Love to eat, hate to log...

_Christine_

I’m the worst about logging my food. Much of what I eat is homemade and without written recipes.
For those who successfully log their food, how do you go about it?

Kateraptor

The app for my phone saves me! I make a lot of stuff from scratch too throughout the week and I put the ingredients and number of servings and it will tell me calories per serving. Plus if I eat anything from a package I can just scan the barcode and the information will be brought up. I also take 1 day a week off. It keeps me sane and on track.

harebearva

You can log it but you have to measure or give your best guess as to what you use in a recipe then use the recipe tab on MFP to type it in. Does take a bit of doing at first but unless you only make something one time and never again, you will eventually build up a database of your favorites and its easy to log. If not then you'll just have to go on as you are now and hope for the best. Just takes discipline I'm afraid.

Tracie65

I hate logging my food. I do it sometimes but I hate constantly building recipies. I get bored with it. Im also curious how others do it all day every day

_Christine_

I've never noticed the recipe tab before. Thanks for pointing it out!

mrsjennifermaffei

I scan every barcode possible. When theres no barcode I search the food brand and what it is. If no barcode and nothing shows up in a search then I search for like-type food and take the average calorie....not lowest or highest.

kristen6022

About 95% of the things I eat are homemade. I rarely eat out or out of a package. I just measure and list everything seperately. Oh, and there is a recipe builder on here (I just discovered it a few days ago) that if you find a recipe or have one that you use a lot you can type in exactly what you use and it measures out the calories in a serving. Now you just have to have the motivation to only eat one serving - my biggest downfall!

Good luck. You are welcome to review my diary if you need inspiration!

EDesq

I’m the worst about logging my food. Much of what I eat is homemade and without written recipes.
For those who successfully log their food, how do you go about it?

Of course that's your problem...You have NO idea what you are eating (calories, nutrients...) Just go into Recipes and make your recipes and how many PORTIONS you intend to divide into it (that's a serving.) Start measuring what you put in your food until you have a very good idea how to estimate. Contrary to popular belief, a Good Cook uses measures to get a consistantly good tasting product. What a Good Cook can also do is improvise when they don't have ingredients or make up a good recipe....but always measuring.

EBFNP

I don't even count calories..lol...too much effort

calgirl43228

You can't control something you don't measure.

shellsie_j

Just a thought.....Isn't logging your calories one of the main points of this site? Having said that there are many other advantages of MFP. However logging my calories has been one of my major breakthroughs with getting my weight loss on the right track. I keep my meals fairly simple with usually a protein and lots of vegies so that is easy to log. Please feel free to look at my diary. It takes a bit of time but it sets your head clear on what you can have for the day and it makes it easier not to go over your cals for the day.

hiker282

Weigh everything and log it! Just have to ask yourself what you hate more. Being fat or measuring and logging your food. Very simple choice.

AbiNichole

I log every day and every morsel because it helps me stay accountable but I also add in a section in my "food notes" column that in my opinion is helping me understand long term healthy living.

I give myself a grade for my exercise, diet, and discipline for the day then I tally my servings quotas in each category. For example:

Grade: A
Veggies: 4
Fruit: 2
Protein: 3
Carbs: 2

I really like this method because it helps me focus on nutrition and not just my overall categories for the day. I can also see patterns on my weight loss over time. What happens if I have 6 servings of veggies and only 1 complex carb? What if I eat less fruit and more carbs? It's an easy way to really critique my diet to see what's working.

It's important to consider how much temptation I had for each day as well. If I was out to a big mexican dinner with friends and I resisted the chips and salsa and margharitas- then I automatically get a higher grade then if I was home by myself all day w/ less temptation.

This also helps me guess what I will lose when I step on the scale. If I look back at my grades over the last week and I see mostly A's and B's I expect a 1.5-3 lb. weight loss. If I see several C's or D's then I know that I wasn't as committed as I should be and I can mentally prepare myself for a loss that corresponds with my efforts.

Keeps me honest and striving to make long term healthy changes. You should try it. :flowerforyou:

_Christine_

I measure; I just don't have it all written down. Lots of improvising going on as well when groceries get low and the idea of hauling 3 kids to the store doesn't sound appealing.

I think being able to build my recipes will help a lot. And the meal tab. (Again... just hadn't taken the time to research much on the area.) We have several meals we eat each week, be it breakfast or lunch that I can just select instead of clicking on all the bits and pieces. Makes it more doable.

JustineMarie21

Find a food that is close to what you made thats actually in the website

CouleeRunner

Find a food that is close to what you made thats actually in the website

I agree with this. If you really don't want to take the time to create recipes, at least measure your portion...say lasagna....and find "homemade lasagna" in the database and log it for the amount you had. Even if not completely accurate, you will get an idea of portions sizes and what you are really eating in a day.

jcsaxon3

Easiest way to do it is what most folks have said: measure and put it in as a recipe. I usually measure everything by weight, as most products give serving sizes in terms of grams, which is really accurate. You can get a decent digital food scale for $10-$20, which makes everything easier. I also usually don't bother with low/no calorie items on the log (like spices and certain vegetables that are mostly water), and focus on the more caloric ingredients like starches and meats. Once you get used to doing it it doesn't take much longer than not logging at all!

_Christine_

I just dusted off my food scale.