Anyone else tierd of logging?
Replies
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Most of my daily logging is during the week because I'm at work on the computer anyway and also I like to check in and read the message boards. Plus, I am trying to see how many calories I can have for dinner or if I can fit in that afternoon snack. Both times I have stopped tracking my food I have put on weight. So logging is a must for me. I workout a lot on the weekends so I don't really worry about logging those days. Don't think of it as a chore just as a way to stay mindful.4
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Yes, I am!! I have been in maintenance for 9 years so the weighing and logging is getting tedious.
My way to deal with it is to take logging breaks or I just do partial logging some days. I don't log restaurant meals unless I have access to their nutritional information, and I don't log on vacation. My weight has been very steady and I have a good relationship with food, so it makes it easy.3 -
I find it less exhausting knowing where I stand with my caloric budget that remaining willfully ignorant.
I've been at this for over 5 years now and find when I don't log the habits I developed over time begin to slack and I start sliding down a bad road - increased body fat, endurance loss, muscle loss, etc.
The 5 mins/day I spend logging is well worth the return on investment.13 -
mom23mangos wrote: »I found I was like you and it was exhausting and made me start to border on an unhealthy fixation with food. I eat a lot of different foods and cook from scratch a lot, so it wasn't a matter of just a few minutes. It is a great tool, was fantastic for teaching me portion sizes and the calories in different foods, and I still use it occasionally. I stopped logging 3 years ago and my weight HAS crept up, but most of it has been muscle. I'll occasionally log for a few weeks if I feel I'm a little too far over my maintenance range.
I cook a lot too so I find it annoying to always be entering new things.
I will be the first to say I'm very lazy with logging. I do a lot of vague guesstimates and figure if it's in the ballpark, that's fine. Weighing everything I eat, especially things like broccoli or mixed greens, is just exhausting. I eyeball it in cups and call it a day. Things like peanut butter I'm more likely to weigh.
Loosely logging helps me eat more balanced. I'm more likely to eat vegetables and fruits rather than just graze on snack-y things all day. But sometimes I do find it draining. I never log when I'm on holiday, and sometimes I take breaks where I just quick add around what I reckon my calories to be and move on.
I'd like to stop logging entirely but every time I do, I end to slooooowly gain and I'm tired of gaining and losing the same 7-14 pounds over and over.3 -
I will probably need to log forever considering my history, but it usually doesn't bother me. It's kind of like brushing my teeth - some days I just plain don't want to do it, but I still do it because it's a good habit. And, other days it does take longer than usual (i.e. like a dentist appointment) where I need to put more work into it, but most days I don't have to think very much about it. Some days are much easier, like today - I was able to hit "copy yesterday" and went on my merry way, lol.
Actually, on second thought, it might be more akin to making a grocery list for shopping - it does take a little prep in the beginning, but it makes the "shopping trip" easier in the end. Honestly, logging is also good for my anxiety, as I would probably obsess over how many calories I was eating (adding up in my head again and again) if I wasn't able to just log it and forget it. Kind of like taking notes at work so you don't forget what tasks need to get done.7 -
Apart from the weighing, the constant data entering, the consulting my phone when friends are ordering freely, I just knew tracking is not sustainable. I commend the others that have done it for months / years, but for me its just not a way of life.
Anyway, to answer your question: I have ditched the scales and it seems to be working out alright. In fact, it is liberating.
Deep down you already know the healthy choices: the lean meats, fish, veg, fruit, nuts, seeds.
If the majority of your diet is from the above you will do just fine. A treat here and there doesn't go wrong as you need your journey to be sustainable. Not too restrictive.
Eat mostly clean, get moving and you don't need to rely on the app. Enjoy the process.
Only if you are chasing super aggressive goals do you need to be accurate and calculated.11 -
Yes! I get annoyed having to do it but as soon as I stopped logging for 2.5 weeks I gained 4 pounds. (Have been losing 1.5-2.5 pounds per week).2
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So the most important thing for weight loss is CICO and that whatever approach you take, you can stick to long term. If counting calories closely makes you feel an unhealthy preoccupation with food, some have found that other habits that restrict calorie intake without specific counting have helped them. For example intermittent fasting or 5:2 or a good plan that points you towards satiating foods that end up being lower cal in the long run (like whole 30 maybe? Or LCHF?). Note : none of these approaches will work unless you are in a calorie deficit so if you don't understand your hunger/ full signals or eat very calorie dense foods during these plans, you could still not lose (or even gain!). But some have found that these approaches and maybe a focus on nutritious (lots of veg, lean meats, healthy fats etc) has been enough to keep them in a deficit and they lose without counting.2
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I find it less exhausting to log daily than to have to start all over again losing the weight I've gained back because I stopped logging.14
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I’m kinda new, been doing this for about 2 months, and I log in after I eat - which helps in not thinking about it negatively. But I’ve learned a lot about my eating habits and portions by logging in, which I find motivating.
