"bites" of food...and not logging them advice

whitnm76
whitnm76 Posts: 47
in Health and Weight Loss
I need your opinion please! Since about October, I've gained about 4lbs...which isn't that much...but I'm trying to lose so it's bad. Now sometimes I get "snacky" and i'll have a few peanuts here or a couple chips there but I don't "log" it. I'll save a few cals at the end of the day to make up for it. Could this be my downfall? This week I'm really going to crack down on stopping that and see if it helps me on the scale. Just wanted to see your thoughts. My fiance seems to think it isn't enough to make me gain ( some of that gain is attributed to my own bad choices) but lately I've been doing well and still not losing. I think it's because I graze "healthily" but don't log the bites here and there. Like I said, this week I'm going to focus on logging everything absolutely everything and stop taking pieces of this and that.

Replies

  • uconnwinsnc
    uconnwinsnc Posts: 1,054 Member
    Weigh what you are snacking and log it. Peanuts and chips are high in calories, so they can add up quickly even in small bits.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Logging absolutely everything will set you free. By giving you the truth about what makes you gain, lose, maintain.

    This is your chance to really run the show. I used to do that with sneaky food, but I'm only cheating myself. Hey log it, you may find you can maintain at a high level and eat like that one day when you've lost the weight.
  • DrWhoodles
    DrWhoodles Posts: 145 Member
    I wish I was able to not log the food I eat but I realized I can't meet my goals if I don't. You can be snacky but a tip I've liked is to pre-weigh the snacks into baggies and then label the calories on the bag. Then you can just grab and snack while knowing how many calories you are getting. This is sort of like those 100 calorie bags but making them yourself.

    I can't remember where I heard this but the saying "if you bite it, you write it" sticks in my mind all the time.
  • Slrajr
    Slrajr Posts: 438 Member
    It sounds to me like you've figured it out. Now the only way to know for sure is to test your theory:flowerforyou:
  • BeanQueen3000
    BeanQueen3000 Posts: 161
    When "snacky" tends to mean salty foods for you, you might consider your sodium intake and potential water weight fluctuations. I've got a strong, mean sweet tooth personally, but i know that lots of salt usually = lots of bloat for me.
    pre-weigh the snacks into baggies and then label the calories on the bag. Then you can just grab and snack while knowing how many calories you are getting. This is sort of like those 100 calorie bags but making them yourself.

    this is also excellent advice: five minutes of prep after coming home from the grocery store means no more free grazing, no more endless cereal bowls, etc. Since re-joining MFP this has been one of the first things I picked back up.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    Couple peanuts and chips here and there throughout the day can add up fast.
  • Dugleik
    Dugleik Posts: 125
    For myself, if I have one chip then I don't log it, if I eat more then one I do log it. I don't log the pinch of sugar I have in my tea, it's between 1-2 gram (4-8 calories) and I feel logging it would push this into something obsessive.

    If not logging everything works for you, then keep at it.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    If you bite it write it!
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I wish I was able to not log the food I eat but I realized I can't meet my goals if I don't. You can be snacky but a tip I've liked is to pre-weigh the snacks into baggies and then label the calories on the bag. Then you can just grab and snack while knowing how many calories you are getting. This is sort of like those 100 calorie bags but making them yourself.

    I can't remember where I heard this but the saying "if you bite it, you write it" sticks in my mind all the time.

    Logging is such a tedious chore...but I agree with you: without it I can't seem able to make progress...

    Another reason for me to stop going to Costco on weekends...I don't know how to log those sample bites...
  • BOC57
    BOC57 Posts: 44 Member
    Leave nothing out on the counter or within easy reach, except healthy, nutritious foods. Even those can cause a problem if they are calorie dense and a trigger to eat uncontrollably. I have had to ask my husband to put things high up in a cabinet out of my reach and have moved my nuts to the back of the fridge. I will measure out a daily amount for myself and then put the rest away out of site. Sometimes I eat them right away all at once and other times I"ll nibble on them throughout the day. Or another approach is to just not bring trigger foods into the house at all, until you feel you are ready to deal with them..
  • lmd_1979
    lmd_1979 Posts: 130
    I always bag my snacks such as crisps(Chips), nuts into 25g bags or a quater of the total weight of the product so then I can just snack away throughout the day knowing that I'm only going to a quarter of the calories without it being inaccurate.
  • grace61224
    grace61224 Posts: 1
    Try not allowing yourself to eat anything unless you are sitting down with it at the table. You'll be able to know exactly what you ate, and make sure to log everything, plus beverages!
  • 04ward
    04ward Posts: 196 Member
    I wish I was able to not log the food I eat but I realized I can't meet my goals if I don't. You can be snacky but a tip I've liked is to pre-weigh the snacks into baggies and then label the calories on the bag. Then you can just grab and snack while knowing how many calories you are getting. This is sort of like those 100 calorie bags but making them yourself.

    I can't remember where I heard this but the saying "if you bite it, you write it" sticks in my mind all the time.

    ^^^^^ I read this saying my first week and it DOES make a difference! "Just a few nuts" can be 190 calories! It all adds up!
  • BeanQueen3000
    BeanQueen3000 Posts: 161
    LOL table? You mean the coffee table, right?
  • 04ward
    04ward Posts: 196 Member
    Try not allowing yourself to eat anything unless you are sitting down with it at the table. You'll be able to know exactly what you ate, and make sure to log everything, plus beverages!

    ^^ If I only logged what I ate while sitting at the table, it would be about 4 meals a week. I am on the go from the time I get up until midnight. I eat on the run and standing up but I log everything. I weigh it out, bag it up, and eat as I go.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    All it takes is 100 extra calories a day to gain 10 pounds a year. Since you've gained four pounds since October, it sounds like you're right on track. As a pp said, nuts and chips are calorie dense and a bite here and there could easily be over 100 calories.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,263 Member
    I agree with weighing yourself out some snack packs to graze on so you know what you're eating.

    A few years ago a woman I went to Weight Watchers with wasn't losing and knew she was a snacker. So for a week the made a concious effort not to snack, but also would place what she *would* have snacked on into a ziplock bag. She was astounded at the end of each day how much she would have put away and not tracked.
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
    If you don't want to weigh your little nibbles and snacks (which I understand can be boring, time consuming, etc) just log 50 blank calories per nibble you have.
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
    Log everything without exception. Everything, always.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    11 or 12 Crispy Minis are 80 or 90 calories that's a good snacky but I would log it. So if you only eat 3 or 4 at a time but 3 times a day, get a baggie put a portion in it enter it and when that baggie is gone no more snacky :ohwell:

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