Do you log every day?

hesn92

And do you plan on logging your food forever? I really don’t like logging my food. It’s tedious. For a while I’ve only been logging m-f and taking weekends off, but it’s not working for me because when I don’t log my food, I use that as an excuse to eat all the food lol. I feel like I could set rules for myself, like just eat my main meals + 2 snacks (or something) or I guess I could just keep my food diary every day just curious what you all do and what your plans are? Is “intuitive eating” even a real thing....

Evamutt

It's just me & husband & my computer is next to our dining table so if we eat together I log first then eat & spend time talking to him, if not then I log while I'm eating & spend time on here going thru the discussions like I am now, it's some "me" time I don't know the future but I don't forsee not logging

Ralphone

I am not on to brag. But check our my streak. Lol it works for me .

bbell1985

I haven't been logging on the weekends. I log a deficit Mon-Thursday, eat what I want Friday and Saturday, and do a "light log" (lol) on Sunday. I've been maintaining. I do have to log a few low calories days though to make it work.

Ralphone

Well looks like it works for you

bbell1985

hesn92 wrote: »

Is “intuitive eating” even a real thing....

I like this questions because I honestly believe that for many of us...maybe it's not. But I think it was Eric Helms who said we should instead strive for "habitual" eating. That makes sense to me. I built so many new habits during weight loss, why can't I build "habits" around food? That could be logging for some, or "not snacking" for others, eating more vegetables, etc. Whatever keeps you at homeostasis comfortably.

Intuitive? My intuition says eat. Everything. All the time.

Ralphone

Keep it up. Looks like You are having great success with it.

bbell1985

Ralphone wrote: »

Keep it up. Looks like You are having great success with it.

Bro who are you talking to and why?

BeccaLoves2lift

I took the month of February off of logging and was able to maintain without a problem. In March I thought I wanted to try cutting again so I started logging again, that only lasted about two weeks before I decided that I need to stay in maintenance so I started logging again just to zero in my calories. I'll be back to mindful eating in another week or two.. I feel less stressed not worrying about food and logging it all day.

GaleHawkins

hesn92 wrote: »

And do you plan on logging your food forever? I really don’t like logging my food. It’s tedious. For a while I’ve only been logging m-f and taking weekends off, but it’s not working for me because when I don’t log my food, I use that as an excuse to eat all the food lol. I feel like I could set rules for myself, like just eat my main meals + 2 snacks (or something) or I guess I could just keep my food diary every day just curious what you all do and what your plans are? Is “intuitive eating” even a real thing....

Intuitive eating has been the real thing for me for the past four years unlike the 63 prior years.

After I left foods containing added sugars or any form of any gain in 2014 I just eat until I get stuffed (like right now) and will start doing the same at breakfast. After a few weeks the binging on high carb/fat foods just ceased eating my current WOE.

After 40 years of failed dieting I decide never to try to lose weight again but just eat to improve my health markers. With great success in improving my health markers 50 pounds left without trying and I have maintained that loss for three years on full food without thinking about food since I get to eat all that I want.

Key is to find the WOE that works for you. N=1 is the only thing that matters in the end.

seska422

BeccaLoves2lift wrote: »

I feel less stressed not worrying about food and logging it all day.

Whereas I feel less stressed by logging. It takes the guesswork out. I would worry all day long about my calories if I didn't take a couple of minutes to log right before I consume anything.

GaleHawkins wrote: »

Key is to find the WOE that works for you. N=1 is the only thing that matters in the end.

This.

paperpudding

In maitenance for 4 years. Yes I log every day BUT I do not log meticulously, very approximate loose logging - many things I don't weigh, every banana etc is same size, packaged food it's what the packet says, every cheesecake slice is same size and same recipe, I guesstimate lots.

For me this is happy medium between tedious meticulous logging and keeping no record at all.
Just enough for me to see roughly what I am doing and have enough accountability to stay on track.

