Are you 100% honest with your food diary?

123468

Replies

  • murphinchina
    murphinchina Posts: 72
    Well, since most listed nutritional info is an estimate anyway... how to answer? I guess, don't stress over every little bite. When I use the info listed on MFP I look for several entries and usually go with the median. If only 2 I go with the higher one and when I guesstimate, I guess high.
  • suz155
    suz155 Posts: 326 Member
    Yes.
  • ThisNewFitGirl
    ThisNewFitGirl Posts: 81 Member
    I try to, just so i'm not kidding myself, the little things really add up and I think that can be a really big problem that I dont always take notice to.
  • elinormcl
    elinormcl Posts: 8 Member
    Absolutely, I think you need to, why keep a diary otherwise? I find the best way to lose weight is to write down everything you eat as you can easily forget somethings that you eat ... otherwise its cheating, and who are you cheating .. yourself??
  • kluvit
    kluvit Posts: 435 Member
    When I log (in maintenance mode, I go weeks without logging then log for a while to refocus), I try to log every calorie...even gum, breath mints, crystal light, etc. Some days are better than others on the non-caloric items such as diet sodas.
  • ninjakowski
    ninjakowski Posts: 158
    99% honest. I dont log vitamins, spices and sometimes I dont bother with any really low calorie condiments if I know I'm not going to go over on calories. I'm not trying to lose anymore so I dont think it matters so much. Mostly just a matter of time, I'm not wasting my time looking up all sorts of different little things just for 10 calories.
  • JennNH12
    JennNH12 Posts: 56
    I do log everything. Well, not vitamins. But other than that I always log everything. I NEED to see the numbers at the end of the day. If I lie, or pad it or leaves something out I am pretty much leaving myself in danger of messing up. If I can lie to my food diary, I am now not being honest to myself. I also.....dont give a crap about what others think when they see my diary. If I ask for some sort of help people need to see what I am eating to help me and make educated decisions.
  • fishermanmatt
    fishermanmatt Posts: 308 Member
    Not any more. I long almost everything but don't bother with things like the Crystal Light I mix with my water or the chewing gum I occasionally have. I may be off by 100 calories doing this but I usually have plenty of room in my daily goals.
  • ChristinaD2
    ChristinaD2 Posts: 57
    Absolutely... Otherwise it would seem pointless. If I slip-up and eat junk, it'll be on there. Usually, that knowledge inspires me to make a better choice, but not always ;D
  • ZETAZEN
    ZETAZEN Posts: 46 Member
    I record everything except seasonings. All the seasonings I use are salt free and 0 calories.
  • enigmaneo
    enigmaneo Posts: 61 Member
    When I have a bad day I just stop entering calories.
  • NutellaAddict
    NutellaAddict Posts: 1,258 Member
    Everything recorded down to the last piece of gum I chewed.
  • MaryRegs
    MaryRegs Posts: 272 Member
    yup...what is the point otherwise?
  • garnet116
    garnet116 Posts: 144 Member
    No, I"m not. I don't have the time/energy/desire to calculate every single little thing (like condiments or small amounts of ingredients)... I find it a struggle to log in my meals and snacks as it is. I basically use the diary as an esitmate of what I"m eating.. I don't look at the calorie count as much as I look at the quality and type of foods I'm eating.

    I do try and be as honest as I can with regards to food... I"m just not much of a measurer/weigh-er
  • ZETAZEN
    ZETAZEN Posts: 46 Member
    I log it all including my vitamins (mostly to keep track of the fact I've taken them) to a point. I don't log spices. I want to maintain accountability and if I don't log it I'm only lying to myself. I remember one day I logged the 23 calories from the two cheetos I snuck from my daughter. It shocked me that it was that many calories for just two of those little things. From then I decided I didn't want to get too crazy with the logging so I keep the cheetos revelation in mind every time I think of sneaking a little bit of something. If I don't want to log it then I probably shouldn't be eating it int the first place.

    Wow....at how many calories were in those two Cheetos! But I agree...if you don't log it, you're only lying to yourself. It's not an accurate reflection on how much one has eaten within the day!
  • shred_me_up
    shred_me_up Posts: 267 Member
    hahaha no. just the majority. once you start logging stuff like chewing gum or mints i feel like its a bit excessive/obsessive
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    It only hurts me if I don't log it, so why not. Though, it isn't always easy to log while living in Japan. A lot of things aren't in the database and I usually can only find calories on food labels and restaurant food...yeah....not happening.
  • sgv0918
    sgv0918 Posts: 851 Member
    Mostly. But not miniscule things like a spray of Pam or a dash of seasoning for recipes.

