Do you "lie" on your food diary?

SweetestLibby

So far I've tried to stay as honest as possible. sometime I won't do it right then - like Saturday I spen all day out on a date so I logged what I had that morning but I didn't finish it until later that night. With eating out I try to find the best possible guess of what isn't listed.

I also include the "bad stuff" too. Fig newtons, doritos, and icecream for dinner on sunday night? Yep.

I also do High-Lows on occasion. 1500 cals one day, 1100 the next, 1000 the following, and then 900 the last day. it's absolutley intentional.

Chrissie_R

never!!

1two3four

I see some food diaries where people are consuming less than 1000 calories a day...multiple days in a row. And these aren't "small" people. I'm wondering if maybe they are fudging it? I mean...can someone really be healthy eating 900 calories a day??

I try to log everything that I eat. Even if it means admitting that I made a bad choice. I just don't understand how people can live on that little.

Yes and no.

Everything I eat I log. There's a gap right now because I was away from my computer and a few days I logged on paper and I've been too lazy to find the notebook. So that's the "no, I don't lie". However, that's not to say I won't shuffle calories. I ate pie and ice
cream Monday and according to my log I'll still be eating it on Saturday. That's the "yes, I lie" part.

If I am EVER under my calories it was because I was too ill to eat much or in a situation where I was unable to eat for example, stuck in an ER with no snacks or money and I couldn't until I got home at 9pm and I ate as much as I possibly could before bed and ended up several hundred under my goal.

As for people eating under 1,000 calories I believe they exist... I would be incredibly hungry if I were in their shoes. I definitely don't see the point of not logging every single bit of food though.

jenniferswooten

I log it all...the good, the bad, and the ugly. Its going to show on the scale anyway. If I didn't log it all, I'm only hurting myself.

rm7161

As for people eating under 1,000 calories I believe they exist... I would be incredibly hungry if I were in their shoes. I definitely don't see the point of not logging every single bit of food though.

People with eating disorders definitely do exist. That's why anorexics look the way they do on the calories they consume.

What I don't believe, is someone who is obese, regularly eating 1000 calories and staying obese. If that were true, anorexics wouldn't exist. There is a study out there that refutes this bit of weight loss myth as well. What is happening is exactly what you say ... they don't see the point of logging every bit of food and that is what makes up the balance of the calories. There is even a name for it. Diet resistance.

ThatSoundsHard

Since I started logging I try to log everything before I eat/drink it. I do forget things but I try to keep it as real and honest as possible. I really only do this for myself to keep track and keep myself accountable. What's the point if I'm not honest?

binknbaby

Well, I think there are four different categories of people who don't put every blessed little thing on their diary.

1) They are lazy or forgetful, and simply neglect to log. Not intentionally being "deceptive", but sorta defeats the purpose of having a calorie counter if you don't fully utilize it.

2) There are only certain foods they don't log, since they are extremely minimal calories/macros and are annoying to log. Things like herbal tea (without cream or sugar), medicine and supplements, spices, etc.

3) They are actually, purposefully lying, trying to appear to be "on track" but not actually following what their diary reads. They may ashamed/embarrassed to have others see what they've eaten, and if their profile is public, they want to avoid judgment.

4) They are not trying to be deceptive but they are underestimating portion size, and mistakenly putting in lower-calorie items rather than the full amount of calories they actually consumed. That would mainly be a lack of understanding how much "2 oz" or "150g" or "1/8 cup" actually is--and what it looks like on the plate.


But it's also completely *possible* for them to only be eating 1000 cals a day. That's called an eating disorder... :indifferent:

Seriously, though, that's not healthy and they should eat more, if that is, in fact, all they are eating.

Confuzzled4ever

Probably, because you just can't eat that little for that many days in a row without binging on something. And I doubt they record the binge.

Those people are the ones whose weight never changes, too.

I tend to seek out friends who are active, who eat normal amounts of food (or even excessive amounts!) and still lose weight or maintain where they are. If I see a friend starving themselves, I will usually say something and if they ignore it I'll unfriend them.

For me, this site is all about positively reinforcing my decisions to eat well and exercise. I'm down almost 30 lbs so far so I know it's working. I don't need anyone who might interrupt that momentum chatting with me.

Wrong... you can eat that little and not binge.. I did it for an entire month.. Of course I didn't do it intentionally, and I'm not claiming it's healthy and I did lose weight (*how can you not lose weight eating that little???) I don't have an eating disorder.. my lack of eating was a response to life events and I didn't even realize I wasn't eating. i'm active, I was hiking at that time and jogging and other things. I ate normal foods, just not enough of them.

It's crazy to not feel hunger, but some people don't. It's a fact. That does not mean i stuff my face at night and lie about it. It means I need to train my body to expect to eat and be fueled, so it reminds me to eat if I don't. It means I have skipped so many meals that my body is not expecting food and isn't looking for it. Not a good thing. Ya'll can say that i had to know or I was starving myself or i'm a liar, i've been called it all already, but i didn't know, I wasnt' paying attention. Still to this day if I don't pay attenion I forget to eat. Skipping a meal or two does not lead to over eating for me or bingeing. My tummy is only so big and can only hold so much food, so there is a point where i'm full and it's the same point if I skipped the previous meal or not.

