Do you intentionally not record certain meals in your nutrition diaries? Why?
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Ebonie_owlwehn wrote: »I find soon as you start not logging everything. That when you start to lie to yourself. That’s when accountability is lost. It’s important to be honest with yourself.
Their few things I do that just sorts that ohh they got a take away I fancy that I can’t have that! Yes you can just own your choice. Tonight I had a chicken Caesar salad. Yes I went lightly over todays fat carbs protein but still under kcals for the day. So like today I’ll plan do extra on top of my 20min exercises per day. But tomorrow is a new day.
I dont quite agree with the You must log everything mindset - I certainly didnt log next to nothing things llike diet soda or tomatoes.
and there are times we all have to estimate - but I would estimate rather than not log it at all, which was OP's question.
I guess it is a bit like a finance budget - dont bother recording tiny money items and estimate the cost of others - but missing out on big expenses altogether won't work, they still affected your budget whether you counted them or not
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I log everything as best as I can, as regularly as possible except for true 0 cal items like unsweetened tea. I log near 0 items because a bunch of items at 5-10 cal a piece adds up over time, (or as the old joke goes, broken cookie parts which we all know have no calories, add up).
I estimate high when eating out or otherwise not in control of my calories, and I log especially on days when I think I have gone over. It is actually almost always way closer to my budget than I expected.
I used to be meticulous about logging everything in the right meal category, but since my diary is private I have become lazy and now often just log once or twice a day, putting things in whichever category happens to be open, So if you were to open my breakfast you would see I consumed three full meals today, complete with dessert and mocktails for breakfast and then apparently fasted the rest of the day. Boy, is she having a rough time with her resolutions you would think to yourself. . .0 -
I feel bad that I ate too much, or get lazy and don't feel like tracking everything. However reading all of your comments are helpful and educational. Thanks for the info.0
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@amdaless
Let the feeling bad part wash off like water off a duck's back. Quack! It won't help. Just try to learn from it. Of course if you don't log, you aren't sure you ate "too much," but if it's a whole lot maybe you do.
Lazy and don't feel like tracking can be resolved by making it a habit. When I had to get to my office at 07:00, I often felt lazy and didn't want to go. I went. If I didn't there were consequences. Like they'd tell me not to bother to come in anymore, and too bad I had been accustomed to getting those monthly checks.
If you don't feel like inputting things into the computer or the app right away, carry a scrap of paper and pen or pencil. I keep a pocket note-pad with me almost all the time so I can make notes of anything or make a shopping list or... Then I can put things in MFP later. I can't count the times I have given someone a page from my notebook because I always have some paper.2 -
log everything as best as I can, as regularly as possible except for true 0 cal items like unsweetened tea. I log near 0 items because a bunch of items at 5-10 cal a piece adds up over time, (or as the old joke goes, broken cookie parts which we all know have no calories, add up).
I guess it is up to everyone where they draw the line and sure, multiple small things could add up - but if I had a salad sandwich for lunch, for example, I would log the bread and the cheese and not bother about the tomato, lettuce, beetroot etc
Theoretically if I did that dozens of times per day it could add up - but IRL, I know I'm eating 1 sandwich for lunch and not hundreds of hidden tomato and lettuce calories anywhere else.1 -
Ebonie_owlwehn wrote: »I find soon as you start not logging everything. That when you start to lie to yourself. That’s when accountability is lost. It’s important to be honest with yourself.
Their few things I do that just sorts that ohh they got a take away I fancy that I can’t have that! Yes you can just own your choice. Tonight I had a chicken Caesar salad. Yes I went lightly over todays fat carbs protein but still under kcals for the day. So like today I’ll plan do extra on top of my 20min exercises per day. But tomorrow is a new day.
Depending on one's mindset, I agree with the first bolded.
Re: the second bolded - since you were under your calories, I don't understand the reason behind extra exercise. As long as you are under for calories, you can have any macro distribution you want and still lose weight.
Also, if you are over on fat, carbs, AND protein but under on calories, unless you are talking about just a few grams and thus a rounding issue, there must be an error in one or more of your entries.3 -
I may have to estimate sometimes, or take my best guess on what database entry most likely is similar to something I ate away from home, but I don't intentionally not log a meal. I log something, and I'm fairly certain that it's always closer to reality than not logging anything.3
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Since reading everyone's input, I am trying to log everything even if I go over and know bad. Hopefully, I'll look at that and be more motivated to better the next day. So far this is not the case, but it's only been a few days. The other thing, I am trying not to beat myself up or give up entirely just because I am less then successful on any given day. Plus some of my daily goals I am achieving. So each little goal will hopefully also encourage me to do better with the bigger goals.
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It is astonishing how many people don't know that, or claim they don't. I have even talked to dietitians who claim that calories are rubbish and there are at least two professors on the Internet who claim this as well. Needless to say, this doesn't help to improve their reputation.kshama2001 wrote: »As long as you are under for calories, you can have any macro distribution you want and still lose weight.
