When you fall off the wagon?

SparkleHorse224

Sometimes I know I haven't eaten very well, or I haven't been to the gym. So I don't log in to MFP. I'll wait until I feel better about what I ate or my gym day. Do you all do this? I have been logging in sporadically the last few weeks, and I know I've gained a pound or two. When you have a "bad" day, do you 'fess up and face the music by putting it in your MFP diary? Or do you log in only on "good" days?

I suspect that I *should* log everything no matter what.

LadyVeng3ance

Your only tricking yourself by doing this.. You should not be ashamed when you fall of the wagon every now and then, I think most people do.

Yesterday I ate alot of ice cream with ALOT of chocolate sauce at 1 am.. It was delicious though, and I dont regret it hehe

Resurrection77

If we're honest with ourselves, we have all fallen off the wagon. For me, I have learned to walk in truth, first with myself and then with my community. I have learned, deliverance comes through confession, and the beautiful thing is you will find that you are not the only one. When you choose to walk in truth, you will no longer listen to the negative messages in your head. Be encouraged, we fall down, but we do get back up.

MissJenova

I would log it for sure. It's tough but it happens to all of us.

Not only do I log it, but I usually post a status about it to. I get support from my friends encouraging me to do better next time.

If you're not honest with yourself you will stunt your growth. There is nothing to be ashamed of. You just move on forward! :flowerforyou:

bokodasu

You know what you need to do. Do the calories only count if you write them down?

It's not like there's someone from MFP central standing behind you with a rolled-up newspaper, ready to smack you if you go over your calories (although maybe that would be motivating to some people, I don't know). Logging is a tool to measure energy coming in and going out of your body - if you don't do it, the energy doesn't change, only your awareness of it does.

cebreisch

I really try to log everything no matter what. Mainly because I see a nutritionist, and figure she can't help me if she can't see what's going on.

I've also found that on days I fall off the wagon, sometimes I don't fall as far as I thought. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I fall off with a HUGE THUD...but sometimes it's not as big of a deal.

The other thing is: like it says in "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and it's all small stuff", "Make peace wtih imperfection." I'm not perfect, and I'm not going to try to be. Every time I tell myself, "OK - no more chocolate for you!" Guess what happens? All I want is chocolate, I'd fall off the wagon, then hide from it and never go back, gain weight, and feel horrible. Futile.

You're going to have setbacks, but don't let the setbacks completely derail your efforts. It's now what happens to you, it's how you deal with it. If you get derailed, dust yourself off, tell yourself, "Back on Track," then act like it.

jojo1410

Definitely log it, it's a slippery slope otherwise. I think it's easy to hide the extra food but here is a good place to face up to it, in safety and in the knowledge that you have friends who won't judge, and will encourage and offer guidance. Log it, even if it hurts to do so. Just think, at midnight it changes to a clean sheet! XX

KCoolBeanz

I log everything I eat, even if it's a terrible food day. I'm at the point where I feel guilty if I don't. Lying to yourself isn't going to get you any farther. Also, everybody falls off the wagon now and then - it's really not that big of a deal. Picking yourself up and getting back to it is far more important. :-)

SUPERhecticMOM

I try to log everything the good, the bad & the ugly....the trend I'm seeing is that every month when I start to PMS I fall off the wagon and reach for crap (sweets, heavy/fatty comfort meals etc) but with out logging I wouldn't be a aware/prepared for this behaviour

SpazzyMal

I log everything. I've had some days where I've failed at meeting my goals, or gone way over. But I still log it because it helps keep me accountable to myself.

Faericn_Rising

I log everything, everyday. I fell off HARD the last TWO days. i had a 'holiday' dinner with family the day before last, and then yesterday we ordered chinese! I woke up this morning 4 sodium lbs heavier. But thats what happens, and i knew that.

I definately, definately log everything. Yesterday i put dinner in with quick cals, as an even 1500! Except the weight gain. Because i know it will go away in about a week if i continue my regular programming and hysrate properly. plus, seeing my number 4 digits lighter helps me stay on track.

