Ugh....just can't keep logging

Logging is a huge pain for me, and it takes me a hell of a lot more than "five minutes a day." I'm not one of those "eat basically the same things all the time" people, and I rarely packaged food. As a home cook and a foodie, I am always having to enter new recipes, which takes quite a while. I rarely measured things carefully before, and cooking takes longer when I have to measure and record everything than when I winged it most of the time. It does seem to help, so I'm going to persist, but that doesn't mean I won't complain about it sometimes. OK, a lot!

I'd really like to know what kind of boring diets people eat if it takes "2 minutes a day." Seriously. It takes longer than that to do my breakfast.

My saving grace is I'm a freelance writer so I'm at a computer all the time and can take the time to log without too much disruption.

I love to cook and bake. Have you tried the new recipe builder feature? You copy and paste the recipe into the box and it'll match up as many ingredients as possible from the USDA options in the database.

It does take me a little longer if I'm entering a new recipe. But some of it is just practice. It's been 3 years. I know exactly how to word things to get the correct entries.

this from original post:
"I was pretty sure I was motivated to lose weight until the whole "log everything you eat" came into play...anyone else just finding it an absolute beating to log every day? Is it psychological? I go great for a few days, a week, then....YAWN! Just can't bring myself to do it! I don't mind logging my exercise, but logging food is just.."

that sounds like a motivation issue to me..

signed a man who lost 50 pounds logging and went from 25% body fat to 12% body fat and still logs...

Which means...she doesn't like logging. It doesn't mean she doesn't want to lose weight, or lacks motivation.

It's great that you lost 50 lbs logging, and I mean that. There are people who've lost more, plenty who've lost less. Nobody is doubting that calorie counting and logging can be powerful tools for weight loss.

But there aren't necessary to weight loss. Human beings were losing weight for thousands of years before the calorie was even discovered. There are those who lose without those specific tools. And there are those who do still log, but never get use to it, never enjoy it, or who eat and cook in a way that it takes more than "5 minutes a day". The stories are as varied as the people.

The judgement here is incredible. To suggest that somebody is not motivated to lose weight just because they don't enjoy a specific weight loss practice or tool is incredible.

That's like telling a parent who hates their job that they're unmotivated to feed their children. No, they just hate their job. Whether they want to quit and find another one, or stay and suck it up, neither choice means they are unmotivated to feed their family.

I may be weird but I don't mind it. After 430 days it's become so much a part of my daily life that I don't even think about it, I just do it.

Does it help a lot? yes..is it completely necessary? not always. I'm one of those people who does not have a long enough attention span to log my calories. I just exercise a lot and eat whenever I want to. I'll count once in a while to see what i am actually consuming and make sure it's an ok amount (usually 1800 - 2100 calories). It has definitely slowed down progress compared to when I was counting, but I'm more happy not doing it and as long as there is at least a little progress, there is no need for me.

Good balance there imo.

However, if you are not see in progress (directed at the OP, not the poster above) then I would suggest you put the effort into logging. It does not take long.

I really like the combination of these two posts. OP, why don't you set a specified time to log accurately (and I mean 2 to 3 months, not a few days). Maybe it will be bearable if there is an end in site. This will give you a chance to learn portions, etc. At that point, if you still hate it, you can try logging once or twice a week to spot check, while weighing periodically to make sure you stay on track. You may actually not mind it at this point.

To give you some history, from Aug 2012 to summer 2013, I logged religiously and lost 53 pounds. That summer, I started logging sporadically, and then stopped altogether. Cut to present time, and I am up 20 pounds and at it again. Not everyone needs to log to lose or maintain, but it can really help the process!

Anything worth achieving takes effort and sacrifice. If you don't want to do it then don't. But don't complain about failure if choosing not to log doesn't get you to your goal either.

QFT

I don't enjoy doing it, but for me it seems to be necessary. Maybe eventually it won't be, but for now I do much better when I track. On the other hand, I don't track water anymore… I wasn't having trouble drinking at least 8 cups. Occasionally I track it for a day, and if I think I'm not drinking enough, I'll do it for longer to get back into the habit. I hope eventually that will happen for food. Also, over time I've tracked different nutrients… calcium, sodium, fiber, saturated fat… if they seem to be coming out ok on a consistent basis, I don't worry about them anymore and track something else.
As others have said, using the tools here on MFP makes it easier. (And I find it much easier to use a full screen rather than a smart phone app, so on days I'm not near a computer, sometimes I take paper notes and enter them later.) Over time, your "recent" and "frequent" lists, as well as recorded "meals" and any recipes you enter make it easier and quicker to record what you ate. Another way that it gets easier is that I can estimate measurements for foods some things fairly accurately now. For instance, I know how many ounces the glasses I use most often hold. I know what an ounce of cheese looks like, etc. Again, I still measure these things part of the time in order to make sure I'm not "drifting" and over time thinking that 1.3 oz is really 1, but it's nice to not have to measure everything each time I eat it.
But even though it's easier, I do find tracking, looking up, measuring and logging boring sometimes and frustrating other times (especially when I can't find a food or the previous entries others made for something I eat were sloppy and incorrect :explode: ), but since it works… it's worth it.

By the way, I don't have the link handy right now and don't feel like searching, but there was some research recently (summarized on WebMD) where they found that people who tracked were significantly more successful at weight loss than those who didn't.

Good luck!

Logging is actually my favorite part. I never realized what i was actually eating until i could see all the numbers. And i could never stick with any other diet before this. The structure is what really helps me keep going.

^^ This.

I guess I am closet OCD, because I love logging. I love the feeling of self control and knowing what I'm eating. I love knowing that if I continue to run a deficit, I will lose weight. I was a finance major, so I guess I just love the math part of it.

THIS^
and Me and my OCD love logging!

annoying, tedious, and I feel your pain. Now I know what amount of food my calories add up to so I just maintain the level

Logging everything I eat has really helped me keep on track. It also helps me from going way overboard when I have one of those craving/binge days. Personally, I don't log on here, I use a spreadsheet, and because I eat a certain collection of foods, I just copy & paste the data, adjust the number of servings and have my stats for the day automatically calculate to make sure I'm hitting my targets. I've been doing this for over six months now, and it's been a quick and simple process. I tend to add the foods to my log while cooking so that I'm not taking time out of my day afterward or leaving it until later in the day to try and recall my meals. It becomes routine and only takes a couple minutes for each meal. I highly recommend it.

When losing weight, you need to be disciplined, and logging is a process that helps train your brain to be more disciplined and adapt to a new routine; you are adjusting your entire lifestyle, which will need to be maintained even after accomplishing your weight loss goals. Logging may not be necessary after the change in your diet and exercise regime become habit, but it's still good to journal if you haven't yet reached your goal as you can look back and see what is working, what isn't working, and what would benefit from a little tweaking, especially when you hit plateaus where the number on the scale just won't budge for weeks.

Think of logging like taking notes and the weight loss process as a class in college, and your goals are tests you need to prepare for. I only just started logging my exercise a few weeks ago (after hitting a massive plateau). I regret not having tracked before this because I probably could have shaken the plateau quicker if I had notes to reference. I feel that tracking my workouts now is disciplining me to actually exercise daily and even exercise a bit longer and work harder to improve upon my performance.

I agree logging in food is tedious. My sister told me she uses the app the scan the barcode which is easier for me than searching and clicking.