How does tracking your food affect your eating?

ayron102

I thought it was crazy - I've heard for years that tracking your food is the only way to go. Well, I'm a bit stubborn (so stubborn that I've been able to carry around this extra weight for way too long - that'll show 'em!) - I'm so stubborn that I put off doing that for a LONG time.

Until now. Also helps: barcode scanner.

Anyway, I've quit drinking and have started an exercise plan. I know myself and my history enough that I need to slowly add in good habits - or they go poof - and all disappear in a flash of good intentions. Anyway, point being, I started tracking my food but I decided not to alter my food intake. Now... I'm not eating anything too bad in general, but I said I am not going to NOT eat bad stuff - just eat as much as I want of what's in my house.

Crazy thing is happening so far - it's only been 2 full days - and on my third day I'm noticing that I'm much more cognisant of what I'm eating. And it's not an embarrassing sort of way... just a whole "woah that's a lot of food" - and now I just don't want to eat as much.

Has that happened with you? What are your experiences with tracking food? Does it become more/less annoying? Has it changed your food habits ?

galprincess

That's great well done for getting the motivation and starting!!!!

For me logging means im accountable for everything I put in my mouth and I realised I was eating the same sized portions as my boyfriend even if I wasn't hungry it had become habit and I didn't drink enough water so now I have my 8 cup goal that's taking care of that too.

Little changes make big differences and like you it was a bit of a wake up call.

mommyrunning

It makes a huge impact on noticing habits. It also makes me think "why am I eating this?"

GothyFaery

Food now has to be "worth it" in order for me to eat it. I don't like to waste calories on food that is just so-so. I'll gladly spend 160 calories on 3 cookies but 150 calories for 15 cheese itz, not worth it!

JustSomeEm

Logging did the same for me. I started the same as you - just tracking, not making any changes. But I noticed that because I was being accountable for my food choices I started making better choices. Logging is such a great habit, and it really helps you get on track to hit your fitness goals. Way to go!

RavenLibra

THAT is the point.. to simply be cognizant of what your tossing down your maw... kind ofg like becoming self aware... conscious of HOW you fit into your world... like getting a fly on the wall view... once you start you can never go back to the way things were.. you can't un-hear, un-see, un-know that your eating habits have lead you to where you are...

Welcome and good luck... sounds like you are taking the right approach...small changes at a time... as you read and learn from the hundreds if not thousands of posts and from the group of friends you will surely develop the changes you make will start to make a difference.. I was where you are... skeptical... a little defiant... thinking and believing that I was already doing the "right things"

and even now I am on a bit of a break... anyway... YES this really works...

kristinhowell

Portion control has always been my biggest issue. And I've want my logging to be accurate, so I've had to do lots of reading and memorizing and planning to work on getting my portions rights. When I realized I was eating about 600 calories just in spaghetti noodles for one meal (not even including sauce), I realized how big of a deal it is.

I'm finally realizing, too, I can get full and still be eating at a deficit as long as I'm eating healthier foods along with the probably not as healthier foods I still allow myself to eat.

I'm also realizing that exercise means more calories to eat, so it makes it much more appealing, especially on those days when I feel like I can't eat enough

The more I log (this is my 10th day this time around), the easier it is for me to see my habits, and see them changing, and see how my body works and how it's affected. It also helps to have lots of supportive friends on here, since I don't have a whole lot of people I can talk to about my journey in my life.

Good luck to you!

Amitysk

That's exactly how I started. Just ate what I would normally and tracked it. It really helped me be mindful of what I was consuming. Keep it up!

SezxyStef

I too have become a food snob.

If I am spending 800 calories or more on a meal it better be freakin good...

If I am eating 200 calories on a snack it best be nom nom...

But to be frank I eat what I always did it's just weighed now...

Logging food is not an annoyance for me really, I prelog usually 3-5 days so I can tweek as necessary to fit my goals (calories and macros) this also allows me to plan for outings that usually fall on the weekend where I will need more calories.

azymth99

I've found it makes a huge difference. You think twice about that 5th piece of pizza...

Plus, I thought I was eating a lot less than I actually was until I started keeping track of it. The last time I was on a regimented eating cycle was in the 90's when I was trying to bulk up (to become a professional wrestler..."Sometimes when you are a man, you wear stretchy pants...it's for fun."- Nacho Libre). However, then the difference was I consuming 3500-5000 calories a day instead of cutting down to 2000. It was actually HARD to consume that many calories of healthy food.

