Ideas for when logging food becomes tiresome
SlinkyNewMe
Posts: 213 Member
I used to do weight watchers and we only had to count 26 points, most days. Fruit and vegetables were free on Weight Watchers - that was a lot easier for me as I am a vegetarian!
Sometimes I get really fed up with weighing and logging every single item, particularly as I make a lot of my food from scratch. if i husband kindly makes me a salad or some roast vegetables - I find myself carefully separating each vegetable, or salad ingredient to weigh it .... come on..... REALLY :huh: ... yes, really!
Lately I have found that I have been eating things that are easier to scan - things with a barcode = more processed or pre-packaged food, which is counter-intuitive to eating clean. I have tried not logging but I find that when I do that, I feel like I am in free fall and out of control, even though I am eating healthy, I feel I go over on things like nuts or grains for example.
Anyway have come up with the idea of not logging healthy things such as fruit, vegetables, tofu, pulses because they are low calories and fat. Instead I will try to log calorie denser foods such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, flour products, fruit juice, sugar, desserts, treats, oils and wine and allow around 600 - 700 calories for those foods.
This is kind of how Weight Watchers works anyway and I have long since documented on here how I lost around 18lbs on Weight Watchers and since coming on here I have more or less been on a plateau of 21lbs lost. I think on WW I ate in a more natural way, because I did not have to log every single thing.
I will just use myMFP food diary for my own logging purposes. Exercise as usual and log that too, but not eat back exercise cals.
I think I will try from today for one week and see how it goes.
Sometimes I get really fed up with weighing and logging every single item, particularly as I make a lot of my food from scratch. if i husband kindly makes me a salad or some roast vegetables - I find myself carefully separating each vegetable, or salad ingredient to weigh it .... come on..... REALLY :huh: ... yes, really!
Lately I have found that I have been eating things that are easier to scan - things with a barcode = more processed or pre-packaged food, which is counter-intuitive to eating clean. I have tried not logging but I find that when I do that, I feel like I am in free fall and out of control, even though I am eating healthy, I feel I go over on things like nuts or grains for example.
Anyway have come up with the idea of not logging healthy things such as fruit, vegetables, tofu, pulses because they are low calories and fat. Instead I will try to log calorie denser foods such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, flour products, fruit juice, sugar, desserts, treats, oils and wine and allow around 600 - 700 calories for those foods.
This is kind of how Weight Watchers works anyway and I have long since documented on here how I lost around 18lbs on Weight Watchers and since coming on here I have more or less been on a plateau of 21lbs lost. I think on WW I ate in a more natural way, because I did not have to log every single thing.
I will just use myMFP food diary for my own logging purposes. Exercise as usual and log that too, but not eat back exercise cals.
I think I will try from today for one week and see how it goes.
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Replies
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This is a constantly questioning process isn't it?? You are doing great!!! I am always more for naturally controling calories. That is when I have always been the most successful. I do have to say though that it is very much a "different strokes for different folks" kind of process. Once we find what works for us, then we should stop questioning and stick to that because our mind plays lots of tricks on us along the way too. Medical issues also come up. It is a process but I have really found that what works for one does not necessarily work for another. Counting calories only served to drive me crazy. Now I just announce when I exercise and feel much better but some people need to control the calories even way after they are to their goal. I just accept my body is flawed and try to accept it for the way it is right now. xxxxoooo Keep doing what your doing because it is working. Here's to another big drop next month Lydia!!! I hope that for you!!!0
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I have found that overeating even healthy things impedes weight loss for me
and I eat about as healthy as a person can eat. 0 -
Thanks Lara - logging has been driving me crazy. Because I know i eat healthily it doesn't seem necessary. some days when I am lazy i rely too heavily on bread, or processed vegetarian food - that's why I will continue to monitor. It is such a pain measuring every apple and tangerine or bit of lettuce that I eat - it's more important to keep track of the high carb things and fats I feel.0
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Actually, my best friend has a smart phone and apparently, there is an app on it that allows you to scan the barcodes on products to enter them in the system. I'm thinking of upgrading my phone as that should reduce some of the work. I think entering recipes also helps. If you put in food you're cooking, you just need to cook those same recipes and select them. The key part is making sure you don't overeat and making the portions the same as what you put down in your recipe.
For now, I'll just deal with entering what I'm going to eat because at least it motivates me.
Monica
P.S. Don't let that stop you!0 -
I agree that logging food can be a real pain. Last year I was logging food every meal and it could take me up to an hour to log all the different parts of each meal because I'm a mostly from "scratch" girl too. This time around I figured that close enough is good enough and I'm having much more success because it only takes me a few minutes. For instance, tonight I made yakisoba from scratch but instead of inputting each individual ingredient, I just searched "yakisoba", found a homemade entry, and used it. I looked at the calorie count and it looked pretty accurate, so I didn't worry if it was a little different. Yesterday, when I was eating fruit salads, I didn't worry that it said "grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew" and mine didn't have grapes or cantaloupe. The calorie count is very similar for just watermelon, honeydew and pineapple which is what I was eating. As I've simplified my logging, I find myself not as intensely focused on the kitchen and food and am able to go do things and celebrate life during the process a little more. I have a long journey ahead of me and I don't want to make this too overwhelming or I'll quit.0
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