Logging accuracy, consistency, and you're probably eating more than you think.
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Despite what everyone wants everyone else to do, a lot of people who use MFP are not going to weigh their food. The fact that they're here in the first place is great, as it means they're actually trying, maybe for the first time in their life, and it would be discouraging to find that they can't input their food because something they ate is only listed in grams. There has to be a balance between what those who are intensely committed want and what those just starting out want.
Yeah, I'm one of those who doesn't weigh things, but I am losing. Maybe not as quickly as others, but it's happening, slow and steady. Perhaps when I finally plateau, then I'll start thinking about weighing my food, but that's highly unlikely.
I find the same thing. Its hard to weight food every time using scales and measuring cups. One practical thing i find useful is to measure things using commonly used things such as cups and water bottles.
For ex. we can convert grams to cups using google. Then user regular coffee cups to approx your portion.
For liquids you can use typical 500ml water bottle and measure liquids. It might not be accurate but its close. 0 -
I am confused, because I have been losing weight. I sometimes neglect to log things.
Like yesterday my goal was to drink 200mls of vodka, but i think i accidently poured 275? Idk. Like I made 100mls but it was actually 125, the second drink i made was... idk i think around 104? Then i went to make another one, and i took like 1-2 sips and i passed out. how much did I drink?
I remember being in a jar of peanut butter, i didn't weigh it, i just estimated 2tbs, but how much did i really eat? i don't know. Today I ate 5 little chocolate things, how many calories are in those? This is a common theme of my weight loss. I lost 150lbs so far, and i am still losing, so does it matter if i am off on calories or not? just wondering, will it halt my results? It hasn't in over 2yrs.
If you're able to make consistent progress without weighing and measuring or even without logging or with inconsistent logging then no you don't need to change anything.
However, if results start to halt or they fail to meet your expectation, and you are not weighing and measuring, it's a good idea to do so to close the gap between what you think you eat, and what you eat, so that you can use a more accurate data set to make conclusions.
Also, at the very beginning of the post it specifically says "when fat loss stalls".1 -
I tend to over log food. Not much but some. If I know I'm not getting a full serving of something but more then half I may log it as 1. And that's because I know something will get missed somewhere or to make up for the tasting I do while cooking.0
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This is awesome, i dont even really think of these things while im logging my food... Gonna be super diligent today and see what my log looks like and how often im picking up random food items, like one cookie etc. this was a great reminder to always check myself !0
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melissalu4 wrote: »Hi I dont know if i'm at the right place to ask this but I was wondering if after calculating the calories I ate, I still end up with calories left over, if its ok not to eat the number it says or I should eat the 200 or 300 calories left? My example: 1200 calories a day - 400 calories from working out = 1600...but after calculating everything I ate there's 300 calories left...
Thanks I hope this is clear.
As long as you aren't over estimating the intensity of your workouts and exaggerating the calories burned (machines are very unreliable for their calorie count) then you CAN eat your exercise calories back. If you aren't starving and getting enough water you'll probably lose weight faster. But it's hard to stick with not getting all your calories long term.
You should eat your DAILY calories, but eating back earned exercise calories is up to you, I guess is what I really mean.0 -
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Walmart has cheap scales. I started off with a cheap one and have moved up to a bit better one and it inproved my weight loss and really made a differance. Another thing you can do is google to find the answer. Good luck.1
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birdiebunny wrote: »I tend to over log food. Not much but some. If I know I'm not getting a full serving of something but more then half I may log it as 1. And that's because I know something will get missed somewhere or to make up for the tasting I do while cooking.
I do the same thing! Id rather over than under loo0 -
Add me 0
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tiffanyking1976 wrote: »birdiebunny wrote: »I tend to over log food. Not much but some. If I know I'm not getting a full serving of something but more then half I may log it as 1. And that's because I know something will get missed somewhere or to make up for the tasting I do while cooking.
