Check-in: How's Food Logging Going?
themedalist
Posts: 3,218 Member
Hi Everyone,
For those of you participating in this week's challenge, how is food logging going for you? Please share any successes, frustrations, and insights, as we can all learn from each other!
For those of you participating in this week's challenge, how is food logging going for you? Please share any successes, frustrations, and insights, as we can all learn from each other!
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Replies
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I'm glad I'm back logging. I can see where I need to tweak a few things and also what nutrients i get enough of. Also, I was happy to see that my dinner out last night fit very nicely with my food diary. The sodium, not so much.
I really like the accountability to myself that logging gives me.2 -
Great so far!!! What's more is my motivation is back. Having scale issues kinda put me down in the dumps since it was like all my progress came to a halt. I'm trying to think beyond that this week, plus revert myself back away from old habits of throwing in the towel and stress eating when I'm stressed. It was much easier than I expected yesterday....just hope it lasts. The scale is still acting wonky, but I'm taking the measurement closest to my last weight until I get a new one.3
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I am so glad that I am logging and closing my diary each day. I find that closing my diary gives the incentive to not each wildly. I like to leave a little leeway in my diary when I close my diary so that if I need a snack in the middle of the night I know I've got a 100 calories to play with. I switched up my macros a few weeks ago, and now I find I'm able to hit those goals as well.3
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I agree with you all - I like the accountability, the feeling of success when I do meet my goals especially at the end of the day and I see that I managed somehow to end up close or below goal. Looking at the reporting and averaging my calories for the week, I see I am pretty close to my desired goal.
Shockingly, over the last 4 months I've tracked every single thing (unless I forgot that I ate something) including DQ runs and office candy, piece by piece. I have no idea why it has come so easy this time (after a dozen tries or more).
One tip is I've learned not to be afraid to estimate when I'm not sure what to track. Estimating and guessing is stressful for me. Yes, I am a stickler and that's part of my overeating issues. Don't know exactly what is in that sweet and sour pork? just look at the list and use your best guess. Then move on to what you do know.
Now I have added an additional tracking component. I am also tracking recommended (heart.org) servings of fruits (3), veggies (3), whole grains (6), lean meats (2), low fat dairy (2), healthy fats (2), nuts (3-4 /week) and sweets (zero) I eat each day. This has raised a new learning curve for me. Where I previously was just concerned with calories, now I am looking at how to get in all these recommended servings into 1600 calories. I'm just getting started with this so not that successful yet.
I do love a challenge
Debbie V.4 -
So far, so good! I actually like tracking. I find it gives me stability and a good framework for my day. Otherwise, I guess my eyes are always bigger than my stomach/brain, and if I just eat what I find "natural", I definitely eat more than I need. And I like having a plan, so pre-logging just feeds into that really well. Sometimes it requires reorganisation, like for tomorrow, where most of my pre-logging went out the window because I got an invitation to go out to lunch with friends. But I had time to reorganise the other meals and estimate lunch. I'll adjust once we actually settle on where we're going and I actually pick my meal. Prior to logging, I would probably have eaten just like normal at the other meals, then had that larger meal, and just kept going. Tracking helps me stay accountable, and I like that.3
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I agree with you all - I like the accountability, the feeling of success when I do meet my goals especially at the end of the day and I see that I managed somehow to end up close or below goal. Looking at the reporting and averaging my calories for the week, I see I am pretty close to my desired goal.
Shockingly, over the last 4 months I've tracked every single thing (unless I forgot that I ate something) including DQ runs and office candy, piece by piece. I have no idea why it has come so easy this time (after a dozen tries or more).
One tip is I've learned not to be afraid to estimate when I'm not sure what to track. Estimating and guessing is stressful for me. Yes, I am a stickler and that's part of my overeating issues. Don't know exactly what is in that sweet and sour pork? just look at the list and use your best guess. Then move on to what you do know.
