Does anyone else find entering everything they eat annoying?

Rayanne203
Rayanne203 Posts: 207 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi there,

I began myfitnesspal a few years ago and successfully lost 50 pounds with keeping track of my food and exercise. However I gained all my weight back via second baby :(. I now find it difficult to find time to keep track of my foods. I basically eat anything right now and don;t think twice....Which I know is bad. Does anyone else find it annoying recording every morsel they eat? How do you find the time? My baby is 4 months old now I really wanna be thin again. MOTIVATION PLEASE!!!
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Replies

  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Hi there,

    I began myfitnesspal a few years ago and successfully lost 50 pounds with keeping track of my food and exercise. However I gained all my weight back via second baby :(. I now find it difficult to find time to keep track of my foods. I basically eat anything right now and don;t think twice....Which I know is bad. Does anyone else find it annoying recording every morsel they eat? How do you find the time? My baby is 4 months old now I really wanna be thin again. MOTIVATION PLEASE!!!

    Nope.

    Get the phone app; I log about half of my meals from my phone. I often do it as I'm cooking, so that I get everything precise, and it adds very little time to the overall process.
  • oliveoil_7
    oliveoil_7 Posts: 2
    I just downloaded the app on my phone and its quick to enter in foods and even has a scanner so you don't have to enter it in. Hope that helps :)
  • Rayanne203
    Rayanne203 Posts: 207 Member
    I use a samsung galaxy and the app I have often glitches out
  • limpkitteh
    limpkitteh Posts: 9
    If you have the app and can access MFP from your phone... in all seriousness log it while you're going #2. It only takes a couple minutes. :) I pre-entered things I make all the time into the recipes section so I don't have to re-enter everything.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I use a samsung galaxy and the app I have often glitches out

    Yeah, the app a POS, but if you work with it it'll work for you.
  • Rayanne203
    Rayanne203 Posts: 207 Member
    Thanks guys. Guess I just have my hands full between toddler and infant lol. I don't like making excuses but I feel it is time consuming. I will try the phone app again.
  • vineetgnr
    vineetgnr Posts: 3 Member
    I have the app on my phone the food can be entered really quick and you can also enter custom made food. You may also try out the scanner ,by this you need not enter at all. At first i found it difficult , But as time goes by your gonna get used to it. All the best with the weight loss.
  • Rayanne203
    Rayanne203 Posts: 207 Member
    I just downloaded the app on my phone and its quick to enter in foods and even has a scanner so you don't have to enter it in. Hope that helps :)

    Which app has the scanner how does that work?
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    I strongly believe that if something is important enough for us, we will find/make the time to do it.
    I have a friend in the US who claims she has no time to log into MFP and record her food, but she does have the time to faithfully watch " Honey Boo Boo " and the " Kardashians ". Don' quite understand it.
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    Try some time saving tricks.

    For instance rice can be cooked in big batches, measured out into individual portions shaped like hamburger patties, wrapped, and stacked in the freezer. Microwave it and it comes out like you just cooked it!

    My trick for meat - make roasts. I follow low temp cooking methods (very low temps, like 60C for pork and beef, 90c for chicken) and you don't need to keep an eye on it. Slice it up and freeze/refrigerate. Then use the MFP entries for raw meat and multiply your serving weight by 1.2

    Eggs - watch Heston blumenthal's YouTube video. Using that method you can "boil" a dozen eggs at a time, no problem.

    The key to all this is when you cook, cook a lot of stuff you can easily portion out.
  • pbrahan
    pbrahan Posts: 107 Member
    I found being fat a lot more annoying.
  • ElsaVonMarmalade
    ElsaVonMarmalade Posts: 154 Member
    Once you've been doing it for a while, your Recent and Frequent fields will fill up and it becomes a lot faster.

    I have 16-month-old twins and there are a lot of things I don't have time to do, but logging my food is not one of them. It takes max ten minutes a day. I did find it very annoying at first but now I don't even think about it.
  • Rayanne203
    Rayanne203 Posts: 207 Member
    lol thank you for your answers I especially liked pbrahan's answer because yes being fat is certainly annoying... especially when I have a wonderful wardrobe filled with clothes I cannot fit!!!! Thank you everyone for the excellent advice
  • Rayanne203
    Rayanne203 Posts: 207 Member
    how do you get the scannerr?
  • pocketmole
    pocketmole Posts: 614 Member
    yeah, i feel like it can be annoying... it's just one of those things i feel like i need to do though. i think that washing my face and brushing my teeth before bed when i'm absolutely exhausted is annoying. i wish i could just faceplant into my pillow, but if i don't wash up i'll wake up with terrible skin. plenty of mornings i find that the last thing i want to do is knock out a set of burpees and squats, but if i stop doing it then my bum will look even more sad than it does now. i'm not excited to clean the litter box, to stop reading a book when i need to wake up early, to take my car in for an oil change, or to get my annual exam at the girl doctor done - but i do them and i make time for them because it's worthwhile to me. seeing as you lost 50lbs before it sounds like it's worthwhile for you too. you just need to make it a habit and treat it the same way you treat all the other little things in your life that need to be done :)
  • ddpiel
    ddpiel Posts: 52
    I found being fat a lot more annoying.

