I don't understand the "I'm not gonna log it" mentality

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  • jaxandmaksmom
    jaxandmaksmom Posts: 262 Member
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    I am not here to lose weight, I have never been overweight, and I do not think therefore, for me, that obsessively logging every single day(especially given I am prone to obsessiveness around food) is good. If I have a very bad day, I know I am having a bad day, and I have that thing in my head called a brain to tell me how many calories I have got up to. Logging it isn't going to change it, anymore than knowing how much I have eaten will change it. I think people get a bit too anal about what everyone else here is doing and logging or not logging. I personally, do not intend on spending the rest of my life sat here logging every bit of food I eat, while life passes me by, no sirree. I can understand those who are overweight feeling a need to do it, and to keep an eye on things, but I honestly think some here get way too obsessed with it, and to me, that sort of obsessiveness will eventually lead to their falling off the wagon totally. 'Normal' people do not sit there all day counting every calorie they put in their mouths, nor sitting wagging their finger at themselves if they have a pig out day once in a while. And nor shall I. Logging for me, simply serves the purpose of giving me a rough idea of what I will maintain my weight on and what sort of food/exercise balance I need, thus for me personally, it is not a longterm thing.

    i find your terminolgy rude and condesending.. making it seem like those of us who do track and who do live this life style are somehow less than or something than you.. i think the way you have stated your view is mean
  • npetercmway
    npetercmway Posts: 68
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    I didn't log over Memorial Day weekend because I didn't have internet and did not have a good way to estimate what someone else's home cooking and recipes were. I know that I ate in moderation and not over a maintenance calorie count. I walked and was active so for me it was a wash. It would have been too much to write down all the recipes and log in a notebook to put in here. I know it is just an excuse and laziness but again I watched what I ate and ate in moderation.
  • illuminatusObservor
    illuminatusObservor Posts: 104
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    Going over one day and not logging it isnt a big deal. One day is VERY small and has nearly no impact on the big picture. Sometimes it is nice to just enjoy a day and not log it. I don't want to feel guilty because I went over my calories and enjoyed myself.

    So going over one day and recording it makes you feel guilty, but going over one day and *not* recording it doesn't? I don't understand. I would think going over would make you feel guilty whether you recorded it or not.

    Actually, I would expect you to *not* feel guilty either way since going over one day isn't a big deal...and that's true whether you recorded it in MFP or not.

    Nope. If I just enjoy myself and go over I don't really care. If I log it and see how bad, i feel guilty. I like my positive relationship with food I have now.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Part of the benefit of logging a "bad day" is being able to look back from The Future(tm) and prevent yourself from forming a habit.

    One reason I got fat was because I forgot/didn't realize how often I had bad days. It was a lot more often than I thought.
  • TheWinman
    TheWinman Posts: 700 Member
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    Part of the benefit of logging a "bad day" is being able to look back from The Future(tm) and prevent yourself from forming a habit.

    One reason I got fat was because I forgot/didn't realize how often I had bad days. It was a lot more often than I thought.

    Also logging bad days teaches you to have bad days less often and to make those bad days not as bad as they once were.
  • Kdingo
    Kdingo Posts: 145 Member
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    (I just feel like the point of this site is to keep yourself accountable. If you only wanna see your food log on the good days, doesn't that defeat the point? It doesn't change the fact that you ate it. It's still in your stomach.)


    I would log it on bad days as well as good. Sometimes I even do (guesstimate) but usually it is to hard because when I go out I am at a party or something and have no idea. Only know that in all likely hood I went over. So I still do hold myself accountable logging or not.
  • trinoc
    trinoc Posts: 73
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    I fell off MFP for 2 weeks and have just been back for 5 days. Part of my whole mentality was burying my head in the sand and not seeing what I was eating in black and white. The way I actually made it back is by taking a day and logging everything I had eaten and then looked at the "if every day were like this you'd weigh ___ in 5 weeks" and THAT was the kick in the seat I needed to get back on the wagon!

    Logging it isn't fun but my motto from now on is, "If I eat it, I own it."
  • Beastette
    Beastette Posts: 1,497 Member
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    Dattass logs it all. I'm not fooling anyone else, so why fool myself?
  • FluttershySweetie
    FluttershySweetie Posts: 216 Member
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    I log everything as well... Although i have some days... maybe 1 or 2 per month where i do not log anything at all.... sometimes I just need a calorie counting break.... And so far it's been going ok for me.... as long as i do not make a habit of it... and I do still try to make healthy choices on those days....
    I do agree if your goona log your day, don't lie to yourself about it.... and same as a previous poster.... I don't always have time to log everything right away, I go back and log it the next day.... I just don't get the "completed diary thing"
  • LiddyBit
    LiddyBit Posts: 447 Member
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    If I'm going to have a no-logging day, I decide in advance. It isn't reactionary to bad choices. I usually don't eat much differently from a log day, I just like the freedom of eating without the bother of having to analyze everything.