Now I have added an additional tracking component. I am also tracking recommended (heart.org) servings of fruits (3), veggies (3), whole grains (6), lean meats (2), low fat dairy (2), healthy fats (2), nuts (3-4 /week) and sweets (zero) I eat each day. This has raised a new learning curve for me. Where I previously was just concerned with calories, now I am looking at how to get in all these recommended servings into 1600 calories. I'm just getting started with this so not that successful yet.
I do love a challenge
Debbie V.
@debvee60 Such a good point about estimating when we're not sure what to track. I think we should go for the highest degree of accuracy possible, but it's impossible to have calorie counts for everything. Chances are by smart guesstimating we are probably in the ballbark anyway. Time to move on.
And nice job tracking foods and nutrients beyond calories!1 -
I really enjoy reading your updates. So many good reasons to track our food intake.
Please keep the updates coming. Let's learn from each other.1 -
I've been logging off and on for several years but had taken a break until this challenge came up. I have been under my calorie goal but my fat intake is over the top today (obviously lots of bad choices here)! I need to focus on getting my macros more in line with my goals. I like the idea the debver60 wrote about charting servings of food groups, too. I think it would help me make better choices. But then, I'm kind of a chart nerd!!!2
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Congratulations to all of you.
I started the week ok, but then I got issues with the "how much will I log"-question (I cleaned out the yoghurt of the children which was not even counting in full spoons but many yoghurts should probably add up eventually too) and in the end didn't log. I know I shouldn't be eating my children's leftovers and I stopped eating their bread crusts already, it just seems such a waste of food to throw it away. (I now only eat leftovers of warm food which is usually easy to estimate and in the morning my breakfast is their yoghurt leftovers lately).
Also, I had some busy days that made me avoid the internet for private use completely.1 -
My goal was to log my calories right after I eat - I have only missed 1 day on that, so I am getting better.
I usually weigh most of my food, but usually eyeball things like peanut butter or jam. But for this week I actually weighed my portions. I was right on with the peanut butter (by Tbsp), but was surprised that for the tsp of jam, I was over-guestimating a lot. It's good to check some times the things we just assume - they all add up.1 -
Congratulations to all of you.
I started the week ok, but then I got issues with the "how much will I log"-question (I cleaned out the yoghurt of the children which was not even counting in full spoons but many yoghurts should probably add up eventually too) and in the end didn't log. I know I shouldn't be eating my children's leftovers and I stopped eating their bread crusts already, it just seems such a waste of food to throw it away. (I now only eat leftovers of warm food which is usually easy to estimate and in the morning my breakfast is their yoghurt leftovers lately).
Also, I had some busy days that made me avoid the internet for private use completely.
@Silinde, your post suggests something I've believed for awhile now. Even when we don't log everything we eat as accurately as possible, thinking about logging and feeling we should log, can lead to a greater awareness of what we are eating and more mindful eating than if we didn't have food logging on the brain.
But I also think it may be short lived. To achieve our weight loss goals, it's probably best to track our food intake.
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hollyhock1009 wrote: »My goal was to log my calories right after I eat - I have only missed 1 day on that, so I am getting better.
I usually weigh most of my food, but usually eyeball things like peanut butter or jam. But for this week I actually weighed my portions. I was right on with the peanut butter (by Tbsp), but was surprised that for the tsp of jam, I was over-guestimating a lot. It's good to check some times the things we just assume - they all add up.
A food scale is a great reality check. I don't weigh and measure everything on my food scale. But I do use it especially for calorie dense foods as a check on "portion creep". If I were trying to lose weight I'd use my food scale a lot more, but maintenance has more latitude.