Dont fret too much. You fell off. We all do. Some more than others. Thats not important. The important thing, is getting back on again. I REALLY enjoyed the food i got to eat. But now, its over, and its crunch time. no pun intended. lol.

Ill be turning on the Xbox, and shooting for 1000 cals on the DDR today. And drinking lots of water.

Cebreisch certainly seems to know what shes talking about, also. You dont lose 100 lbs by not knowing what you are doing. I have lost almost 30. and 99%of the time, im on the wagon, feeling great.

Something else, it took me 20 years, to figure all this out. And the first 6 months of THIS time, was experimentation also... You may not get it right away. You just havent found the right balance for yourself yet. Stick with it! And log it all, pass or fail.

Best of luck. Add me if you want . :-)

blushingmama

I try to log everything. I keep my diary closed because I dont really need to read a lecture about eating a cupcake and drinking two beers for my dinner. I know I messed up - but I'm gonna log it anyway.

SeaChele77

You need to hold yourself accountable - LOG EVERYTHING. If you only log the good days you are only cheating yourself of what this site can really help you accomplish!!

We are human - we have good days and we have bad days. So what you ate a dozen oreos..... make a promise to yourself that you will eat a better dinner and workout later and/or work out 2x as hard tomorrow with a better diary. Today is only one day, but its up to you not to make todays bad choice a habit. This whole process is a learning experience and a life long experience.

YOU have to want it and YOU have to understand you are worth the hard work and dedication!!!

lkherna

I have done this before... eaten poorly and decided to call it a loss for MFP for the day/week. I am trying to get myself to not do this but it is very easy to put your head in the sand sometimes!

AmberJo1984

Constant logging is the only thing that will help. You are only hurting yourself by not keeping a close eye on everything. It will only allow you to keep eating like you are because you just ignore the bad results. I log EVERYTHING, and I feel so much better since starting this journey. Logging everything will give you a better picture of what you are doing right and what needs to change.

MinnieInMaine

It's best to log as consistently and accurately as you can, that way if you do gain (or lose) you can go back and look at the history and find out what the reason is. You're only cheating yourself if you don't. Tracking is a great tool because it keeps you accountable for the choices you make - good or bad.

The only time I've skipped logging is when I'm away from home and it's difficult to get onto the website and/or spend the time logging the foods I'm eating. For instance, I skipped logging the weekend a couple weeks ago because I was away from home visiting family and didn't want to spend the time logging foods that were likely hard to find. However, in that case, and during both my week long vacations earlier this year, I was still very mindful of my food choices and making sure I got some activity in.

If you're not logging because you're worried about what others might think, put your diary on private.

MamaWannaRun

you are only human.. we all fall down at times..

I too 'fall off the wagon'... I make sure to log everything.. and that way, when I look back, I can look for trends and triggers and then try to manage my life around those things.. you know, lesson learned kind of deal.. I've learned quite a bit thus far!

if it is bothersome to you, feel free to make your food journal private.. that way, it is between you and your own ghosts...

good luck to you..

kie_kie

I fell off the wagon and gained 5lbs but that doesnt matter. what matters is that you get back on afterwards and work your but off to achieve your goals (y)

secretlobster

If you're losing weight, logging "bad" days keeps you accountable and responsible. If you want to put blinders on when you fall off the wagon (we're talking more than just a day here and there), you're setting yourself up for failure. The most important aspect of calorie counting is the AWARENESS of your diet. If you're turning a blind eye to bad habits, you're not going to change them.

PayneAS

Everyone has pretty much said what I would have. But I wanted to reiterate that if you don't log *all* your food you are only cheating yourself.

PrettyGirlPayton

I have not logged many times due to guilt. But it made me feel worse. I try to log as accurate as possible daily. Reading this thread and the comments has helped me. We all struggle with this journey. Start logging everything.

chocl8girl

I try to log everything. Occasionally I won't hit "complete" on my diary because I don't want any feedback, but really, the only person I need to be accountable to is myself.

SparkleHorse224

You know what you need to do. Do the calories only count if you write them down?

It's not like there's someone from MFP central standing behind you with a rolled-up newspaper, ready to smack you if you go over your calories (although maybe that would be motivating to some people, I don't know). Logging is a tool to measure energy coming in and going out of your body - if you don't do it, the energy doesn't change, only your awareness of it does.

