Food you don't bother logging

ColwellCat
ColwellCat Posts: 84 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I think everyone has a line, where is yours? Where's your conscious margin of error? Do you log herbs and condiments? Tea? The squeeze of lemon in a glass of water? Green leafy vegetables? The taste of someone else's plate?

I am trying to be more diligent at logging the details. Trying to focus on mindful eating and calorie amnesia as much as it being about accuracy. But I'm wondering how other people approach this.
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Replies

  • princessbessica
    princessbessica Posts: 25 Member
    I don't log chewing gum or low calories squash (6 cals per glass), but I do log tea as I get through 6-8 cups per day and those little splashes of milk add up. I log the green leafy veg to hit my macro targets. I wouldn't log something I took from my kids plate if it was a 'good' food like tomato or sweet pepper, but I would log potato, cake or other higher cal food (I would just estimate).
    I did try being more relaxed, but my weight loss just slows when I do this.
    I will relax my logging as I get nearer my target weight though :-)
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    I log tea and coffee, even black (I find it interesting to look back on my habits), but I do not log salt, pepper, herbs and lemon juice. I log and weigh everything else including all veggies.

    The only guesswork I do is the amount of milk in my coffee. I use an average, which I worked out over a couple of days.

    I don't taste food off anyone's plate ever and it annoys me when they offer and get pushy. They must also keep their mitts off my food. I weighed that carrot! It's mine! It is a little quirk I have developed since joining MFP six months ago. I think I used tasting as an excuse to eat bites of the wrong stuff in the past and pretend it didn't happen. It is a habit I am glad to get rid of.
  • alexuh
    alexuh Posts: 108 Member
    1 cal cooking spray (although I did in the past, then realised this was slightly coocoo as I was only using 4 or 5 sprays.... There's being accurate and then there's being a bit of a loony!!!)
  • magicmarigold
    magicmarigold Posts: 40 Member
    Yup, agree with the one cal cooking spray, herbs and spices I usually don't track but if I add it as a recipe I include it in there for future reference.

    I also estimate milk in tea and coffee , measured it once to get the rough idea what I normally use.

    I think I track everything else though.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Most spices, chewing gum, and diet 7up. Even if a spice has more calories than others 1-2 grams of the stuff won't break the bank. 7up because all entries I've seen show 0 calories per serving making them useless and I'm too lazy to create my own with calories.

    I also log coffee as quick add calories but not tea (I drink both without sugar or milk). I have no idea why and I have no solid explanation.

    I don't log tiny pickles when I snag one randomly throughout the day. We make baby dill pickles, and they're only one calorie per pickle. Not worth fussing about 2-3 random pickles.

  • ajc1309
    ajc1309 Posts: 255 Member
    Same as the others. I log everything except herbs and things like that. I log condiments and the milk in my tea, but I do guesstimate the milk but I don't have much milk in my tea anyway.
  • YellowApple666
    YellowApple666 Posts: 35 Member
    I dont log herbs, diet soda, black coffee, a sprinkle of 2% milk in my coffee (I log 200mL every now and then if I feel very OCD but it doesn't happen very often), lemon juice, balsamic vinegar. I know they do have calories and they add up but it has worked for me so far.
    I also stopped weighing a few things like cocoa and parmesan after checking my teaspoons a few times. I know measuring is not 100% accurate but I'm okay with that. If I'll ever start gaining weight for no apparent reason I might consider being more strict, but there's no need to fix what isn't broken.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
    Herbal tea, gum, mints.

    I ate some fries off a friend's plate today - logged my best guess of how many grams 5 fries is!
  • Bacchants
    Bacchants Posts: 92 Member
    I don't log my mints or my squash that I have in the evening.

    I'm also lazy with logging my tea. I have about 4-5 cups a day, but the milk varies depending on who at work makes it. Oh also mustard of any relatively low calorie condiment. eg I log any pesto I add as it's got a lot of fat/oil in it.

    If I hit a plateau then I know I could tighten this all up, but while I'm still losing I try not to worry about these small bits.

    Although I also don't tend to log my workouts properly, and just use the tdee my fitbit HR gives me even though it's not really accurate for all my weightlifting. So I figure it must be balancing out as I'm loosing what I'm expecting to.
  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    edited August 2015
    I don't always log aniseed balls or mints (4 cals each) . I have never logged milked in my many teas and coffees - but i'm in maintenece so to me it doesn't really matter. I do log harbs and condiments and also sweeteners. I don't log the occsaional single grape or single almond- but I would if it got to be more than once a day- I'd count 5 almonds.