I will probably hit my goal in less than 6 months, but I find that I like the community so I might still use the app, but I also don’t want to spend the rest of my life logging in.
I know what you mean though, which is why my husband (who is also using the app) and I take care not to talk about logging in or calories in front of our daughter (7yo) - because we don’t want worry or complexity to be associated with food for her.
What happened sumbliminaly or unconsciously when I started logging in is that my portions became better and my in-between-meal snack almost disappeared. ( Im a 3 square meals kinda gal). Again, i log after I eat.
What im saying is this: i want to encourage you keep logging in, look at it as a learning experience, as a preparation for when after you achieve your goal. You are ultimately preparing for a lifestyle.
Hope that made sense. Hope that helps.
This is what I was going to say, only this is better
It sounds like the logging is making you anxious. At 6wks I still hadn't figured out what to do with all the info on MFP and still don't, but I am good with what I know and have learned. The recipe part is great, type it in, then when you make that meal, log it without all the typing, measuring, etc.
The biggest thing I have learned is portion control, I didn't realize how much I was eating at a sitting.
Now I use it to track macros due to doctor recommended new diet. That is working out wonderfully!
Oh, I've only been using MFP since Oct 2018, am at goal and BMI is normal.
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I am coming up on a year and 6 mo into maintenance. I stopped logging for a bit ... didn't go well.
I prelog every day. I tend to eat one of two breakfast meals and lunch meals. Those are saved as meals, so super quick to log. My variety comes with dinner. Pre-logging helps me assure that I stay in my allotted caloriecrange without having to continually think about it during the day.
So, logging for me takes about 2 minutes in the morning (or night before). Occasionally, I have to come back to the app and tweak entries, but not often. Not very burdensome.
Same0 -
I haven't logged anything in over 6 years. I've more or less maintained my weight loss over that time with my weight typically creeping up 8-10 Lbs in the winter when I'm not as active. It typically comes off in the spring when I become naturally more active and I give it a little help by cutting out a couple snacks or something.
Logging was a good teaching tool, but I never considered it to be a long term solution for myself. I've maintained both my healthy eating habits and exercise habits and have had no issues.3 -
staticsplit wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »I found I was like you and it was exhausting and made me start to border on an unhealthy fixation with food. I eat a lot of different foods and cook from scratch a lot, so it wasn't a matter of just a few minutes. It is a great tool, was fantastic for teaching me portion sizes and the calories in different foods, and I still use it occasionally. I stopped logging 3 years ago and my weight HAS crept up, but most of it has been muscle. I'll occasionally log for a few weeks if I feel I'm a little too far over my maintenance range.
I cook a lot too so I find it annoying to always be entering new things.
I don't always enter my recipes. Sometimes I quickly calculate the calories and I find an MFP entry that matches it or can match it with a fraction and just use it. I have found that to be a good use of all the homemade entries. I do glance at the macros to see if I believe they are in line with my dish but calories are king.
I think one of the most important things to remember is that it is YOUR log. You can read the stickies and look to see what all the cool kids say about how they log but it is your life and your weight loss. Some time ago I saw a log of a person entered EVERYTHING with quick add calories. I like more detail than that but I bet mine is not nearly as detailed as others. I am not here to win the most beautiful diary contest. I am here to lose weight. If my weight stalls then I have to review my methods until then I will keep it as easy on myself as possible.
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In not tired of the logging, this may change in the long term of course, Im only a couple of months in.
What Im tired of is that I might reach to grab something, either out of the cupboard, off the desks at work where people leave food, in a shop etc where normally in the past something for hundreds of calories would be eaten quickly without thought as a 'snack', I cant do that anymore. Its such an instinct its going to take me time to move away from impulsive eating and downright greed. I miss it to be honest. Its mental challenge to plan and make sure I think about what Im going to eat.