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I'm really enjoying your updates and I know many others are benefiting as well. Please keep them coming!0
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I am tracking, however I am not staying within my goals. Been cooped inside all week, with rain. I did get in a little walking that has helped but if I want to lose another 10 lbs, which I must I have to get back on track and stop this snacking. I am getting better but not quite there yet. Today I will try again. I think next week I will continue this challenge but I will pre-plan what I will eat and when.1
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Well, today I'm heading out for a car trip today, so that is going to make logging tricky. So far so good, but I ate breakfast at home and packed my lunch. Tomorrow things will be more difficult. I picked up some fruit and veggies at a grocery store to help.3
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I had a special lunch today at Olive Garden with my daughter. The lunch portion was very reasonable calorie-wise and I limited the breadsticks (but loved every bite) and had the salad with very little dressing. And then dessert....At 750 calories a slice I was glad we split it.
Loved the meal and the company. But I'm glad I don't eat like that everyday. It was a nice special treat.2 -
Better day yesterday! Moving forward today. Unfortunately its raining ..again thunderstorms predicted all day. Yesterday we got lucky no rain until late evening so I did get a walk in.2
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Grrr ! Restaurant breakfast at our hotel - free but not worth the price.
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Have been so busy at work and putting in long hours, so I didn't log completely Thursday or Friday but back on track today. I normally do log every day. I've started using my scale and measuring now instead of estimating. What an eye opener when I saw how much 1 Tbsp of creamer really is! I've been logging 1 Tbsp when I should've been logging probably 2 or 3!!! Very eye opening!
Love all the tips and insight! Thanks!1 -
OConnell5483 wrote: »What an eye opener when I saw how much 1 Tbsp of creamer really is! I've been logging 1 Tbsp when I should've been logging probably 2 or 3!!!
What I do every morning - I take a glass measuring cup and pour out an amount of milk, usually 4 oz, and track that amount. Then I pour as needed for my coffee and drink any that is left over. No tablespoons are harmed
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Food logging for the week....Started really strong, but by Friday/Saturday, I really didn't track; I was just tired and exhausted and didn't have the energy to keep going on those days...and it showed on the scale unfortunately so back at it today and hoping to do better this week...1
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The decision to write down what I eat fairly soon after, or even before actually eating, has already had an affect on my eating . This week I've passed up some extra goodies when I didn't want to see it written down :laugh:, and added something extra to a salad meal when I noticed that I really needed to eat more at that meal.
If keeping the paper/ pencil log doesn't help me in the way I hope that it will (at least for now) then I will start back to MFP logging. But because of my current ongoing computer issues, as well as the realization of how much time I tend to sit at the computer, I am actually hopeful that using my pencil and notebook will help me be aware of what I am eating or need to eat more of.
I shall reevaluate again after some time passes, but for now it has helped me this past week. And that is a good start, for which I am grateful.
Thank you for this past week's challenge! :flowerforyou:1 -
LaurieWrobo wrote: »Food logging for the week....Started really strong, but by Friday/Saturday, I really didn't track; I was just tired and exhausted and didn't have the energy to keep going on those days...and it showed on the scale unfortunately so back at it today and hoping to do better this week...
I sure understand how fatigue can derail plans. Good job getting right back at it!0 -
I have been really slacking off at this. I need to hop back on the wagon today. Work is crazy busy and I have been doing my usual emotional eating and for some stupid reason, in my brain if I don't track it, it didn't happen. Problem is, my hips say otherwise! Getting back on the right track today and no more letting my wellness journey slide because of work. My health is more important!0
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LOL not logging so it doesn't count.hmm I like that one but unfortunately it bites. LOL I need to be more accurate in my logging. I've be3en doing a bit too much eyeballing instead of actually measuring an that too makes a big difference. At least my eyeballing. LOL0
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OConnell5483 wrote: »I have been really slacking off at this. I need to hop back on the wagon today. Work is crazy busy and I have been doing my usual emotional eating and for some stupid reason, in my brain if I don't track it, it didn't happen. Problem is, my hips say otherwise! Getting back on the right track today and no more letting my wellness journey slide because of work. My health is more important!
@OConnell5483, I understand this! I fall into the same trap of thinking that if I don't write it down, it didn't happen. It's silly and ridiculous of course. But it happens and that's why food logging is important to me.1
