Logging Accurately..step by step guide

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  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Bump so I don't have to keep searching for this
  • terpstje
    terpstje Posts: 27 Member
    Saving for later
  • cycletrak1
    cycletrak1 Posts: 607 Member
    Bump!
    :flowerforyou:
  • Bruceapple
    Bruceapple Posts: 2,027 Member
    bump
  • harmar21
    harmar21 Posts: 215 Member
    What about logging spices? Like 1 tsp of onion powder, or 1 tsp of cumin. I know they have sugar in them, but since weight is so low probably a fairly insignificant amount of anything in them (except for flavour), and can't even weigh properly unless you have a jewelers scale.

    I mean chances of anything being super accurate is going to be pretty much impossible. I figure if I figure in +10% to everything, figure should be ok.

    Also what about local restaurants which do not have nutritional menu? For example, I ate at a local burger joint who makes all their stuff from hand. I don't know what filler they use, so would you just log like 1/'4lb of ground beef + bun + whatever toppings you have or? Also Chinese restaurants particularly would be ridiculously hard to log.
  • dasher602014
    dasher602014 Posts: 1,992 Member
    Newbie here. Thanks!

    Now that I understand better, how do I delete unwanted entries in my foods tab or recent food tab?

    I seem to be able to edit but not delete.
  • awesomejdad
    awesomejdad Posts: 493 Member
    bump for later review
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    Bump

    Also, what do you guys do with already cooked pasta? I'm assuming the weight in there is for dry weight, and usually we are cooking a big pot for the whole family.
  • meaganlael
    meaganlael Posts: 32
    SUPER helpful! Thanks for taking the time to share.
  • Jred36
    Jred36 Posts: 63 Member
    Thanks for sharing!
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    This should be a pinned thread.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Bump

    Also, what do you guys do with already cooked pasta? I'm assuming the weight in there is for dry weight, and usually we are cooking a big pot for the whole family.

    I logged it as cooked...as I cook for the family too.

    It would be best if we could weigh and log it dry.

    The only time I can log it as "dry" is when I am making a recipe...but I do weigh the entire recipe after it's all done and base the servings off the "cooked weight"...ie dinner tonight has 1lb of dry pasta and a bunch of other stuff...when it's all cooked I will put my storage container on my scale...turn it on so that it is at zero..dump in the pasta dish and use that weight to determine my serving sizes...ie if it is 986grams...my serving size will be 150-200 grams depending on how hungry I am and that helps determine calories per serving as well....
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I haven't read any of the responses, just the original post, but OMG, does anyone really do this? Every day, every meal, every snack, every dessert?

    My mind boggles.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I haven't read any of the responses, just the original post, but OMG, does anyone really do this? Every day, every meal, every snack, every dessert?

    My mind boggles.

    ah no...logging every meal every day is simple...this is to ensure it's correct and simple
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
    Yup, when I want to lose, it means logging every meal, every snack, every day and so I have logged the vast majority of days for the past 2 1/2 years just like this.

    Also to address something in the OP, when I use "homemade" in my log, it is something that *I* made from scratch and carefully weighed out the ingredients and servings and added to the recipe builder and those recipes aren't added to the general food database available in MFP, so those entries really are accurately logged. I will not use someone else's "Homemade" entry though - I have no idea what's in that recipe or what a serving size is!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I haven't read any of the responses, just the original post, but OMG, does anyone really do this? Every day, every meal, every snack, every dessert?

    My mind boggles.

    ah no...logging every meal every day is simple...this is to ensure it's correct and simple

    Simple obviously means different things to you and I. But kudos to anyone that puts in that level of effort. Seriously, my hat is off.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    I haven't read any of the responses, just the original post, but OMG, does anyone really do this? Every day, every meal, every snack, every dessert?