Until recently I hadn't done a cutting regiment since High School wrestling. I hated it then (what teenage boy wants to reduce calories!) but now I'm loving it. Keeping track of my food gives me motivation to eat right now that I'm holding myself accountable.

cwolfman13

Yeah...logging made me aware of what and how much food I was eating whereas before I just ate. I don't log anymore and have been maintaining for about a year that way...just being mindful of what I'm doing and making good nutritional decisions as a whole.

Creiddylad

At the moment I'm like a kid with a new toy.

Already after just one day, seeing what I eat laid out in front of me and broken down into calories, fat, protein, sugar and so on has been a revelation. Something I was nibbling away on as a 'healthy' snack was laden with fat, something else with a huge amount of sodium and I didn't even know ... so have already made adjustments. Also all the hidden extras we add to food and don't think anything of it, like the two teaspoons of mayo I added to my salad yesterday and the high sugar content of fruit.

I also like how you can see how whatever exercise you do affects the amount you can eat and also how you can keep track of how much water you are drinking - which I definitely wasn't drinking enough of!

EvelineUK

I sometimes fill in my snack or meal before eating it, just to see how it would affect my intake for that day and then decide whether or not to have it or maybe reduce my portions. It really does help with making healthier choices.

Also, after filling my food diary out for a few weeks, I now know roughly how many calories my snacks are, and some of my regular meals, so it is easier to plan ahead.

Cc215

It makes me much more aware of how to balance my eating and how hard I have to work if I want more food!!

I ate a huge lunch today - I was hungry and couldn't stop!! But I logged it. I now know if I want to eat anything more than a letttuce leaf tonight then I better make sure I hit the gym on my way home from work.

Before tracking I'd have eaten that lunch, driven home, sat in front of the tv and eaten way more than a lettuce leaf!

bbalz

Tracking food is huge for me. Before the last month 1/2 I was just eating whatever, drinking when I wanted... very similar stories between us.

I've cut out the alcohol and junk foods entirely... which I thought might be harder than it was. I also cook/prepare almost all the food I eat now which saves a ton of money. I'm not an expert cook but it works for me.

Tracking what I'm eating with food scales, bar code scanning into the app, etc... it gives me a frame of mind so I know when I'm out either at a family/friend get together or at a restaurant, I know the portions I should be having. Before I didn't care or know about the proportions of 4-5 oz of fish or chicken and now it's habit and it's always in my head regardless of where I am.

Don't get me wrong, there are those weekends at get togethers where you cheat a little but that means I spend more time in the gym the next day or during the week to make up for it. I think once you're using MFP for a couple weeks it gets you into a better pattern for eating because you know what you should be having for portions and that's probably the biggest part for me.

I also use a fitbit flex which syncs with MFP and tells me when I'm being lazy by removing calories from my daily goal... or if I'm exercising or at least being active in some way, it'll add to my daily goal too. Even if it adds calories to my goal, I try to not abuse that and just know that will help me in the long run.

If anyone has fitbit, feel free to add me on there. (https://www.fitbit.com/user/285DKS)

Either way, keep up the great work by logging the food and in no time you'll start to see a difference. If you haven't already, you should also consider taking some before photos from a few angles (front, side, back) and then save them somewhere and maybe take some more in a couple weeks or a month. I know that's helped me a lot when you check the scale and there isn't a big change. I thought it was a silly idea at first but now I check those out every now and then and it is a big 'reinforcer' as to why I'm making this life change.

Iwishyouwell

Has that happened with you? What are your experiences with tracking food? Does it become more/less annoying? Has it changed your food habits ?

I don't count calories. I find it extremely tedious and restrictive, putting me in rebellious mindset that makes me feel depraved even when I'm not truly hungry. It feels constricting, the idea that I have an allotted food "budget" that can run out. It's just not the kind of relationship with food I like and it doesn't work well with who I am.

However I am glad, once upon a time, that I did educate myself about food labels, including calories, because that gave me the basic understanding of the caloric and nutritional value of food in general.

Slashnl

I never did that well with tracking food either until restarting in January. It's been so much better this time and it has helped me a lot. I feel the same way in that if it has a lot of calories, I really have to decide if it is worth it to me. Some days, yep... it is!! The other thing I found is that I found that there were foods that I thought were really high in calories, and they aren't. I used the recipe builder for my spaghetti sauce and was amazed at how low in calories it really is. It makes sense now as I was putting in the ingredients, but for the longest time, I thought it was a much heavier dinner.

Also, looking at restaurant choices. Without reviewing the calories before going, there are many times that I would have made a really bad choice. Sometimes it may sound like it is low in calories, but it is deceiving. Love the wake up call!!

AlliSteff

Logging definitely makes me look at things and see if they are worth it. Also, it allows me to adjust my eating later in the day to better hit my macros/micros