To log or not to log?
daneejela
Posts: 461 Member
I see many of you log your meals and calories. I see also, many of you don't.
What is more effective for the long run? Logging your food or just having some meal plan and just sticking to it?
I can se pros and cons of both:
- Logging makes us more mindful what we eat
- It gives us historical overview where we can see cause of our weight fluctuation
- Logging discourage overeating because overeating requires extra logging effort
but also:
- Logging takes time (In bussy days it can become hard to maintain)
- Logging can become a bit obsessive (stressing about exact calories, etc.)
- It sound to me a bit all or nothing approach (I could be wrong tough)
What do you think?
What works best for you?
To log or not to log?
What is more effective for the long run? Logging your food or just having some meal plan and just sticking to it?
I can se pros and cons of both:
- Logging makes us more mindful what we eat
- It gives us historical overview where we can see cause of our weight fluctuation
- Logging discourage overeating because overeating requires extra logging effort
but also:
- Logging takes time (In bussy days it can become hard to maintain)
- Logging can become a bit obsessive (stressing about exact calories, etc.)
- It sound to me a bit all or nothing approach (I could be wrong tough)
What do you think?
What works best for you?
To log or not to log?
0
Replies
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Logging works best for me!1
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For me log everything that enters ny mouth. I can keep control of my calorie intake then. Lost 23lbs by doing that.
For me it helps plan meals for futher. Stops me grabbing a takeaway which is why im on here
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When I'm working on losing weight ... I log meticulously and consistently. I also weigh my food and try to be as accurate as possible with what I enter.2
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It largely depends on where in your journey you are. If you are new to calorie counting and trying to figure out what works for you and have goals to meet then I think it is important to log as accurately as you can. If you are happy with your progress and/or where you are and feel comfortable weaning yourself off logging there is nothing wrong with that.2
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Logging is part of the mindful "practice"; to me it's a way to control portions and what I am eating.5
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Unfortunately, no matter how small I get, my stomach knows no bounds. Logging keeps me accountable and keeps my portions sane (usually).13
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Meal plans sound boring and repetitive and don't really take into account variations in appetite.
For what it's worth though, you can absolutely do both.5 -
Logging everything works best for me apparently... I've been doing great and then yesterday I slacked off and logged my meals but had little snacks that I didn't log. Just little stuff, no big deal.
And this morning I'm up a pound. Lol.
And do know that it's mostly just fluctuating or whatever but if I didn't log I know I'd slowly get back to my old habits. I do hope that one day I won't have to log everyday.1 -
Logging.
It takes time and planning, but worth the effort.3 -
Those cons you listed for logging are pretty much non-existent. Calories count, you can count on that!6
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I don't actually keep a log but I do count everything. It is extremely easy to do.2
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Logging takes 5-10 minutes a day once you've done it for awhile.
Logging what I eat helps me control my weight. I have logged my food and portions without weighing/measuring and have lost and I've done it with weighing/measuring and have lost.
What works for the first 25 lbs may not work for you for the next 25. As you go through the weight loss process you likely will have to tweak your methods here and there a bit.5 -
Gotta log or I'll not stay in check. Been doing it for years and years, so it's a regular thing for me now. As others have said, it takes some planning. It's the only way I've been successful to lose weight. But, with that being said, it's not a one size fits all. You gotta find what works best for you!3
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You know, I've had phases of success with both at various times in my life. I've tried various things through the years: Weight Watchers, the Zone Diet, and a few different low carb plans (which seem to work best for me). When I've had luck with not measuring or logging, it was a low carb diet of some form. I think that worked for me b/c it suppressed my hunger and I'm much more likely to overeat things like cookies than meat and veggies. The past year and a half, though, weighing all my food and logging everything has been the most successful for me (and that's eating keto/LCHF).1
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- Logging takes time (In bussy days it can become hard to maintain)
- Logging can become a bit obsessive (stressing about exact calories, etc.)
- It sound to me a bit all or nothing approach (I could be wrong tough)
What do you think?
What works best for you?
To log or not to log?
It takes hardly any time at all - it takes a few minutes a day, I think given that most people can lose hours to social media, a few minutes to improve your health and fitness is not worth dwelling on. By the time you get into the habit of logging you have saved meals, recent/frequent foods and recipes saved it takes very little of your day.
For most users it's not an obsessive things, it's just data, for those who are stressing about exact calories they have bigger problems than weight loss.
