Really do not want to track

HelenTheZ

@Lumpy, not everyone has the exact same issues with food/exercise. I compare myself only to myself.

Original poster: I startrd by tracking just for ME. I didn't even try to eat "right" (whatever that is) initially, because of my old, scary issues around food scarcity and abuse. I tried changing things just a little at a time. I lost weight, then I gained. And I'm still here, doing my best and treating this as a long, long experiment in what will make me healthy for life. It's not a contest. There are lots of supportive people here. Some like lots of accountability. Some need extra support. I think there is a "community" here for every type of person who is trying to get healthier by modifying diet and exercise.

I would not have stuck to this for 25 days (so far!) if it weren't for my "friends" at MFP. Feel free to add me if you'd like.

Cheers,

Helen Z

hotmamatodd

This sounds familiar! I just opened my diary up to my friends as I needed to be more accountable. They are a huge base of support and are not afraid to keep me in line! Congrats on your success!

Tracking truly does make a difference. I find it gets easier the more you do it as you build your own database on "recently used" and MFP is such a great tool for figuring out totals on homemade recipes. Just try being truthful from the beginning and measure, measure, measure! You will see success!

I had a big problem with being honest with myself when I first started. I would not count something if it put me over, or would just not log for a day, and I wasn't losing anything because of it. I recommitted to doing it right in June and have lost 26 lbs so far doing it right. Track everything no matter how hard it is to see. It will help you make better choices throughout the day. Pre-planning your day is also a really good idea to make sure you're going to stay under, and get enough food in for the day.

SCARLETTEatCleanTrainDirty

What I tend to do is plan the evening before and then just jot down anything else or pop it straight into my phone. I find this the easiest way. I'm not sure i'd actually do it otherwise. MFP keeps a record of your most use foods so it becomes second nature after a while. Track and enjoy the rewards of achieving your ultimate goal

blackNBUK

track at the end of the day on your laptop in bed. You'll still learn how you're doing by when you go over or under or if you didn't drink all your water. It will take you just a few minutes and you can do it all at once instead of logging on throughout the day. you could also do the reverse...lay out your eating a day ahead and stick to what you've laid. I've seen success stories on here from people who have done both.

I don't think that I personally would have got anywhere trying to log everything at the end of the day. There would be far too much chance of missing out things that I had eaten. I also really like the feedback of knowing that I've got 'x' calories left to eat today. However I'm never been the type to make detailed eating plans so I guess that isn't surprising.

The iPad and iPhone apps have been working great for me. They make it really quick and easy to add food as I go about my day.

3foldchord

What I tend to do is plan the evening before and then just jot down anything else or pop it straight into my phone. I find this the easiest way. I'm not sure i'd actually do it otherwise. MFP keeps a record of your most use foods so it becomes second nature after a while. Track and enjoy the rewards of achieving your ultimate goal

this is whatI do. I preplan about 3/4 my food the evening before and just add snacks as I eat them.

prettigirl01

you need to if you want to lose weight. just make your diary private. only you will see it

MatthewLewis81

If you're embarrassed to let other people see you logging, then don't let them see you do it. Instead, do what I sometimes do and plan your day's eating in advance. This is really easy if you have a smartphone and the MFP app. Just log what you plan to eat, then when mealtime comes, whip out your phone, check your log (looks like you're reading a text) and then eat what you planned to have.

If you're embarrassed to let other people here see your log, well, there's your motivation. It's called "accountability" or "positive peer pressure," and is one the most essential tools for changing habits.

lolapedia88

Lots of rudeness .. Yikes

nomeejerome

Lots of rudeness .. Yikes

Straightforward and honest? Yes. Rudeness? No.

OP: If your goal is to lose weight, you are going to have to track your calories at some point. Otherwise it will be extremely difficult to know if you eating at a deficit (which is all you need to lose weight). You have to start somewhere.....

AprilMae1975

Since starting MFP I have tracked and not tracked. The results weren't surprising....

Tracking=scale goes down
Not tracking=scale stays the same or goes up.