If I go on vacation and really no way of tracking with any accuracy at all - I take a week or so off and then start again when I get home.

h1udd

when I was in a strict deficit I did .... now at maintanence a lot of my weekends I use the quick add because, eating out, eating meals where I share stuff out of a packet with the kiddy, it would be a major ball ache to keep weighing handfuls of popcorn in a movie

rainbow198

I don't log and never have, but I do plan my meals in advance and track them in my written food journal.

This works very well for me. It keeps me accountable, helps me fit in whatever I want to eat and it helps me to stay in control.

I will do whatever it takes to maintain my weight so I have no plans of stopping.

sofchak

I stopped logging my food in January and switched to a more mindful eating approach. At first, my mind switched to “eat all the foods” and I gained about 9lbs in one month.... I went from 117 to 128 (ouch!).

But I promised myself that I would take this logging break until my birthday (in May). Just like I didn’t pick up the nuances of calorie counting in a couple weeks, I didn’t pick up the nuances of mindful eating right away either. It took some time and trust in myself to say no in order to start moving the scale in the other direction again. Enlisting the help of the hubby was key, too.

I set a goal weight of 125 (122-127 range) now as my new norm. I am happy at this new weight (presently at 124.3 on happy scale trending weight going down). All my clothes still fit and I eat a little more food due to the slightly higher weight. The new weight goal fits my lifestyle just a tad better than 117 did because I can maintain this weight much more easily - and I am still a very healthy BMI.

However, I must note that I still log into this website every day, even if just to read the forums. If I don’t know the calories for something new, I often check the database before I eat it to verify I’m not going to be terribly over calories as a result. I kinda loosely track in my head some days and have been known to break out the food scale once in a while to verify that my eyeballing of heavy calorie ingredients still is on point (looking at you, avocado).

I’ve also taken a lot of introspective account on what I’ve eaten just to make sure I’m not making larger portions than I used to do. A lot of honesty and self control goes into that one.

I guess that’s the long way of saying no, I don’t log. Unless I find that my new found process doesn’t work in the long term, I never plan to log again. This was a journey to get to where I am today with mindful eating. I really had to work at it - no flipping the switch and saying “ok, today I stop calorie counting and all will be fine.” I had to set expectations, allow for goals and priorities to shift, involve others in my process, and keep an honest picture in my head of what I was actively doing to understand how to build new habits to replace the red numbers on MFP as a deterrent.

Hope that feedback helps...

LivingtheLeanDream

I only log now and again to see where my macros are. If you don't want to log you are still going to have to keep thinking in calories if you are going to maintain your weight. I always mentally know how many calories I have eaten per day despite not logging my food. Mindless eating doesn't work out well for any of us usually .

(I'm almost 5 years in maintenance, its an ingrained habit now to think calories)

kommodevaran

I don't use the food diary anymore, just a spreadsheet, and the meal plan becomes a log as I eat. "Meal plan" can sound so ambitious, but it's really just to formalize better eating habits and eat cheap, healthy and tasty as a single person. I don't know if intuitive eating is a thing, or if it's relevant; I know how much I need to be energetic and normal weight, but it's still a consciuos choice to stick to it. Or not. Usually I stick to it, because I want to be energetic and normal weight.

RoxieDawn

I log everyday except Saturday's or family events and social type settings etc. I work from home, eat at home and its not inconvenient. I pretty much have the same menu for bfasts/lunches/snacks. Plan dinners in the morning with my family. My weekends are flexible, no logging, usually eat out once during the weekend.

Overall I still have issues with knowing that I can easily overeat, the extra 100 here or 200 there adds up quickly so I am fine maintaining things just as I am.

Happysoul0317

Yes log every day. It works.

LJay89

I was in a place where I couldn't log because I also found it tedious. I think part of it is a motivation thing, I am now working with a PT and I am extremely motivated, also I want to get to a place where I can eat the maximum amount of calories while losing fat so I have to be as accurate as possible...

It could also just not be what works for you? To lose weight we need a calorie deficit, there are many methods that help with that you might just need to experiment.