Do you log when you've been "bad"?

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Wasn't sure how to word this but when you're taking time off your diet for whatever reason (in my case, first weekend of holiday and on my period) do you ever log it anyway to check the "damage" and to try to stay on track, or do you avoid doing this as it's just too depressing?

After seeing it written down, I've told myself I'll be doing plenty exercise and eating at loss tomorrow at least for damage limitation anyway! Feel sort of down about it now so not sure whether it's a good thing to do or not. :/
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  • RiverMelSong
    RiverMelSong Posts: 456 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I don't take ''time off'' my diet because I'm not on a diet. Counting calories isn't something I plan to do temporarily. Sure there are days I go over, like today because I fancied that extra glass of red, and some days I eat maintenance because I'm just freaking hungry. But I weigh and log everything, if I don't I'm only cheating myself. Not counting calories and ignoring all the crap I ate because it was embarrassing is what got me in this mess in the first place. The days I go over I compensate by going for a walk or something the following day.


    *edited for typos*
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    THIS^^^^^
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I log it. The bad, the good, and the so-so days all get logged.
    My form of damage control would be cutting 250 calories for a couple days to help buffer it out. It happens. If I was over by 1000, then I would need to cut back for 4 days. However, this is what I will be doing at maintenance. Since I'm still in weight loss phase, I just log it and move on. The worst that could possibly happen is that I end up maintaining for the week that day falls in. Not a big deal to me.
  • noobletmcnugget
    noobletmcnugget Posts: 518 Member
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    It depends. Sometimes I'll log it and it'll deter me from going even more overboard. But other times (usually on special social occasions) I'll just forget about it and start the next day fresh. I find it easier to just move on from it, rather than trying to compensate by cutting my intake even more, which tends to just end up making things worse.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I log it and move on. My diary is a big part of my weight loss and I use it to help me figure out why I'm not losing.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I don't take time off. It's a lifestyle change. I can't allow that... that would be the first step of denial and I know exactly where that leads.

    I log everything, even the very bad PMS days (often I just end up with quick calories but they are mostly accurate).
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I don't take ''time off'' my diet because I'm not on a diet. Counting calories isn't something I plan to do temporarily. Sure there are days I go over, like today because I fancied that extra glass of red, and some days I eat maintenance because I'm just freaking hungry. But I weigh and log everything, if I don't I'm only cheating myself. Not counting calories and ignoring all the crap I ate because it was embarrassing is what got me in this mess in the first place. The days I go over I compensate by going for a walk or something the following day.

    /Thread.

    Logging helps me not overeat. Some days I'm tempted to munch but resist because I don't want to log it but don't want to lie in my logging. Or... I munch, then add extra exercise to earn the calories. It's given me more self-discipline.
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
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    Wasn't sure how to word this but when you're taking time off your diet for whatever reason (in my case, first weekend of holiday and on my period) do you ever log it anyway to check the "damage" and to try to stay on track, or do you avoid doing this as it's just too depressing?

    After seeing it written down, I've told myself I'll be doing plenty exercise and eating at loss tomorrow at least for damage limitation anyway! Feel sort of down about it now so not sure whether it's a good thing to do or not. :/

    I log everything as best I can. Sometimes I figure out how to make up for it (move my calories around throughout the week, increase activity, etc) and sometimes I let the bad day be and move on. I do the former far more often than the latter, though.