I dont like the fact that trying to lose weight, makes me think about food more than I used to!2 -
staticsplit wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »I found I was like you and it was exhausting and made me start to border on an unhealthy fixation with food. I eat a lot of different foods and cook from scratch a lot, so it wasn't a matter of just a few minutes. It is a great tool, was fantastic for teaching me portion sizes and the calories in different foods, and I still use it occasionally. I stopped logging 3 years ago and my weight HAS crept up, but most of it has been muscle. I'll occasionally log for a few weeks if I feel I'm a little too far over my maintenance range.
I cook a lot too so I find it annoying to always be entering new things.
I don't always enter my recipes. Sometimes I quickly calculate the calories and I find an MFP entry that matches it or can match it with a fraction and just use it. I have found that to be a good use of all the homemade entries. I do glance at the macros to see if I believe they are in line with my dish but calories are king.
I think one of the most important things to remember is that it is YOUR log. You can read the stickies and look to see what all the cool kids say about how they log but it is your life and your weight loss. Some time ago I saw a log of a person entered EVERYTHING with quick add calories. I like more detail than that but I bet mine is not nearly as detailed as others. I am not here to win the most beautiful diary contest. I am here to lose weight. If my weight stalls then I have to review my methods until then I will keep it as easy on myself as possible.
Sensible advice, as always! I'll sometimes find a MFP entry that seems close enough and use that too, especially if it's something like a chicken curry my husband made or if I ate out and have no idea what the calories are. I guess based on how full I am--I usually start feeling borderline too full after around 800-900 calories in one sitting if I'm at home, then I chuck on another 100 calories or so to be safe/in case they used a bunch of oil.
I had to chuckle at most beautiful diary contest.
But it's a good reminder that all or nothing doesn't have to fall into logging either. Finding something sustainable and that works is the most important thing.1 -
I get tired of logging, but I do find it the most effective way for me to have consistent weight loss. If I give up on logging, regardless of what else I'm trying, my losses are minimal at best. I mostly gave up logging for a while, and even though I managed a slight loss, it was pretty minimal.
I'm tired of going this slow, and I know in order to lose, I need to cook, I need to log, and I need to do so consistently - so guess what I'm doing. It works for me.
That being said, I foresee maintenance involving less logging of food, but some to remain accountable on portion sizes and how much I'm consuming. Additionally, I don't see regular weight tracking ever going away as otherwise things will creep back on like they did originally....0 -
I suppose you could view it like medicine. A treatable but chronic condition needs ongoing medicine. You might stop taking your medicine and get on ok for a while but then you'd start getting ill (putting on weight), so you have to go back to taking the medicine.
Tiresome yes, necessary yes.1 -
People lose weight logging. People lose weight without logging. Few people keep it off either way. Often because they do things in an un-sustainable fashion. Or because they rebound after they generate intense hormonal responses by applying deficits that are excessive for their individual situation. And my last two sentences substantially overlap each other!
I see lots of discussion on why each of us chooses to log or not. I log/logged with more diligence when wanting to achieve my goals while maximizing food consumption.
To me, at least, it seems obvious that a large part of logging burn-out just 6 weeks in is caused by lack of sufficient appreciation for the results achieved and an application of excessive deficit for the amount of fat available to lose.
The solution is a smaller deficit, time for the brain to process changes, and a re-alignment of the expectation of what constitutes successful weight loss!4 -
Logging definitely has diminishing returns and even some negative consequences for many people. Many nutritionists and coaches strongly recommend to NOT log your food.
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Logging is a part of the equation. I'm liking the results so I'll gladly keep logging. It seems a small thing for such a big payoff.4
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Really short article on why calorie counting is often frowned up and an alternative approach.
https://precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide-infographic
"calorie counting is usually a recipe for failure: It’s annoying, impractical, and research shows it can be up to 25 percent inaccurate on both sides — calories in, and calories out."
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Of course calorie counting is not 100% accurate, unless you're carrying around a science lab with you all day you're not going to know what you're expending or intaking to that level of accuracy.
But the hand portion thing/eye balling thing/ guesstimating thing is a recipe for disaster. Its why someone like me has got to this size in the first place despite eating 'healthy'.7 -
800+ day streak. Nope. If I stop I know what will happen. 5 minutes a day for the rest of my life? I’m okay with that. It’s worth it.
I do not log on Xmas thanksgiving and my bday and the one 7 day vacation I take per year but I still access the app and just log 5k calories .8 -
Of course calorie counting is not 100% accurate, unless you're carrying around a science lab with you all day you're not going to know what you're expending or intaking to that level of accuracy.
But the hand portion thing/eye balling thing/ guesstimating thing is a recipe for disaster. Its why someone like me has got to this size in the first place despite eating 'healthy'.
