You folks scare me...
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ladyhusker39 wrote: »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.
Basically this.
The recommendations for weighing every single thing generally come in response to people complaining that they're not losing weight, and the biggest variable that can be controlled is obviously the number of calories that you put in!
I for one use a lot of "portion" entries, particularly for breakfast, lunch and snacks which I typically eat out of the house. Is it accurate? Who knows. But I'm getting the result I want, so it's working for me.
I do weigh at home, particularly things like cereal and ice cream that it's super easy to go over on otherwise.
Overall, do whatever you can and whatever is achievable for you. Be 100% honest and as accurate as YOU can be.
Definitely don't do anything that's going to trigger you.
If you're getting the results you want, then what you're doing is fine.
(Also, remember that what you see on here, is the image that people want to portray to the internet. It may not be 100% real for everyone. A hefty pinch of salt is often needed on here
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I think people here are just jazzed about their goals. They know what they want and arent afraid to keep focused, which is what you need to achieve a longterm goal. It's best to live with excitement and anticipation, rather than fearing how your gonna end up if you join the community. And not all of us bite. Lol jk3
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You're talking to people who have been at it for a very long time and have created a strategy that works for them. You don't need to weigh food unless your weight loss is not behaving the way it should. In fact, simply roughly recording what you eat on a day to day basis without making any other changes is a great start. As you go through it, you will find yourself spontaneously wanting to tweak, add, subtract, try something instead of something else...etc. Don't feel pressured to do everything at once.
I weigh my food because I like numbers and playing with data, and because being accurate about it allows me to be as flexible as I want with my food choices and days. Having that freedom greatly outweighs the 2 seconds it takes to weigh a food. But that's how my mind works. Your mind may have other ideas. If you can lose weight without weighing food, who cares what others are doing? Any way works as long as it works. If it stops working and you stall, then you will need to troubleshoot. Weighing food is just the easiest way to do that, but there are other ways if it feels detrimental.
As for exercise, I started with a 5 minute walk daily. That's as far from exercising for hours a day as it gets. Now that I'm years into it, I enjoy long hikes and run. Again, no need to go full throttle on that. If you hang around long enough you will notice that is exactly what people discourage here. Doing too much too soon can lead to injury.
Successful dieting is about fiddling with your approach until you find something that feels more doable than other things and results in weight loss, and successful fitness pursuits are about finding what you are willing to do consistently and gradually building on that.6 -
Everyone here seems so gung-ho about everything. Weighing and measuring down to the last crumb of food, working out for hours - it's all too much!
Yes, I want to make changes. Yes, I want to lose weight. Yes, I (eventually) want to start exercising. But I don't want to lose my mind over it all!
I'm prone to obsession, and a few times have found myself on the edge of an eating disorder. I really have concerns that if I start weighing every single drop of everything, I am going to tip over into something really unhealthy. I'm happy to work with my measuring cups and spoons, but taking everything to the gram is just a bit much to me.
Is there any hope for me? I'm keeping the food diary, and I am measuring ingredients and portions. Some days succeeding better than others, but holding a decent average. I'm more interested in healthy balanced eating than in micromanaging down to the last calorie. Any improvement is a big change.
But seriously - is anyone here NOT viciously rigid, but still having success? I've just been lurking, but I don't see a lot of people who take a more relaxed view - there's a lot of pressure to be all in.
I know that community can be helpful when making huge lifestyle changes... I just can't decide if I should try to fit in here.
Any advice, suggestions, similar experiences?
Thank you.
Just do whatever works for you. Just keeping a food diary and getting to know how many calories are in certain foods and how many calories you burn a day can be a huge help. I've never had the patience to weigh all of my food but I don't mind eating the same things for breakfast and lunch most days, so I really only needed to figure out the calories once, and then just do the same thing every week.0 -
Do what works for you. I have a history of eating disorders so I do not weigh every single morsel that I put into my mouth--it seems to be the first step down the rabbit hole for me. I estimate to the best of my ability and track what I eat. Luckily I love working out, so I can usually stay ahead of my diet without too much extra effort.0
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I don't necessarily weigh and log everything. If I cook at home, I weigh and log the ingredients unless it's bbq then all bets are off. When I'm at a restaurant, I see if they have a website with nutritional value. If they don't, I just guesstimate. Most importantly, do what works for you, and the rest of the world be damned.0
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I'm having success with volume measurements. I will switch to a food scale if that stops working, but for me, for now, volume works.
