Christmas excesses and how to keep track of everything

kshama2001

I don't log on my big cooking days - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and who can guess the third?

ddsb1111

kshama2001 wrote: »

I don't log on my big cooking days - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and who can guess the third?

Hmm 🤔 What is 4th of July? (I feel like I’m way off). I’m hoping it’s your Birthday because… well… it’s your birthday 🥳. October, right?

junfanjeetkunedodevon8873

Thanks all, of course I went way over my calorie targets over christmas, just too many nice things, family and friends over sharing drinks and food etc, but I logged as best as I can, lot of it guesstimating :-) The thing is I'm trying to build a habit and still discovering what I need to do, what appears to be a calorie deficit for most days this past 6 weeks, has not yet translated in to weight loss, in fact I went up a pound, so I'm looking on changing the foods I eat (and doing so methodically, changing one of the meals a day etc.) and changes in exercise routines, I'm gradually building up duration and intensity of those, sooner or later I should reach a tipping point and weight will start to come off...

annlopezzz521

Merry Christmas! I totally get the struggle with holiday indulgence. My tip: focus on mindful eating, savor each bite. If tracking feels overwhelming, enjoy the festivities guilt-free. Resume tracking post-holidays. Wishing you a joyous season filled with delicious moments!

cmriverside

junfanjeetkunedodevon8873 wrote: »

Thanks all, of course I went way over my calorie targets over christmas, just too many nice things, family and friends over sharing drinks and food etc, but I logged as best as I can, lot of it guesstimating :-) The thing is I'm trying to build a habit and still discovering what I need to do, what appears to be a calorie deficit for most days this past 6 weeks, has not yet translated in to weight loss, in fact I went up a pound, so I'm looking on changing the foods I eat (and doing so methodically, changing one of the meals a day etc.) and changes in exercise routines, I'm gradually building up duration and intensity of those, sooner or later I should reach a tipping point and weight will start to come off...

"What appears to be a calorie deficit..." May not be, actually.

What makes you think (or know?) that the number you have chosen is correct?

The variables could be
1. You used a number spit out from an online calculator such as myfitnesspal which is at best a ballpark figure. It could be off by several hundred calories for you which would delay results.
2. You aren't logging accurately. Putting aside the binge of the holidays, maybe you need to tighten up your logging by vetting every item you choose from the database. Look at the nutrition numbers closely. The database is full of errors (the foods are added by members.) Are you using a food scale? That may help. I've used one for years. I need it.
3. You may have chosen an "Activity Level" that's too high here on the site. Personally I find the Activity multipliers to be way low for me - but it goes to show that they aren't necessarily spot on.
4. As far as exercising, again, just another way to guess incorrectly. Be stingy with those numbers. How are you estimating exercise calories?

Give it 4-6 weeks at a given setting and number, and if there is not progress that lines up with your Goal - adjust. We say 4-6 weeks because you need a good trending dataset from which to gather your info.

GeekGirl82

Always track, keep portions in mind, choose healthy options - non-processed foods and sugars.

junfanjeetkunedodevon8873

cmriverside wrote: »

junfanjeetkunedodevon8873 wrote: »

Thanks all, of course I went way over my calorie targets over christmas, just too many nice things, family and friends over sharing drinks and food etc, but I logged as best as I can, lot of it guesstimating :-) The thing is I'm trying to build a habit and still discovering what I need to do, what appears to be a calorie deficit for most days this past 6 weeks, has not yet translated in to weight loss, in fact I went up a pound, so I'm looking on changing the foods I eat (and doing so methodically, changing one of the meals a day etc.) and changes in exercise routines, I'm gradually building up duration and intensity of those, sooner or later I should reach a tipping point and weight will start to come off...

"What appears to be a calorie deficit..." May not be, actually.

What makes you think (or know?) that the number you have chosen is correct?

