i want to be honest about my food intake but...

happywife2
happywife2 Posts: 20
in Food and Nutrition
...must i record every morsel that passes my lips? its so tedious and time consuming.

how about broccoli florets?
Cauliflower?
raw fresh veggies
ketchup?
mustard?
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Replies

  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    Does it have calories?

    Log it.
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
    Does it have calories?

    Log it.

    QFT
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    if you really want this to work to its fullest potential...YES.

    be accountable for EVERYTHING you take in.

    everything.








    srsly...everything.
  • iAMsmiling
    iAMsmiling Posts: 2,394 Member
    I have a personal policy against recording pickles.
    No science behind that. :bigsmile:
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    I'm not real anal with getting precise on low-calorie fresh green vegetables. For example, I really don't know if I had one or two tablespoons of celery in my omelette the day before yesterday. But I do log them.
  • happywife2
    happywife2 Posts: 20
    pardon my ignorance, but what does that stand for?
  • SoViLicious
    SoViLicious Posts: 2,633 Member
    Does it have calories?

    Log it.


    I saw you on the quad at Yale. Sadly I was working there. You...well your the top student.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    pardon my ignorance, but what does that stand for?

    quoted for truth.

    or quails fear trespassing.

    could be either here.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    ...must i record every morsel that passes my lips? its so tedious and time consuming.

    how about broccoli florets?
    Cauliflower?
    raw fresh veggies
    ketchup?
    mustard?

    I had two servings of broccoli with my sammich for lunch...2 servings of broccoli is around 90 calories. I have a 250 calorie per day deficit from maintenance...so if I suddenly didn't log that, that's 90 calories unaccounted for with a mere 250 calorie deficit.

    I'd say do it right or don't even bother. If you're not going to log some stuff don't bother logging anything and just go do some fad diet or something.
  • Alicia_P_28
    Alicia_P_28 Posts: 76 Member
    I log every single thing. Every. thing. Even the ketchup and mayo...even the 1/3 of a tomato that adds up to like 6 calories...because at the end of the day it all adds up.
  • bethfartman
    bethfartman Posts: 363 Member
    I log everything, but same as someone said above with stuff like veggies (mostly green ones, not tomatoes or onions) I'm loose on the portion size and just estimate. Anything calorie dense I weigh and log.
  • scapalbo
    scapalbo Posts: 19
    pardon my ignorance, but what does that stand for?

    quoted for truth.

    or quails fear trespassing.

    could be either here.


    I read it as "quite ******* true" (which is funny, since it's not a word I use.)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It adds up. Log it. I'm bad and don't log tea, the splash of milk I occasionally put in it, the squeeze of lemon on my fish, and the 10 calories of mustard in my dressings/dips.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    The more calorie-dense a food is, the more important it is to log it accurately. Oils, nuts and nut butters, meat, and full-fat dairy can really add up if you log imprecisely.

    For really low-cal foods such as most of the ones you listed, it only matters if you are at a very low body fat percentage, where it is easy to go from a healthy calorie deficit (which has to be fairly small) to a surplus.

    You can look for shortcuts in the database--if you have a combination of steamed vegetables, search for the veg names together (e.g., "steamed, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower". Chances are someone else has already entered that into the database. Be warned, though, that the more you rely on such entries, the less precise your logging. People often enter calories only but not macro- and micro-nutrients, or just pull numbers out of their a$$es.
  • marhattap
    marhattap Posts: 149 Member
    I log in everything, except herbs and spices. AIN'T NO BODY GOT TIME FOR DAT :laugh: :huh:
  • scapalbo
    scapalbo Posts: 19
    It's tedious for sure, but "if you bite it, write it"

    even the little stuff...because you may think you're OK, but if you've had 3 tbs of ketchup and a splash of cream in your coffee, and that "one bite" of something...it all adds up, and may be the thing that's keeping you from your goal.
  • Brad805
    Brad805 Posts: 289 Member
    What are your goals? If your goals are moderate changes and time is not much of a concern, you might be able to tolerate a few 100cal difference day to day. Honestly, once you have used this for a few weeks you will likely find all your common foods are in your recently used list so it literally only takes a few minutes.