I do use weight for one thing: I look at the package of fresh meat from the butcher, and divide the ounces the butcher measured out by the number of things in it (pork chops, chicken thighs, etc.) in order to figure out the raw weight for that.0 -
There are 4 pages of posts; I want to chime in but don't want to read the previous entries and will probably end up saying the same thing someone else already said better than I can ... but here are my 2 pennies worth anyway ...
You don't have to be OCD about logging your food. Are you are good with your cups and spoons and eyeballs?, Then you can use something like the 'MyPlate" method. If your weight isn't doing what you expect it will ... well then, maybe it's time to actually do the minutiae logging ... I'd recommend first doing your usual but then weighing it all to compare before you eat it ... and to log it to see what the actual calorie count ends up coming to ... remembering that the nutrition panel for any food is an approximation, entered by MFP users,, and prone to error.
It's a good idea to log for about a week or so to get a good idea of weekly calorie intake over a range of days anyway, just to compare, once in a while.
Why do we here on MFP get hung up about it ... well, it depends a lot on the person ... some people use an electronic meter to gauge their calorie expenditure, and they want to know exactly how that compares to what they are taking in ... Calorie In - Calorie out (CICO) logic. Some people are in a challenge to report their calories. Some people have medical concerns where they need to keep tabs on some macronutrient, or sodium, or sugar, or fiber. ...
If you don't have any of those concerns ... then why worry about the rest of us that maybe do? Do your own thing.1 -
You can take baby steps, absolutely. I got started on the whole journey because of a podcast call Tiny Leaps. The idea is that just making a small change can lead to big changes. And it has absolutely been true for me.
I started by just getting out and walking 20-30 minutes 3-5 times a week. That's pretty basic. I did it more for my mental health than anything else.
I decided to log my walks on MFP because it makes my reward center fire to be able to see the effort like that.
A few weeks later, since I was on here logging my exercise anyway, I decided to track my food. Not to lose weight, or meet any kind of nutritional/calorie goal, but just as an exercise in curiosity. After a few weeks I got brave enough to set a modest weight loss goal and start trying to meet a calorie deficit.
Meanwhile, I found that I felt ready to walk more/longer. So I did!
Then I got a fitness tracker watch. On days that it was nasty outside, I'd do a home workout video. Invariably, they were harder than walking, but then my fitness increased.
Eventually I took on meal planning/prepping in order to eat cleaner.
It all added up to 22lbs lost since August and I'm still on the move.
Typically I haven't said no to eating out, or to treats. I just eat a bit less, maybe, and log everything honestly. I have started measuring food and weighing it, but that was a step I took over time to become more consistent and I don't find it problematic. If anything, I generally can eat MORE when i weigh it because I'm not accidentally shortchanging myself by trying to estimate conservatively.
You CAN find a balance on this journey, and then when it's no longer working, you can take the next little step or make small adjustments until you get where you want to be. With everything, it's a bit risk/reward but you decide what steps you need to take.
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Everyone here seems so gung-ho about everything. Weighing and measuring down to the last crumb of food, working out for hours - it's all too much!
Yes, I want to make changes. Yes, I want to lose weight. Yes, I (eventually) want to start exercising. But I don't want to lose my mind over it all!
I'm prone to obsession, and a few times have found myself on the edge of an eating disorder. I really have concerns that if I start weighing every single drop of everything, I am going to tip over into something really unhealthy. I'm happy to work with my measuring cups and spoons, but taking everything to the gram is just a bit much to me.
Is there any hope for me? I'm keeping the food diary, and I am measuring ingredients and portions. Some days succeeding better than others, but holding a decent average. I'm more interested in healthy balanced eating than in micromanaging down to the last calorie. Any improvement is a big change.
But seriously - is anyone here NOT viciously rigid, but still having success? I've just been lurking, but I don't see a lot of people who take a more relaxed view - there's a lot of pressure to be all in.
I know that community can be helpful when making huge lifestyle changes... I just can't decide if I should try to fit in here.
Any advice, suggestions, similar experiences?
Thank you.
