Log it...even when you know it'll be real ugly.

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unawind
unawind Posts: 46 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Sometimes even the spector of logging calories doesn't prevent unhealthy food decisions. Like today, I used up all my calories by lunch. Then I had fast food at dinner. I ate out for every meal today, and it shows in my log. I consumed two days worth of calories in one! But there's still the rest of the night to avoid bad habits and tomorrow is another day to get back on the horse.

So log it. Even when you don't want to. Even when you know it'll be upsetting. Because seeing that shocking number is a part of being honest with ourselves.

I know better, so I'll do better. Using MFP is part of both knowing and doing, for me.

Replies

  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    Well said!
  • sbl1881
    sbl1881 Posts: 213 Member
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    Thanks for posting this. I logged my bad day as well. Back at it tomorrow!
  • chastityb5
    chastityb5 Posts: 37 Member
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    I agree with this 100000000000% . I used to fail at mfp before because once I went over I would stop logging and keep eating then eventually start to give up . Now I log everything .. Even when it hurts and I've finally been able to see some weightloss !
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Yes, log it even if you are going over your goal. One day overeating doesn't doom you. Just get back to normal the next day.

    I think it is useful to ask yourself some questions when you go over your goal quite a bit. Think about why it happened and what you can do in future in a similar situation. Make some notes.
    Have you been very restrictive in your diet or calorie goal lately? Maybe incorporate those foods you like more often.
    You can stick to your calorie goal when eating out. Look up nutrition info for restaurants in your area now and notice which choices fit your goal more easily.
    You could go to a grocery store and buy lower calorie foods instead of fast food.
    Try planning meals and prelogging so you don't get taken by surprise with calorie counts.
    Pack lunches the night before so you have something to eat. Keep a snack in your desk, purse or car.
    Look at the kinds of food you ate. Were your nutritional needs being met? Did you get enough protein, fats, fiber? Did you drink less water than normal?
    Is your period on the way? Some people choose to eat at maintenance for a few days around their period.
    Were you eating more out of emotions or boredom? Think about some different tools to handle those issues.
    Were all the foods you ate worth the amount of calories?
  • Erica9521
    Erica9521 Posts: 6 Member
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    Facts!
  • dbkyser
    dbkyser Posts: 612 Member
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    Great timing, now I am going fill in my log :neutral:
  • WickedZombieQueen
    WickedZombieQueen Posts: 21 Member
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    Off track today myself! Packed a well planned and pre logged lunch last night. Had an impromptu lunch meeting at a pizza joint instead. I tried to estimate my calories from lunch the best I could even added a few extra for good measure. Oh well, it was good pizza and the salad wasn't bad either
  • Tum22
    Tum22 Posts: 102 Member
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    Lounmoun wrote: »
    Yes, log it even if you are going over your goal. One day overeating doesn't doom you. Just get back to normal the next day.

    I think it is useful to ask yourself some questions when you go over your goal quite a bit. Think about why it happened and what you can do in future in a similar situation. Make some notes.
    Have you been very restrictive in your diet or calorie goal lately? Maybe incorporate those foods you like more often.
    You can stick to your calorie goal when eating out. Look up nutrition info for restaurants in your area now and notice which choices fit your goal more easily.
    You could go to a grocery store and buy lower calorie foods instead of fast food.
    Try planning meals and prelogging so you don't get taken by surprise with calorie counts.
    Pack lunches the night before so you have something to eat. Keep a snack in your desk, purse or car.
    Look at the kinds of food you ate. Were your nutritional needs being met? Did you get enough protein, fats, fiber? Did you drink less water than normal?
    Is your period on the way? Some people choose to eat at maintenance for a few days around their period.
    Were you eating more out of emotions or boredom? Think about some different tools to handle those issues.
    Were all the foods you ate worth the amount of calories?

    Yep all these things but I over ate yesterday purely out of tiredness.
  • CatherineElizabeth13
    CatherineElizabeth13 Posts: 212 Member
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    I logged my bad day yesterday. I felt very cross with myself as I did it. Today will be a better day!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Agreed.
  • unawind
    unawind Posts: 46 Member
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    Lounmoun wrote: »
    Yes, log it even if you are going over your goal. One day overeating doesn't doom you. Just get back to normal the next day.

    I think it is useful to ask yourself some questions when you go over your goal quite a bit. Think about why it happened and what you can do in future in a similar situation. Make some notes.
    Have you been very restrictive in your diet or calorie goal lately? Maybe incorporate those foods you like more often.
    You can stick to your calorie goal when eating out. Look up nutrition info for restaurants in your area now and notice which choices fit your goal more easily.
    You could go to a grocery store and buy lower calorie foods instead of fast food.
    Try planning meals and prelogging so you don't get taken by surprise with calorie counts.
    Pack lunches the night before so you have something to eat. Keep a snack in your desk, purse or car.
    Look at the kinds of food you ate. Were your nutritional needs being met? Did you get enough protein, fats, fiber? Did you drink less water than normal?
    Is your period on the way? Some people choose to eat at maintenance for a few days around their period.
    Were you eating more out of emotions or boredom? Think about some different tools to handle those issues.
    Were all the foods you ate worth the amount of calories?

    Well said! It was pure laziness/failure to plan, combined with emotional indulgence.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    Yes! I pre-logged my pizza and whiskey that's coming tonight. I'm going to go over. Oh well!

    For this reason I like to look at the weekly deficit, instead of focusing on the day to day.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
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    100% dead right.
    Also, unless you do log it you have no real concept of 'how bad' was it. It's helpful to know if you went 500 or 3,000 over and can help influence your choices in the future as well as making your weight loss goals for the week more realistic.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    Here here. As horrific as my Whataburger visits are when I get to one, it's what I did, and it's already done, so moving on. Great points!
  • Cindy01Louisiana
    Cindy01Louisiana Posts: 302 Member
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    I have to say that logging what, to me, was a small slice of Honey Baked Ham's Lemon Cream Cake -- which is to DIE for if you like lemon -- was very very hard to do. I kept searching the Net for "more accurate" (lower) numbers, but found none. Then I found myself surveying the rest of my log to see if I went over on a food weight that I could borrow from. LOL! Anyway, because I know you are dying to know, that one piece of cake (which is 1/8th of an 8" cake) was 805 calories!!!

    Thankfully, I still have a deficit for the week, so we'll see how weigh-in tomorrow morning goes!
  • Mike02209
    Mike02209 Posts: 301 Member
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    Went to lunch with a few coworkers, 1500 calorie lunch, logged it and all numbers turned red.

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