I'm sorry but I'm going to complain

thx11381138

1) My goal carbs is 75 (range 50-100) because I was diagnosed insulin resistant. Is there a way to change that goal under the Food Diary entry?
2) I bought a Taylor digital scale from Meijer which is broken out of the box. It has to be. More and more I'm turning into an Analog Guy, and I wondered if the problem was the brand or the type of scale (digital) or the store (Meijer). By the way, weighing every item of food is a real pain in the neck.
3) Many of the entries in the existing database are wrong, and it's not easy to enter new ones.
4) Many entries are necessarily subjective, such as when I took Dad out to lunch for Father's Day.
5) Many food items don't have nutrition labels, though this has motivated me to so some interesting Sherlock Holmes research (see the Picasso melon)
6) No, I don't have a cell phone, so don't talk to me about QR codes etc. I hate them and I'm not going to get one. Nor am I on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
7) If my computer becomes any more annoying, I'm going to throw it through the window.
8) I miss putting honey in my tea, because it has many positive health attributes, despite my doctor's orders "Zero sugar."
9) Ditto Ghirardelli Twilight Delight dark chocolate squares, esp if you have depression etc.
10) Databases, forms, web sites, etc provide templates. Human beings do not fit templates. Nuff said.
11) I tried to purchase the free monthlong premium edition, on the assumption it would give me more formatting options. But after entering all my info and hiting submit, I got a spinning cursor. Did it go through or not? I don't know.

I apologize for the rant. I'm a beginner. Thank you reading.

sollyn23l2

I feel your pain. It gets a bit easier after you get things going. I don't personally find the premium subscription to be beneficial in any way. Don't worry about getting it exactly correct. Especially in the beginning, estimates are ok. The idea is to eat a bit fewer calories than you were. Really, the exact amount is kind of irrelevant. It's going to vary anyway. We went through most of human history without the concept of calories.

Kosterc4383

So, ehm you are analog, this suggestion is terrible, but I got insight when I bought a fitbit with a years premium included. Best 60 euro spend ever. If you have premium on mfp you can scan labels. Is your plan to just cut carbs? Or cut calories/ loose weight? Move more?

Rockmama1111

I can imagine that using this site would be cumbersome if technology isn’t your cup of tea. Like @sollyn23l2 said, it will get easier. Log with your best estimates. The foods in the database that have green checkmarks are “verified” and are usually a safe bet, though there are errors. People on this forum are pretty helpful, so check back here after you log your meals.

May I also suggest just doing this the old fashioned way? Get yourself a calorie counter book—I had one in the 90s. I didn’t have a food scale and used measuring cups. Still a pain, not as accurate, but people did that before the internet was invented and lost weight. Write everything in a notebook with your calories and carbs. But still come back and visit these forums. You’ll get the support you need.

vivmom2014

"Zero sugar" is a rather meaningless command. I would put that teaspoon of honey into my tea, doctor or no. But that's for you to decide.

Sugar is in everything! (OK not technically everything.) It's going to be rough going to weed it 100% out of your diet, that's a lot to take on. And you're also navigating the site as a beginner. Godspeed. You've gotten good advice so far. And it's true: logging food becomes easier with time.

thx11381138

Thank you for the replies. I have a concurrent physical therapy program for building muscle (I had back surgery years ago), which I assume will put on weight. The doctor told me not to get worried about how much I weigh, becuase the point is to have a proper ratio of fat and muscle. She did an elaborate scan on a machine showing me some of these numbers.

My tendency, because of the kind of person I am, is try to be as precise as possible. The reality is, there's lots of ambiguity. I had already made adjustments before starting the diet, so it isn't all that new. I had already cut out junk food, for example, and fast food. Tracking carbs is new. Eating more vegetables is new, because I never liked them very much. Being limited to one fruit a day is new, because I love fruit and used to eat a lot.

I started using a cup to weigh some things, but I'm pretty sure that the digital scale I bought is broken. I can put an empty cup on it and get a different reading every time. I will either exchange it or buy an analog scale. They can't be hard to find. Or I will simply guess. I'm learning how much guesswork is involved. I will have to get used to that.

cmriverside

As long as you use the same guesswork every time it will still work, ya know?

I mean...I've used the same food entries for over 15 years. I'm certain some of them are wrong...and I'm also certain that many days I completely forget to log something.

Close enough is good enough. . . truly. I mean, I do use my food scale on calorie dense things and I do have multiple recipes/set meals etc. So if I'm making mistakes, the same mistakes are being made over and over and my ability to adjust is still accurate enough for me to manage my weight.

Full disclosure I rarely even step on the body-weight scale, I can tell by my clothing if I've gained more than three or so pounds.

ldaltonbishop

You can change your carb goals:
From the menu at the top of your screen on a PC: My Home-->Goals-->Edit. Adjust your carb percentage until it's in the range you want.



Good luck.