How accurately do you track?

Never been an accurate logger, either when losing nor in maitenance.

My level of accuracy works fine for me.

Probably about 90%. For exercise, I only record intentional exercise (like I take a fitness class or run on the treadmill), so I don’t mind going over my calories by a few hundred on high-activity days. Yesterday, I was walking around for 5 hours, but didn’t have that recorded.

OldHobo wrote: »

So remember that the very best we can do is a very rough approximation when some internet bully is shaming you for measuring instead of weighing the artificial protein powder some other bully said you had to buy to sit at the cool kids MFP table.

a lot of perception there, I think.

Ive always been very open about my version of 'lazy logging' and no internet bullies have shamed me about it nor have any said I had to buy any sort of protein powder.

What people do say if someone is not losing as expected - tighten your logging as most likely you are eating more than you think.
and even as a lazy logger myself I see that as good advice if you have that problem - but if what you are doing is working, keep doing it.

paperpudding wrote: »

OldHobo wrote: »

So remember that the very best we can do is a very rough approximation when some internet bully is shaming you for measuring instead of weighing the artificial protein powder some other bully said you had to buy to sit at the cool kids MFP table.

a lot of perception there, I think.

Ive always been very open about my version of 'lazy logging' and no internet bullies have shamed me about it nor have any said I had to buy any sort of protein powder.

What people do say if someone is not losing as expected - tighten your logging as most likely you are eating more than you think.
and even as a lazy logger myself I see that as good advice if you have that problem - but if what you are doing is working, keep doing it.

Agreed, I’ve said it in another thread before - you only have to be as accurate as what allows you to meet your goals. If I started struggling, the first thing I would do is tighten up my logging and weigh everything to ensure my estimations weren’t underestimation. Since I’m losing at the expected rate, I can be lazier. Some may not have to weigh at all and have success, but a lot of people post because they’re struggling, and I’m going to give them the advice I would give myself, which is to tighten up logging.

Generally, "close enough" is good enough for me.

Don't know what % of accuracy applies to the cals that I've been logging for the food that I've been eating this past 3.75 yrs during my current wt loss effort BUT the fact that I've lost nearly 50#' (or 25% of my wt) from 200 to 150# is proof that I have been logging my cals w/a reasonable degree of accuracy.

I do not weigh my food, but I do measure and if I have to eyeball something I'd say that I log probably more than what I really do consume. I do a lot of food prep and measure out what I put in each container for lunches during the week so that is super easy to do. Dinner is always a salad during the week also, easy to log. AND I'm now logging everything that passes my lips, everything! Before when I wasn't I also wasn't losing weight, time to be honest with myself and it's working

Roughly these days. Calorie un dense , I will eyeball. Calorie dense I weigh it.

I'm a "close enough" kind of gal.

After a while you get used to the amounts. Plus six cherry tomatoes isn’t very different from five...
But initially I weigh/measure to get an idea.

bear2303 wrote: »

Just curious to know how other MFPrs use this handy little tool. I would say I track with like 80-90% accuracy.

I started out tracking really really accurately but as time went on I got a little lazier and a little less accurate. If i make something from scratch I usually just take my best guess and choose something that looks like it has similar caloric value.

For me, tracking every single bite every day was daunting so I do my best but I also give myself some grace. Curious as to what works for you all?

Hi @bear2303 ! I track and weigh like a squirrel with nuts most of the time when
Home... But then -I eat out a lot - so I tend to guesstimate portions and ounces then..but most of what I order is kinda simple like salmon and vegetables or venison and salad...it’s just the absence of weighing it while out that proves difficult. So if I have to choose...I’ll overestimate instead of under to be safe.

Guess I could bring a purse scale .. ☺️ now there’s an idea. 💡

I cook a lot of meals at home, so I weigh and use liquid measure when I'm making a recipe, and then I eyeball servings as I place them into containers. Since I pre-cook for myself for about a week, I will eventually eat everything in a batch of whatever - but what I eat on a specific day was an eyeballed proportion of what I cooked that Saturday.

I also measure things into servings when I get new dishes or tuppers, that way I can eyeball and average better when I'm packing up restaurant food left overs without a scale or improvising a lunch in a hurry.

I'm not that close with my exercise estimates, though, and tend to end up tweaking my calories from one week to the next as my workout routines change. Generally speaking, my first guess on exercise burn appears to be conservative, as my "lousy estimations" generally have me losing weight *faster* than I want, and not slower. I've gotten pretty good with step tracking, but accounting for what I've done with weight lifting is strangely difficult for me on the first go.

I don't log anymore, but when I did I was more accurate with calorie dense foods...weighed my almonds, peanut butter, meats, etc. I was pretty loose with veggies and fruit and never weighed those things. I didn't weigh packaged foods, bred slices, etc and just went off the label. I usually didn't even log meals at a restaurant, but I didn't eat out all that often.

BruceEdwards1 wrote: »

I do my best to log as accurately as possible but the food values I find (I always take an average from MFP search suggestions if I don't have the exact info from food products) must be erroneous because after almost two months I am down 20 lbs. whereas my daily summary forecasts for even one month's work were well below my loss so far in nearly two. I don't cheat so it's either that or the exercise values I find (again, I use an average from my pedometer reading and MFP suggestion) are similarly out of whack. Or I have the dreaded slow metabolism? Frustrating because I would like more motivating progress, though I don't want to sound too worked up about it because it is still going in the right direction and this steady pace is perhaps more conducive to lifestyle change. Others find the same problem?

I'd encourage you to start your own thread to ask for advise, but 20 pounds in less than two months is great! How many more pounds do you need to lose to reach goal?



If you do start your own thread, please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings so we can look for common logging errors.