I do the same thing! Id rather over than under loo
that tends to be part of the conflict that I have in my diet regimen. I find that I lose more effectively when I'm eating packaged foods because they have the calorie nutritional information right on the packaging and I can just scan my bottle of protein, or my v8, or my individual pack of almonds, or my yogurt, etc. I get faster results that way. I know that it's healthier to have home cooked meals, but I don't normally measure when I cook anyway (I'm a pinch of this, pinch of that type of person) and I feel like cooking is a better alternative to eating out, not necessarily to something quick that good be healthy. For example, I'm totally addicted to these: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/cytosport-muscle-milk-pro-series-40-chocolate-12-drinks/cy-2097?mr:trackingCode=660D84BD-0156-E411-AF04-BC305BF82162&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&id=CY-2097&sourceType=sc&source=FG&adGroup=40-60&keyword=CY-2097&cm_mmc=Google+Shopping-_-Product+Listing+Ads-_-40-60-_-CY-2097&cvosrc=cse.google.CY-2097&cvo_cid=61367160685online&gclid=CjwKEAjwsOKpBRCDtfOnzaDg3HsSJAAJ2ojiMCu-RFwd8-ujfAoexuaaivYsA4-sVhdXDgstEEMUURoC3QPw_wcB&kwid=productads-plaid^69685270189-sku^CY@ADL42097@ADL4VITAMINSHOPPE-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^61367160685#.VTlC7tzF87E
please don't tell me they're bad lol but the nutrition information is almost enough for a meal replacement when I'm eating 6 times per day, and definitely enough for a snack. I drank one for lunch today with an individual 90 calorie serving of cottage cheese. (might start another thread to ask about muscle milk) but when I can scan a barcode I find it's definitely more accurate for my food intake than my attempts at accurate measuring, especially when I'm eating out or eating at a friend or family member's house.0 -
I ALWAYS underestimate my intake. . . even when I'm trying to be sensible. I just don't have the right gauge on portion sizes yet. Which means I ALWAYS use measuring cups and food scales now. . not much room for error. Having to write down what I've had helps with this because how else can you track serving size? :-) For sure tracking necessary.0
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I do all the cooking in our nest but when we go out to a restaurant I try to visualize my food portions in this manner - http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition-pictures/picturing-proper-portion-sizes.aspx#01
Bottom line - it's better to be close than to not log at all as was the case 15 lbs. ago.0 -
woah, rice should be a cupcake wrapper size?!
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fitfor30th wrote: »woah, rice should be a cupcake wrapper size?!
According to the USDA a serving of white rice is 1/2 cup cooked or visually the size of a cupcake wrapper.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/HHFS_RICE_WHITE_ENRICHED_LONGGRAIN100491,100492oct 2012.pdf
The nutrition label on the rice I use - Calrose Shirakiku - says the serving size is 1/4 cup which would be 1/2 cup cooked.0 -
wow, I have way too much rice!0
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I LOOKED AT ME WEIGHT RECORDS OVER THE LAST WEEK AND WAS QUITE HORRIFIED. WHEN YOU START PICKING , HEAVENS THOSE CALORIES REALLY ADD UP AND LOOK AS IF THEY WANT TO SHOOT RIGHT OFF THE GRAPH. ONE AMUSING PIECE OF INPUT WAS MY AGE WHICH GAVE ME A LICENCE TO EAT AN EXTRA 700 CALORIES A DAY!! INTERESTINGLY, I STILL LOST A ABIT, BUT NOW THAT THAT FACT HAS BEEN CHANGED THE TRUTH IS OUT. WELL, JUST OVER 1200 IS THE SUM TOTAL. THIS FEELS BETTER IN A WAY AND WILL MAKE ME PAY CLOSER ATTENTION - THIS IS A VERY GOOD AND SOPHISTICATED WEBSITE AND I AM VERY IMPRESSED. I SHALL BE AROUND FOR A GOOD WHILE AS I DO HAVE LOTS TO LOSE.0
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Actually weighing & measuring has really been an eye opener for me! The greatest surprise is that my body (& mind) is actually good with the much, much smaller portions! AMAZING!Very helpful and motivational. I've been "on a diet" for about 15 years, and some of those years I was even really diligent about measuring...but not logging EVERYTHING, and certainly not weighing. I weighed my breakfast for the first time ever. Had I just logged what I thought was accurate, I would have been underestimating by about 300 calories. Wow.
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fitfor30th wrote: »woah, rice should be a cupcake wrapper size?!
According to the USDA a serving of white rice is 1/2 cup cooked or visually the size of a cupcake wrapper.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/HHFS_RICE_WHITE_ENRICHED_LONGGRAIN100491,100492oct 2012.pdf
The nutrition label on the rice I use - Calrose Shirakiku - says the serving size is 1/4 cup which would be 1/2 cup cooked.
Ha I have totally been eating just 1/4 cup of rice, cooked0 -
This discussion is interesting though, I'd be interested what's "average" in terms of frequency. Were I to guess, I would think 2-3 times/week is fairly normal.
We eat out infrequently, maybe twice a month? Japanese usually. Thank goodness I don't travel for work like I used to.
Fast foods: Very close to zero a month.