    Yes, this. If it's important to you, you will find time. And as others have said, the longer you use the food diary the easier it will get. It remembers the food that you eat most frequently to give you a short cut when entering those foods. You can do it! Best of luck
  • pbrahan
    pbrahan Posts: 107 Member
    how do you get the scannerr?

    When you're adding foods, in the space where you type your food name, to the right of that space is an icon of a barcode. Tap that, then line up the barcode of your food label in the marked spot (it will look like it's taking a picture). Hold the label still and it will work quickly and result with the product and calories per serving. Double check to make sure it matches the label info and adjust serving sizes as needed.

    Paula
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    Hi there,

    I began myfitnesspal a few years ago and successfully lost 50 pounds with keeping track of my food and exercise. However I gained all my weight back via second baby :(. I now find it difficult to find time to keep track of my foods. I basically eat anything right now and don;t think twice....Which I know is bad. Does anyone else find it annoying recording every morsel they eat? How do you find the time? My baby is 4 months old now I really wanna be thin again. MOTIVATION PLEASE!!!

    It's the only way to win so I don't get annoyed. I plan what I eat the day before when I can. sometimes my day is filled in well in advance.

    you can probably identify what you will have for breakfast and lunch in advance, and then think about dinner as you go.

    this is the only way you can stop yourself snacking. And it's the snacking that makes you fat. Eating anything and not thinking twice is how you get fat. :)

    I know what it's like to have a 4 month old. :) and a two year old. Heh. And I was often very tired. But I think if I had paid better attention to my own nutrition I probably would have come out of it a bit better.

    Just do your best at this busy time. Do your best and see what you can manage. :)
  • Rayanne203
    Rayanne203 Posts: 207 Member
    Yeah it is really tough. But as many have said it is certainly worth it. I just gotta find that groove again. Narf.
  • Leighjr
    Leighjr Posts: 26 Member
    I tended to eat bunches of sandwiches 1 day, maybe cereal the next day .. might forget the next, microwave something the next day

    Food to me was something, well still is, something that needs to be made quick and has to be edible (since i paid for it, mind you i've eaten stuff a week after a sane person would throw it out lol)

    So now the trouble for me is eating 3 meals a day and enough calories, then if i exercise putting the damn things back on.

    I still miss the correct meal times .. for breakfast a coffee has always suited me

    I eat more dieting than i did getting fat lol
  • jaimrlx
    jaimrlx Posts: 426 Member
    I know it doesn't work for everyone (most of the time including me), but maybe try pre-logging everything in the beginning of the day, then adding/removing/modifying as you go. You might pre-log that you'll eat a serving of your dinner, then actually eat two, that's a simpler change than finding everything at every meal.

    I don't pre-log anymore because I like to know when it hits 6pm and I've only had 300 cals (I work 70+ hours a week and am a full time student, time is hard) but if I can do it, you can too.

    Good luck, FR or PM me if you'd like.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,337 Member
    Not nearly as annoying as I find being fat :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,023 Member
    Kids do sleep. It takes a few minutes to log. If you're not diligent about it, then don't expect results. Sorry, but it's gonna take "annoying" effort if getting back to where you were is your goal.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Semifredo
    Semifredo Posts: 63 Member
    Logging food gives me results I am after so no, it's not annoying at all. I usually pre-log bigger meals/ dinner to make sure that I won't eat too much at the end of the day. The only diffiiculty is eating out. That plate of salmon sashimi - was it 90 grams? 130? I never know for sure
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    I just wanted to post to say that the iOS app is awesome.

    Techies don't get enough credit so here's some from me. :)
  • robeff
    robeff Posts: 15 Member
    I tend to eat similar things and cook in batches so it's not so bad. I think it ultimately saves more time to prep stuff in advance. Also has the added benefits of making it easier to stick to an eating plan and everything stays towards the top of the list..
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
    Nope. I love it. It makes me feel like for the first time in years I am on control of what and how much I am eating. It makes me feel I am in control of food and not it being in control of me.
  • scruffykaz
    scruffykaz Posts: 317 Member
    I strongly believe that if something is important enough for us, we will find/make the time to do it.
    I have a friend in the US who claims she has no time to log into MFP and record her food, but she does have the time to faithfully watch " Honey Boo Boo " and the " Kardashians ". Don' quite understand it.

    OMG! You need to save her RIGHT NOW! Intervention is needed!!
  • mmckee10
    mmckee10 Posts: 405 Member
    I use a samsung galaxy and the app I have often glitches out

    Yeah, the app a POS, but if you work with it it'll work for you.

    Try deleting the app and installing it again. That's what I had to do with my phone. The results see from logging are completely worth a little annoyance. lol :):) You can do it! :drinker: :flowerforyou:
  • mmckee10
    mmckee10 Posts: 405 Member
    nvm someone already answered about the bar code scanner

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