Do you lie to your food diary?

2

Replies

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I remember when I would binge on cookies, I would only "admit" to my food diary that I had 1.

    You know it's an issue when you lie to a notebook that no one but you will read! LOL

    But the main problem is that I thought I was doing everything right for weight loss but I would "forget" about all of those binge episodes and only complain about the positive things I had done that weren't leading to results.

    What about you?

    No way. it does no good to lie to yourself.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    I find that I genuinely forget things like the dressing I had on my salad at lunch, or the glass of wine I had with it. But why lie to my food diary? The only person I'm fooling if I don't log something is myself. And then there's days like yesterday when I prelogged my planned dessert, but I wasn't feeling very good and went to bed without it. Tonight, when we were discussing what to have for dinner, I said, "I'd love chicken tikka kabob, but I don't think I have enough calories left." And my husband reminded me that I didn't eat those 250 calories last night, I could add them to tonight without guilt. BOORAH!
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
    nope. but sometimes if i have enough calories left over for the days, i might not log something. But usually i log it the next day cause i feel guilty.
  • Kelbelb75
    Kelbelb75 Posts: 90 Member
    No, never in the short time I have been logging. I stopped lying to myself, guess that's why I haven't :) I think you wouldn't be the only one who has ever lied to their diary. Try to work out why you feel the need to do it and go from there.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Thinking out loud...Could this be because you don't want to actually see the amount of calories you binged on? I would think logging the binge would be helpful. You may see how many calories an actual binge costs.

    I'm pretty new to the calorie counting thing and I've not had a binge yet but should I "fall of the wagon" so to speak I will log it. I think it would help me get a better grasp on things.
  • GirlonBliss
    GirlonBliss Posts: 38 Member
    johunt615 wrote: »
    Thinking out loud...Could this be because you don't want to actually see the amount of calories you binged on? I would think logging the binge would be helpful. You may see how many calories an actual binge costs. .

    Thanks! I'm a health coach now (lost 40 pounds and haven't had weight issues in 6 years). I think people want to make a change but admitting to yourself where you're self-sabotaging is really tough and you have to be open to that before being able to make changes :)
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Not that I'm aware of... :| but I do know that logging can be hard sometimes. I don't give myself permission not to log because those little bites here and there add up and if I feel I am allowed to eat without logging it will get out of control fast.

    I do however give myself permission to eyeball. Eyeballing is way better than not logging at all, imo. And quick adding a chunk of calories for a treat day where you don't want to log is better than leaving the diary empty. I use 4000 calories for this because I know if I take the brakes off I generally eat around 3500. The benefit of it is I know that some damage has been done and it doesn't become "invisible".
  • displaced1
    displaced1 Posts: 73 Member
    I have "neglected" to log everything in the past but I try hard to be diligent now. I also put notes in my diary: when I've been sick, tired, emotional. I take a look at protein for the day and vitamins to find patterns. I see the size of breakfast to see if that's a problem. But I also have a more fluid mindset about calories in/out. I try to average calories over the week to be in a deficit. I know what is approximately maintence for me so I work hard to at least be under that number. But this only works if I have more info in my diary. I also intentionally have dessert most days to feel more satisfied.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
    No, what's the point? You're only lying to yourself and hurting your own progress in the end. Plus, if I wasn't losing weight I would want to know why. I would be so frustrated if I wasn't losing weight but according to my diary I ate perfectly all week
  • BarbellzNBrotein
    BarbellzNBrotein Posts: 306 Member
    I think most people do tbh. In all the time I've been on here (years) seldom I come across someone who is willing to log a binge log. The ones that do log it usually announce it beforehand, their post then becomes a platform for others to show support. That rarely happens. So it seems the majority of people are eating absolutely perfectly which is a lie because that would mean most people would be at their goal which isn't the case. I don't blame them tho. But I would advise logging every moment of weakness. It's a part of the journey. If anyone thinks they're gonna drop a whole bunch of weight without any slip ups then they're in for a rude awakening. It's a zig zag pattern and as you become more disciplined the zig zag appears less often and less drastic.
  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
    edited July 2016
    That's just wrong imo, I guarantee plenty of people log their "binges". I'd say most, in fact. Most mfpers log pretty much what they eat day in day out, that's the whole point.
  • almostanangel21
    almostanangel21 Posts: 143 Member
    Not if I can help it. If I can't find a food that I didn't make, I'll take a 'best guess' out of similar foods MFP has counts for, but that's about it. And I do talk back to it when it scolds me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You're only cheating yourself. I just have my diary closed but I log everything.

