Curious if others bother "completing" entres

privatetime · March 2012

I'm new to MFP, and I'm really curious if people actually "complete" their daily diet entries.

Mine have all been confusing and discouraging. For example, last night I was 24 calories under and, just to see what would happen, I added a small bit of lentil soup (the dinner I'd planned to have before I realized I only had 24 calories left to target), and MFP indicated I'd miss my 5-week goal by 80%. (At 24 cal's under, I was still going to fall short by 50%, it read.) Ironically, the weight it said I'd be in 5 weeks, if I had eaten the lentil soup, was my weight this morning. So...

I finished today's diary 127 cal's over, and MFP says I'm on track to lose 3 lbs in 5 weeks. (My MFP goal is 2lbs/wk.) Yet, in reality, I've been averaging 2.5 lbs lost per week for about the past 8 weeks.

So, do most of you complete your diary entries and, if so, is it purely out of curiosity, or are yours more accurate?

sleepytexan · March 2012

I complete my diary most days. Usually if I don't it's because I was somewhere that I couldn't get service on my phone to do it.

However, the "you'll weigh x lbs. in 5 weeks" is silly. That's only assuming every single day was exactly the same. It says "if every day were like today". Every day will not be the same.

blessings.

Astrowife68 · March 2012

I complete my diary everyday. Some days I am in the green, but you should be in the red (from what I understand) The amount of calories it set you up for, is the minium that you are suppose to eat. You should never fall below the level. And it does not mean you need to eat exactly that number of calories. If you are a little low or a little high, it should balance out pretty close by the end of the week. You are more than welcome to check out my dairy if you would like. Warning, I do not just eat healthy food alot... I just eat less of what I used to. I still have a family to cook for and I am not cooking a different meal for myself every night. And my family has not given in to eatting healthy.

If you were still hungry and wanted the soup, it would not have hurt you. And if you were not hunry, that wouldn't have hurt you either.

Good Luck in your journey.

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PennyNickel14 · March 2012

I complete my diary because it shows up in my feed if anyone wants to look. The you would weigh thing is really hit or miss for me.

PaulKruse · March 2012

I'm an engineer, so what do you think?

I treat my diary like a lab book, and make all entries as quickly and completely as possible. If I don't, I forget what I did and what I ate. I prefer to use my computer, either at work or home; but will use my phone if I'm out.

dakitten2 · March 2012

I post every single day, the good, the bad and the ugly. I dont pay any attention to that 5 week thing because every day has to be exactly like that do for it to be accurate. But completing the diary keeps me on track. If I had tracked calories all my life, I never would have been in this shape. So it's something I'll continue to do. I've got 135 days in and still counting.

WinterBlue · March 2012

60% of the time i actually enter it in...the remainder i estimate. it's a perfect reminder for me to get back on track as I am not seeing progress...

rsmblue · March 2012

I complete my diary, but I don't pay attention to that number at the bottom... It's actually a downer for me.

AntWrig · March 2012

I complete my dairy. However, today there was no point. I went to a buffet and consumed over 3 lbs of steak. No point in logging that today.

I love rest days!

MikeG2 · March 2012

If you are talking specifically about the "Finished logging for Today?" followed by the "Complete This Entry" button, I don't think it does anything else but tell you where you'd be in 5 weeks if every day was like today.

I don't always do it, and I always have messages about how many days in a row I've logged in (e.g. yesterday it was 90 days in a row).

bunnysone · March 2012

since finding this site just over a year ago I have been religiously logging my food and more importantly exercise whilst in weight loss mode. It has helped me off plateaus and kept me accountable. My husband, who was struggling to lose the last 20 odd kgs had almost given up, but with strict logging on this site he has now nearly lost it all.

I'm in maintenance mode more than anything now, so I allow myself to slip just a little bit, but as a rule I still log EVERYTHING every day and it works.

The most important thing for me on this site is logging my exercise. Exercising and training hard not only will get me to my fitness goals but also give me leniency on my food choices to a degree

MikeG2 · March 2012

I complete my diary everyday. Some days I am in the green, but you should be in the red

I'm not so sure... if you aren't hungry why eat up to that number?

MikeG2 · March 2012

I post every single day, the good, the bad and the ugly. I don't pay any attention to that 5 week thing because every day has to be exactly like that do for it to be accurate. But completing the diary keeps me on track.

I agree with this entirely. Your results will show it.

tinkermommc · March 2012

I try to always complete mine so it shows on the feed for all my friends to read. But sometimes I plan on having a nighttime snack and i don't and then I forget to go on and complete it ;-)

SandiBren · March 2012

I'm pretty religious about it.....and VERY religious about my exercise. I'm normally a couch potato and eat whatever I feel like. That's how I got up to this weight. I figured I'd rather take off 25-30 now than have to take off 80 later! If I do my diet it tells me whether I can have that ice cream or cookie I want. If I want it that bad....I jump on the treadmill for a while!
:happy:

lindseykp · March 2012

I log absolutely everything, every day! I'm going on 40 days in a row for logging in. I log everything even if I know I went over and don't want to see the numbers. Logging in keeps in on track. I am almost always in the green so seeing the red makes me rethink some of my food choices for next time.

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bzmommy34 · March 2012

I've only been at this for close to two weeks but I log every single thing that goes in my mouth. Whether I'm over, under or right on - it's all logged. This is the only way I have an accurate record of what works for me and what doesn't. For example - I've been able to figure out that if I go over 2000mg of sodium, I am up several times throughout the night to pee. Below that and I sleep right through.

As for the blurp at the bottom after every entry completion - I ignore it. Like many said, it will change day to day and that's just not worth paying attention to as far as I'm concerned.