    This
  • cluthab
    cluthab Posts: 48 Member
    Absolutely!

    MFP + my new electronic scales make it easy.

    This 5:2 diet I'm on where 2 days have an intake of only 600 cals means accurate counting.
  • cmfruin2012
    cmfruin2012 Posts: 157 Member
    Yes I do. Everything. Spices, liquids, vitamin. For this to work -- I have to be honest. I wasn't being honest with myself about what I was eating before I joined here -- this is about changing habits -- and I am setting myself up for failure if I am not completely honest. Plus -- I believe that logging everything will eventually help me to see patterns of what foods "affect" me -- I have already figured out that being over by just a little bit on sodium causes me to retain a LOT of water. I can also figure out if certain foods seem to be causing other negatives or positives. Perhaps it's nerdy -- but I actually find it fun to scan bar codes and marvel when a food I enter is actually already IN the database. I also love the recipe builder feature -- it's all part of the process. And frankly I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to log everything -- what is the point of using this site if you aren't going to use it the way it was constructed to be used.
  • xomellyxo
    xomellyxo Posts: 32
    I log everything food wise, even when I'm over!
    I usually over estimate things like sauces (ketchup etc.) and cooking oil just in case! But never spices or seasoning.

    I don't log drinks (I probably have 20 or more glasses of no added sugar squash through the day) and only have sugar free fizzy drinks on the odd occasion I do have them.
    I never log alcohol because I'm too busy having fun when I drink it ... I do however log the chips I grab on the way home ;)
  • klhtf7
    klhtf7 Posts: 2
    I try to be. Most days I am. If I'm not in front of a computer that day and have to do it from my phone, I tend to get lazy if it loads slower. Those days, I don't always add some ingredients because I don't take the time to. For example, when I have a K-cup in the AM, I don't always add soy milk as another ingredient, or a packet of Sweet 'n Low. I'm getting better though! I back track in the log and add them if I remember the next time I'm at a computer.
  • Skernan1644
    Skernan1644 Posts: 20
    No. I am 99% honest with my food diary. But each weekday, I have either 3 or 4 M&Ms (for my afternoon chocolate fix) and/or one 8-calorie sugar free Werthers that do not get included in my food diary. Since I also don't count my 5 minutes on the "stepper" in the mornings while blow-drying my hair in my exercise diary, I am pretty sure that the cals burned on the stepper are sufficient to counter the few cals of the M's and/or sugar free Werthers.

    Other than those things, though, every calorie goes in the food diary. Good, bad, or ugly ..... :)
  • 8goodgirl0
    8goodgirl0 Posts: 127 Member
    Sometimes I have gone over my cals for the day and added the excess to the following day, so I then eat less then next day and it doesn't show that I have gone over.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    How do you log spices?

    Sporty Spice 60kcals/hour

    Baby Spice 39kcals/hour?

    Sorry, I'm so 1990's ... Blame the huge glass of red I'm drinking and not logging ...
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    I try to be. I log coffee, iced tea and spices; things I was surprised to see that had calories.

    I always eat mystery foods that are sold without nutrition facts and I either guesstimate or find the closest description in the database.

    I'd say 97% honest as possible.
  • mandeiko
    mandeiko Posts: 1,657 Member
    I try to! I add extra calories at the end of the day in hopes I catch all that I missed!
  • motherofthree1974
    motherofthree1974 Posts: 21
    I have to log everything because i feel i need to know myself of what i am eating daily. I find myself scanning my food to be logged so i know for personal use. If i don't log everything i feel like i am cheating on myself.
  • mamaleftwich
    mamaleftwich Posts: 256 Member
    Absolutely!!! Even when I am over (which I have been lately a couple of times), but if you're not honest you're not doing anything but fooling yourself!
  • RobinRayn
    RobinRayn Posts: 53 Member
    I log anything with calories I dont usually log a lil seasoning salt, or crystal light, or sugar free gum. I consider crystal light water.

Categories