The calories don't count if I don't write them down. AND if I break the cupcake in half...all the calories fall out.

Duh.

lol

You're right, you're right. : )

robmcd88

If you feel too bad about going over, try to log the excess into the next day and be more determined that day not to go over. Just not logging kind of defeats the purpose.

SparkleHorse224

You are all right!

I will log everything every day. Toot sweet!

If you are my MFP buddy, and you see that notification that "Sparkhorse224 hasn't logged in for a week!" you have my permission to (GENTLY) nudge me. Nudges, not judges, people.

lilteepot

This isn't a wagon that you can fall off of, for goodness sakes. This is life. If you stop looking at it as, "I did really bad today. I'm so embarrassed. I don't want anyone to know how badly I fell off the wagon today," and instead, think of it as "Ok... so I made decisions that could have negative repercussions/consequences, and I'm going to have to live with them. What can I learn from this?" Then it kind of becomes impossible to "fall off" the wagon. There are good days and bad days. You celebrate your good days. You take an honest look at your bad days and turn it into a positive lesson (maybe you feel really crappy the morning after eating all that sugar, which you never would have noticed if you didn't know how it felt to NOT eat like that every day.) I think not being honest with yourself is a sign that you're not really seeing this as a lifestyle change, and instead just a trend that you could follow or not follow. If you're going to make bad choices, then by all means, make them and OWN them. Hopefully they'll be worth it. If not, then you have a reason not to make them again.

bcattoes

If I can accurately log, I usually do. But I often skip the weekends because we tend to eat a lot of meals somewhere other than home that were prepared by someone other than me or my husband so I really have no idea of the ingredients. I don't see the point of guessing and don't need a log to "keep me honest". I ate it whether I log it or not.

But I don't really consider these days, when I often eat far too many calories and/or exercise less than usual, as "falling off the wagon". They are just a natural part of my life. These days of wanton eating (and drinking) and fun are the reason it’s easy to be good the rest of the time. I would not be as happy or as healthy if I thought I had to eat perfect all the time and exercise hard every day.

I come from a big family where every occasion/holiday/event involves food and drink, and lots of it. I don't ever want to miss out on those occasions.

jjelizalde

Log everything in everyday. Each day is a new day.

awidener86

I wasn't posting when I'd do bad then completely fell off the wagon. I am also doing weight watchers along with this ( I like the support I get here) so if I don't log here I'm still logging on weight watchers. I usually go over my calories on here but I also think that 1200 was hindering my weightloss before.

I decided that when I do eat bad and go way over my calories or miss a gym day I'm going to write in the notes section of the log how I feel about it. Another thing that could help is get a day planner and put stickers on the days you do good (one color for eating and one color for exercise) It's helped me a lot this last month to stay on track.

I also think I'm going to go back and log everything from the days I haven't logged (Like I said I log EVERYTHING on the WW tracker). Maybe I can figure out my calorie goal on here and boot WW in the next couple months.

Feel free to add me.

LaurenAOK

I log everything no matter what. However, if I have a bad day sometimes I wait a couple of days and then go back and log it. For example on Saturday I ended up getting a bit out of control with some alcoholic beverages (I was at a theme park with friends) and got taco bell on the way home. I knew I was going to be wayyy over my calories and that stressed me out, so I didn't log it right away. But last night when I was feeling more calm about the whole thing, I went back and inputted it. Turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought - I WAS several hundred calories over, but I had come in under a lot last week, so it wasn't a huge deal. It all evens out.

Point being, I do think it's important to log everything. That way if you aren't losing, or even if you're losing more than expected, you can look at your calorie averages over time and see what might be going on.

Dethea

I go back and forth. If I know I'm only a little over, then I might not log those items. But if I go way over, I log those things too. Sometimes I'm surprised by how much "way over' actually is. Yesterday I had a bad food day, logged it all, and found out I only ate about 2200 calories. It kind of made me feel better knowing that I think 2200 is a lot, now that I've learned how much I should actually eat.