Food Log

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allisonthompson6
allisonthompson6 Posts: 19 Member
edited July 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
I can use my fitbit to make sure I walk my target steps, I have no problem logging in my 64oz of water, I can log in my yoga time, but for some reason, I just can't seem to log in my food!!! I KNOW that's my biggest problem, but just can't seem to overcome it. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Pre-log your days.
  • allisonthompson6
    allisonthompson6 Posts: 19 Member
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    Oh good lord, now that would call for some organization! Never thought of that one
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    Let me guess..... If logging your food is too much effort, weighing it before you eat it must be torture?? Weight loss happens in the kitchen, while working out benefits overall health. I have 3 or 4 prprelogged breakfasts, my standard salads, and numerous meals I enjoy . Easy peasy, you go to your diary, hit meals, choose the preentered favorite of the day, push add selected.... Done.

    To complicate it a bit, then I weigh the individual ingredients as I build the actual meal, change the weight to reflect the actual that day or delete an item if I am not including it that time and push enter a second time. Realistically, it just takes moments.

    Best wishes :)
  • lizzifus
    lizzifus Posts: 1 Member
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    It's about being honest with yourself. No one will see your entries but you :-)!
    Try searching on the web for 1200-1500 calorie meal plans to give you suggestions :-).
    Best wishes!
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Organisation? I sit down over my morning cuppa and log what I'm having for breakfast. I probably know what I'm having for lunch, as I take my own lunches to work. So I can log that too. I also usually know what we're having for dinner, as I do a rough menu plan for teh week. So I can log that too. Takes 10 minutes, tops.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    Oh good lord, now that would call for some organization! Never thought of that one

    wow

    It just takes me 3.5 minutes to sit down with my coffee after diner and prelog my food.

    Just some minutes that's all

    Put your alarm on 5 minutes earlier a day!
  • SaffronSunrise
    SaffronSunrise Posts: 182 Member
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    It was harder for me in the beginning and did take more time, but it gets easier and quicker, I promise. I try to find an entry in grams and enter the serving size as 1 gram (or 1 oz for protein) so I don't have to do too much math or spend too much time trying to get exactly 100 grams (i.e. for blueberries). I just put some on my waffles and log 36 servings.
  • Clarewho
    Clarewho Posts: 494 Member
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    Also once you've logged for a few weeks you'll generally find that you are eating the same things, so they'll be in your recent foods list. One thing I find easy to do is make say 3 days' salads to take to work - so I'll rinse, chop, weigh and put in 3 separate bowls then I know I'm eating the same thing each day - you can just copy the day's entries to the following day, amending whatever has changed (for instance, whatever protein accompanies the salad that day). It's really easier than you think especially once you get over the initial week or so. Good luck :smile:
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I don't like going to work, scooping the cat litter, doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom or doing the laundry. But I do it, because my life would be a bit more crap if I didn't. So I do. Put logging in the 'not optional' part of your life. Or have your life be a little more crap.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    I can use my fitbit to make sure I walk my target steps, I have no problem logging in my 64oz of water, I can log in my yoga time, but for some reason, I just can't seem to log in my food!!! I KNOW that's my biggest problem, but just can't seem to overcome it. Any suggestions?

    Pre-log. Log it before you eat it. That was the only way I got to where I am. I would not eat something until I had weighed and logged it. I would log my lunch as I packed it in the morning. I would log my dinner while it was cooking. If we were eating out on the weekend, I'd look up the menu, decide what I wanted to eat, and log it.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    REally no food logging then why bother hitting target steps...if you are here for weight loss its the calorie deficit that does that and you won't know you are in one until you log accurately and consistently.

    as for prelogging...takes me 10mins on Sunday evening to prelog my entire week...doesn't mean it's written in stone but it's pretty close to what I will be eating.
  • bmchenry02
    bmchenry02 Posts: 233 Member
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    Suggestions on overcoming logging food is a pretty simple solution!! Chances are you have an idea of what you eat for breakfast everyday and if you have any kind of meal plan you might even know what's for dinner. Log it!

    Phew. Glad we got that covered. It's not hard.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    you'll get in the habit, but you have to still do it :)
    either prelog or in the afterglow
  • btkennett
    btkennett Posts: 14 Member
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    Let me guess..... If logging your food is too much effort, weighing it before you eat it must be torture?? Weight loss happens in the kitchen, while working out benefits overall health. I have 3 or 4 prprelogged breakfasts, my standard salads, and numerous meals I enjoy . Easy peasy, you go to your diary, hit meals, choose the preentered favorite of the day, push add selected.... Done.