That said, we should never lose sight of the fact that total calories on a nutrition facts label, *should* almost always be different from the sum of the calories of the different macronutrients. The main reason for this is that "total calories" is or should be the value as measured in a bomb calorimeter, while the calorie values for the intdividual macronutrients are Atwater values and those are lower than the bomb calorimeter values because the Atwater values are estimates based on human digestion which are essentially the differences between the total bomb calorimeter energy in the food and the total bomb calorimeter energy remaining in the product that comes out at the other end of the tube. It is very easy to make that mistake, and I plead guilty myself to almost never mentioning that difference, but then, when I do mention it I am often called a pedant, so it is a bit of damned if you do and damned if you don't.1 -
Since reading everyone's input, I am trying to log everything even if I go over and know bad. Hopefully, I'll look at that and be more motivated to better the next day. So far this is not the case, but it's only been a few days. The other thing, I am trying not to beat myself up or give up entirely just because I am less then successful on any given day. Plus some of my daily goals I am achieving. So each little goal will hopefully also encourage me to do better with the bigger goals.
If you are a human, and I presume you are, you WILL have days when things go sideways. It's probably best to accept that so that they don't cause unnecessary concern. Even if logging your days when you don't end up doing what you "should" do doesn't make you more motivated in coming days, just making logging a habit and observing what you eat, what you log, and how your body responds will give you greater knowledge. That will let you make logical decisions and set appropriate goals as you progress.
Definitely don't beat yourself up. That's counter productive. Do let yourself be honest with yourself. That's all it is. It's about building and reinforcing habits; it's not about motivation. Unfortunately, motivation is overrated.
You get a new reset every day. You get to build habits and choose how you will respond to daily stresses. You even can make changes within ONE day. Sometimes that's harder. It is for me. For me it can be potato chips. For others it's Oreos. An example would be you react poorly to a stress and open up a package of Oreos and eat... more than you "should." Maybe even half a stack (quarter of the box). Maybe you mindlessly eat the other half of the stack. You could just say, "Aw screw it" and finish the whole package. The really hard part is to put the other half of the package back in the pantry, say to yourself, "Well, that was silly; I probably shouldn't have eaten that," and then maybe think about why you did. If this gets you insights, you may be more likely to avoid it in the future. It's not motivation, it's habit.
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That is essentially it: the study of yourself, not the acceptance of some imaginary "average person". Biology is complicated and messy. We are all different. It is a cliché and it is true. You will never know how much energy you need until you try to find it out. You find that out by diligent tracking. Science requires time, discipline and love of reality, the very reasons quacks hate it. You are trying to become a scientist specialised in yourself. Study yourself. You are worth every effort you put in that study.Even if logging your days when you don't end up doing what you "should" do doesn't make you more motivated in coming days, just making logging a habit and observing what you eat, what you log, and how your body responds will give you greater knowledge. That will let you make logical decisions and set appropriate goals as you progress.
Definitely don't beat yourself up. That's counter productive. Do let yourself be honest with yourself. That's all it is. It's about building and reinforcing habits; it's not about motivation. Unfortunately, motivation is overrated.
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BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
That is essentially it: the study of yourself, not the acceptance of some imaginary "average person". Biology is complicated and messy. We are all different. It is a cliché and it is true. You will never know how much energy you need until you try to find it out. You find that out by diligent tracking. Science requires time, discipline and love of reality, the very reasons quacks hate it. You are trying to become a scientist specialised in yourself. Study yourself. You are worth every effort you put in that study.Even if logging your days when you don't end up doing what you "should" do doesn't make you more motivated in coming days, just making logging a habit and observing what you eat, what you log, and how your body responds will give you greater knowledge. That will let you make logical decisions and set appropriate goals as you progress.
Definitely don't beat yourself up. That's counter productive. Do let yourself be honest with yourself. That's all it is. It's about building and reinforcing habits; it's not about motivation. Unfortunately, motivation is overrated.
This is actually very well stated, Bart.1 -
Thank you springlering62. I think we should try to formulate and reformulate things until they are clear enough for most people (everone?) to understand. It is not easy. After all, we all have different backgrounds that have taught us to reason differently and to view things from different perspectives while we are largely unaware or even incapable of guessing how other people think and why. In all, just because reality doesn't change, doesn't mean our understanding of it doesn't or can't change. The same is true for our descriptions of it.springlering62 wrote: »BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
That is essentially it: the study of yourself, not the acceptance of some imaginary "average person". Biology is complicated and messy. We are all different. It is a cliché and it is true. You will never know how much energy you need until you try to find it out. You find that out by diligent tracking. Science requires time, discipline and love of reality, the very reasons quacks hate it. You are trying to become a scientist specialised in yourself. Study yourself. You are worth every effort you put in that study.Even if logging your days when you don't end up doing what you "should" do doesn't make you more motivated in coming days, just making logging a habit and observing what you eat, what you log, and how your body responds will give you greater knowledge. That will let you make logical decisions and set appropriate goals as you progress.