    My mind boggles.
    Think of it as a how to and troubleshooting guide. Do you read your car manual and go "ZOMG! How do I do ALL of this everyday!!", no, you just drive to work and back and wherever else. Heck you probably didn't even read the manual. Same thing here. Some of the tips you may never need to do, or only do once in a while (like editing an entry). For me, this is also the website version and I almost exclusively log using the app. The tips are still helpful in the occasional case when I'm looking for a very specific entry and thanks to this write up I can attempt to find it. Or wondering why my macros pie chart is suddenly 99% fat, oh look, somebody created an entry with 160g of fat rather than 160 calories from fat, and I know how to edit it
  • mamaomefo
    mamaomefo Posts: 418 Member
    Bunp
  • shaddow101
    shaddow101 Posts: 8
    Bump
  • kelso830
    kelso830 Posts: 25 Member
    Bumping for reference later! :) Just bought my first food scale today!
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    Wow...this is terrific--THANK YOU so much for posting this! :flowerforyou:
  • jrpenafiel
    jrpenafiel Posts: 25
    I can't believe that I only saw this post today. I have been logging for 118 days and I only know half of what is in this post. Thank you!
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    It's probably already been mentioned somewhere in this thread, but I have a food scale that I use heavily, and I will frequently weight out food that already has portion-controlled nutritional information - AND IT'S NEVER ACCURATE. Example: a pre-sliced slice of cheese on the package was listed at something like "1 slice, 21g, 70 calories". I weighed a slice on my scale to be 32 grams.

    Small details, but it just goes to show that when in doubt, weigh away.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    It's probably already been mentioned somewhere in this thread, but I have a food scale that I use heavily, and I will frequently weight out food that already has portion-controlled nutritional information - AND IT'S NEVER ACCURATE. Example: a pre-sliced slice of cheese on the package was listed at something like "1 slice, 21g, 70 calories". I weighed a slice on my scale to be 32 grams.

    Small details, but it just goes to show that when in doubt, weigh away.

    I so totally agree...I weigh it if it's in my house just because I tested some stuff like that....boggles my mind.
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    It's probably already been mentioned somewhere in this thread, but I have a food scale that I use heavily, and I will frequently weight out food that already has portion-controlled nutritional information - AND IT'S NEVER ACCURATE. Example: a pre-sliced slice of cheese on the package was listed at something like "1 slice, 21g, 70 calories". I weighed a slice on my scale to be 32 grams.

    Small details, but it just goes to show that when in doubt, weigh away.

    I so totally agree...I weigh it if it's in my house just because I tested some stuff like that....boggles my mind.

    I have found the same. Especially with things like bread - the size of a slice will depend on whether you're at the beginning/end of a loaf or the middle so I weigh my bread then calculate a percentage based on actual weight and the weight suggested on the pack. For example, my bread is supposed to be 50g, but when I weigh a slice it's actually 45g, I will log it as 0.9 slice rather than 1 slice. The same goes for many other products. The nutritional information given on a pack is based on the average weight of the item when they calculated the nutritional values. In reality, it is likely to be different.

    ETA: corrected spelling error
  • kimmid70
    kimmid70 Posts: 37 Member
    Thanks for the info. One question though. I tend to make alot of homemade soups on the weekend and bring to work for lunch during the week. How do I measure each bowl full of soup? I don't usually measure my vegetables, I just cut them and put them in until I think it's enough. So when I spoon it out in the mornings to bring to work, there's no way to measure how much of each vegetable/meat I'm eating...... Any ideas?
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    Thanks for the info. One question though. I tend to make alot of homemade soups on the weekend and bring to work for lunch during the week. How do I measure each bowl full of soup? I don't usually measure my vegetables, I just cut them and put them in until I think it's enough. So when I spoon it out in the mornings to bring to work, there's no way to measure how much of each vegetable/meat I'm eating...... Any ideas?

    You're probably best weighing all the dry ingredients before you cook them. When it's cooked, weigh the entire lot and portion it out. Then weigh your portions and log it as a percentage of the overall weight. That's as accurate as you can get with a meal like that. If you portion out the lot when it's cooked, it saves you weighing/calculating every time you have a portion. I always put a label with weight/percentage on each portion in case they aren't all the same (chances are your last portion or 2 is slightly higher/lower than the rest)
  • hungrymarathongirl
    hungrymarathongirl Posts: 444 Member
    This is perfect! Thanks for posting!
  • ssaraj43
    ssaraj43 Posts: 575 Member
    Excellent post! Thanks for taking the time!! * flower for you *
  • kbenzacar
    kbenzacar Posts: 13 Member
    Very helpful tips...thanks. Maybe it's what I need!

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