Question

Cole7612

Should I track my off days or should I not? I am scared that tracking my off days will just be discouraging.

kr3851

If you want to have any idea of what you are actually consuming, then yes.

If you wish to remain oblivious, go ahead and skip logging.

For me, it's an eye opener to why I may not lose weight - even if I'm keeping to my cal limit every day, just one 'off day' can be over 5000 calories and ruins all that work.

RaggedyPond

yes no matter how ugly it looks.

colortheworld

Yes. Helps you see what you need to improve. It's hard, but for the best.

Cole7612

That's true, having an idea of what my "off day" might really cost me can do good for me.

soupandcookies

I always track them, because if I don't, I fall out of the habit of tracking. It becomes easy to ignore my lapses.

conniemaxwell5

Yes, you should be accountable for everything you eat. Log it and take responsibility for it.

lucan07

There is no point in trying to kid yourself track everything!

healthieramanda

I think it's really important to log your off days.

Makes you accountable for the food that you eat

coral_b

I log everything- even when I was ill and only at 800 cals- 500 of which were sweets!! If I don't i'm only hiding the facts and lying to myself. I then find it easy to delude myself about how much i'm really eating... and my loss is very slow; I NEED the bigger picture.
Plus when friends comment on my "bad" choices it's great motivation to have a better day.

wingchungym

Clearly...YES! if not why are you 'keeping a track on calories at all' its only yourself you fool.

TavistockToad

Should I track my off days or should I not? I am scared that tracking my off days will just be discouraging.

yep!

try logging before hand, i find the red bar very off putting, so you may end up eating less anyway.

as the saying goes, "what you eat in private you wear in public"

gsnavley

You should always log everything. The reason is because weather its good or bad, it's a tool for you to use. What I mean is that I love this MFP. I actually know now, that what I have been eating wasnt really that bad, it's just the amounts. I do my best to log everything I do and eat every day.

Greg

1aurane

Log your food ...track your calorie's and exercise ...know where you're going ...don't look back ...chin up ...Good luck :flowerforyou:

elyelyse

Should I track my off days or should I not? I am scared that tracking my off days will just be discouraging.

If you plan on eating in a way that would be discouraging to look at, you may want to consider the purpose of your day off. If the purpose of your day off is to completely disregard everything you know about weight loss and just eat however much of whatever you want without having to think about it, well...you can easily undo a weeks worth of hard work in one day (depending on how much of a deficit you create on your "on" days.)

In my opinion, a cheat day should not be a free-for-all (exceptions to be made for birthdays and thanksgiving feasts!) it should be a relaxation of the rules, but not complete disregard. when I decide to have a cheat day, for me that means eating at maintenance, or at most, I'll go over maintenance by what my daily deficit is. (if my daily deficit is 500, I'll allow myself to go 500 over maintenance on a cheat day.)

If you plan for a cheat day, and don't go all out crazy...then looking at your log should not be discouraging. Feel good about it...you planned to treat yourself for a day, but responsibly, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

jim9097

Discouraging is the wrong way to look at it. How about accountability! That is why you log; not because the cool kids do it, or because you are trying to discourage yourself. You keep track for accountability. If you say I lost 2 lbs; why? your logs should show that. In the same way if you gain 2 your log should show you why. This will help you learn. There are studies coming out the wazu. People who log lose an average of 67% more than those who don't; and long term success is increased by 300%.

I bet you are also one of those people who thinks you are on a diet? I hope I didn't just squish your next question, but diet is a bad word. What you are aiming for is meal planning. This is a life style change not a short term diet. Until you accept those facts nothing will change for you.

Hope I am not coming off as to harsh, but I get annoyed by seeing so many would you the person above you strings. Ugghhhh!!

MityMax96

Should I track my off days or should I not? I am scared that tracking my off days will just be discouraging.

You should.
You can wipe out a week of caloric deficit (what you need to lose weight), by having a day or two of eating whatever is in site.

grho

My thought always is this: Just because I don't track it doesn't mean it didn't happen. I guess what I mean is tracking it or not, you still ate it so what does it hurt to track it. I figure it can only help.

judilockwood

Yes, always log everything so you can see what's happening - what's your trend. This is just as useful, if not more, than tracking only your good days cos you can see the damage and know to avoid doing the same later. Not to log is a bit like 'if no one sees me eat a Mars bar then it doesn't count - like I haven't done it Good luck x

bwogilvie

You should always log everything. The reason is because weather its good or bad, it's a tool for you to use. What I mean is that I love this MFP. I actually know now, that what I have been eating wasnt really that bad, it's just the amounts. I do my best to log everything I do and eat every day.

Greg

Seconding this thought. MFP is a tool for tracking calorie intake and output. If you don't log, you won't have the information required to make good decisions.

I think of my calorie goal as an average. Some days I'll be over, some days under. If I go over a few hundred calories one day, I'll make them up later in the week. I also think of my weekly goal as a best-case scenario: I have MFP set up to lose 1.5 lbs./week, but if I lose somewhat less, I'm content.