How to tell MFP that I'm fasting?
jaybird180
Posts: 19 Member
Didn't know where to put this, so it's in this group.
Occasionally I fast wherein I only consume water, sometimes a little coffee and maybe tea. My fasts can be anywhere from 1-3 days consecutive. Problem is that MFP doesn't count a day of water-only as a logged day and I lose my logging streak count.
What should I enter on these days wherein I only have water?
Occasionally I fast wherein I only consume water, sometimes a little coffee and maybe tea. My fasts can be anywhere from 1-3 days consecutive. Problem is that MFP doesn't count a day of water-only as a logged day and I lose my logging streak count.
What should I enter on these days wherein I only have water?
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Replies
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1g of celery?0
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nothing0
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You're logging steak has nothing to do with number of logged meals; it's how many days you have logged into the app in a row. I have noticed some discrepancies between the app and website, so there may be a bug.2
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jaybird180 wrote: »
All you have to do for your streak is log into the app or the website. Sometimes there may be a bug where you do log in and it doesn't count, but that's rare (I've had it happen once in two years). But you don't have to log any food/complete your diary for your streak to count.4 -
I take time away from calorie counting to practice intuitive eating almost once a month, I still login to the app to track my weight and check out the forums but log no food and it still works towards my streak2
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Miss_Mabee wrote: »I take time away from calorie counting to practice intuitive eating almost once a month, I still login to the app to track my weight and check out the forums but log no food and it still works towards my streak
Sorry to derail the topic, but @Miss_Mabee, I love this idea of practicing intuitive eating. Do you have a strategy or method you generally use for it? How long do you "go off the grid" for when you do that?
Back on topic... Could you just "quick add" one calorie? But I agree with most posters here - as far as I've noticed, the streak is based on simply logging in. If you're referring to when you "complete" your daily food and exercise logging, then I don't know, since I don't use that feature....0 -
@sarahlluvatariel - I eat slow. I start by taking a smaller portion than I usually do and eating it slowly and paying attention to my meal. No tv/computer etc. Just some music. I pay attention to when I am actually full and stop. Put the rest aside for when I am hungry again. I find I feel full on less food when I eat focused on my meal.
Its so simple but I found with calorie counting I stopped paying attention to my normal body cues and if I ever want to live without calorie counting then I need to learn to listen to my body again.
I do it up to a week at a time. Recently I did it for about 4 months and was losing weight without worrying about tracking. Now im trying to find a balance by writing down what I eat but not putting it into the tracker until the end of the day. That way I dont just eat because I have calories "left to use up" lol7 -
As long as you log in you will get credit, Most days I log nothing and I still get days logged in.1
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I don't think MFP is set up for fasting. Not eating is a big red flag for an ED.6
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MostlyWater wrote: »I don't think MFP is set up for fasting. Not eating is a big red flag for an ED.
^^THIS!3 -
What's the philosophy behind regular 3 day fasts then?4
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Miss_Mabee wrote: »@sarahlluvatariel - I eat slow. I start by taking a smaller portion than I usually do and eating it slowly and paying attention to my meal. No tv/computer etc. Just some music. I pay attention to when I am actually full and stop. Put the rest aside for when I am hungry again. I find I feel full on less food when I eat focused on my meal.
Its so simple but I found with calorie counting I stopped paying attention to my normal body cues and if I ever want to live without calorie counting then I need to learn to listen to my body again.
I do it up to a week at a time. Recently I did it for about 4 months and was losing weight without worrying about tracking. Now im trying to find a balance by writing down what I eat but not putting it into the tracker until the end of the day. That way I dont just eat because I have calories "left to use up" lol
@Miss_Mabee, Very interesting! I appreciate you sharing! I do agree that eating in peace and quiet helps me recognize hunger/fullness more. It's nice to simply enjoy what you're eating, too! Instead of thinking about whatever else is going on.