I know people who weigh everything and others who don't...it's usually recommended when people are all like, "hey...I'm doing everything right and eating 1000 calories and not losing weight." I also don't know too many seasoned MFP users who are spending hours everyday exercising...I usually see that with noobs who think they have to be doing all kinds of crazy *kitten* to lose weight and are trying to burn everything off.
For myself, I haven't logged anything in going on 5 years...I weigh some things...mostly really calorie dense things. I eat pretty well for the most part, but usually go out for New Mexican or pizza or pub grub or something about once per week. I exercise regularly, but not for hours daily...none of my exercise exceeds 60 minutes unless I'm specifically training for a cycling event...and even then, most of those rides are about an hour with maybe one or two longer rides thrown in to get the miles in. Other than that, I might go do something recreationally active for a few hours like hiking or rock climbing or something...but that's recreation for me, not really deliberate exercise.
Also, most people I know who've had long term success took things in baby steps, not all at once changes...it's a process and the people who succeed long term embrace the process. If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I would be doing 1/2 century rides, I would have laughed in your face...I could barely walk my dog around the block and was a 2-3 PAD smoker...but here I am 5 years later...2 -
I have been here seriously logging my food for 2 years and have lost 70 lbs. I don't weigh and measure anymore. I know by sight about how much I have. My biggest change was in what I was eating. I am eating more healthy foods now (no more fast food everyday). You do what works for you and stick with it.2
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I don't weigh or measure but I do try to eat more veggies or at least lighter meals. Also I try not to eat after dinner unless it's just an apple or some small snack. Exercise makes a big difference for me. Each person is different so you just need to find what works best for you.
Also I refuse to use the word "DIET" because it makes me think I can't have anything so of course I want it more. So I'm not on a diabetic diet, I am defeating diabetes! That way I feel as though I'm beating my diabetes and winning better health.2 -
From my past experience , I think having an eating disorder or disordered eating patterns can warp your opinion on what is extreme and what is not. When I was active in my ED and when I first recovered, I was so focused on how other people ate, how they dieted, how they tracked what they were eating and I felt like they may all be sick or doing unhealthy things. At first it helped me justify my behavior as normal and then when I first got out of treatment, I was so hyper aware of how I had to avoid those things that it felt like everyone else should. At the time, when I weighing all of my food and keeping a log, it wasn't healthy because of my intention/goals but for someone else, it could be very healthy and helpful to them. Now I see tracking and weighing as a helpful way to keep myself accountable and actually removes some of the stress around meal planning. I weigh my food because I think it's more accurate but also because I'm lazy and don't want to have to wash spoons and cups all the time but thats because I've worked over the years to change my perception.
I think you need to find a system that works for you and focus on your own behavior. Just because some people do it one way, doesn't mean that's right for you. If you're starting to see bad feelings come up, maybe you need to see a professional to figure out whats triggering your emotional response. I know for a lot of people eating disorders come along with a mindset that tends to be black and white so being flexible and kind to yourself is important. Good luck!
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Like some other people have said, weighing my food is actually easier then using measuring cups and spoons, it also gives me a better sense of what portions look like for each thing, so i dont have to weigh as much, i have recently re dedicated myself to using my fitness, and find that just writing things down helps me lose, (even if i dont weigh/ measure) as it holds me accountable for what i eat - like someone said it stops me from eating that "small snack" that ends up being 400 calories.
There are deff days that i eat more then what is suggested but i try to look at it more as a week overall, i found it to be helpful for me as well to put 2 pounds a week as my goal so if i find that im going over im still on track for 1 pound but have some leeway to improve my eating.
Do what works for you and dont worry to much what works for others, ultimately whats important that its something that you are consistent with cause thats what will get you results.0 -
You get out what you put in.
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Everyone here seems so gung-ho about everything. Weighing and measuring down to the last crumb of food, working out for hours - it's all too much!
Yes, I want to make changes. Yes, I want to lose weight. Yes, I (eventually) want to start exercising. But I don't want to lose my mind over it all!
I'm prone to obsession, and a few times have found myself on the edge of an eating disorder. I really have concerns that if I start weighing every single drop of everything, I am going to tip over into something really unhealthy. I'm happy to work with my measuring cups and spoons, but taking everything to the gram is just a bit much to me.
