So tired of tracking and counting

Alexstrasza

I'm just tired of it. I'm eating healthier and in smaller portions, shouldn't that be enough? I struggle everyday to meet my calorie goal. Either I'm going over or way under.

Not to mention all the carbs, proteins, and crap. It's just so tiring planning out my meals around all that crap. I know it's healthy for me but I just get so sick of it, to the point that I get angry at food, at myself.

Then adding in excercise calories and still trying to maintain the sodium, carbs, etc!

I feel like leaving MFP for awhile and seeing what happens when I do things on my own.

liftingheavy

I totally get what you are saying. Whatever you decide, keep up the good fight.

RunAmock

I understand getting burned out. If you do decide to leave for a while, commit to weighing yourself on a set day every week. I have found that when I stop counting and logging, my weight tends to start creeping in the upward direction.

It might help you to make a list of the pros and cons. Maybe a new outlook on it will help. If you get a negative attitude about something, you will not enjoy it. Try to put a positive spin on the logging.

Whatever you decide, best of luck to you. It's difficult, I know.

palmerig88

Idk...I guess if you don't like it then quit. Good luck.

ElizabethRoad

Either I'm going over or way under.

This is fine! It just needs to average out to your goal. I don't even try to keep each day at my goal. I use my weekly total to know if I'm on track.

Not to mention all the carbs, proteins, and crap. It's just so tiring planning out my meals around all that crap. I know it's healthy for me but I just get so sick of it, to the point that I get angry at food, at myself.

I have changed my eating habits slowly, so that I'm getting more vegetables and whole foods, and I think that's good enough. I don't pay a lot of attention to the nutrients. I check now and then to make sure I'm not seriously lacking in something. But I lived 35 years without tracking my protein and vitamins and so forth, and I've always been OK.

I feel like leaving MFP for awhile and seeing what happens when I do things on my own.

Not necessarily a bad idea. If you're getting sick of it, take a break. I would suggest that you define how long the break is going to be, though. Take a month off; or say that if you gain 5 pounds you will come back.

salinas87

Hey, it happens, You just gotta take a break sometimes, and then get back on the wagon, you have lost so many pounds! You are doing a great job!

Im_NotPerfect

That's exactly how I felt when I was on weight watchers. I kept thinking "I don't want to do this the rest of my life!" and honestly I don't want to have to do MFP the rest of my life either. I want to make my lifestyle change and have it just be my life. That's how it is. But I know from MANY past experiences, that's just not how it is. As soon as I stop counting/measuring, etc I stop paying attention to what I eat.

Oh whoops...I ate a bagel and latte for breakfast....AND had McDonald's for lunch. What? We don't have time to make dinner at home? Okay let's stop at Arbys! Seriously....this has happened many times in the past. If I don't hold myself accountable for it, there's no telling how many actual calories I consume.

So if you need to take a break, I get it. But don't let the accountability totally leave your head.

PonyTailedLoser

I feel that way sometimes and then realize logging is what keeps me in line. If you can do it without keeping track, great. If not, I'd rather be obsessed with calories than overweight.

landorki

Keeping a food log or weight loss journal can actually double the number of pounds an individual loses, according to a recent study printed in The American Journal of Preventative Medicine and reported by Nanci Hellmich of USA Today... just saying.

landorki

weight loss is hard work... it takes dedication and patience. If it were easy, no one would be over weight...

jhedeen

I had a trainer at my gym say even if you do it for 5 days and take 2 off thats ok. Ive been doing that Im finding I still keep track even if I'm not logging it.

gsager

Quit, that's the good thing about it, you don't have to do it.

grinch031

I think calorie counting can be useful to learn about your eating habits and also to understand the nutritional value of certain foods. But I find it way too tedious and unsustainable in the long term.

You CAN live life at a healthy weight without counting calories, but you have to make sacrifices. You need to give up those trigger foods that lead to overeating or eat them sparingly. For me that was pretty much sugar and grains, which makes eating anywhere away from home difficult at times. But I love meat, cheese, and salads and that's just fine for me. Every couple of days I'll eat pizza or desserts, and then I pay for it in the gym.

dlwyatt82

I manage it by keeping many of my meals / snacks fairly static.

I have a couple of regular breakfast options with roughly the same calorie count, and I just pick whichever one I'm in the mood for in the morning. I cook food for a week's worth of lunches at work on Saturday or Sunday and measure out the portions into tubs that I can just grab in the morning. My snacks are either baby carrots and hummus, or a granola bar (both of which are always in the house). All of these things are in MFP as frequently used, so it's nothing to fire up the app on my phone and check them off each day.

That just leaves dinners and weekend lunches that require any real daily effort to track / count, and it's not so bad to keep up with just the one meal. It does get a little boring eating the same breakfast / lunch meals during the week, but what the hell. I'm sleepy when I eat breakfast and busy when I eat lunch, so it's not like I was enjoying those meals much anyway. I get variety at dinnertime.

I don't stress about the nutritional breakdown too much. I review the results at the end of the week, and tweak my lunch recipes if needed.

You can probably get by if you have a knack for estimating the calories in different types of food, and choosing the proper portion sizes, but keeping track of things on MFP is a way to be absolutely sure. Don't give up!

Chuckw40

I got tired of logging so I quit doing it and I am still losing weight. I basically learned how to eat by logging for so many months and since I have a fairly small number of food items I eat it's not that hard to stay in line. I guess if you were constantly changing up the foods you eat it would be a problem. It's not rocket science to figure out if you are eating chips and candy all day you are going to gain weight.

aheartbeatsos

Don't feel like you're bound to MFP
It's just a tool that you can use when you want and leave when you please.
I log in every day because I've got 22 years of unhealthy eating habits to break. I've vowed to stick around until I reach my goal weight. My hope is that by then I will have gotten so used to portion size and paying attention to nutrition information I won't have to worry about making unhealthy choices.
I wish you the best in whatever you choose!

Alexstrasza

Thanks for all the encouraging and understanding words.

I think what I'll do is just eat and try to be very concious about what I'm eating. Then I'll log my food at the end of the day so I can see where I stand. If I feel I'm doing a good enough job, then I'll keep doing that.

As of right now I tend to plan out my food every morning and I just get so frustrated trying to figure out how to fit everything in while not going over.

walkingfeetxoxo

i took a break from here for a while after i lost lots of weight, but then i found myself going off track and slipping back into old ways and gaining so i quickly rushed back on here and re joined the gym lol. we all need breaks in our life so dont be afraid to chill for a while but do your best to eat healthy and excercise when you can, you can always come back if you feel the need.

mfp_1

Do you own kitchen scales?