I hate logging my food!

Tofteberg

Hi. I started MFP a few years ago and was initially very good about logging everything. I found logging the food to be such a chore and started skipping. Before long I quit everything and hit an all time high of 194 lbs. I am 5'3" tall and am 55 years old. About two months ago I started eating healthier and exercising. I'm down to 174 and have lost lots of inches. My weight loss has really slowed down over the last 6 weeks and I'm thinking it's because I'm not paying close enough attention to calories in! Anyone have tips that help them keep logging? I think I will commit to logging food and exercise for the next 10 days and see if I improve weight loss

Cyclingbonnie

Being aware of what we eat is the answer. You have already found that not logging makes you loose focus and your weight begins to creep on up. For myself to make things a little easier I have entered in recipes of things I prepare often. For example my normal breakfast (don't judge I love it) is 2 fried eggs on a slice of rye bread with a tablespoon of mayo. So rather than make each of those items a separate entry I have a recipe item call Eggs & Rye and it is one entry from my recipes. That's all I got for you. I use recipes and my foods quite a bit.

martynangus3113

I know allot of people are using the phone app that you can just scan the bar code and it adds it to you food log. Only thing is you need a phone that you can get the app on. Not sure what else would make it easier other than keeping packets and logging it all at the same time at the end of the day. Even a weeks worth of logging will let you know what you need to cut down on or at-least give you an idea. I wish I could be more help but I hope you find a way that helps you keep logging

lcgonzo33

The bar code really helps me, but I feel ya! I hate it too. I do good for a while then boom, I fall off track.

kaned_ferret

Whilst I find it can be time consuming at first, because I eat the same things regularly it's not a lot of hassle to go quick tools>copy meal to today and I'm sorted

Tofteberg

Thanks for the tips.

Trooty

For myself to make things a little easier I have entered in recipes of things I prepare often. For example my normal breakfast (don't judge I love it) is 2 fried eggs on a slice of rye bread with a tablespoon of mayo. So rather than make each of those items a separate entry I have a recipe item call Eggs & Rye and it is one entry from my recipes. That's all I got for you. I use recipes and my foods quite a bit.

This is good advice, I do this.

Also, whenever I have a new meal, I take the time to log it as a recipe. Now I have a nice big selection of meals / snacks that are easily logged, to choose from. It makes logging less time consuming and annoying in the long run.

iAmStarStuff27

Having thema logged also helps me choose whats for dinner when im feeling indecisive.

LillyQTN

I just started on last Saturday and I am excited about logging what I eat, it makes me feel more accountable to reach my idea weight and also shows how easily we can drink more calories than we eat. I also like the barcode scan feature, it makes everything much easier to log!

laurie04427

I agree with the recipe thing. If I had to type all the stuff that goes into my oatmeal every morning I'd go nuts. I even put recipes for fruit I tend to have so I don't have to go searching in the database. Saves alot of time.

JodieSmith15

I find the bar code scanner very helpful. I have lost 6 pounds in 4 weeks, logging my food intake and exercise, and have changed my eating habits along the way because I'm learning what's actually in foods. For example I used to eat a can of campbell's chunky soup a lot for lunch, but it took up almost half my daily sodium limit, so I've adjusted to lower sodium options and never go over my limit now. I track my water intake to make sure I'm drinking enough. Whatever it takes to get yourself to do it, do it, and eventually you'll enjoy it! It's eye opening honestly. And a lot of fast food/dine in restaurant options are in the data base.

Bernadette60614

I think it is keeping in the habit. Sometimes, I keep track of only my calories in a paper notebook and drop that number in at the end of the day. I think just creating and maintaining a habit keeps you moving in the right direction.

jkks76

Being aware of what we eat is the answer. You have already found that not logging makes you loose focus and your weight begins to creep on up. For myself to make things a little easier I have entered in recipes of things I prepare often. For example my normal breakfast (don't judge I love it) is 2 fried eggs on a slice of rye bread with a tablespoon of mayo. So rather than make each of those items a separate entry I have a recipe item call Eggs & Rye and it is one entry from my recipes. That's all I got for you. I use recipes and my foods quite a bit.

I'm having a similar issue; this makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the advice!:happy:

CoffeeBugg

If logging stuff in the comp all the time is a pain, you could try maybe just keeping a small pad to quickly jot down what you eat and the calories. It might not be as precise, but you would at least still be aware of what you are eating throughout the day and be less likely to go too far over your calories.

Healthydiner65

You can also save your meals to use later. Today instead of logging everything that goes into my tuna sandwich I just click on meals and chose tuna sandwich . You save meals by clicking on quick tools!

kill3rtofu

If you want the results, you must log. Ask yourself how much you want to improve

Lea_8D

I don't know if you are using the app or the webpage to log, but I find the app very frustrating. Like this morning, I had a piece of leftover chicken for breakfast. I couldn't get it to come up on the list of recent items! Why? because I was logging under breakfast. I finally went back and picked Dinner and only then could I get to it. So then I couldn't find a way to change it to Breakfast, like is so easy to do on the webpage. Grrrr.

