Eat more by logging calories

m60kaf
m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do people who log calories well and accurately on MFP sometimes feel that they actually eat MORE than they normally would if they just ate and didn't record because you just eat up to your daily limit?

Replies

  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Do people who log calories well and accurately on MFP sometimes feel that they actually eat MORE than they normally would if they just ate and didn't record because you just eat up to your daily limit?

    Yes, but I'm doing it on purpose.
  • jo_marnes
    jo_marnes Posts: 1,601 Member
    Yes
  • NikkiTompson
    NikkiTompson Posts: 89 Member
    yes but generally on days when I have done more exercise...so i dont think that its a bad thing...
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
    Part of the reason I started logging was that I was no longer able to decide whether I had eaten enough or too much after I started working out. It was much easier to tell when I was less active. Some days I feel like I'm starving, and others I have to work to get in calories.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    Hrmm. Good question.

    Part of me wants to say I don't think I would eat all of mt calories because I would be worried Id go over my limit because I had no reference to tell me how many I consumed. I think Id become super obsessive actually. I hate feeling like I am in limbo or out of control.
    The other part of me thinks I might use more butter, olive oil and stop measuring food because I don't have to write it down or be as accountable. I would start to "ball park" it and more then likely stop paying attention. I mean, like some hot dogs are 200 calories, some are as low as 40... that's a pretty big difference. So maybe ever more then my daily limit.

    Who knows, I'm not taking that chance though haha. I will stick to my calorie limit, even if it means I might eat more because I have that reference.
  • salxtai
    salxtai Posts: 341 Member
    Do people who log calories well and accurately on MFP sometimes feel that they actually eat MORE than they normally would if they just ate and didn't record because you just eat up to your daily limit?


    Yep cause I see I still technically have a "spare" 100 cal for the day and I start dreaming up what I can spend htem on, whereas if I don't log I'll feel guilty and avoid snacking... usually anyways, going through a phase where I want snacks though.
  • inkandsheep
    inkandsheep Posts: 101 Member
    No! I gained weight because I used to eat really high calorie foods without realising... MFP really opened my eyes to how many calories even some fairly "healthy" looking foods had and now I have a much better idea of how many calories foods might have and how much I should eat. But I still need to log them to be sure as some things still surprise me.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    No, but I think that some people, after having counted calories for a while, become much more conscious of their food choices and tend to select foods that have lower calorie density and provide better satiety. This can create fullness and allow for higher food volumes.

    Prior to them making the above changes, I think it's reasonable to assume the vast majority would over-eat.
  • jo_marnes
    jo_marnes Posts: 1,601 Member
    some people, after having counted calories for a while, become much more conscious of their food choices and tend to select foods that have lower calorie density and provide better satiety. This can create fullness and allow for higher food volumes.

    This is me
  • rainwalkerSK
    rainwalkerSK Posts: 81
    Yes and no.

    Yes, there are days that, due to poor planning, it's 9pm and I'm staring a 500 calorie shortage in the face, even though I'm not feeling particularly hungry. So I end up eating a pretty hefty snack at times where I wouldn't normally eat if I wasn't aware of my calorie intake. It seemed counterintuitive for me to eat when I wasn't feeling hungry, but I've figured out that just a couple of days at a large calorie deficit brings back powerful cravings for junk food and fast food, and I'll end up sabotaging myself.

    However, the only reason I have a calorie deficit in the first place is because logging calories makes me make more responsible choices. Left to my own devices, no, I wouldn't be eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich at 9:30pm, but I would have had a white chocolate mocha and a cream cheese danish for breakfast, a double quarter pounder with cheese meal for lunch, and chicken fried rice for dinner.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    well, kind of....

    If I am comfortable with my food choices for the day and don't feel hungry....yet MFP says I have only eaten 1100 calories, I might eat more "because I can" instead of going to bed content like I would have, had I not known where I stood....it's like a free pass to have that ice cream sandwich, which I might have skipped otherwise...

    also, if I measure out something carefully and log it all...then eat 90% of it and feel full...I will still finish it because "I logged it already", whereas if I hadn't been logging I would have scraped it into the trash....especially if I am aiming to reach a number, like protein....if I don't finish this chicken I won't reach my protein goal for the day so I'll finish it even though I'm full....
  • chicpeach
    chicpeach Posts: 302 Member
    I've definitely learned to eat more. I log my exercise and eat most, if not all, my exercise calories back. I found I feel healthier and more able to exercise on a daily basis when I do. I'm now 6 1/2 months in (although I didn't join MFP until about a month after I started my journey) and haven't experienced any plateaus. I credit getting an appropriate amount of calories - calories that are nutrient dense, not just calories for calorie sake, as the reason I register loss each week, even now as I'm pretty close to my goal and have been slowly upping my base calorie goal.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,331 Member
    For me personally, never. I have never ever had trouble meeting my daily calorie goals, and there are days when I pull off huge calorie burn numbers, say when I do a 30 mile bike ride, when I don't meet the calorie goals with exercise, but it is not because I couldn't eat more. I pretty much can always eat, hence logging is going to be a life long activity for me.
  • m60kaf
    m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
    Part of me thinks eating up to them is good because I'm starting to see you can eat too little any yo-yo eating isn't good

    However, part of me thinks it causes me to maybe overeat a little in the long run and prevent me toning. If I gave up though I think I would probably drift back into way over eating

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