The variables could be
1. You used a number spit out from an online calculator such as myfitnesspal which is at best a ballpark figure. It could be off by several hundred calories for you which would delay results.
2. You aren't logging accurately. Putting aside the binge of the holidays, maybe you need to tighten up your logging by vetting every item you choose from the database. Look at the nutrition numbers closely. The database is full of errors (the foods are added by members.) Are you using a food scale? That may help. I've used one for years. I need it.
3. You may have chosen an "Activity Level" that's too high here on the site. Personally I find the Activity multipliers to be way low for me - but it goes to show that they aren't necessarily spot on.
4. As far as exercising, again, just another way to guess incorrectly. Be stingy with those numbers. How are you estimating exercise calories?

Give it 4-6 weeks at a given setting and number, and if there is not progress that lines up with your Goal - adjust. We say 4-6 weeks because you need a good trending dataset from which to gather your info.

Indeed, I've figured already that the numbers may not be at all accurate, depending on their origin. If there's a barcode available from a product, I use it, and then adjust portion size where applicable, if not I select from the list of options provided and always choose one with one of the higher calorie counts. My activity/exercise calories are coming from my smart watch which measures my activity for the most part. Then lastly I've adjusted my calorie target (after 5 weeks of using the app) that is now set for losing 2 pounds per week, even though I realistically am shooting for 1 pound per week, but it's so that I have a lower calorie intake target to reach, so it warns earlier..

cmriverside

Those barcoded entries are also entered into the database by regular members/users and they are subject to big errors, so check them against the label the first time you use them.

AnnPT77

junfanjeetkunedodevon8873 wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

junfanjeetkunedodevon8873 wrote: »

Thanks all, of course I went way over my calorie targets over christmas, just too many nice things, family and friends over sharing drinks and food etc, but I logged as best as I can, lot of it guesstimating :-) The thing is I'm trying to build a habit and still discovering what I need to do, what appears to be a calorie deficit for most days this past 6 weeks, has not yet translated in to weight loss, in fact I went up a pound, so I'm looking on changing the foods I eat (and doing so methodically, changing one of the meals a day etc.) and changes in exercise routines, I'm gradually building up duration and intensity of those, sooner or later I should reach a tipping point and weight will start to come off...

"What appears to be a calorie deficit..." May not be, actually.

What makes you think (or know?) that the number you have chosen is correct?

The variables could be
1. You used a number spit out from an online calculator such as myfitnesspal which is at best a ballpark figure. It could be off by several hundred calories for you which would delay results.
2. You aren't logging accurately. Putting aside the binge of the holidays, maybe you need to tighten up your logging by vetting every item you choose from the database. Look at the nutrition numbers closely. The database is full of errors (the foods are added by members.) Are you using a food scale? That may help. I've used one for years. I need it.
3. You may have chosen an "Activity Level" that's too high here on the site. Personally I find the Activity multipliers to be way low for me - but it goes to show that they aren't necessarily spot on.
4. As far as exercising, again, just another way to guess incorrectly. Be stingy with those numbers. How are you estimating exercise calories?

Give it 4-6 weeks at a given setting and number, and if there is not progress that lines up with your Goal - adjust. We say 4-6 weeks because you need a good trending dataset from which to gather your info.

Indeed, I've figured already that the numbers may not be at all accurate, depending on their origin. If there's a barcode available from a product, I use it, and then adjust portion size where applicable, if not I select from the list of options provided and always choose one with one of the higher calorie counts. My activity/exercise calories are coming from my smart watch which measures my activity for the most part. Then lastly I've adjusted my calorie target (after 5 weeks of using the app) that is now set for losing 2 pounds per week, even though I realistically am shooting for 1 pound per week, but it's so that I have a lower calorie intake target to reach, so it warns earlier..

Those devices measure things like heart rate, arm movements, etc.

They only estimate calories.

They're close for most people, because of the statistical basis for those estimates. But they can be wrong, high or low, for some individuals. In rare cases, they can be quite surprisingly far off.

It's not about trackers being accurate: It's about how average the person is. It isn't necessarily obvious why someone is statistically average (or not) in calorie needs, either.

Trust your multi-week average results more than you trust any tracker.