I feel compelled to log everything. Does anyone have "logging fatigue"?

ElJefeChief
ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
edited November 28 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
It's funny. For the first time in my life I feel complete freedom to eat whatever I want. When I want a salad, I eat one. When I want chocolate peanut butter cup cheesecake brownies, I eat those. No more low-fat, low-carb, etc., etc. But the corollary is now I am scared if I don't log, I may gain again.

I'm basically at goal, with a BMI of around 24, been bouncing around the upper 180s for awhile now (I have MFP set at a 0.5 rate of loss per week, but that seems to just keep me at maintainence based on how I estimate my food).

I work out every day (walking and biking). Someday I'll get back into strength training, but I don't feel any huge pressure right now.

But I just wanted to comment on the whole logging thing. I find it's interesting how some MFP-ers during the holidays would get into holiday pig-out mode (I did too) but instead of logging everything, they would say, "I'm taking a break from logging, because I'm on vacation."

I figure whether I go over my calories or not, I *have* to log. The only thing that got me to where I am now is the awareness that daily calorie counting brought me.

The only question is - how long do I keep this up? I confess, I'm feeling a little bit of "counting fatigue" just starting to creep in.

Can anyone relate?
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Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Yes but for me it's totally worth the inconvenience. When I'm too lazy I just do quick calories though.
  • jodidari
    jodidari Posts: 95 Member
    I feel you, i recently stopped logging for about a month. I was just tired of logging but i kept a mental note so i wouldn't go way over board. I just started back today but i'm not pressuring myself, i'll do quick calories if i'm too lazy to find the food
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
    I DETEST logging, but i do it daily anyway. only because i like seeing the # of days i've logged going up. I am HORRIBLE at portions, and the plan i am following doesn't require me to log. but i just like seeing that streak # going up.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    I've been doing it off and on for 5 years now. Every time I'm off, I gain weight. Pre-logging makes everything easier, that way I'm not logging all day long every day.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    When your eating habits are completely mindless, when you don't have to think, "how many calories did I eat today?" but can basically look at what you ate and say "Yeah, I'm in range", you're probably safe to stop logging. And it kind of sounds to me like you're there. If you feel yourself sliding, you can always start again.

    I was a dancer for years, on a pretty strict fitness schedule, and after my first year in dance troupe, I didn't have to think about calories. I knew how much I'd eaten, and whether or not I was out of bounds or within range.
    After my back injury, all of that changed. I was still not counting, but I was eating more and moving less for far too long. I'm hoping to once more get back to that state of fitness and awareness.
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    I haven't been logging regularly since sometime around September or October. I hit goal and continued to log for about a year and then a bunch of stuff came up in life and it was really hard to log so I stopped. I haven't gained any weight, in fact I lost a couple of pounds (mostly from stress and not eating). I've continued with my workouts and have managed to lose a few inches. Just remember if you stop logging, you still have to continue to do the things that helped you to lose weight to begin with.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I pre-log. Super quick and easy. I do log everything I eat except on special occasions - which are fewer than ten days per year.
  • bkstein40
    bkstein40 Posts: 41 Member
    Since I hit maintenance I am almost afraid to quit logging. I also have yet to find my middle ground to stop loosing and to actually be in a maintenance mode of where I stay within my range. I call this my lifestyle change I figure I spend time looking at my FB wall everyday, I can spend a few minutes logging my calories in MFP. Also by logging through out the day, breakfast, lunch & snacks it gives me a better idea of what I can have for dinner.
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    DrEnalg wrote: »
    It's funny. For the first time in my life I feel complete freedom to eat whatever I want. When I want a salad, I eat one. When I want chocolate peanut butter cup cheesecake brownies, I eat those. No more low-fat, low-carb, etc., etc. But the corollary is now I am scared if I don't log, I may gain again.


    The only question is - how long do I keep this up? I confess, I'm feeling a little bit of "counting fatigue" just starting to creep in.

    Can anyone relate?

    YES !! I'm not ready to stop logging yet but sometimes it annoys me so much !
  • slheddlesten
    slheddlesten Posts: 41 Member
    I like logging it keeps me on track and opens my eyes to a better way of eating instead of going to the comfort foods and bad bad habits. I have learned to spread my calories over a 24 hour cycle instead of a sleep-wake cycle. That has helped with the fatigue.
  • DoneWorking
    DoneWorking Posts: 247 Member
    edited January 2016
    Yes, it's a boring routine, but I have to log. After being in maintenance for a while, I stopped logging and the pounds slowly crept back up. I didn't actually notice it until my clothes started to feel a little snug.
  • krdews
    krdews Posts: 124 Member
    I can definitely relate, I was diligent before goal and I let up for a bit during the holidays - just became less of priority (and I gained a few). But I've come to realize, the logging/posting keeps it in the forefront instead of the background and that is what works for me.
  • AliceA2013
    AliceA2013 Posts: 65 Member
    I think you have to do what you have to do to be fit and healthy. If you can achieve your goals without logging, then you don't need to log. If you find you start derailing when you don't log, then it would make sense to keep at it for a little longer. It's all about finding what helps. Personally, I have found that it helps me to log for a while every couple of years. I start doing it almost as soon as my target weight range begins to shift to the upper limit. The rest of the time, and after all that logging, you get a pretty good idea of what healthy eating is like. Some people call it just being "calorie aware".
  • DoneWorking
    DoneWorking Posts: 247 Member
    edited January 2016
    Without logging, It's too easy to forget something you ate and then blow the day. Same thing with measuring and weighing. What looks like a tablespoon may actually be a teaspoon or a tablespoon and a half. Also, you see things differently each day. What you guestimate one day, may not be the same the next day.
  • YokiLenko
    YokiLenko Posts: 89 Member
    When I wasn't logging everything in, I was constantly thinking about the calories I consumed (this is one of the reasons I never ate packaged products because it gives you the calorie count right there). MFP taught me to be aware of the foods I ate and I guess it really is a lifestyle change than anything. It's hard to stay on track when you are constantly double checking to stay on your diet.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    vczk2t15 wrote: »
    I DETEST logging, but i do it daily anyway. only because i like seeing the # of days i've logged going up. I am HORRIBLE at portions, and the plan i am following doesn't require me to log. but i just like seeing that streak # going up.