Treats when buying my triple tall Americano (all 15 calories of it dash of cream included): frequent before CICO, non-existent afterwards LOL.
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I know this have been asked but the answer given confused me.. so I am going to ask it again in hopes I can understand it better. I got a food scale today. and I've used it twice so far. I plan on making me a side salad tonight. now in the past.. I would log all of the ingridents indivually and try to guesstimate how much I was eating.
I still plan on doing that but I will be using my food scale to log it. But once the salad is actually "made" do I have to log the finished product as well? or even if i made a casserole., do I have to log the finished product? or at least the serving of the casserole that I eat? and if so.. like How would I go about that? cause wouldn't it be counting the calories twice?0 -
I know I have been pretty accurate with food entry and have gained many more calories that I have not used because I have exercised a lot this week. My weight is the same as last week. It is my first week and I don't have a great deal to get rid of but I hoped to lose at least a little weight. Could0
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I know I have been pretty accurate with food entry and have gained many more calories that I have not used because I have exercised a lot this week. My weight is the same as last week. It is my first week and I don't have a great deal to get rid of but I hoped to lose at least a little weight. Could I be toning up? Hello!0
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Oh by the way,I have not eaten back any of the exercise calories!
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I know this have been asked but the answer given confused me.. so I am going to ask it again in hopes I can understand it better. I got a food scale today. and I've used it twice so far. I plan on making me a side salad tonight. now in the past.. I would log all of the ingridents indivually and try to guesstimate how much I was eating.
I still plan on doing that but I will be using my food scale to log it. But once the salad is actually "made" do I have to log the finished product as well? or even if i made a casserole., do I have to log the finished product? or at least the serving of the casserole that I eat? and if so.. like How would I go about that? cause wouldn't it be counting the calories twice?
You would either log the individual ingredients in your journal or create a 'recipe' in the app, and log the serving you ate.
For example, on meal prep day when I make for the whole week and divide it up, I add the recipe. I usually weigh the final product to find out how many servings of 100g there is in what I made.
For example, if I made one of my favourite quinoa dishes, and divided it up to see how many 100g portions there are, then I measured out a 250g portion for each lunch I would log in my journal 2.5 servings of the dish every day for lunch. If I wanted to top it with a condiment (usually I like some avocado with it) then I add the avocado as a separate food, weighing the portion by grams as well.
I hope that makes sense.0 -
I know I have been pretty accurate with food entry and have gained many more calories that I have not used because I have exercised a lot this week. My weight is the same as last week. It is my first week and I don't have a great deal to get rid of but I hoped to lose at least a little weight. Could I be toning up?
When people say weight loss is not linear, this is exactly what we mean. You'll never go down every week, or even every day. You may have lost, but are retaining water for a variety of reasons--sodium intake, hormones, and increase in exercise (which you mentioned) are the biggest culprits.0 -
CandiceMcD wrote: »fitfor30th wrote: »woah, rice should be a cupcake wrapper size?!
According to the USDA a serving of white rice is 1/2 cup cooked or visually the size of a cupcake wrapper.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/HHFS_RICE_WHITE_ENRICHED_LONGGRAIN100491,100492oct 2012.pdf
The nutrition label on the rice I use - Calrose Shirakiku - says the serving size is 1/4 cup which would be 1/2 cup cooked.
Ha I have totally been eating just 1/4 cup of rice, cooked
This is a perfect example of how logging food can be really frustrating. I always question things like rice, etc. On the package, I assume it gives the measurements based on how the product is in the package (unless otherwise stated). Therefore, the weight of the rice or bean or lentil will be different when cooked. 45g of rice uncooked is a lot of rice. 45g cooked is a very small portion.
What I have done in the past is familiarize myself with weights before and after cooking. I have sticky notes on the insides of my pantry doors that tell me "45g uncooked, 120g cooked" for things I eat all the time. I also have a sticky note on the inside of my pots & pans cupboard which will tell me how much each pot, pan, casserole dish etc weighs. So that when I make a meal prep for the week I can do the math for how many grams the recipe made without worrying about forgetting how much the pot weighed before I started.
I hope this tips help (can you tell I've been logging for years...)0 -
tiffanyking1976 wrote: »birdiebunny wrote: »I tend to over log food. Not much but some. If I know I'm not getting a full serving of something but more then half I may log it as 1. And that's because I know something will get missed somewhere or to make up for the tasting I do while cooking.
I do the same thing! Id rather over than under loo
I'm the same. Or, I'll portion myself a bowl of something, but not eat it all or share it with whoever I'm with and then end up not changing my log.0
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