I don't lie.. if my diary reflects 800, that's what i ate, if it reflects 2000 that's what i ate. I am accountable to me, I am trying to maintain health moreso then weight loss. My journey is mine.

I know what I am doing is working.. I've lost weight, lost inches and gotten my medical stuff fixed. I still struggle to eat enough, but it's getting easier everyday. I am grateful to those who encouraged me on here and understood what I was dealing with and gave me good advice and encouragement. Instead of those who just told me what an idiot I am and how can i do this to myself and how easy it is to eat more calories. It's not always that easy, just like it's not easy for some to eat less calories.

I was told repeated.. add granola to your breakfast or eat nuts.. ok.. example.. this morning.. I added some granola to my yogurt.. I haven't eaten since.. I'm not hungry.. so my calories for the day so far are under 200. How is that helping me eat enough? When I eat those calorie dense food I am full and I don't want to eat. I ate that yogurt about 4 hours ago. I'll eat my greek salad now that I am thinking about it.. but that's less then 100 calories too. I eat clean, becuase that's the food I like. It tastes good.. it also means I have to eat a lot in order to eat enough. It's hard.

Everyone's starting point is different, but our goals are the same. Understand, accept and encourage or don't say anything.

QueenofScott

No.......never! What would be the point of journaling my food if I lied about it? Of course, my diary is closed, so it is a record for Me.

mumtoonegirl

I see some food diaries where people are consuming less than 1000 calories a day...multiple days in a row. And these aren't "small" people. I'm wondering if maybe they are fudging it? I mean...can someone really be healthy eating 900 calories a day??

I try to log everything that I eat. Even if it means admitting that I made a bad choice. I just don't understand how people can live on that little.

I am one of those people and I log every single thing down to the amount of oil I use for my roasted veggies. I eat very healthy, very balanced (protein and veg at every single meal). I cannot figure out how I keep it that low to be honest but I am below 1000 and have been all week since I started logging my food. There are days where that is enough and there are days (depends on my cycle) where I need more food. But I don't bing, I eat healthy and to satisfaction.

I am very active, I work out 5x a week doing cardio and strength training.

cassiepv

What would be the point of lying on my diary ?

lorax419

Why lie? It does not benefit me to do it. I have had days I have not logged for whatever reason or forgot to finish logging. Plus I need that accountability to myself to not over eat. I saw a comment about planning out your say in the morning, that is what I do as well. It helps tremendously to have a plan to keep on track.

meatstroke

If im fudging it it's because i'm over compensating for calories. And question? I have no friends on mfp and need mutual encouragement and support, but I don't understand how to make those friends.. How?

msmonique46

No, I dont' lie. That's the one reason I decided to join myfitnesspal--to track what I eat even if it's bad. Because it actually cuts down on my bad choices. I find that I'm often under my calorie count because I'm hypersentive about staying under my fats and sugars. It's hard to find foods I like to consume that are low fat/sugar and healthy besides veggies. Most days I will eat an extra apple or banana to get the calorie count up. I get a bit better as time goes by.

RunBrew

One thing I admire about people on MFP is that I've never once see a diary where anyone drank more than a glass of wine or one beer. It's an amazing record considering the large number of people here and the fact that no one lies.

Speak for yourself.

I have on at least one occasion of each logged:

800 calories of Mimosas
near 1k Calories in Gin and Tonic
750-ish cals of Captain and Coke (coke zero, no less!)
600 calories of Beer.

:drinker:

kowlady

I allow myself one "cheat" day a week where I don't count calories. It helps me stay on track the rest of the week and keeps me from going crazy. Besides sometimes just wanting to enjoy some food or beer that I usually think of as off limits, I just find it nice to take a break from the tedium of measuring and weighing everything. I don't think of it necessarily as "lying" though. I have my diary set to private anyway, so it's not like I'm trying to impress anyone. It's been working well for me... as long as I get back on track the next day.

34blast

I don't lie because it only hurts me. I try to log everything as accurately as possible. If there is some doubt, I'm more likely to overestimate.

Some people with public diaries may lie to avoid ridicule. I know some people on here open up their diaries to their personal trainers to view. It only hurts them, but this might be a theory.

septembergrrl

I don't track gum or breath mints. I don't track my fish oil supplement. Sometimes I don't track condiments that aren't fatty or super-salty (e.g., I track mayo but not always mustard.). I don't track things like single hard candies or a free sample at the supermarket.

If I stopped losing weight, I'd make the effort to type in all those tiny bites. But so far I don't think it's made a difference. I admire people who have the discipline to type it all in.

chelseascounter

That defeats the purpose of myfitnesspal, well it would for me. When I first started I thought about lying on days I would go over, but then I could see it turning into a habit. So... NO!

twistedbutterfly

I wouldn't consider it lying as there is no intent to deceive, but there have been a few days where I splurged and didn't log everything. Most of the time I do try to log everything though and am trying to be more careful.