Are you honest with your food diary?

athrax

I am as honest as possible. For me, it is difficult to track recipes, especially ones that I come up with myself, but I am conscious of the "fattening" or high carb ingredients that I put into something and try to overestimate when possible. I also try to set a lower goal for calories to keep in mind so if I do go over, it is still in an OK range.

joconnor09

I almost cheated on my food diary the first day or two, but then I thought to myself "why bother? how is this going to help me at all?" The only way I can ever make progress with my body is to start being honest with myself about what I'm putting in it. If I eat more than I thought I was going to and don't put the actual calorie amount, I might overeat the rest of the day. There's not point in lying to myself. If I go over on calories for the day, then I've gone over on calories. I've just got to recognize where I went wrong and make sure I adjust the next day. I went over on calories my first two days, but I've managed to stay under for the past two. It's a process and it won't always be perfect. But if you start cheating on your food diary, then you might eventually just stop using it. If the whole thing is a lie, then your weight loss won't be accurate and you'll just end up frustrated and unsure of exactly where you went wrong.

Rosbrook1985

I know im not a long time player but just wanted to throw my bits in the mix....

Prior to starting this I had problems admitting the amount of food I ate. I'd often do the following, sometimes all on the same day;

Have a pastry or bacon sandwhich at work and say it was because i hadn't eaten dinner the night before

Have a massive lunch like pizza or fish and chips at work and say it was because I wouldn't have time for dinner that night

Have an epic portion of dinner, a whole large pizza for instance, and tell the other half I was so hungry because I hadn't eaten all day

If I knew I was going to be home alone i'd order takeaway and hide the evidence or even just go to the shops and buy a ton of crisps

If we had a takeaway the night before, and on the rare occasion there was any left) i'd get up super early if it was the weekend and eat it but tell the other half i threw it because it smelt funny, or take it to work to eat and tell him the same

Pretending i'd only had one bit of choclolate and actually taken 3/4 etc.

I had real issues with food. I still sometimes do. But if I eat it in private and log it on here, my diary is open so i feel like it's the first step to being open about what I eat and when, because everyone can see it. Wow. I've never admitted any of that to anyone before, not even really myself. Thanks fopr being an outlet. And now I have admitted it hopefully i'm one step close to solving that problem.

YAY!

HealthyHappyVegan

Yep! I track absolutely everything. Maybe not a diet soda here and there but those are calorie free.

Yes, they have sodium but I always keep that in check. I even track the spices I use (cinnamon, different types of peppers, etc).

If I don't I feel like I'm cheating myself and am not being honest.

SarahMorganP

I track everything that has calories. However there are some days when I am feeling so blah and just don't log anything at all. I'm not trying to be dishonest, I just can't get myself to log. Most of those days I am still keeping track in my head and I don't go over, but sometimes it is a day when I go nuts and stuff my face. 95% of my days are logged though.

jabbaknight

I keep track of most things, but I am not a nazi about it. I had a spoonful of my wifes baked potato soup last week, but didn't want to spend the time trying to figure out how many calories it was, so I didn't write it down. If it is easily calculable I list it. If it is a bite of something I don't angst over it. That being said, I am usually a couple of hundred calories under each day, so I figure I am still losing more than my goal. I don't purposefully cheat though and just ignore an egg mcmuffin or a soft pretzel by not writing it down. I don't weigh everything, but I also don't cheat and estimate the smallest size available.

The biggest change in myself I've noticed since joining MFP is I have "NOT" eaten something, so that I would not have to record it. Before joining this site, I would never have given it a second thought ( I would have ordered my own baked potato soup, lol). Also the other night I dropped my daughters off for a sleepover, and on the ride home, I thought about stopping and grabbing something to eat, but didn't because I knew I was over my goal for the day by about 75 calories, and I was having a good week and didn't want to add more to the damage.

I realize we are all different, and react to things differently, and some people need to record every thing that passes their lips, but I don't want to exchange being a slave to food to being a slave to the food diary. As long as I keep losing weight, I will continue to do it the way I have been (4.9 lb weight loss this week!!!).

littleaprilina

I track everything even Diet Coke.
I used to not track everything so if I had 5 yogurt covered raisins or a few bites of my boyfriend's fried rice I wouldn't log it because I figured it was so tiny it didn't matter. I was struggling to lose weight.
Since I started tracking every little thing it's been easier. I am more aware of how the littlest bites can add up!
I'm honest because the only person I hurt in the end is myself. I'll even overestimate food sometimes since I don't have a food scale and have a hard time measuring foods like chicken or fish!

hesn92

Yes but I don't track everything. I don't usually put spices in there, or my gum, or supplements...