    If I was on a deliberate break, I'd eat at maintenance or possibly do sloppy logging at worst. I don't think it's wise to be totally unaware of my intake. And any fear that 'knowing' might 'get me depressed' is just an irrational voice trying to steer me towards denial and ignorance. Gaining weight is what gets me depressed, not 'knowing.' Also, feeling depressed is sometimes a completely legitimate feeling to experience. Feeling depressed isn't always irrational or a brain disease.
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
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    I don't know exactly what you mean by bad but of course I had days that without planning I exceeded my calories allowance , but no I don't log it , I don't log things that I don't have the exact idea or amount of what I ate, and no, not logging I don't consider it 'cheating ' and it doesn't prevent from 'doing it again' , I don't have a binge problem, I just sometimes eat my mom's food or eat out with my friends , that's life for me and I'm OK with it.
  • dinosaurparty
    dinosaurparty Posts: 185 Member
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    I used to just 'ignore' my binges and overeating, partially by not logging it. I figured I was already sad, and seeing just how much I was eating would make me sadder - and that would defeat the point of a binge, which was to self-medicate with food. That pretty much allowed me to keep my unhealthy cycle going, as I wasnt holding myself accountable. I might be good all week, but one binge and all that work was for nothing, and since I had no visible record of what I'd done, I was waaaaay less likely to try to compensate for overeating with some exercise the next day.

    I'm not sure exactly what changed, but a little while ago I realised that I was never tought or encouraged to be disciplined as a child. That sucks, but I'm an adult now, so I'll have to teach myself. Logging properly and acknowledging that my ED is really only better (and not 'cured' or whatever) are a part of that. *

    Even if I can't always weigh everything, or read every lable, I'll always do my best to log. An estimation is better than nothing.

    *Not beating myself up over eating 'badly" or too much is also part of my learning process.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    My food diary is a record of what I ate so that I can look at trends. I can't get an accurate idea of cause and effect if my data is inaccurate.

    I guess it really depends upon how you use MFP.

    If you use the food diary day-to-day to track current intake and you never look at your past data, there's no real reason to be completely accurate.

    If you want to be able to look at your diary and reports to see why you are having plateaus or even weight gain when you are trying to lose, it really helps to record absolutely everything.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Yes. It makes me feel better and more in control. I just went back to the PB2 and greek yogurt, taking little bites straight from the container. I thought I wasn't going to log it but felt guilty and found a way to log those extra grams of each. Not only do I feel more in control, I have accurate data. (As accurate as someone who takes extra licks can get).
  • Annr
    Annr Posts: 2,765 Member
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    Being accountable is just that.....thru the good days and the bad days....
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Sometimes I log it all and divide the extra calories over the next few days... sometimes I just quick log my calorie limit for the day and move on. The latter only usually happens at Christmas, New Year's and my birthday.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    I log it as best as possible. I ate cheese puffs and chocolate cake last night for supper with wine. I was horrifically gassy, embarrassed at my lack of control and felt sick today. But I logged it. I don't want to pretend it didn't happen.
  • PegMoffat
    PegMoffat Posts: 24 Member
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    Even when I know that what I'm eating will put me over my calorie goal for the day I log it because I know that I might be able to fool MFP but I won't be able to fool my body so I might as well own up.
  • losingitseattle
    losingitseattle Posts: 90 Member
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    I take breaks from MFP for periods at a time for lots of reasons but I am always logging in my head so I know if I need to adjust the next day. I didn't officially log much at all in August due to vacations/family visits and stayed at the same weight...but I'm really active and a creature of habit and I generally eat pretty healthy. I've been counting calories for 34 years and I guess that's why I've always been in a healthy weight range...so it does work! But if I am trying to cut weight for a reason (have to wear a bikini) I have to measure and log fastidiously.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,721 Member
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    Yes, for accountability. Otherwise it's very easy for me to slip back into old habits and gain more weight... sauces, creams, cheeses all add up very quickly and I love it all! lol
  • Alassonde
    Alassonde Posts: 228 Member
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    I always try to log as accurately as possible, because if I have a sudden increase in weight I like to be able to look back at my diary and see that there is a reason for it.
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
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    I don't consider myself to EVER be bad per say. There is no bad or good. Just more nutritional poor or rich choices.

    Having that said, I log everything I eat no matter if it is rainbow chard with red leaf lettuce or a bag of peanut M&Ms.

    Since I have some food sensitivity / allergies, having an electronic catalog of what I eat helps me isolate the irritant when I am trying something new.

    Also, believe it or not, many times I would look at the calories on an indulgence and say to myself, 'WOW that was SO not worth X calories' which leads me to indulge differently over time.

    Hope that helps - good luck!