All or Nothing? - No point me logging only the good days and not a day when I have eaten more than I should have, you have to be brutally honest with yourself, if you can't do that long term, why bother at all? Only you can hold yourself truly accountable.
A meal plan can be helpful for improving nutrition and reducing overeating, but even "healthy food" can make you fat if you eat too much of it. However, am I going to stick to some diet meal plan for the rest of my life? Nope. Instead I will stick with having the food I ate before but eating less of it.
By logging my food accurately for the last 3 months I am far more mindful of portion sizes and where I was taking in the extra calories that got me in a position where I need to lose weight.3 -
logging! the pros/cons are mostly dependent on how you choose to perceive it.1
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I use a simple rule: IF YOU DON'T EAT IT, DO NOT LOG IT
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I see many of you log your meals and calories. I see also, many of you don't.
What is more effective for the long run? Logging your food or just having some meal plan and just sticking to it?
Well the reality is that this is a logging site - the majority of people log- Logging makes us more mindful what we eat
- It gives us historical overview where we can see cause of our weight fluctuation
- Logging discourage overeating because overeating requires extra logging effort
A huge bonus is that you learn about food, portion size, and what makes you tick in the food department. For instance, cravings when you tend to overeat etc. So you also learn a lot about yourself during logging.- Logging takes time (In bussy days it can become hard to maintain)
- Logging can become a bit obsessive (stressing about exact calories, etc.)
- It sound to me a bit all or nothing approach (I could be wrong tough)
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Second one. - Well that is a personal thing. I am not obsessive about it, but some people can be. I guess it also depends a little on personality. What you need to be mindful of is that MFP is a tool, nothing more than that. It is not the goal, just a tool. It has it's inaccuracies and is by no means perfect. But it is a good tool to use fot those that need a tool kit.
Third As with the second - it is not all or nothing really it is not. Again it is a tool, not a goal. When I first tarted I did not change a thing about my lifestyle at that stage, I just logged and learned. Just by logging I lost weight (as I did not want to log the sweets, but it also meant not eating them)
A large number of people take a holiday break from MFP when they are on a holiday - that too is fine. SOme people use it when in maintenance and some are no longer logging eexcept if they are heading toward the edges of their maintenance area.
The tool can be used in so many ways.What do you think?
What works best for you?
To log or not to log?
For me, logging every day works best. Been doing it for over 3 years and I have no intention to stop. - it is just a habit now that only take s a little time (the boards take a lot more time)
Mealplanning is part of MFP for me, but not logging it - well would lead to being able to eat and nobody notices ecept my body2 -
It's a personal choice. I logged when losing, mostly don't log at maintenance.
I think some people have food issues that logging is not going to work well with (if you get obsessive about calories), but that's not an issue for me.
I think absent that, it's a valuable thing for anyone to do for a while at least. Understanding what you ARE eating helps figure out what changes are needed, if any. It keeps us honest and, yes, helps one become more mindful. You can see patterns with hunger (I don't think daily weight fluctuation is meaningful and would advise against focusing on that).
I've read, and it's true for me, that simply knowing you will have to log it tends to make you eat less, because you do approach it more consciously or mindfully.
I think a lot of people who overeat lack structure and logging creates structure or at least encourages it.
I'd disagree that it encourages all or nothing or obsessive behavior. I think those are traits that some have, and will put into play whatever they do (and which can be worked on -- I tend to both). For me, logging helped get rid of both, as it helped me realize I could eat a healthy, calorie-appropriate diet without going super restrictive, which has been a pattern of mine, and it provided a good structure to channel my impulses into healthy things -- looking at how macros affect training, and trying to find TDEE (NOT focusing on low cals), looking at things like protein and vegetable consumption, stuff like that. (On Chron you really can get obsessive, but for me in a good way.) I think it can help someone whose mind is open to it move past magical thinking about food (oh, no, I ate a cookie, the day is ruined) or good/bad or shame issues and see it as a process and in general apply more logical thinking.
Negatives: I often don't enjoy logging (looking up the foods is a pain in MFP and Chron is way easier but only if you eat only whole foods or things you've eaten before). I don't think it's that big a deal or takes much time once you get into a habit and learn the tricks, though.
For me logging was a tool to get to a place where I could eat similarly just being mindful, understanding portions and avoiding eating outside of meals, and focusing on a healthful diet.5 -
I log every single thing but not on MFP. This site does not support Bokmål so I use an app that allows me to use that language. I stay here for the support forums which the other app doss not have.
It looks like my diary is utterly empty but every single bite is logged.3
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