    Your diary is a tool, what are you going to learn from your eating behavior if you don't log everything?
  • _piaffe
    _piaffe Posts: 163 Member
    No. My best guesstimating on items I don't prepare myself creates enough room for diary entry error (e.g. how many grams of frozen custard are on that so-called small cone? Did the server really pour 6 oz of wine? How big is that filet and how did the chef prepare it?). I don't deliberately add to it.
  • lauracups
    lauracups Posts: 533 Member
    Guilty of it, embarrassed, it all shows up on the scale. It's one of the things I'm "working on " .
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    No and my diary is public. I need the numbers, I don't care how it looks.
  • _thefrenchpress_
    _thefrenchpress_ Posts: 6 Member
    Nope, I log everything I eat.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    Sometimes I work midnights at a grocery store and while making the rounds I sometimes grab a cookie and forget to log it wink wink
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    There was a binge recently that I did not post in real time with accurate measurements. I guessed at it several days later and got over myself.
  • slava977
    slava977 Posts: 20 Member
    As I mentioned earlier today in another chat - I don't lie in my food diary.. I just don't input on days when I have no idea how many calories I'm consuming by eating in restaurants or home made meals while visiting friends and family. I can't exactly walk up to the chef and ask "how much butter and oil did you put into this"..lol.. On those days I just try to eat healthier and smaller portions.
  • WynterDreaming
    WynterDreaming Posts: 83 Member
    Even if part of me wants to lie about it, I won't. Not only because it serves no purpose, but because if my calories go into the red, it makes me rethink my choices. I feel guilty when I see my calories go beyond my goal but you know what, it tells me I need to make a change and control myself. I may feel bad now, but I will feel worse if I get on the scale and those numbers climb higher.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    There was a binge recently that I did not post in real time with accurate measurements. I guessed at it several days later and got over myself.

    I do that sometimes, and it's never as bad as i thought. 9 times out of 10 i don't even go over my calories.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    I told myself when I started MFP I wouldn't lie. I don't play games with my dairy and I don't play games with my scale. I think that what you're talking about has to do with shame and I am often ashamed when I overeat. But I log EVERY Single Bite. Every day. I know that if I skip, I'm setting myself up for the big fail....sliding back into weight gain which I have done so many times before. Lying would also be a type of hiding from yourself and your actions. Again, this seems like shame. If you grew up like I did, you probably experience a lot of shame around food and eating.
  • typeitdaily
    typeitdaily Posts: 3,322 Member
    No because it won't change that I ate it. Instead I use it as a wake up call.
  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
    No, but I have given myself a little bit of a "cheat." I find that trying to figure out the calories for a holiday dinner (ie, food made by other people, so I have no idea how it was made unless I go around begging extended family to give me their recipes and to weigh and measure every single ingredient) was so stressful that it was making me not enjoy holidays. Since that's not happening more than 6 times a year, I decided it just doesn't count. I could eat double my calories every holiday, and it's still not going to derail my weight loss long term. So I just quick add all of my calories for the day, and leave it at that.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    When I first started, no. I might have been a poor logger but I never lied.

    Now I do all the time. I suck.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    When I first started, no. I might have been a poor logger but I never lied.

    Now I do all the time. I suck.

    Lol you're posts are so honest and refreshing :lol::heart:
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    When I first started, no. I might have been a poor logger but I never lied.

    Now I do all the time. I suck.

    Lol you're posts are so honest and refreshing :lol::heart:

    lol :p I'm struggling at the moment.
  • BarbellzNBrotein
    BarbellzNBrotein Posts: 306 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    When I first started, no. I might have been a poor logger but I never lied.

    Now I do all the time. I suck.

    Well it's out there now so you're good right?! lol
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    When I first started, no. I might have been a poor logger but I never lied.

    Now I do all the time. I suck.

    Lol you're posts are so honest and refreshing :lol::heart:

    lol :p I'm struggling at the moment.

    Me too :persevere: We know what we have to do, just need to find the motivation and will power. Anyways, looking at your profile pic you look super awesome to me!!