If you have gained a lot of weight by eating healthy, then you might have a medical condition that needs to be addressed. If not, then tracking your food is not going to be a long term solution.
I am 7+ years in on this. I know how frustrating weight loss can be and how much confusing info is out there. I wish you well.24 -
Kittyy1994 wrote: »Also - I DEFINATELY don’t want to be doing this in the long run. How have people stopped and what happened after you stopped?
I maintained for a while and then stopped food logging as it wasn't necessary for me to maintain weight or to make weight adjustments if required.
Logging was useful for calorie and portion education but I successfully maintained long term (but chubby!) before my weight loss so it was a return to normal for me. I just use my weight trend, mindful eating and setting upper intervention limits to stop a drift becoming a slide. That works for me but for many it doesn't - use the tools you need as the outcome is worth the investment.
BTW - there is a middle ground between weighing and logging every last morsel or logging nothing. Maybe "lazy logging" might work for you?4 -
Of course calorie counting is not 100% accurate, unless you're carrying around a science lab with you all day you're not going to know what you're expending or intaking to that level of accuracy.
But the hand portion thing/eye balling thing/ guesstimating thing is a recipe for disaster. Its why someone like me has got to this size in the first place despite eating 'healthy'.
If you have gained a lot of weight by eating healthy, then you might have a medical condition that needs to be addressed. If not, then tracking your food is not going to be a long term solution.
I am 7+ years in on this. I know how frustrating weight loss can be and how much confusing info is out there. I wish you well.
I wish I could blame it on that, but Ive never blamed it on anything other than me over eating, eating too much in terms of portion size while believing to myself it was a reasonable portion. I have seen that booklet before and used it in the past. Size is deceiving, its less accurate than the inaccurate calorie measurements the authors are criticising.
If someone with a small appetite or reasonable levels of consumption can manage that way, thats great. I see and hear people say all the time 'oh I couldnt eat another thing' after what I consider to be bird sizes portions. Me I would eat double portions all the time.
Our eyes are not accurate, the numbers are more factual.8 -
Yep - but I do find it forces me to be much more mindful of what I'm putting in my body. I can't get upset that I don't get the results I want when the data is right in front of me.
I don't plan to continue to log food after I reach my goal weight - but I will continue to weigh myself daily and any upticks in weight - it's back to consistently logging every bite.2 -
Of course calorie counting is not 100% accurate, unless you're carrying around a science lab with you all day you're not going to know what you're expending or intaking to that level of accuracy.
But the hand portion thing/eye balling thing/ guesstimating thing is a recipe for disaster. Its why someone like me has got to this size in the first place despite eating 'healthy'.
If you have gained a lot of weight by eating healthy, then you might have a medical condition that needs to be addressed. If not, then tracking your food is not going to be a long term solution.
I am 7+ years in on this. I know how frustrating weight loss can be and how much confusing info is out there. I wish you well.
I wish I could blame it on that, but Ive never blamed it on anything other than me over eating, eating too much in terms of portion size while believing to myself it was a reasonable portion. I have seen that booklet before and used it in the past. Size is deceiving, its less accurate than the inaccurate calorie measurements the authors are criticising.
If someone with a small appetite or reasonable levels of consumption can manage that way, thats great. I see and hear people say all the time 'oh I couldnt eat another thing' after what I consider to be bird sizes portions. Me I would eat double portions all the time.
Our eyes are not accurate, the numbers are more factual.
I get it. I have always been a BIG eater with some binge eating tendencies. Everyone is different and I do not mean to imply that logging is ALWAYS useless or harmful. Based on anecdotal evidence and research, it is just not helpful long term.
Having said that.... self experimentation is awesome, so go for it! BTW, despite knowing that logging doesn't really work well, I am currently back on MFP and logging.. lol.. so there it is... But logging is a short term thing for me at this point.5 -
I had to throw my two cents worth in this discussion. I reached my goal weight ( where does the time go ?)- 4 years ago.
Since then went through some major life changes. Lost 6 more working through that and right now 4 lbs over that long ago goal. I know, big deal and I'm happy that's all it is.
Back to topic. I started logging again this week. Not really to lose weight but " to see" what I am eating and feel better.
Somewhat time consuming ? Yes. Worth it ? 100%.
I finally said to myself. You gained so much knowledge about nutrition when you were losing weight (45 lbs) do not let that slide.
It's good to be back if for nothing else to remind me again, portions/food choices do matter.
Maybe not for a couple weeks or even a year..just saying.
It works.4
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