You folks scare me...

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,002 Member
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    wizzybeth wrote: »
    Mike1804 wrote: »
    you mean I might be obsessive because I created a spreadsheet to graph my caloric input/output? :D

    I did too - not just that but it tracks my weight, measurements, and activity too - all on one sheet. lol

    +2

    Mine now has 14 columns, too many formulas, and really I should just start over...but five years of data!
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    Mike1804 wrote: »
    you mean I might be obsessive because I created a spreadsheet to graph my caloric input/output? :D

    I did too - not just that but it tracks my weight, measurements, and activity too - all on one sheet. lol

    +2

    Mine now has 14 columns, too many formulas, and really I should just start over...but five years of data!

    thats how i ended up with 3 :p
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,002 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    Mike1804 wrote: »
    you mean I might be obsessive because I created a spreadsheet to graph my caloric input/output? :D

    I did too - not just that but it tracks my weight, measurements, and activity too - all on one sheet. lol

    +2

    Mine now has 14 columns, too many formulas, and really I should just start over...but five years of data!

    thats how i ended up with 3 :p

    I just let them all run together. . . and I don't even know why I bother, I totally know what I'm doing. It's just fun for me while I sip on my morning coffee.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    I am having fun with my spreadsheet. I like seeing EVERYTHING all there. Plus I set up a nice bright yellow group of cells "counting down" how many pounds I've lost so far and how close to my ultimate goal I am. I really like my spreadsheet, probably a little too much ha ha
  • MrsPinterest34
    MrsPinterest34 Posts: 342 Member
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    I have to be honest, I currently only weigh approximately 80-85% of my food. When I started, I weighed everything. When I finally understood how CI/CO works, I eased up a bit and focused more on weighing calorie dense foods (creamy soups, rice, pasta, pork, cooking oils etc ) and just guesstimate or use measuring cups for low calorie foods (tomatoes, lettuce, veggies, some fruits ( low sugar content) etc) . I've been walking every single day as exercise for the past year. I'm creating a deficit with my walking. I feel like I have more control over my intake and also preventing any weight gain. I've learned new healthy behaviors based on CI/CO. For example if I'm going to eat out in the evening or party and drink, I'll exercise more in the day time to create a larger deficit to eat more. It's all about finding the right balance for you. If I'm not eating much for the day then I don't need to over exercise. I prefer to cook to monitor my ingredients and I enjoy finding creative ways to prepare low calorie yet delicious meals. I'm still mindful of my portions and fortunately for me my stomach has shrunk. I don't eat as much as I ate in the past ( related to stretch receptors in the stomach). I no longer have this fear of gaining weight and I can still enjoy a variety of meals without obsessing over every calorie. If I'm craving any food I'll eat it as long as I'm within my calorie limit. I dont have to overindulge. My goal for using MFP was to learn how to eat the foods I like and lose weight in a healthy way. I've achieved the goal. I started at 175lb I'm now 142lb. I'm also short and realize as I'm getting closer to my goal things will slow down. I've modified my expectations and given myself a longer realistic time frame to lose the rest.
  • LovinLife2021
    LovinLife2021 Posts: 1 Member
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    I personally do not have time to weigh my food. I mainly use MFP as a food journal to help me decide what to eat for future meal planning. I watch what I eat (mostly plant based foods) where it doesn't matter how much I eat since veggies and fruit do not add up as much as meat, junk and processed foods. One good tip is eat from a smaller plate than a full dinner plate. You don't feel guilty for cleaning your plate and it tricks the mind. Diet is what helps me lose weight, the exercise is like the cherry on top to tone the body. Good Luck.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    But if you look closer, that stuff tends to come up in response to someone posting the equivalent of " Why am I not losing weight"?

    People respond by recommending they tighten up their logging as that's almost always where the problems lies (either food in, exercise or a combo of both).

    Responses come back "I log everything", but if you look at their diary it's almost always filled with inaccuracies. It's the logical and most helpful place to start.

    And like someone else said, this is a calorie counting website after all.
  • hoppgeorge
    hoppgeorge Posts: 368 Member
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    to answer your big question, I am one of those who are not completely rigid. I track my food as best as i can as well as my exercise. some days i do better than others. i have managed to lose almost 90lbs this way. do your best :)
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    I am a bit of an odd duck - I like weighing my food and going to a restaurant when trying to maintain a calorie deficit, and I have to "wing it" and guess (like in today's diary) gives me all sorts of angst.

