Losing steam

coderdan82

Question for the people that have been logging every single day for years: How do you not just get sick of it?

I'm pretty good with sticking with my workouts and eating mostly healthy foods. But when it comes to logging I tend to have streaks that last a few weeks, maybe a few months and then I just get so tired of it that it eventually fizzles out. Unfortunately, that's the most important part. If I don't log then I eat too much and make no progress.

I've been logging for the past few months and losing steam again. What keeps you going?

88olds

I tracked for 5 years on Weight Watchers using pen and paper. I found the computer unwieldy. This was years ago, maybe the computer is better now.

Since I tend to eat pretty simple stuff, and repeat meals a lot, after a while there wasn’t much number crunching. But my little tracking books and my food scale were out on the counter easy to use.

So really tracking is made up of different things- number crunching, weighing and measuring, keeping the record. Is 1 of those hanging you up? Or all of them?

BTW after 5 years I was ready to go free range when WW overhauled the program. They jacked up all my numbers. So I quit tracking. Sure enough, the scale started creeping up. Went back to tracking. After about 3 tries over a couple of years I finally made it work without tracking.

But what kept me going was I wanted the results and it worked! And I made it as easy as I could. But tracking has worked for me every time I’ve tried it. 4-5 times. Just this last year, without tracking I finally think I’m not regaining the weight unless I lose my mind. Possible, but then I won’t know I’ve done it.

Panini911

routine. it is just part of my routine. you also get faster at logging as you get into it.

JustMeJustEm06

Yup, agreed with Panini. Routine.

But life can get crazy and I’ve been known to stop for a time, but then I’ll see myself making bad choices because it’s not gonna get logged.. and I hop back on the logging train!

Ultimately, don’t beat yourself up over it. Negative feelings like that can actually harm you and encourage quitting.

I’ve found it helpful to start the day by logging a few things that i know I’m going to eat. Just so the bulk is there and I know what I have to play with for sides, snacks or whatever.

But I’m a bit more lax than most folks are on here too, so my advice may not be the best. I strive for healthy eating all-in-all and if I’m a little over or under at the end of the day, I don’t sweat it..! Strive for healthy and the rest will follow.

Steff46

It's definitely routine. I went through a few boxes of stuff that needed to be tossed and found two composition books full of handwritten logging from 2009...I just laughed. Didn't realize I had been logging that long. I do take brief periods of not logging but I always seem to gain weight during those times.

coderdan82

88olds wrote: »

So really tracking is made up of different things- number crunching, weighing and measuring, keeping the record. Is 1 of those hanging you up? Or all of them?

I tend use MFP as a planning tool rather than a tracking tool. Every evening I'll prepare my breakfast and lunch for the following day and I enter all the food I intend to eat that day into MFP. If I log as I go I tend to hit my calorie target too early in the day and at that point the only way to stay on target is to go hungry later on. It's also a lot easier to hit my nutrient targets if I plan ahead. So I guess what really brings me down is following the plan. I brought a chicken salad for lunch today but I don't feel like eating it, I'd rather go out for a subway sandwich. But if I do that then it throws off the plan - I'll end up eating more calories early on again and my nutrients will be off. Someone brought a box of samosas into work. I can't eat them because not only is it not in the plan but I can't even figure out how to log it. Samosas vary in size and contents so there's a several dozen options in the MFP database with very different calorie counts. I just want to eat what I feel like eating at the moment.

quiksylver296

I don't know. I don't find it tedious at all. I pre-log my day before breakfast. I have breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack packed, and usually have a pretty good idea what I'm having for dinner. If I make any on-the-fly changes, I modify my food diary then.

hesn92

Well, for me, being able to just eat whatever I feel like eating at the moment isn't a reality anyway, regardless of MFP. I can't afford to just go out and pick up whatever I want for lunch every day, or even on a somewhat regular basis. I have to plan ahead and buy the food I intend to eat that week at the grocery store, and then I have to eat that food all week. Sometimes i buy too much of something and I'm stuck eating it even though I'm tired of it, but it's better than wasting it.

As far as being super accurate, I'm not. I think being consistent and logging a reasonable guess is better than not logging at all. So that's what I do. I would just look up samoas and pick one with a calorie count somewhere in the middle.

I know that's not good advice to someone looking to be very accurate or having trouble losing weight, but if it's between being a little less accurate, and quitting logging altogether, I would choose being a little less accurate.

concordancia

coderdan82 wrote: »

88olds wrote: »

So really tracking is made up of different things- number crunching, weighing and measuring, keeping the record. Is 1 of those hanging you up? Or all of them?

I tend use MFP as a planning tool rather than a tracking tool. Every evening I'll prepare my breakfast and lunch for the following day and I enter all the food I intend to eat that day into MFP. If I log as I go I tend to hit my calorie target too early in the day and at that point the only way to stay on target is to go hungry later on. It's also a lot easier to hit my nutrient targets if I plan ahead. So I guess what really brings me down is following the plan. I brought a chicken salad for lunch today but I don't feel like eating it, I'd rather go out for a subway sandwich. But if I do that then it throws off the plan - I'll end up eating more calories early on again and my nutrients will be off. Someone brought a box of samosas into work. I can't eat them because not only is it not in the plan but I can't even figure out how to log it. Samosas vary in size and contents so there's a several dozen options in the MFP database with very different calorie counts. I just want to eat what I feel like eating at the moment.

But that is how we ended up being people who have to track in the first place. Most of us still need some room for flexibility. How many times have I made a plan only to find that my husband finished that food off in his late night snack the night before?

Have one samosa, pick an average caloried one from the list and adjust the rest of the day.

Kathryn247

I track as I go, to allow myself to eat what I want with some flexibility during the day. I have a general idea of how many calories I can have for each meal/snack, and how many I'll have eaten by end of the workday. Tracking makes it more specific and basically lets me know how big of an evening snack I can have.

Unfortunately, losing weight means not getting to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. You have to stick to some kind of plan. I want to lose weight, so I track.

garystrickland357

I haven't been logging for years, but I have come to a new way of looking at logging meals. Yes, it's a pain. So is getting dressed. So is going to work. So is home cooking. So is brushing my teeth. So is paying the bills. So is laundry.
Yes. It's a pain. It's also one of those things I (personally) need to do - it's just part of my day.

88olds

How tight do you have your calories set?

It helps if you like what you’re eating. I’ve eaten a lot of Subway sandwiches on my plan. But all Subway sandwiches are not created equal.

If I tried to make everything about calorie austerity all the time, I rebelled. Can you plan for a few more extras here and there?
In the long run it’s better to ease up and avoid running into the ditch.

coderdan82

88olds wrote: »

How tight do you have your calories set?

It helps if you like what you’re eating. I’ve eaten a lot of Subway sandwiches on my plan. But all Subway sandwiches are not created equal.

If I tried to make everything about calorie austerity all the time, I rebelled. Can you plan for a few more extras here and there?
In the long run it’s better to ease up and avoid running into the ditch.

I don't have much wiggle room. On non- workout days my TDEE is only 1600-1700, so to lose just 1lbs/week I can only eat about 1100-1200 calories and that gets filled fast. I suppose if I was more active I could squeeze in some extras.

dejavuohlala

I've logged on each day for over five years, only this year am I finding the logging to be a pain, but after a few days I start logging again as I know it will be a disaster if I stopped altother, unlike you I'm hit and miss with my burns as if I don't feel to good it don't get done. Good luck I'm sure you will find the steam again.