I like being accountable for what goes into my body. There were days I ate things I shouldn't have and still tracked.

It all depends what you want from this site.

rml_16

Lots of rudeness .. Yikes

You live a pretty sheltered life, don't you?

jvbrooks

I just signed up. I don't want to write down everything I eat out of embarrassment and laziness. Help and motivation appreciated , new so please add me! Thanks

Why would you join a food tracking website and not track your food???

deksgrl

Lots of rudeness .. Yikes

How is it rude to point out the obvious? The reason this site works is because of..... Tracking. Don't want to track? Okay, don't see results. Pretty simple.

trogalicious

Lots of rudeness .. Yikes

How is it rude to point out the obvious? The reason this site works is because of..... Tracking. Don't want to track? Okay, don't see results. Pretty simple.

No kidding. These threads are created and I guess the OP's are looking for some magical response that will make them want to track when they admit that they don't...

...it won't ever happen. There is no magic response. Either they will make the decision to track or they won't. Some are waiting for the knights in shining armor to come in and "Hey, I don't track but I'm losing weight!" so they don't have to justify putting forth effort.

teamAmelia

Do you know how many people diet? Seriously, about half of my immediate coworkers are on some type of diet. I'm not one to care what others think, but since you are, I think that people are more likely to make fun of you for being fat than for trying to improve your health.

How can anyone see what you're doing on your phone or what you're writing, anyway? That would be nosy of them. I would turn the tables on them and tell them to mind their own business. But, I don't think that this will happen anyway. You're being a little paranoid.

Don't make your diary public if you don't want others to see/judge.

Ohh, okay. I thought that he didn't want the ppl around him to see when he logs his food. Okay. Yes, OP, if you're concerned about other MFP users who are going through the same thing that you're going through, then lock your food diary. Most ppl on here will not judge you. The only "judgement" that I get is really just constructive criticism that I need when I'm eating too much sodium. I'm grateful for the help that my MFP friends give me bc I know that they mean well.

healthy4life4mykids

It doesn't matter whether you track it or not, you ate it. You can either Ostrich or own up - it makes no difference to any single person on the face of this earth but you.

True.

And I think this cat needs and MFP account asap!!

seltzermint555

Just do it. It's the ONLY thing that has worked for me to sustain consistent, fairly "quick" loss (I consider 39 lb in 6 months to be very quick...some people don't)

Don't make your diary public if you don't want others to see/judge.

I used to keep food logs w/o tracking cals and it never helped much. I was making a lot of simple mistakes. I thought if I had a good mix in my daily diet of fruit, veg, meat, dairy, bread, etc then I was eating healthy and low calorie enough. MFP really helps! You will have shockers (good and bad) along the way about the stuff you eat and like.

teamAmelia

I hate tracking because there is too many inacurate entries in the database they need to fix this problem. I don't log but I use the database as a nutrition guide if I'm not sure if something is good for me or not. It seems to work for me

Actually, YOU need to fix it. When you see that the info is wrong, click the appropriate button indicating that the info is correct/wrong/you don't know. If it's incorrect, it prompts YOU to correct it. Use the food label to correct the label. Problem solved. Orrr, you can create a new/correct food entry.

bookworm_847

You either do it or you don't. Those are your options.

Yep. Just do it.

This.

It doesn't take much time to log your foods. Once you get your commonly used foods in your list, it takes almost no time at all. Logging my food has been the only thing that has helped me to lose weight after trying a few times over the past couple of years.