    To complicate it a bit, then I weigh the individual ingredients as I build the actual meal, change the weight to reflect the actual that day or delete an item if I am not including it that time and push enter a second time. Realistically, it just takes moments.

    Best wishes :)

    Ummm...Weight Loss happens both in the kitchen and in the gym. Hate to break it to you, but it's Calories In, Calories Out. IF you're burning a bunch of calories in the gym, you will lose weight. Both are important, but it's not at all accurate to imply that one can't alter either side of the equation to create the deficit. #justsayin
  • dasher602014
    dasher602014 Posts: 1,992 Member
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    put your diary on public view and ask a friend to look at it and comment. Get a good positive friend to do it for you. Keeps you honest and puts it on the same track as brushing your teeth.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    btkennett wrote: »
    Let me guess..... If logging your food is too much effort, weighing it before you eat it must be torture?? Weight loss happens in the kitchen, while working out benefits overall health. I have 3 or 4 prprelogged breakfasts, my standard salads, and numerous meals I enjoy . Easy peasy, you go to your diary, hit meals, choose the preentered favorite of the day, push add selected.... Done.

    To complicate it a bit, then I weigh the individual ingredients as I build the actual meal, change the weight to reflect the actual that day or delete an item if I am not including it that time and push enter a second time. Realistically, it just takes moments.

    Best wishes :)

    Ummm...Weight Loss happens both in the kitchen and in the gym. Hate to break it to you, but it's Calories In, Calories Out. IF you're burning a bunch of calories in the gym, you will lose weight. Both are important, but it's not at all accurate to imply that one can't alter either side of the equation to create the deficit. #justsayin

    Not if you aren't aware of how much you're eating.

    OP, it takes at most two minutes for me to log a meal. I've been doing it for a year and a half and it's second nature now.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    btkennett wrote: »
    Let me guess..... If logging your food is too much effort, weighing it before you eat it must be torture?? Weight loss happens in the kitchen, while working out benefits overall health. I have 3 or 4 prprelogged breakfasts, my standard salads, and numerous meals I enjoy . Easy peasy, you go to your diary, hit meals, choose the preentered favorite of the day, push add selected.... Done.

    To complicate it a bit, then I weigh the individual ingredients as I build the actual meal, change the weight to reflect the actual that day or delete an item if I am not including it that time and push enter a second time. Realistically, it just takes moments.

    Best wishes :)

    Ummm...Weight Loss happens both in the kitchen and in the gym. Hate to break it to you, but it's Calories In, Calories Out. IF you're burning a bunch of calories in the gym, you will lose weight. Both are important, but it's not at all accurate to imply that one can't alter either side of the equation to create the deficit. #justsayin
    @btkennett Ummmm yah no...

    I can burn a tonne of calories working out but if I am not in a deficit I won't lose weight....it's that simple.

    Calorie deficit for weight loss and exercise for health and fitness.

    you can't outrun calorie excess #justsayin

    that being said no one ever dismisses exercise as beneficial just not required for weight loss.
  • J_Squared_77
    J_Squared_77 Posts: 29 Member
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    I'm seeing a lack of empathy here so I'll put in my two cents. :)
    I had a really hard time logging my food at first because it was so foreign to me. I was always athletic growing up so I never paid attention to what I ate or how much of it because I didn't need to, I was healthy and in great shape by default.
    As I got older athletics became less and less a part of my life and I started slowly gaining weight. Over 8 years I gained 50 lbs. So I decided I had to do something about it.
    The first time I tried logging my food on here was a complete failure. I was excited about it but it did take a lot of time and effort because I wasn't used to it. I'm on my second go-round now and I've logged my food every day for 50 days in a row.
    I do it by planning out everything I'm going to eat the night before and plugging it in. If there are changes that occur throughout the day then I modify it as I go on my phone or that night before I plan the next day's meals.
    You can do it, it just needs to become a priority. It is still a pain in the butt for me but I do it every day because I am getting results. I am losing weight and feeling so much better mentally and physically. If you want tips or need a friend or whatevs PM me. :) Good Luck on your journey!