I'm Back

jencnipps
jencnipps Posts: 6 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi. I'm Jen. I've been a member before and then gave up and quit. I'm back. I actually talked to my doctor and he recommended I keep a food log. Which I actually hate. But here I am.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,168 Member
    jcnipps wrote: »
    Hi. I'm Jen. I've been a member before and then gave up and quit. I'm back. I actually talked to my doctor and he recommended I keep a food log. Which I actually hate. But here I am.

    Hi, Jen -

    I'm sorry to hear that you hate logging: That's a real challenge. Are there any specific roadblocks or problems that you're encountering? I'm betting the Community would like to help, see you succeed. I know I would!

    Hoping this time will be the charm, for you!
  • NerdyWord33
    NerdyWord33 Posts: 52 Member
    Apparently this is my 6yr anniversary with MFP. Haha
    I've reached goals, slid back, restarted, gave up...here I go again.
    Logging isn't fun.
    It's a difficult habit for me to form.
    I usually end up logging near the end of my day and struggling to remember everything I ate along the way.
    I get discouraged easily and distracted even easier.
    It's all about persistence though.
    Set yourself reminders.
    Log your foods and "just get it over with".
    You'll get there.
  • jencnipps
    jencnipps Posts: 6 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hi, Jen -

    I'm sorry to hear that you hate logging: That's a real challenge. Are there any specific roadblocks or problems that you're encountering? I'm betting the Community would like to help, see you succeed. I know I would!

    Hoping this time will be the charm, for you!

    Back when I was in high school, I was a member of this weight loss club that seemed to be into all the fad diets. They wanted you to keep a very detailed food log. If you missed a day, you had to pay a dime "fine." If you gained weight that week, you had to pay a dime for each pound you gained. The person who lost the most for the week got all of the dimes paid in that week.

    But I think those overly-emphasized food logs and paying the fines are what put me off of logging food. If I can get past that, it would go a long way toward being more willing to log everything.
  • jencnipps
    jencnipps Posts: 6 Member
    NerdyWord33 wrote: »
    Apparently this is my 6yr anniversary with MFP. Haha
    I've reached goals, slid back, restarted, gave up...here I go again.
    Logging isn't fun.
    It's a difficult habit for me to form.
    I usually end up logging near the end of my day and struggling to remember everything I ate along the way.
    I get discouraged easily and distracted even easier.
    It's all about persistence though.
    Set yourself reminders.
    Log your foods and "just get it over with".
    You'll get there.

    I have no idea how many times I've used this app or a similar one. Too many, probably. lol

    I have a tendency to do that too - wait and log at the end of the day. I'm trying not to do that this time and instead log at the time I'm eating. It helps me to put the fork down and slow down since I can't really do it one-handed.
  • Melissabaillie30
    Melissabaillie30 Posts: 6 Member
    Feel free to add me. I lost alot years ago on this site. (around 80 pounds)

    I have gained it all back over the years and need motivation. I dont like using the food log on here as i much rather prefer logging on pen and paper in a notebook but i like the webiste for support and looking up foods.
  • jencnipps
    jencnipps Posts: 6 Member
    Melissabaillie30 wrote: »
    Feel free to add me. I lost alot years ago on this site. (around 80 pounds)

    I have gained it all back over the years and need motivation. I dont like using the food log on here as i much rather prefer logging on pen and paper in a notebook but i like the webiste for support and looking up foods.

    So far, I haven't figured out how to add people. I'll figure it out today.

    If I had to write it out with pen and paper, I would seriously never log anything. It works better for me to have it on my phone. I tried it the pen & paper way before (with Weight Watchers and the previously mentioned weight loss club) and never stuck with it.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,168 Member
    jcnipps wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hi, Jen -

    I'm sorry to hear that you hate logging: That's a real challenge. Are there any specific roadblocks or problems that you're encountering? I'm betting the Community would like to help, see you succeed. I know I would!

    Hoping this time will be the charm, for you!

    Back when I was in high school, I was a member of this weight loss club that seemed to be into all the fad diets. They wanted you to keep a very detailed food log. If you missed a day, you had to pay a dime "fine." If you gained weight that week, you had to pay a dime for each pound you gained. The person who lost the most for the week got all of the dimes paid in that week.

    But I think those overly-emphasized food logs and paying the fines are what put me off of logging food. If I can get past that, it would go a long way toward being more willing to log everything.

    Admitting in advance that even I, the person asking it, think this is a somewhat silly question . . . .

    Do you prelog your meals (long before or right before eating), log as you cook/eat, right after you eat, or . . . ? Would a variation in your routine approach make it seem less like that past negative experience, subjectively? For example, if you currently log after eating, would pre-logging make it feel more like planning, less like reporting on yourself? (Or vice-versa.)

    My personal experience was that logging felt somewhat fussy and unwieldy at first, but once my recent/frequent foods got populated with foods I commonly eat, and I had some saved meals and recipes for things I eat frequently, the time commitment and perceived difficulty went waaaay down. It does take a while (few weeks?) to reach that point, IME, though.

    Best wishes finding your personal path to success!
  • jencnipps
    jencnipps Posts: 6 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Admitting in advance that even I, the person asking it, think this is a somewhat silly question . . . .

    Do you prelog your meals (long before or right before eating), log as you cook/eat, right after you eat, or . . . ? Would a variation in your routine approach make it seem less like that past negative experience, subjectively? For example, if you currently log after eating, would pre-logging make it feel more like planning, less like reporting on yourself? (Or vice-versa.)

    My personal experience was that logging felt somewhat fussy and unwieldy at first, but once my recent/frequent foods got populated with foods I commonly eat, and I had some saved meals and recipes for things I eat frequently, the time commitment and perceived difficulty went waaaay down. It does take a while (few weeks?) to reach that point, IME, though.

    Best wishes finding your personal path to success!

    I've tried prelogging. Let's just say it didn't work. lol. What works is honestly fixing my plate and logging what is there. At least for the first couple weeks. Then I can start doing some preplanning. Getting my frequent foods library built up will be the best thing, I think.

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