Is there any hope for me? I'm keeping the food diary, and I am measuring ingredients and portions. Some days succeeding better than others, but holding a decent average. I'm more interested in healthy balanced eating than in micromanaging down to the last calorie. Any improvement is a big change.
But seriously - is anyone here NOT viciously rigid, but still having success? I've just been lurking, but I don't see a lot of people who take a more relaxed view - there's a lot of pressure to be all in.
If I can make a coupe of observations. This is a tool, it's up to you how to use it.
I can' recall the last time I weighed myself. For me, success if about my running being enjoyable. To do that I need to be mindful of what I'm eating, so some tracking is useful. Originally I logged,although didn't weigh/ measure as it was about getting a feel for what portions looked like and how that contributed to my progress. I run a lot, so partly I need to make sure I eat enough when I'm in peak volume periods
It's also worth realising that it is possible to over-measure, and it becomes meaningless. It's called spurious accuracy. With that in mind, as long as you're consistent in how you use the tool then it's useful to you. If you're going to track your own weight, which I would recommend as you're learning how to use it, then once a week is good enough, as long as it's always at the same time and in the same condition. I used to do Saturday morning after ablutions and before stepping into the shower. That'll allow you to start establishing trends over time. Nothing wrong with weighing yourself daily, but if you are concerned about disordered behaviour then I can see why you may not want to.
Essentially all you're doing is collecting information, if you can make that information useful to you then it's worth collecting. If not then it's not worth it.
fwiw there are a couple of the forums in here I don't use as when I read the threads I'm seeing all kinds of crazy.0 -
I log almost everything. But when it comes down to it, that sip of my daughter's latte in October isn't going to make much difference. Nor does it matter if that Apple I just ate was 90 grams or 120 grams. ... I keep measuring spoons handy for scooping stuff like shredded cheese and raisins. I measure my cereal and milk once or twice a month to make sure I am not overfilling or under filling my bowl. And if something is supposed to be measured in grams, I do quick math to figure out how many calories are in a container then estimate what percent I am eating.0
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You will probably find most people who post are the more dedicated forum users where as those who are more relaxed about measuring etc are more likely to lurk. It does work if you have a lot to lose, I've lost 7 stone so far with out using a scale but with just over 3 stone to go I'm finding it slower going so have weighed out for example 75 g of cereal so I know what it looks like and aim to put about that much in the bowel each time, it's not accurate but I was filling the bowel to the top and counting it as 1 portion ( nearer to 2 and a half!) if you do that with your more common food choices it will help. I imagine there will be a time I have to be a lot more accurate but atm this is working for me, when it stops if I'm still not happy with my weight I'll adjust what I do then. Good luck figuring out your way forward xx1
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Just wanted to respond as a slow loser who had no intention of going gung ho or suffering too much as I lose weight. I started out 2 years ago and have another year to go before I reach my goal of 50 pounds lost. I am disciplined but I rarely suffer for my weight loss. I had no interest in weighing every crumb or obsessing over numbers or becoming a weight lifter or gym rat.
What if did was pick a couple of activities that I enjoy - walking my dog, riding my bike to work, doing a couple of yoga classes every week. Then I set up a modest calorie deficit that would keep me steadily losing but never feeling deprived or ravenous.
In 2016 I lost 22 pounds. In 2017 I lost 15. In 2018 I hope to lose 13 for a total of 50. I’m not there yet, but I feel like maintaining will be a minor transition for me at the end of this year.
Do what works for you but my two weight loss theories are: the more you suffer, the less likely you are to keep it up and time passes anyway so make it count! Good luck!1 -
I don't weigh everything.
I usually do my produce or maybe chips or something that's hard to eyeball- but I don't weigh any pre-packaged stuff, I will measure/weigh ingredients for recipes but I don't weigh recipes and make sure they are perfectly even. If I am estimating, I try to estimate high. I will often but it 1.2 of a recipe or restaurant meal to cover any error, or weigh an un-peeled banana I know I will eat later and log it peel and all.
I figure I need this to stick forever, I am not going to be weighing whole meals and doing division my whole life. I want to eventually be able to make reasonable food choices automatically, so I give myself some leeway there. I am set to lose 1.5 a week, and I do when i stay under my cals. I've had a recent spell of overeating- need to get myself in check.