    But I am not overweight and never have been, so it's not like I need to use logging in a restrictive way.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    I am not here to lose weight, I have never been overweight, and I do not think therefore, for me, that obsessively logging every single day(especially given I am prone to obsessiveness around food) is good. If I have a very bad day, I know I am having a bad day, and I have that thing in my head called a brain to tell me how many calories I have got up to. Logging it isn't going to change it, anymore than knowing how much I have eaten will change it. I think people get a bit too anal about what everyone else here is doing and logging or not logging. I personally, do not intend on spending the rest of my life sat here logging every bit of food I eat, while life passes me by, no sirree. I can understand those who are overweight feeling a need to do it, and to keep an eye on things, but I honestly think some here get way too obsessed with it, and to me, that sort of obsessiveness will eventually lead to their falling off the wagon totally. 'Normal' people do not sit there all day counting every calorie they put in their mouths, nor sitting wagging their finger at themselves if they have a pig out day once in a while. And nor shall I. Logging for me, simply serves the purpose of giving me a rough idea of what I will maintain my weight on and what sort of food/exercise balance I need, thus for me personally, it is not a longterm thing.

    I think this is a huge generalization. Its not like I spend hours searching for foods on the database. After you use the same thing once or twice its right there on the list and you just have to check it. If I'm sitting in the passenger seat while someone is driving, there's time I can log my calories. Its not like I can do anything else while I'm riding around. Honestly, you probably spent more time writing that giant post then I took logging my calories for the entire day.

    Also, I don't worry if I go over at all for one day because its weekly totals that count anyways. Pounds are lost in weeks, not days.
  • Il_DaniD_lI
    Il_DaniD_lI Posts: 1,593 Member
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    When I was losing I logged every single day, but now that I'm in maintenance I may take a Saturday or Sunday off. No big deal.
  • ccburn5
    ccburn5 Posts: 473 Member
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    I log everything possible everyday. I have had a lot of good days since joining MFP and a few BAD days that I have 100% admitted to. I figure that at the end of the week I can look back at my calorie intake, excercise, etc. and if I'm good then I'm satisfied.
  • bellesouth18
    bellesouth18 Posts: 1,072 Member
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    I have a food scale for my food. I have a weight scale for my body. I have MFP diary for my conscience. I have MFP friends/community for my mind. I have me for accountability in order to relearn how to eat the proper portion sizes. Not having accountability is why I weigh what I do now. I log everything that goes into my mouth. At a family reunion last Saturday, I added calories because it would have taken me all night to add each item that I ate. This site has made me more aware of what goes into my mouth. I never want to weigh what I weighed last week ever again. I tell myself this every day. I'm losing slowly but surely.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    I see a lot of people saying they're not logging the rest of their day because the food they ate was bad. Isn't that sort of the point of logging? If I didn't log when I went over my cals, I would never log... ha ha.

    I just feel like the point of this site is to keep yourself accountable. If you only wanna see your food log on the good days, doesn't that defeat the point? It doesn't change the fact that you ate it. It's still in your stomach.

    What do you guys think? Do you ever not log simply because you don't want to see it?

    No. I log to stay within. Once I know it's over the top, it doesn't matter to me to log it. I don't have a curiosity to see how far over or to understand what I ate that day. I don't care. Once I go over the top, I'm not interested anymore. That doesn't mean I go crazy that day, it just means that that's it. Tomorrow is a new day.
  • ThisisMiss
    ThisisMiss Posts: 187 Member
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    I stop logging if I know I went way over. The reason why I log is to make sure I am within my calorie goals for the day. If I max that, and I already know it - it loses it's point for me. That doesn't mean I keep going crazy. I get right back on the horse the next day and learn my lesson on the scale. I think as long as you acknowledge the mistake and not use it as an excuse to eat like crap the rest of the day or let it spill over into the next day, why should I have to put it down? It's my own diary, I should be able to use it as I see fit. I am getting results, so what I do works for me.
  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
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    I think everyone has to do things their own way. Of course we're probably all more likely to be successful if we log everything, but I just don't have the time or energy to worry about others' food diaries.
    Spot on, Kort. Also, boobs.

    I think these threads are often little more than justification flypaper. You know: If I am making decision A based on reasons X, Y, and Z, then any other decision besides A will get called into question. Am I right? I'll post and see who agrees with my own personal decision that works for me in the context of my own life.

    OP, I'm not trying to pick on you. I don't think your intentions were bad. In general, though, I see these threads and the question of logging tied to accountability, honesty, "doing it right", etc. I see people talk about logging everything that goes in their mouths. And then either explicitly or via implications, say that those that don't log everything are liars, cheats, and/or doing it wrong.

    And while FOR ME logging means accountability, it doesn't mean that's true for others. And often it's not about honesty, either. A decision not to log or a conscious break from logging isn't being dishonest or unaccountable. It's a decision to not log for whatever reason(s).

    It's hard allowing that the opposite of what I choose to do may work wonders for someone else. We're all different. You say tomato, I say turnip.
  • johnsummerton
    johnsummerton Posts: 86 Member
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    I log everything it just gives me guilty pleasure when i sometimes go over
  • SaraADaigle
    SaraADaigle Posts: 51
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    ..... I feel like a failure when I log and have to face the reality of not meeting my goals.... so I chicken out and don't log..... I am one of which you speak .... I need to get out of this bad habit ...... just woman up to what i eat

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