustain a healthier weight and diet for the rest of my life. That's always been my ultimate goal.

    A side effect is that I've never felt like I was particularly deprived or hungry beyond what occurs normally before my next meal.

    It's not sexy and certainly not fast, but it is very effective and sustainable.
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
    Salads are hard. I like to just throw what I have on hand in there. I try to be as accurate as I can but I do use the quick calories of 100 now and then just in case.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    Put your bowl on the scale, hit the tare button, add first item, log the weight. Hit the tare button again, add the next item, log it, etc. Easy Peasy!!
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    flippy1234 wrote: »
    Salads are hard. I like to just throw what I have on hand in there. I try to be as accurate as I can but I do use the quick calories of 100 now and then just in case.

    salads are the easiest thing to weigh!

    put your plate on. zero scale. throw in lettuce- write down weight. zero scale. toss in next item. write down weight. zero scale. wash rinse repeat

    then save it as a meal and every time you have a salad you only have to log it and change the weights of the ingredients
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,243 Member
    oh, my soap box topic!! B)

    I dont think you have to weigh every single morsel - log reasonably well and go by results.
    Use the recipe builder for regular recipes you eat and estimate others - as long as your progress is round about what you have aimed for - and you have aimed for something realistic - then your logging is good enough.

    I think some people get so caught up in the minutia of accuracy that they make this much harder than it has to be - it is not an exact science nor does it have to be.
  • janelleginnetto
    janelleginnetto Posts: 91 Member
    Honestly anything you consume you can accurately track if you really take the time to do it. I did it for over a year and nothing including vitamins went into my body without tracking it. If you find something you can't track quick add will work but estimate high so you don't unknowingly go over your calorie limit. A lot of people underestimate even when tracking and then they get frustrated when they don't see the results they want. Unfortunately I left MFP for awhile and gained back 50 lbs, now I'm on a new account and back to logging, hoping it helps keep me accountable.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,243 Member
    Yes i agree - you can (more ) accurately track if you take time to do it and if you want to.

    I think your potential for falling by the wayside is greater if you make it harder and more time consuming than it has to be though.

    Track well enough and go by your progress is my suggestion - and my own n=1 is that I logged quite loosely and nevertheless lost to my goal in 10 months back in 2013 and have maintained consistently since then
  • Fatandsassy224
    Fatandsassy224 Posts: 27 Member
    I don't log every single thing and sometimes I log inaccurately out of choice - I am not saying that it is a good plan just that it is what I do. But, to combat that I leave myself an extra 100-200 calorie buffer most days to combat the "gotta try the pasta sauce" while I am cooking it, or the "how did this batch of cookies turn out" nibble because these things are things I am not going to stop doing. So I have to learn how to manage it day to day.

    As to logging salads, I have a generic script for my salads that I log. 2 cups of lettuce, 1 oz of kale (roughly 1 cup), 2 cups of spinach, and usually 100g of carrots, jicama, golden beet, blah blah blah. I just log that generic salad regardless of what salad I actually eat because veggies aren't that different calorically. I just make sure to measure and strictly log calorically dense add ins like bacon, cheese, nuts, etc. Again, not saying its a good plan, but its what I do.
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
    I just try to roll with it as best as possible. I try to estimate as needed, and I just try not to do that often if I can help it. I stick to a pretty good deficit so if I have a day or a meal that is unknown I don't sweat it, I'll end up making up for it
  • IcelandicBlonde27
    IcelandicBlonde27 Posts: 26 Member
    If I can’t log it, I don’t eat it
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    flippy1234 wrote: »
    Salads are hard. I like to just throw what I have on hand in there. I try to be as accurate as I can but I do use the quick calories of 100 now and then just in case.

    I don't feel a big need to be precise over salad greens or vegetables that are extremely low calorie. Additions like meat, cheese, nuts or seeds, croutons, eggs or salad dressing are a different story.
    Use a food scale for easier logging.
    If you make your salad with the same ingredients each time put it in and save it as a meal or enter it as a recipe. Just use the same stuff next time.

    At first logging can be time consuming and harder but the more you log the more foods will be in your frequent foods list, more meals or recipes entered. It won't always take as long.

    If you want to estimate and use the quick add that might work for you. If you stop losing at the rate you want improve your accuracy logging.
  • Katus130
    Katus130 Posts: 50 Member
    One of the things that helps me is to log a day of two in advance. This also helps me when I want a little wiggle room for a treat or something.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,876 Member
    I log everything. I cook a lot with spices and herbs, and many of them have a surprisingly high number of calories. A single dish just for me might easily have 50-100kcal in spices. The only thing I slack a big is oil. I put the bottle on the scale, tar, use, put back on. This way I overestimate oil a little bit as oil is slightly lighter than water, thus 10gr of oil has slightly less calories than 10ml, and then I log in ml (I don't think there are any weight entries anyway).
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  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
    Some barriers I have run into and my solutions:

    Problem: Logging treats that someone brings into work.

    Solution: Don't eat it (just kidding, kind of). Bring the treat or cookie home to weigh it. This helps me see what an ounce of fudge looks like or what 30 grams of almond bark looks like. I also will ask coworkers for the recpies of their treats. I tell them that it was delcious and I want to make it at home. Then I go home and enter the recipe into MFP database to log.

    Problem: Logging foods at resaturants that aren't in the database.

    Solution: Use a different restaurant that has something similar. If I am doing Mexican and they bring chips to the table, I will take a small handful of chips, quickly count how many chips I took, and then make sure to log that later. I also do this at parties if I take M+M's, jelly beans, hersey kisses, etc. Just take a few seconds to be mindful and remember what you ate.

    Problem: Logging a "bite" of something.

    Solution: Log as 0.25 or 0.33 or whatever of the serving.

    It isn't always going to be prefect, so I also weigh myself several times a week. If I notice I am creeping up, I cut back. It I am maintaining or losing, I continue doing what I doing.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,243 Member
    IcelandicBlonde27 wrote: »
    If I can’t log it, I don’t eat it

    I like eating different foods in too many situations far too much to use this solution!

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    I log everything. I cook a lot with spices and herbs, and many of them have a surprisingly high number of calories. A single dish just for me might easily have 50-100kcal in spices. The only thing I slack a big is oil. I put the bottle on the scale, tar, use, put back on. This way I overestimate oil a little bit as oil is slightly lighter than water, thus 10gr of oil has slightly less calories than 10ml, and then I log in ml (I don't think there are any weight entries anyway).

    What spices and herbs are you using that are high calorie? Or how much do you add to a single serving?

    I've found most spices and herbs to be fairly low calorie for a couple of grams of something spread over 6 servings of food which is typical for most recipes.
    http://calorielab.com/foods/herbs-and-spices/49

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