Oh! I do workout 6 days a week, but it's all in my basement with YouTube videos and dumbbells, or outside with my dog.0 -
Everyone here seems so gung-ho about everything. Weighing and measuring down to the last crumb of food, working out for hours - it's all too much!
Yes, I want to make changes. Yes, I want to lose weight. Yes, I (eventually) want to start exercising. But I don't want to lose my mind over it all!
I'm prone to obsession, and a few times have found myself on the edge of an eating disorder. I really have concerns that if I start weighing every single drop of everything, I am going to tip over into something really unhealthy. I'm happy to work with my measuring cups and spoons, but taking everything to the gram is just a bit much to me.
Is there any hope for me? I'm keeping the food diary, and I am measuring ingredients and portions. Some days succeeding better than others, but holding a decent average. I'm more interested in healthy balanced eating than in micromanaging down to the last calorie. Any improvement is a big change.
But seriously - is anyone here NOT viciously rigid, but still having success? I've just been lurking, but I don't see a lot of people who take a more relaxed view - there's a lot of pressure to be all in.
I know that community can be helpful when making huge lifestyle changes... I just can't decide if I should try to fit in here.
Any advice, suggestions, similar experiences?
Thank you.
Haven't read the thread yet, so apologies if this has been addressed but here's my n=1 experience:
When I started on MFP, I was more relaxed. I used measuring cups for solids, my major contribution to exercise was getting away from the computer and out for a walk for at least 25 minutes every day. The one day a week when I did grocery shopping (2 hours on foot round-trip and I'd been doing it at my heaviest, too) I committed to not wiping out the calories burned by 'rewarding' myself with an ice cream treat or something from the bakery. I didn't care about hitting my macros, I just focused on being within my calories and mostly used my scale for recipes that called for "8 oz of carrots, 2 lbs of potatoes, etc).
And the weight came off.
Little by little, I took more on. I started focusing on hitting protein. I got some blood-work results that showed my iron at borderline low so started focusing on my iron RDA.
I'd probably been doing MFP for a good 4-6 months before I started weighing most solid foods.
And I found I had more energy and s-l-o-w-l-y increased the length of my walks and added some strength training. To this day, I don't lift heavy. I don't belong to a gym and don't have a reliable spotter. But I've been increasing the weights of my dumbbells. Just put in an order yesterday for a pair of 17.5lb-ers.
When you have a lot to lose, precision isn't as important. It becomes more important as you get closer to goal. Back when I was using measuring cups more, I said that if my weight-loss hit a stall, using the scale to tighten up my logging would be the first fix I'd try. What actually happened was that out of curiosity, I stuck my cup of seedless grapes on the scale and realized that the weight of "grapes, 1 cup" in the MFP database was just slightly over half the weight on my scale. Got me wondering how many other inaccuracies were creeping in. At first, I just weighed my fruits and veggies as I cobbled together meals. Eventually, I started doing it for recipes, too. I'm usually googling "How many grams to one cup dry couscous?" But that was after I'd been on MFP for months.
Start small. Figure out what you can handle and add more when you're ready. And for now, think of the rest as 'advanced stuff, to re-examine if your loss slows/stalls'.2 -
You dont have to log everything and weigh everything. But you better understand your calorie goals and have a good understanding of food weights and calorie contents for the portion sizes you do eat.
And when you dont get the results you are expecting. you know exactly where to look first.1 -
It's amazing how writing down what you have eaten psychologically keeps you focused on weight maintenance! I can't explain it: it just works!3
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I think that the people using the site vary as much as the ways people go about losing weight. I think there are probably more average joe's on here trying to make their way. Start with what works for you. Maybe after a while, you will want to get a scale, maybe you won't ... whatever works!
And do not be discouraged if some people comment on how you are doing things, it can get a little judgy sometimes. Again, that's not everyone!0 -
I approach it like a video game. It is sort of fun keeping track and using the reports graphs available... I also weight every morning to make sure I am not gaining... I guess that could be a tad rigid.0
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If what you're doing works and you're happy, do it! I won't lose a pound unless I use a food scale. I don't do cardio but I'm obsessive about my gym training for strength (and physique).
ETA: And I'm not going to lie. I have lost my mind. Being this way has screwed my relationship with food.1
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