Logging food is so tedious and awful...

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  • bunny1006
    bunny1006 Posts: 325 Member
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    bump
  • Granville_Cocteau
    Granville_Cocteau Posts: 209 Member
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    Weigh all the ingredients as you add them to your recipe, enter each in the MFP recipe builder, then weigh entire final recipe (might need to weigh baking dish/container before cooking so you can subtract). I enter the weight of the whole final recipe divided by 100 in the "number of servings" field. So if my entire pan of spaghetti weighed 1352g, I'd enter "13.52 servings". Then when I serve myself, if I take a 123g portion, I'll track it as "1.23 servings."

    You could enter "1352 servings" and not divide by 100, but I think MFP does some rounding of very small fractions so it won't be as accurate- that's why I do the 100g method.
    This is *genius*! I can't believe I hadn't thought of that yet. So doing this from now on, because I often tinker with my serving sizes by a few grams to get the right amount of protein.

    The estimation you suggest, Wordman44, doesn't work for some of us. If I'm off by 100 calories, that could be 20+ grams of protein I am either not getting that I needed, or calories I could have used for delicious, delicious carbs! :laugh:

    She was making turkey chili, so chances are that meal had enough protein.

    In any case, protein is overhyped and is not as important as everyone thinks it is.
    http://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    If you have protein with every meal, chances are you meet the daily recommendation. Maybe if she was on a muscle bulk she would want more, but it sounds like her goal is to keep losing weight and maybe maintain lean body mass, so she can probably go with the lower of the research figures cited.
  • westendcurls
    westendcurls Posts: 252 Member
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    I log my whole day in the morning as my menu plan for the day. It takes 5min tops then all I have to do is stick to the plan. I update it if something changed or if I feel like keeping track of my water for the day. but other than that 5min and I'm done.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    Weigh all the ingredients as you add them to your recipe, enter each in the MFP recipe builder, then weigh entire final recipe (might need to weigh baking dish/container before cooking so you can subtract). I enter the weight of the whole final recipe divided by 100 in the "number of servings" field. So if my entire pan of spaghetti weighed 1352g, I'd enter "13.52 servings". Then when I serve myself, if I take a 123g portion, I'll track it as "1.23 servings."

    You could enter "1352 servings" and not divide by 100, but I think MFP does some rounding of very small fractions so it won't be as accurate- that's why I do the 100g method.
    This is *genius*! I can't believe I hadn't thought of that yet. So doing this from now on, because I often tinker with my serving sizes by a few grams to get the right amount of protein.

    The estimation you suggest, Wordman44, doesn't work for some of us. If I'm off by 100 calories, that could be 20+ grams of protein I am either not getting that I needed, or calories I could have used for delicious, delicious carbs! :laugh:

    She was making turkey chili, so chances are that meal had enough protein.

    In any case, protein is overhyped and is not as important as everyone thinks it is.
    http://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    If you have protein with every meal, chances are you meet the daily recommendation. Maybe if she was on a muscle bulk she would want more, but it sounds like her goal is to keep losing weight and maybe maintain lean body mass, so she can probably go with the lower of the research figures cited.
    Jennifer-Lawrence-ok-thumbs-up.gif
    That doesn't mean it would be "enough" for me. My goals are my own.
    I wasn't trying to derail the OP's thread. I was just trying to say thanks :drinker: for a great suggestion, because I wanted them to know it was worth their time to post it.
  • Granville_Cocteau
    Granville_Cocteau Posts: 209 Member
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    You are trying to derail the thread by posting snark such as the GIF. Very creative. I guess you have an Internet connection and know how to Google? As you say, "genius" :)

    All the OP wanted was shortcuts to the tedium of logging, and many of the answers either berated the OP for not exactly logging, made logging more complicated, or conflated the issue such as with your persnickety preoccupation with protein grams.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    I regret pointing out the disadvantages to the guesstimation methods. Apparently they are without fault, and my statement could not possibly be helpful to any of the lurkers on the thread.

    I do not regret expressing gratitude for the wonderful idea of weighing out the whole recipe, making each portion equal to 100 grams (or just 1 gram even), and then easily weighing out each portion in grams and logging it that way. Among the other advantages, it would make things less tedious to log. I don't need to whip out a calculator anymore to multiply and divide fractional servings and their corresponding weights!

    I have a carne guisada cooking in my crock pot right now, and you best believe this is how I'm entering and logging this recipe! :laugh:
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I regret pointing out the disadvantages to the guesstimation methods. Apparently they are without fault, and my statement could not possibly be helpful to any of the lurkers on the thread.

    I do not regret expressing gratitude for the wonderful idea of weighing out the whole recipe, making each portion equal to 100 grams (or just 1 gram even), and then easily weighing out each portion in grams and logging it that way. Among the other advantages, it would make things less tedious to log. I don't need to whip out a calculator anymore to multiply and divide fractional servings and their corresponding weights!

    I have a carne guisada cooking in my crock pot right now, and you best believe this is how I'm entering and logging this recipe! :laugh:

    Even easier, I have the weights of all my usual post and pans on a list on the fridge - I can pop the whole lot on my glass topped scale and subtract the weight of the pot - bingo!