    It took longer to reply to these posts than it should have taken to log those items for two or three days.
  • happywife2
    happywife2 Posts: 20
    I just entered 4 slices of tomatoes - which shows to be abt 64 calories. I thought fresh veggies were free!

    if they're just as expensive as candy or cookies, I might as well have some fun food instead. I know that i'm here to get healthier but I never imagined that I would need to calculate lettuce (which in my opinion tastes closer to grass!)
  • AmandaReimer1
    AmandaReimer1 Posts: 235 Member
    There's a recent tab, and most used tab to help you as you contiune for less searching and less tedious.
    I log my ketchup and mayo all the time.
  • scapalbo
    scapalbo Posts: 19
    I DON'T log 0 calorie drinks (I'm a diet coke fiend, I drink tea, etc...I don't log them, because they are 0 calories and don't have any other things I keep track of in them)

    Everything else, I log
  • pjp1125
    pjp1125 Posts: 313
    I am absolutely anal. And I am not usually the most organized guy.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    just do it! it works......
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I just entered 4 slices of tomatoes - which shows to be abt 64 calories. I thought fresh veggies were free!

    if they're just as expensive as candy or cookies, I might as well have some fun food instead. I know that i'm here to get healthier but I never imagined that I would need to calculate lettuce (which in my opinion tastes closer to grass!)

    That's nuts. Half a tomato is probably 25 calories or something. Weigh it. People give totally random values sometimes when they enter things, I swear.
  • scapalbo
    scapalbo Posts: 19
    I just entered 4 slices of tomatoes - which shows to be abt 64 calories. I thought fresh veggies were free!

    if they're just as expensive as candy or cookies, I might as well have some fun food instead. I know that i'm here to get healthier but I never imagined that I would need to calculate lettuce (which in my opinion tastes closer to grass!)

    It depends on your program...Weight Watchers used to have a long list of "free" foods.

    In general, healthy foods are more filling...you get a larger bang for your calorie buck...in order to go calorie for calorie with a cookie or candy....you might be able to eat 5 tomatoes...far more filling, AND better for you.
  • Zalli
    Zalli Posts: 132 Member
    Sometimes tedium can work to your benefit...

    I've found myself at potluck parties where the thought of having to log all the things I bite makes my head hurt. So I just eat less of it. :)
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I just entered 4 slices of tomatoes - which shows to be abt 64 calories. I thought fresh veggies were free!

    if they're just as expensive as candy or cookies, I might as well have some fun food instead. I know that i'm here to get healthier but I never imagined that I would need to calculate lettuce (which in my opinion tastes closer to grass!)

    4 slices of tomato will keep you fuller and provide more nutrients than 64 calories of candy or whatever other junk you'd rather eat. You CAN eat 100% of your calories from junk and still lose weight, you'll just feel like crap and look like crap in the end.
  • JasonT1973
    JasonT1973 Posts: 229 Member
    QFT = Quite F***ingTrue ? MEH i have no idea - JUST LOG ALL YOUR FOOD!!!
  • Tamm04
    Tamm04 Posts: 182 Member
    I log in everything, except herbs and spices. AIN'T NO BODY GOT TIME FOR DAT :laugh: :huh:


    wall-content-aint-nobody-40670_large.jpg
  • Kimdbro
    Kimdbro Posts: 922 Member
    pardon my ignorance, but what does that stand for?

    quoted for truth.

    or quails fear trespassing.

    could be either here.



    I read it as "quite ******* true" (which is funny, since it's not a word I use.)

    I had to google it as I kept reading it as 'Quit F***ing Talking' which seemed harsh. lol.
  • sparkle814
    sparkle814 Posts: 78 Member
    I log everything except calorie-free beverages. (Even logging things like diet soda is important though if you are keeping track of sodium.) It may not make a huge difference in your weight loss if you eat 20 calories of lettuce that you don't log, but at least for me it's an accountability thing. Like someone else said, if you bite it, write it. I know if I started leaving things out because they weren't very many calories, I would probably slide off track.

    Also, if you are someone who looks at what vitamins and minerals you are or aren't getting enough of, this is obviously essential. (Which is a handy tool if you are focusing on nutrition per se in addition to weight loss. By keeping an eye on these I realized I was getting barely any potassium in my diet...once I started making an effort to include more potassium rich foods I stopped getting leg cramps at night that were affecting me sleep. Just as an example, but I digress.)

    Good luck!

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