I find, too, that if someone interrupts me (mostly at work) when I'm eating a sweet/chocolaty snack, it "ruins it" for me because I don't get to actively think about enjoying it. I get sad and irritated afterwards and I wish I had my treat back so I could do it over. ...why didn't I just put it down at the first sign of a person and not pick it up again until after they leave my office?
Something I need to work on. 
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What's the philosophy behind regular 3 day fasts then?
Some people do longer fasts for autophagy as well as weight loss. It's a great tool actually. If anyone is interested, there is a comprehensive book by Dr. Jason Fung called <i>The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting</i>
Fasting may not be for everyone, but for me it really helped me get a grip on my overeating and learn how to manage my body's cues. The great thing is that on my eating days I am mostly pretty intuitive, though I try to stay low carb (without actually counting carbs.) I lost about 70 lbs like that. Now I am at a bit of a plateau so I'm going to try a smidge of calorie counting just to experiment.27 -
I rarely eat lunch however I don't want my diary to have blank entries as I want it to be clear (to myself) that I consciously skipped a meal rather than just neglecting to log.
For this purpose I've created an entry called 'skip meal' which has 0 calories which I use.
This way when I look back through my diary and see a meal that has no entry I know it's because of a logging oversight and not just because I decided not to eat lunch (or dinner, or snack or breakfast) and I can think back and fill in the gap. If there's a 'skip meal' entry then I know I've logged properly for that day.6 -
What's the philosophy behind regular 3 day fasts then?
Annette Bosworth, MD, in her book "Any Way You Can" mentions she does a 72 hour fast once each month to provoke autophagy. She also explains that it is much easier to reach autophagy in 72 hours if you start from a condition of advanced ketosis.9 -
What's the philosophy behind regular 3 day fasts then?
Some people do longer fasts for autophagy as well as weight loss. It's a great tool actually. If anyone is interested, there is a comprehensive book by Dr. Jason Fung called <i>The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting</i>
Fasting may not be for everyone, but for me it really helped me get a grip on my overeating and learn how to manage my body's cues. The great thing is that on my eating days I am mostly pretty intuitive, though I try to stay low carb (without actually counting carbs.) I lost about 70 lbs like that. Now I am at a bit of a plateau so I'm going to try a smidge of calorie counting just to experiment.
Congratulations on your weight loss. You lost weight because the fasting led to you eating in a defecit. Eating in a defecit is what results in weight loss. Dr. Jason Fung is not someone that is highly respected in the scientific field.13 -
I don't log my food in MFP (I use a different app for food logging) and I don't lose my streak.0
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Necro thread - just sayin'
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Dr. Jason Fung can be completely ignored (if not respected) yet fasting is still a scientifically proven way to obtain health. I have never read Dr. Fung’s book(s) as I shy away from people who have a major financial gain in the subject matter. However research health benefits of extended-fasting (including on PubMed and in peer-reviewed medical journals). Many respected scientist will agree with the health benefits of fasting. I fast 72 hours at a time and not primarily for weight loss. Fasting will not necessarily help one lose weight, however extended-fasting will help one achieve better health (physical to psychological). Our bodies are suppose to fast, from an evolutionary perspective. However, we live in a land of excess and rely on corporations to cook for us (show Cooked on Netflix’s for reference), and we don’t hunt/gather our own food...we don’t work for our food, we work for our money. If we, as a society, don’t have money than we are given food, processed garbage.
Remember, any weight loss achieved during fasting will come back with a vengeance if a proper healthy diet (I like the Mediterranean or a primary plant based best) is not lived by, and we live by our daily calorie needs (hence why tracking calories is important in a plentiful society) and not eat in excess. Even healthy foods can be eaten in excess. Fasting is not a good tool for weight loss, unless one adds the more important tool of changing their dietary lifestyle permently. You want to feel great medically, and psychologically, than water-fast either 36, or 72, hours per week. You absolutely feel amazing!
Of course always check with your doctor as their is some contradictory ailments, that could be unsafe to fast.16 -
You can always log a food and delete it later. However, if you visit the community boards every day, that has counted for me lately!1
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