Definitely don't beat yourself up. That's counter productive. Do let yourself be honest with yourself. That's all it is. It's about building and reinforcing habits; it's not about motivation. Unfortunately, motivation is overrated.
This is actually very well stated, Bart.0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »I may have to estimate sometimes, or take my best guess on what database entry most likely is similar to something I ate away from home, but I don't intentionally not log a meal. I log something, and I'm fairly certain that it's always closer to reality than not logging anything.
Hello @lynn_glenmont , may I ask how do you estimate? Just the calories or all the macros? Do you do this for every meal or just some?0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »I may have to estimate sometimes, or take my best guess on what database entry most likely is similar to something I ate away from home, but I don't intentionally not log a meal. I log something, and I'm fairly certain that it's always closer to reality than not logging anything.
Also, how many of your meals do you usually estimate?0 -
I feel bad that I ate too much, or get lazy and don't feel like tracking everything. However reading all of your comments are helpful and educational. Thanks for the info.
I also feel bad and do not write down sometimes
Do you normally write estimations on such cases? I try to write lower estimations later on 
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cinalicikler wrote: »I feel bad that I ate too much, or get lazy and don't feel like tracking everything. However reading all of your comments are helpful and educational. Thanks for the info.
I also feel bad and do not write down sometimes Do you normally write estimations on such cases? I try to write lower estimations later on
Why? You’re only fooling yourself. It seems rather pointless to fudge the numbers and still hope for results.
My diary is open. You can go back to November and December and see some staggering numbers reached while we were traveling. But I recorded them all. I duz not care who might look at them and have comments. I own them, and they provided necessary data points when I got back home and back into better habits.
If you’re going to do it, do it right. I did everything in my life half assed for many years. I got by. Now, I “get”. Lower weight, happiness, confidence, adventurousness. I gets it all.2 -
Good days, bad days, hard days, easy days… I log it.
Make no mistake, I am here for weight loss but I’m also here for data. I got put in this malfunctioning human body (autoimmune issues) and I’m trying to take the best care of it I can because I’m not done
here yet.
So… I’m a data girl. I try to keep the most accurate logs I can and analyze everything to the best of my ability. I’m also a gluten free vegetarian so I monitor my vitamin goal and macros.
I’m obsessive, borderline orthorexic, so I need that data to reel my idiot brain in and prevent me from hurting myself.3 -
cinalicikler wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »I may have to estimate sometimes, or take my best guess on what database entry most likely is similar to something I ate away from home, but I don't intentionally not log a meal. I log something, and I'm fairly certain that it's always closer to reality than not logging anything.
Hello @lynn_glenmont , may I ask how do you estimate? Just the calories or all the macros? Do you do this for every meal or just some?
I'm not Lynn, but I'd speculate that it might help you to have multiple answers, so I'll horn in. Speaking for myself, I estimate in various ways, depending on what seems easiest/best in a situation where I can't be precise:
* If I eat a meal at a local restaurant that doesn't have calorie information on the menu/web, I log a similar meal from a chain restaurant, based on past experience with the restaurants.
* If I ate something at a friend's house, I'd use entries from the MFP database for whole servings of that type of thing, and my best guess of amount. For example, something like lasagna, I'd find entries for lasagna in the MFP and pick one toward the mid- to high-side for calories (high side if my friend made lasagna that seemed to have lots of cheese or olive oil or something). If there's an item in the database that has a definite size (3" x 5" piece or something), that can be helpful in picking.
* Sometimes I guess at the amounts of components of a food. For example, a veggie omelet might be 3 eggs, an ounce of cheese, half a cup of each of various veggies, which I'd log separately, then add a bunch of butter or oil (at least 2 tablespoons, if not more) because restaurant food usually has a lot of fats of one type or another.
Any of the above will log both macros and calories, both approximate, assuming you choose database entries that have macros entered in them.
* On the rare occasion when I don't have enough info to do the above - such as a potluck where I sampled many, many dishes - I'd take a wild guess at total calories and log it as a quick add, calories only. The longer you log your actual weighed out food at home, the better you'll get at guessing calories (or serving sizes). This is the type of case where, in year 7 of maintenance, I don't bother to log it. I did it during weight loss and the first few months of maintenance in order to have better personal calorie-needs data.
How often? I probably log a single item by estimating a few times a week (such as a latte from a local logged as a chain latte). Whole meals, it depends on how often I go out (and where), so anywhere from once a week to every meal every day when traveling.0 -
By logging everything, you have the data you need to adjust accordingly. If you aren't sure, make a best guess but log SOMETHING.
A typical week for me shows days I go over and days I'm under. The weekly average is all I care about.
There's no rule that says you have to stick with your calorie goal every single day. You can still achieve your goals if you adjust accordingly and average things out for the week.
If you DON'T log, how can you know what you need to do to fix it?2
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