Anyway, you might try switching to the webpage for logging and see if it helps.

mlt2908

I have only been using MFP for just over a month and signed up mainly to be able to use the logging tool for food as I knew that this would be the key to losing the weight. I've been very good about the logging so far. One thing that helps me in already having an idea of how many calories I'm "spending" is eating the same foods often. For example, I often have the same basic thing for breakfast or lunch, usually just rotating between two different types of breakfast and pretty much the same thing for lunch, and I usually then already know approximately how much I have used, even though I've been good about recording the meals or snack pretty promptly. It might be kind of boring for some people to often be eating the same foods often but it helps me and I don't mind it all.

JodieSmith15

Instead of breakfast choose 'all meals' when looking through recent items.

mlt2908

Being aware of what we eat is the answer. You have already found that not logging makes you loose focus and your weight begins to creep on up. For myself to make things a little easier I have entered in recipes of things I prepare often. For example my normal breakfast (don't judge I love it) is 2 fried eggs on a slice of rye bread with a tablespoon of mayo. So rather than make each of those items a separate entry I have a recipe item call Eggs & Rye and it is one entry from my recipes. That's all I got for you. I use recipes and my foods quite a bit.

I'm having a similar issue; this makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the advice!:happy:

Great time-saving idea!

tennisdude2004

If you are really having issues with a calorie counting type of diet (as this is your second attempt) another option maybe to change you eating style and control your hormonal responses to food and therefore not having to worry about logging anything.

Eating a low (not no) carb 100g ish / high fat diet may be the answer.

Sadly for all of us - all diets require a bit of sacrifice - it's just about finding the one for you where the sacrifice has the least impact on your life or the foods you like.

Good luck with whatever you find to resolve your probs.

fsucrack

I know that I can not, not log my food. I need to log to stay accountable and know what I have going in. Once I became constistant with logging and weighing and measuring then I really started to loss the weight. I used to exercise all the time adn really wonder what more could I do because I was not seeing progress. I have a few friends that say that it is stupid for them to log becuase they know how to make healthy choices, and then they wonder why they are gaining because they are not making healthy choices. I use the reciepes and meals a lot because I tend to eat a lot of the same foods. Good luck

craftywitch_63

Logging takes time. I've learned to log my foods in the night before, then the next morning I pack my lunch and snacks, know what I'm going to have for dinner, etc. Logging in as I go is a sure-fire way for me to fail. That's also why I use a "set" number of calories rather than MFP's way of "eating calories back."

I think you need to understand what it is about logging calories that you hate. Personally, I happily log in calories until (like last night) the "Bingemonster" hits. I REALLY HATE logging in those extra binge calories but I know that I have to do it so I can face what I'm doing to myself.

If it's just the time it takes to log, use the shortcuts ("Quick Add" "Recipes" "My Meals" "Recent" and "Frequent" foods, etc,) to make it easier.

leggup

I agree with everyone saying that the app with barcode scanner is the best. There's no looking things up, which is great, and I tend to buy the same products over and over.

I like to log my breakfast and lunch first thing in the morning, before I eat any of it (I bring my breakfast to work and eat it there since I hate eating early). I also try to log my dinner before I eat it and edit it before I go back for seconds. If you log first, getting to eat it is the reward for logging. Also, you can see the impact on your daily calories before you put them in your mouth, which can help you make better decisions.

If I am in a rush, I will weigh the food and take a picture of the food on the scale. Then, when I have downtime/when I'm logging the next meal, I can go into my photos and see that I measured 85 grams of spinach followed by 4 grams of feta, etc.

lamps1303

Logging does take time and sometimes it can be a pain. As others have said, if your meals are fairly similar day-to-day you can create your own meals/recipes. Personally, my breakfasts, lunches and snacks are pretty much identical each day so I usually either copy from the previous day or just to go recent items then adjust the weight accordingly.

Logging does soon become a force of habit, and you will get to a point where you log each time you eat, and/or log items prior to eating to make sure you have enough calories for the day. I used to not care what I ate - even if things were 'healthy' I would just eat loads and not think about the calories. MFP makes you accountable and honest and realise what you're eating. It also makes you ask yourself whether you NEED to eat something, or whether your hunger is in fact boredom - a lot of the time I want to eat because I'm bored but if I don't have the calories for the day I don't eat (I try to drink water or GT instead).

Lea_8D

Instead of breakfast choose 'all meals' when looking through recent items.

I don't see that option on my version of the app. Where is it?

Tofteberg

Thanks for all the ideas. I think the barcode is new since my last try and I will try using the recipes more. I like cooking and I eat salads with lots of veggies so I found it annoying to enter 10 things to get "salad". The recipe function will help.