There have been times where I didn't track that day though. For valentines day my boyfriend took me to chilis and I just didn't bother to put it in my diary because i know I went way over.

robot_potato

I track everything, even spices and black coffee. Helps keep me acountable. Otherwise I'd be eating 'just one' almond whenever I pop in the kitchen and before I know it there goes 300 calories.

mekikya

meh, i dont track every single tiny thing...mostly because if i eat enough of it to actually count I'll count it...if someone gives me a spoonful of something to try, I don't waste my time recording it...i just walk that extra little long way back to my desk or something to make up for it....i agonize over portion sizes enough in my dairy...im not going to worry about one bite of cake...unless one bite becomes the whole piece...

LorinaLynn

I'm honest when I log, but I like to take some days when I don't log anything, like weekends, holidays and vacations.

GettinMyLifeBck

I am honest for the most part but I tend to overestimate if I take a bite of something just to be on the safe side. I use my food diary for my benefit so lying would be crazy because I would only harm myself...

EstherE123

I am pretty honest. I don't usually log drinks because it is usually water, crystal light, or occasionally a diet soda, but if it is milk, juice, or regular soda I track it. The trouble I have is trying to guess accurate nutritional information and portion size because half of my meals come from a cafeteria.

Articeluvsmemphis

For the most part, If I'm going to track, I track it all, BUT:noway: If I start tracking and have just eat my self silly I will always make a note at the bottom saying that the entry is not complete and I won't close out my diary for the day. and some days I don't track at all, like last week, I didn't track b/c of TOM, sorry if TMI, haha

hosegirl

I track everything. Food Excercise and water intake. I do not always eat my extra calories for teh excercise but if I am feeling hungry I may use some. I eat about every 3 hours. It keeps the hungur pains away and I don't feel as if I have to eat soemthing. Beleive it or not it keeps the craving away as well. Feed your body feeds your mind.

jingoace

ABSOLUTELY! Yes, I track everything... even the bad days!

What is the point of MFP food diary if you're not entering EVERYTHING... imho

It helps me to see patterns in my eating, & I love that we can track particular things,
like sugars or sodium, in addition to calories & carbs!

Besides, if you're not honest with yourself about what you are putting into your face,
what else in your life aren't you being honest about.
J

omgitsgarry

I quick add and my diary is private, but I track everything. I don't log cheat days so I don't ruin the day, but any other day, I am on it.

1953Judith

I honestly don't think its a question of honesty if someone makes a conscious decision to modify how they use the food (or for that matter the exercise) log. It is often a conscious decision about how they want to use one tool in the weight loss tool box. Just as people decide how much they want to rely on the food scale or measuring cups and spoons or whether they prefer to weigh themselves daily, weekly or monthly -- they may successfully, happily and honestly make decisions about how to go about logging their food items.

kellykat2

I log everything. i've lost and gained the same 5 lbs over and over again, but at least i'm not fooling myself or others by lying about it. I know what you mean about others and their healthy entries and massive amounts of exercise, yet they never lose or gain a thing. I am sure they are not being honest either.

tina9988

i only log significant things and leave out things like condiments or a handful of nuts etc.

i don't think it's "lying" if i am still aware of it whether it's written down or not...

Holy crap, you lost 182lbs? That's amazing!

acstansell

Everything I ingest, I track - down to gum, MiO, and my daily vitamin.

chrischinchilla

Yes, I track EVERY SINGLE THING as best I can. If I pop a single M&M, I log it!

BarbWhite09

I track everything, with the exception of when I drink & end up getting the drunk munchies. On drinking nights I'll submit my entry after dinner & write in my notes that it's a drinking night; therefore, I'm going to end up being over on my food. But except for drinking nights everything gets tracked.

Alphawolf02

I try and track everything. I saw a post a while ago that had the best way of putting it: "If I bite it, I write it!" I love that saying and, whenever I think I am not going to put something in my diary because I don't want to go over my calories, I remember that saying, and plan to do better the next day.

Prek2005

I track everything I eat on MRP as well. My calorie range is between 1200 to 1500 calories per day, but MFP limits me to 1430 so I try and stay under 1430.

deeva2266

I track everything except spices. For me to stay on track it is important to log it and review it daily.

HM1971

I sometimes font track a little bite of this or that......but most days I have 600-900 calories left over after exercise, so a teeny bite of cookie or cake wont even put me close.

1996gtstang

i enter everything, thats the whole point of a diary, if i have a meltdown i can see how it screwed up my whole day. its to help you, not to impress other people with your choices

ThisisMiss

Nearly everything. I tend to not include spices.. like one or two others, if by the end of the day I have a ton of leftover calories, I may get a slice of cheese or something and not track it (mostly because I forget to) , but if that slice of cheese turns to two or a mini sandwich or something, then I will head straight to the computer and track it. If I don't track something, it is mostly because I forget, which is why I try to log everything almost right after I eat it. I have a terrible memory.

cppeace

I track as close to perfect s I can..occassionly may over estimate my peanut butter would rather be over than under and don't put quite all my spices and rarely forget something tiny like a fortune cookie.