    I suppose that once I am at goal and in maintenance, I won't feel so angsty - but right now, I am so focused on staying the course (in the past, neglecting to weigh/track/log my food for several months was what contributed to my gaining back everything I had lost...because I was not keeping track, even in my head, of what I was eating. I would often forget what I had eaten during the day or how much.)

    I can imagine I may back off on the weighing everything part, eventually - maybe - but I like it - and in all honesty, it takes me all of a couple extra minutes to do it. If it's important to you, you find the time for it.
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
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    Food scale is a lot less dishes to wash for me. Place plate on scale; reset to zero, add food. No washing measuring cups or spoons. I made a boxed meal one time. The serving was one cup. Let me tell you what. I can press a lot in in a cup. Scale was more accurate. It's all in what you're looking for. I'm same as others. I didn't own a scale in beginning. I do better with a scale now.
  • spechtmi
    spechtmi Posts: 13 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    on the flip side, Whats wrong with being obsessed about my health/fitness/nutrition. Also, Tracking has helped me ensure im eating enough, Which i 100% wouldnt be if i didnt track most stuff. MY mind would be like well if i want to lose weight not tracking i have to eat less, Then id eat way less. Either way id be obsessive, Atleast tracking ensures im nourished.

    Tracking everything has helped me lose weight, 12kg (26lbs) in 6 months, without tracking it all I would have overeaten often. Now when I'm trying to maintain I'm a little less obsessive over the tracking as I now have a better understanding of how much certain foods contain, I can go out without freaking out so much.

  • cbohling1987
    cbohling1987 Posts: 99 Member
    edited January 2018
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    I don't typically weigh my food but I do overestimate amounts/underfill cups. For example I eat 2 cups of Cheerios every morning but while I was losing weight I would intentionally underfill the measuring cup. Alternatively, I would buy a packet of chicken at the store that was sold by weight with 2 chicken breasts measuring at 1.5 pounds/24oz. So I would eat one chicken breast one day and one the next day, and log 12 oz each day. Now obviously the two pieces were probably not the same weight but it evened out over 2 days. While I was losing I also underestimated my workout calories burned.

    I lost 25 pounds this way so it is possible. Now that I am maintaining I am no longer underfilling the measuring cups, but if I see my weight creep up a few pounds I will go back to underfilling.

    It's worth noting that I've been very active the whole time I was losing, so my "recommended" caloric deficit was over 500 cals/day. That gave me a lot of margin for error. If you are sedentary and going for the 1200/1400 cals/day option your margin for error will be much smaller and you may need to be more accurate in your logging than me.

    EDIT: Also, having a written-out meal plan for each day is immensely helpful. For example, I usually eat an almond snack around 9:30 PM. I know that it's about 170 calories. If I start to gain weight unintentionally I know I can just cut that out and lower my total calories per day. If that doesn't work I'll cut out my daily granola bar at 3 PM. If that still doesn't work I'll cut my morning Cheerios in half. And so forth and so on.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    spechtmi wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    on the flip side, Whats wrong with being obsessed about my health/fitness/nutrition. Also, Tracking has helped me ensure im eating enough, Which i 100% wouldnt be if i didnt track most stuff. MY mind would be like well if i want to lose weight not tracking i have to eat less, Then id eat way less. Either way id be obsessive, Atleast tracking ensures im nourished.

    Tracking everything has helped me lose weight, 12kg (26lbs) in 6 months, without tracking it all I would have overeaten often. Now when I'm trying to maintain I'm a little less obsessive over the tracking as I now have a better understanding of how much certain foods contain, I can go out without freaking out so much.

    ya no i fully agree i have made 2 different points on this thread for a reason, Simply arguing for both sides :p While losing weight i have reached for significantly lower calorie foods while being almost comically active. If i didnt weigh and track and i ate how i eat while on an active day id be significantly under eating.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
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    Yes, I use a food scale to weigh food. Otherwise, I tend to underestimate the calories I eat. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you may well get by with guessing. The only caveat to that is that if you have been struggling with "disordered eating" you might trigger cycles of severely under-eating followed by binges (not talking here about over-eating a little, but actual binge eating). I'm eating at a small deficit to lose a couple of pounds a month - it would be pretty easy to wipe that out with under-estimating calories.

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