    I don't log exercise and I don't usually eat back excerise cals- if i do it's 50-100cals max.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I don't log calories in instant coffee - 1 CALORIE just seems a bit crazy to log, IMO!!
  • moxie1962
    moxie1962 Posts: 165 Member
    I log coffee/tea as water..and the added creams and sweeteners as food items. The foods I don't log are lettuce, tomatoes, onions, celery, cucumber. I don't usually see any impact from eating them, as they are high fiber and water content.
    I have still lost 55 pounds in 9 months.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
    Spices and some sauces like sriracha or pace
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Gum, diet drin
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    anything 0 calories

    some spices

    literal 'one bites' but if ive had several or more than one bite, will quick add a rough approximation

    depending on my mood and situation, things like lettuce on a sandwich
  • asterdragon413
    asterdragon413 Posts: 3 Member
    You would be surprised how many calories can be in certain condiments. Condiments are often rich in sugar and fat... if you put a teaspoon of mayo in a sandwich you could kiss goodbye to 60-70 calories.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
    I do not log spices and zero calorie drinks, I do not log my coffees but I log 100-150ml milk per day to cover the milk in the coffee (no sugar) I do log my salads and any dressing if I have any (I often do balsamic vinegar and a splash of lemon, if I have the calories for it, a splash of olive oil too)

    I log all condiments as they can be very high in calories, and if I have a bite off someone else's plate I log it as best as I can (rare occurrence)
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  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    oh_happy_day wrote: »
    Herbal tea, gum, mints.

    This exactly.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    Herbs, spices, vinegar
    Vitamin supplements
    I don't worry overmuch about plain, raw veggies

    I have enough leeway that the above shouldn't be a problem.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I don't log coffee but do log the milk and sugar in it because I do have a large mug. I didn't used to but as I lose my margins will become tighter so getting into the habit now. I don't log dry spices but do marinades or sauces. I don't log cordial. I do log vitamins but nor my micros, there's no calories in them.

    Not much I don't log. Oh if it's a taste of something I don't log it, I always try to leave a bit of buffer so as not to worry about those little bits here and there.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Oh yes, I allow myself a cup of skimmed milk per day for my coffee.
  • lauracups
    lauracups Posts: 533 Member
    Tea coffee spices...except cinnamon, that has calories if you use a lot
  • Owlfan88
    Owlfan88 Posts: 187 Member
    I don't log spices. I do tend to log mustard, lettuce and tomato on sandwiches, though I don't weigh them. For that matter, I don't weigh most veggies anymore. I have a pretty good idea how much broccoli or green beans or asparagus I've got on my plate and it's just not going to matter if I've got 17 calories or 20 calories.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    I log everything but sometimes I may just stick those extra calories in something else because i don't feel like making a new entry.
  • bmele0
    bmele0 Posts: 282 Member
    Sometimes I won't log like a celery stalk or even like a quarter of a cucumber since it's so low. I don't log coffee if it's like 5 cal, but I log the milk or cream in it, etc. And like most others here- I don't log 0 cal chewing gum, cooking spray, spices in food, vitamin supplements. I am aware some vitamins like fish oil have like 10 cal for the serving, I just keep that in mind.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I don't always log herbs/spices from jars, but do log condiments like ketchup, all foods and gum.

    Exception: I log my garlic by the clove. I don't weigh garlic.
  • tyediri
    tyediri Posts: 183 Member
    I don't measure the milk in my coffee as others have said, but have consciously overestimated to account for inaccuracies. Don't log chewing gum, tea (only because I only have herbal teas that have pretty much no calories), chewing gum, diet coke, any vitamin supplements and the very rare taste of a couple chips or a spoonful of my husband's meal.
    However, I walk at least 40 minutes daily to work and on gym days I walk 90 minutes (to and from work and gym), which I do not log to account for inaccuracies (even though I weigh everything). I like not having to worry about logging the occasional taste of something.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    I don't log diet soda unless it's the 10 calorie variety. I do log gum and mints. I always log any tastes of food to the best of my ability, but to be honest, I just don't taste food from my husband's plate anymore. I don't log yellow mustard unless I use a lot. I do log cooking spray. I log Splenda if I use more than one packet. I don't log spices. All vegetables, even leafy ones and things like cucumbers and pickles, get weighed and logged.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    I don't log my morning coffee (I drink it black), Diet Pepsi, or any seasonings and spices I use. I have thought about logging the pop and seasonings just to get an idea of the sodium, but I just make a mental note of it.

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