    And I agree with you on the guesstimating. There are ways to be a lot more accurate and they may take a bit longer, but I believe accuracy is important.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    I eat a LOT of the same stuff.

    Regular items, I add as "Meals" so I don't have to wade into the cesspool of the MFP DB.

    Less regular, but still frequent items are usually in my frequent lists.

    And I barcode scan everything possible.
  • Granville_Cocteau
    Granville_Cocteau Posts: 209 Member
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    The complaint that logging can be occasionally tedium is justifiable--my app takes forever to sync/load, there are 20 different entries alone for chicken breast, and complex homemade recipes are time-consuming to log (one example that comes to mind is caponata).

    Another factor is, most people won't be logging the rest of their lives, and there are certain personalities that don't like routine. For those people, a good route is to use the app as a springboard to learning what they need to do in terms of portion control, food choices, and exercise to lose or maintain weight. Over several months that knowledge can become largely internalized. The app is always there for backup or plateaus or regression.

    As far as guesstimation goes, I was never one that felt 100 calories in either direction made much of a difference (it's roughly equivalent to 1/35th of a pound) and certain things just have to be guesstimated (Chinese takeout, a salad bar). Far from derailing one's weight loss goals, proficiency in guesstimation is an asset.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    TOPIC: Logging food is so tedious and awful...

    ...but being overweight is so lighthearted and fun. Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    I have not logged a single food, and my weight loss is progressing nicely anyway. I weigh myself every morning and use that as my guideline. When the scale is not moving at my desired rate of one pound lost per week, I make adjustments to food and/or exercise. It is not the most precise method, but it's a way for me to do this without driving myself crazy.
  • RichardUK1974
    RichardUK1974 Posts: 44 Member
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    I make it easy at the moment by living off ready meals and other supermarket junk! It's probably not to be recommended though :)
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    Oddly enough I find being fat even more awful and tedious than logging.


    ~priorities
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    The choice you face is this: maintain a consistent calorie deficit or remain overweight

    not

    maintain a consistent food log or remain overweight.

    As such, you have a number of options. The key is to find a method or combination of methods which keeps you in that physiological state (calorie deficit) but also fits your psychological state the best.

    So, you could persevere with the logging and if that works, cool. Or you could try other methods: mindful eating, intuitive eating, low carb, high carb, whole food approach, log during the week but be a little looser with logging on weekends etc etc.

    I would encourage you to experiment a little. It doesn't matter if you put on a bit of weight (no really) in the short term if it provides you valuable information on what is a good fit for you over the long term.

    Be your own science project ;)
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    Oddly enough I find being fat even more awful and tedious than logging.


    ~priorities

    Like.

    It takes about 5 minutes and i weigh everything out to the gram. urdoinitwrong.
  • myst036
    myst036 Posts: 19 Member
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    Hi
    I am almost at the three year mark on when I started to make my big change. I HATED journaling, but what made the difference for me was the phone app. That way I can take it wherever I go and I am to the point where its not a pain in my butt, but just the way I live. Its a mind set I think. Its like working out which I try to do everyday, its just part of the routine.. and I agree with a previous comment. What do you hate more, being fat or journaling? =]
  • Shuuma
    Shuuma Posts: 465 Member
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    I love logging my food. I think it's brilliant and helps me immensely. This is my first go at trying to create a sustainable lifestyle for my health. As for recipes, I enter them into my recipe file on MFP while I make them and enter amount of each serving.

    I am watching sodium right now because I apparently am hyper-sensitive to it and retain water like a cactus if I have too much. The recipe feature is amazing for tracking this. Pre-logging in the morning is so helpful for me in planning my day's meals and exercise.

    It was ridiculously tedious and awful at first. But now, I rely on it like I rely on oxygen. It takes a ton of stress about meals off my mind for the day and I can adjust if something comes up. Hang in there-you've lost a lot and can make it to your goal!
  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member
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    Do you have the MFP phone app?

    I really don't find it takes me much time at all. Do you eat really different foods everyday? Most people eat a lot of the same foods a lot of the time so the entries are mostly there in the recent list....I'm confused as to why it would take so much effort after a year.

    This
  • ladyredeemed4
    ladyredeemed4 Posts: 72 Member
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    I do what some of the others suggested - pre log. Because I work a desk job, Mon-Friday, there are 1 or 2 things I pretty much eat for breakfast that I love and is good for you. Same thing with my snacks. I have this website up at my work and log on on my breaks and lunch to add anything.
    I have dreaded logging in the past, but for over 70 days now, I have been success in my logging daily and now I enjoy because I get to see how my eating/exercise results are coming out at the end of the day. If you are trying new recipes, it is a pain trying to put everything in. Logging has been a huge success in my weight loss. Good luck.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    Things that I weigh I just jot down and fill in at the end of the day. Eating the same thing everyday helps (I eat the same breakfast and snacks all the time, the same lunch all week, and a different dinner each night of the week). This let's you just "copy meal to today" which takes half a second.

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