Fooling Myself

SailorDH

Hi - I am in maintenance, having lost over 100lbs last year, and have kept it off for a year. I am sticking with MFP for all the reasons the rest of you are as well - i have silly question to ask- AM I the only one here who tends to trick myself by not recording things i shouldn't eat ? or under reporting how much I may consume (e.g trail mix - a favorite of mine - but I rarely report the full amount) ?.

I full recognize the stupidity of this - no one ever sees my log, and even if they did - i am only kidding myself - if I eat it the body and weight will "know about it" - but still find myself less than honest with myself - just wondering if I am more delusional than others ?

Thanks for any candid feed back.

autumnblade75

Ok, but, is it working? How's your weight? If you're maintaining, it's fine. If your weight is creeping up, you know exactly where to tighten up the logging.

Is it broken and need to be fixed?

gallicinvasion

If I eat two jelly beans or a few crumbs from a broken cookie, I won’t record it. But otherwise I do try to be as honest as I can. Sometimes I will be packing up my food for tomorrow, weigh it out to the amount I’ll be logging tomorrow, and eat a piece today from that portion. (But in that case, I still log it, just on a different day).

But I am also 1 yr into maintaining a 100 lb weight loss, and I sometimes wonder if those 2 jelly beans unlogged could eventually turn into 3, then a handful. If it’s a bite that’s likely to be over 10 or 15 calories, I will definitely log it, but I do wonder if I’ll get lazier in the future.

Will cross that bridge when I come to it. All I can do is stick with my habits and be as honest as I can, using the knowledge I have to tighten up those habits if results start to go in a direction I don’t like.

janejellyroll

When I'm maintaining, I have a "one bite" rule - that is, I won't bother to log anything of which I have just one bite. This is more of a mental thing, I want to be free to taste something without having to log it. It doesn't seem to have had a negative impact on me. If my weight ticks up a little and I need to get back into my comfort zone, I either don't have the bite or I log it.

What I wouldn't do is log less of a food than I knew I was eating or skip logging something because I felt like I shouldn't be eating it. It wouldn't work for me. However, it sounds as if this isn't impacting your weight negatively. I would only worry about this if you find that you're gaining weight. I think most long-term maintainers have little quirks or methods that work well for them but wouldn't necessarily work for others.

spiriteagle99

I don't weigh or measure what I eat, so a few jelly beans more or less don't matter. I do enter every food I eat, whether it's healthy or not. So the donut or chocolate chip cookie will be logged. For me, that is the main benefit of logging after so many years in maintenance. It keeps me honest and it keeps me aware that what I choose to eat has consequences. In the past, I've seen how one cookie can gradually become three, or one donut a month can become two a week. I don't want to slide down that slippery slope again.

NeahF

I used to do this. when I first started, I would go into the pantry and just take out a chip. Then a little later I might take something from the cereal. After all... It's just one little thing, right, so not a big deal? But I make sure I track absolutely everything now. My reason? I want to stick with mfp for a long time and I don't want to fall off this wagon anytime soon. So being strict with myself and being disciplined gives me assurance for the future... That I will stick with it because I am disciplined and able to. One thing I heard from a fitness influencer when asked about "cheat meals": she makes a list of things she's craving throughout the week and by the end of it, she lets herself have it. So just know, just because you are saying "no" now does not mean you can never have this thing. By the end of the day when I'm like "aw, man, I ate all my calories" I just tell myself, there is always tomorrow full of an entire new day of calories. And then just let yourself have that thing you wanted tomorrow. I know that was kind of off point, but I think it stems from wanting a little bit more of something and not willing to track it because it's just an extra handful or not a big deal. make a commitment to track everything even if it won't look pretty with all the big negative numbers saying you overate one day, honesty is important, even with yourself.

MostlyWater

What you eat in private, you wear in public.

sgt1372

It's not a problem if you are maintaining your wt, while not recording @thing that you eat. The problem only arises when your wt rises when doing that. So, let your scale be your guide.

NeahF

MostlyWater wrote: »

What you eat in private, you wear in public.

Man, that's good.

ahoy_m8

Yeah, I do that. And trail mix is my weakness, too. Talk about a dumb thing not to count -- it's so caloric! I often end up logging it later just to improve the accuracy of my numbers. But ultimately everyone above who asks if you're gaining or maintaining are dialing in on the end goal. If your go back to a deficit after you gain x pounds, your unlogged tastes are just taking you there sooner. Weight is going to fluctuate, and that is not bad if on the whole you have it in check.

barefootbridgey

I do this all the time. I do find that it can get a little binge-like sometimes, and if that happens, I know I'm in trouble and need to get back to logging everything accurately. But, this is the second time I've been through this weight loss thing, after losing almost 50 lbs 8 years ago (which I gained back after a divorce and a surprise baby at 35....LOTS of emotional eating and zero exercise). The first time, I lost weight very quickly through MFP and exercise and maintained it for several years doing the same thing. But I did find that it made me a little crazy...logging EVERYTHING is effective for sure, I did lose weight and I did feel good and look good. But, it makes me feel obsessive and anxious and that's not good for me. So, this time, I'm less concerned about logging/weighing EVERYTHING. I aim for the 1000 calorie deficit per MFP, I do workout a minimum of 35 minutes daily, unless life REALLY gets wild and I genuinely cannot (like...I did not workout the day of my dad's funeral or his wake, or when my toddler had the flu etc, or on days when I have had to work double shifts). But I also feel far more comfortable like, not exactly loggin everything and lying to myself about my portions....did I actually have 1 portion or was it 2? Was it 3? I try to consciously be aware of it without necessarily needing the obsessiveness of the food scale. It's working for me, the weight is coming of a lot more slowly this time, but i'm emotionally doing much better.

I'm no pro or expert...but if what you do works for you, it's probably fine for you. If you're logging 100 calories of trail mix and actually eating 600, it's going to show up in your body and then it clearly isn't working for you, you know? If you're trying to maintain, but still sort of yusing the MFP calorie deficit youre probably fine.

Weight is a balance of keeping your mind well right along with your body. If both of those things are "well" with a few little mind tricks, so be it.

springlering62

MostlyWater wrote: »

What you eat in private, you wear in public.

Probably the single best, most succinct statement I have ever read on these boards. I think I’m going to put that on the inside of the pantry door.

Diatonic12

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I have several modes of behavior.

- Within 2lbs of goal waight. All's OK, don't log.
- Hmmmm, I see I'm a few pounds up, skip the desserts, snacks, and beer.
- Woah, I'm up 5lbs, start logging!
- Aagh! I'm up more than 5lbs, start logging carefully!

I logged for a year after first losing more than 20lbs and it helped me to right-size my eating. Since then, I've done several smaller cuts to get back on track. You just have to keep coming back to it, and the earlier you intervene, the easier it is to return to baseline.

(Not sure this answered the question, but the point is that I log more carefully when I'm a few pounds up.)

MadisonMolly2017

Diatonic12 wrote: »

This. I want the data. And what I’ve found is I can eat more (in maintenance) than I thought I could!