anthonyrequena39

I've only been here a few days and in the past when wanting to (and failing obviously) lose weight I had some strange notion in my head that the only way to do it was to practically starve myself. A typical diet day would be something like a yoghurt for breakfast, a plain salad for lunch and an apple for dinner and nothing more. On the otherhand my normal eating habits were horrendous, it's only since I started tracking here I've discovered that I was normally stuffing more than the day's calorie allowance into my mouth just for dinner. Then I went into panic mode and back to my idea of diet and discovered (by tracking) I was trying to starve myself. Now I'm starting to get the idea of how much I really need to be putting into my body.
Give it a try, as everyone has said nobody but you needs to see your diary and it may give you some surprises. If not, well nobody is going to force you to keep doing it if you don't want to. Nothing ventured, nothing gained (or lost rather)

blackNBUK

I hate tracking because there is too many inacurate entries in the database they need to fix this problem. I don't log but I use the database as a nutrition guide if I'm not sure if something is good for me or not. It seems to work for me

Actually, YOU need to fix it. When you see that the info is wrong, click the appropriate button indicating that the info is correct/wrong/you don't know. If it's incorrect, it prompts YOU to correct it. Use the food label to correct the label. Problem solved. Orrr, you can create a new/correct food entry.

Unfortunately correcting an entry doesn't seem to be an option in the phone and tablet apps. At least I haven't been able to spot it yet. It would be great if MFP could add it to the apps because I don't think I've ever used the web-site to log any food.

ndj1979

But I'm simply not willing to be that obsessive about food for the rest of my life.

I track, I'm not obsessed. I know that happens to some but not all. I eat what I want I work hard I lose weight. It's about moderation not deprivation. There are no bad foods just bad eating habits.

what is more obsessive, eating so much food that you become obese, or tracking calories so that you maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle????

RGv2

I hate tracking because there is too many inacurate entries in the database they need to fix this problem. I don't log but I use the database as a nutrition guide if I'm not sure if something is good for me or not. It seems to work for me

Actually, YOU need to fix it. When you see that the info is wrong, click the appropriate button indicating that the info is correct/wrong/you don't know. If it's incorrect, it prompts YOU to correct it. Use the food label to correct the label. Problem solved. Orrr, you can create a new/correct food entry.

Unfortunately correcting an entry doesn't seem to be an option in the phone and tablet apps. At least I haven't been able to spot it yet. It would be great if MFP could add it to the apps because I don't think I've ever used the web-site to log any food.

I can, you may need an update.

whierd

Your choices are to be aware and responsible about what you eat and work towards your goal weight.

Or.

Just stay fat.


I realize this is blunt, but that is what it comes down to. It is very difficult to eyeball and estimate your calories, which is why tracking accurately is so important. You have to decide if the moderate inconvenience of weighing, tracking, and being honest is worth being healthy or if you would rather continue as you have.

I hope that you make the right choice.

Kadoober

Tracking may seem like a pain, but it helps.
Being honest is essential, whether just to yourself (private diary) or to all of us (nice if you need advice about where you're going wrong)

What's worse: Sucking it up and journalling that you fell off the wagon, feeling that bit o shame, but remembering it next time, because it's right there for you to see? OR, not bothering, and continuing with your bad habits that brought you here in the first place?

The beauty of this website, in my opinion, is the acountability that comes with taking careful note of what you put in your face, via the tracking. It's one thing to eat a cookie and then forget it happened, it's another thing entirely to eat a cookie, and then LOG it, and see how far it's thrown you off for the day.

Do you want to make a lifestyle change, or no?

catelinn

We all have to do things we don't want, lol, just do it buster !!!!!

3foldchord

But I'm simply not willing to be that obsessive about food for the rest of my life.

I don't see it as the rest of my life. Once I lost most the weight and had been tracking "obsessively" for a while, I got use to how to eat, how to portion, etc. I have days I don't log/track and just eat how I now know I should and it's all good.... Now, after tracking for long enough to relearn how to eat and get exercise.

My goal is to be able to track less and less and still maintain.

TheSlorax

I don't wanna track either so I'm posting I don't want to track calories on a calorie tracking website. u mad?

obrientp

Maybe you are just not ready to do this yet. You've got get your head in the right place before you take on this effort. It takes hard work and determination, and logging food is actually one of the easier parts. But it is critical to success. I don't like logging in either, but I would still be fat if I didn't.

SoDamnHungry

Too bad. Do it. And you don't have to make your diary public.