    You don't have to log to see your streak going up. You just have to log in to the site.
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
    You can decide to take a break from logging and come back if it's not working. Or simply plan a week off to give yourself a mental break. I do that once in a while. Just came back from a two month logging hiatus.
  • leodora1
    leodora1 Posts: 77 Member
    I am obsessed with logging but generally when time is of the essence, I don't add veggies.
  • vrojapu
    vrojapu Posts: 268 Member
    Logging is the only thing that helps me self-regulate, so I plan to do it long-term. I pre-log and then do a quick check through at the end of the day to clean up the info (add what else I ate and remove what I didn't), so I've cut down the time I spend doing it to a minimum.

    But more than even self-regulation, I think that for me it's a healthy habit because if I pre-log, I stay aware when I stray from the planned food intake and try to minimize it, which I wouldn't otherwise.
  • motterotter
    motterotter Posts: 701 Member
    Totally have logging fatigue i come onto the forums to give myself a reason to log on to mfp and this forces me to log food
  • scrittrice
    scrittrice Posts: 345 Member
    I've been maintaining for a little over a year and I purposely take a day off every once in a while to break my streak. In the beginning I took weekends off, but then I decided those were the days I was more likely to eat unusual things, so now I take a random day off during the week. Interestingly, I just went on vacation for two weeks in a situation (very remote area, food prepared for me, no wi-fi) where I had little control and couldn't work out and wasn't even moving as much as I do in my everyday life. I tried to pay attention to hunger and eat in response to it. I came back and went to the gym a couple of days later (I don't have a scale at home) and weighed the exact same amount, to the decimal point, that I did the day before I left. So I know the logging is a crutch and a habit, but it seems like a fairly benign one, and I'm not nearly as fussy about accuracy as I used to be (don't weigh food much anymore). I imagine eventually I'll stop for longer and longer periods.
  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    I've logged for 3 years or so. I sometimes (rarely) get sick of logging and decide to take a break, but honestly I dont enjoy not logging when Im at home and I'm able to. I like the control and see no reason not to. On vacation or w/e I dont log, but I still make reasonable choices and I know how to maintain without logging really without a problem. Logging just lets me make sure I get in my nutrients and keep my protein up
  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
    Only time I don't "officially" log is on vacation. At end of day I do a mental calculation and have a "food" I can put in various calorie amounts for.
  • PamOliva
    PamOliva Posts: 101 Member
    DrEnalg wrote: »
    The only question is - how long do I keep this up? I confess, I'm feeling a little bit of "counting fatigue" just starting to creep in.

    Can anyone relate?

    I have a feeling you already know what to do and eat in a way that you are very familiar with. I understand giving up the "crutch." Maybe start by not logging just one meal a day (say breakfast) and when ready move on from there. Just an idea.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,699 Member
    4 months after I started here, I stopped logging for one month. I was taking a diet and logging break because I had reached my first goal, and I was on holiday.

    5 months later (mid-December) I stopped logging again, and haven't resumed. I'm on another diet and logging break. I do plan to resume next week.

    I just can't log forever. I'm surprised I've done it this long. In the past, I've logged for 3 weeks and then stopped logging and just continued to lose a couple more kg or whatever I needed to do on my own. This time, I decided to get down to a weight I haven't seen since about 2002 (and I'm really close now) so I decided to stick with the logging. Plus this site is pretty easy to use.

    All that said, when I do go onto a diet break, I do have trouble the first day or two not logging.

    I remember standing in my mother's kitchen with a container of yogurt in one hand and a bowl in the other and actually, thought, "Where's the scale? How can I eat yogurt without the scale? But I got over that right quick. :grin:
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    I have been logging for over two years now, close to day 750 at present. For me it is just a habit now. I log everything even when I go over and during holidays. The first because lying to myself about what I got me here in the first place, so not going to lie to me anymore. I ate it I own it. I log during holidays because well yes I am away and all but my metabolism is not on a holiday so needs to be looked after.
    Last but not least I want to get to 1000 days of logging. I simply have made my daily streak a goal.
  • klove808
    klove808 Posts: 346 Member
    I've felt like other things are more important for the last few days and didn't log. Thought I'd be cool with it .... I
    Went and backtracked n added today, just couldn't handle.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
    i LOVE longing. I work in the wilderness a lot and when I'm gone, I miss it, but I still log manually. That being said, there are times in life where I've gotten burnt out on certain things - I took a training/diet break last month, and it was a real motivator. Maybe a logging break? I would think it better to just totally take a break, then to get accustomed to logging lazily, log it right or don't log at all. but thats just my two cents.
  • dlmciver
    dlmciver Posts: 149 Member
    I log faithfully, because it works for me and keeps me mindful. I figure I'm more tired of regaining than I could ever be logging !!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited January 2016
    I only like the number of days logged in, going up everyday. It makes it look like I have been here three hundred x number of days and still have achieved nothing...LOL

    For real, I log still, I guess I still dont trust my self, because the holidays really did send me some unwanted gifts due to not logging or guestimating which is a NO NO!!!!!! LOL

    BTW, I now log everything, even my stupid vitamins, they have calories, and now I keep up with the fats better... those pads of butter or tsp of oil are huge..
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