Alright, so I have a confession to make, lol. And please resist the urge to lecture...I KNOW what I'm doing wrong, and I KNOW that I have to get back on track. That's why I'm writing this thread, to own up to it so I can't brush it under the rug and ignore it.
When I hit my plateau at around 150, I started calorie counting. Before, I had just significantly improved my food choices and portion sizes and that had been working for me. Then I quit losing, and I realized I needed to actually count calories so I could control the in/out process to keep losing. When I first started, I got obsessive about it. I counted every stick of gum (once my friend split her last piece of gum for us and I recorded 1/2 stick of gum), I measured every particle of every food stuff that entered my mouth, and I spent way more time weighing, measuring, and recording than I did eating. And I suppose, in theory, that's the "proper" way to calorie count, but I quickly recognized that it was not sustainable for me. So I backed off. I measured and weighed the important things, like 1/2 cup oatmeal or 6 oz chicken, etc, but I eyeballed the rest. And I still lost at a good rate. I was getting comfortable in the "who cares if I go over by a little bit...I move around plenty during the day that I don't record as exercise, it won't matter if I don't record an extra 10 cal or so"
But lately, in the last month or so, my "estimations" have turned into blatant calorie creep. Not only am I purposefully underestimating what I eat to record it, I'm sneaking bits of food in. Little things, I've been adding 1/4 cup of milk to my coffee lately, I've discovered that a little drizzle of honey on my oatmeal is yummy, I might snatch a slice of turkey breast lunch meat from the fridge, etc etc. Little 5-20 calorie additions throughout the day that I'm not recording. I'd estimate that I've been eating as much as 150 extra calories in a day...it adds up quick!
And I am not gaining, actually still losing, but I need to nip this habit in the bud. 20-ish calories of extra milk everyday won't sabotage me, but the mindset will. The mindset of "those 20 milk calories don't count, they're so insignificant, so I won't record them." What happens when a Big Mac doesn't count either? I am not going to go back to obsessively measuring/weighing/recording, but I AM going to record much more accurately. I've also added up the things that I eat daily and haven't been recording (milk in coffee, honey on oatmeal, etc) and I'm just going to add that total to my calories when I'm planning everyday. That way I don't have to add "1/4 cup milk, 1/2 tbsp honey" etc into my caloriecount.com food log everyday. Then convenience of adding every little thing won't even be an excuse.
There, I said it. I, Megan, am guilty of calorie creep, lol. And I'm stopping it now!
You just described what I'm doing, too. At first I stuck to the plan for maintenance...but as time has gone by I'm sliding badly. And it's all adding up, just like you said - a piece of candy at work, a slice of cheese at home...a few potato chips while cooking dinner. All adds up to 150-200 more a day. I'm not GAINING, so I'm going to have to beat my mind into submission and force it to reconnect with the thought that even though the scale isn't rising, it WILL eventually if I keep it up!
I am not going to go back to obsessively measuring/weighing/recording,
but I AM going to record much more accurately.
WE each need to do what works for us.
For more than 6 years now, I have measured/weighed/recorded all my food,
and my computer software program is a great tool that helps me with this.
I would not have lost my excess weight,
nor would I still be maintaining my weight-loss without this Habit.
1 piece of Sugarless "Extra" gum is 5 calories,
and I don't find recording 1/2 stick of gum excessive.
I don't think of myself as "Obsessed",
I think of myself as "Dedicated".
All calorie counts are only estimates, and 5 calories is probably well within the range of error in the course of a day. That said, counting is a useful tool for those whose intake tends to creep upward over time.
For me, this time around I have 2 rules. Record calories to the best of my ability & weigh daily when home. I will do this till I die. I usemy iTouch most of the time & food scale for calorie dense items. It is an easy and quick process. Really, less than 2 minutes/day. If my schedule becomes particulary challenging, I use Fitday as one can enter food ahead of time. Then I put these preplanned meals into my PDA. One glance I know my meal plan. Very freeing and has made my days more joy filled. Not one little burden.
Not only am I purposefully underestimating what I eat to record it, I'm sneaking bits of food in.
This describes my failed diets for 20 years or so and I am still tempted to do this. It is like I thought that it didn't count if I didn't put it in the journal. So dumb of me to deceive myself that way...... This time in my self talk I told/tell myself that my body doesn't care what I put in my journal, it has to deal with all the calories that I put in my mouth, so my journal needs to show every bite.
It is great that you are stopping the calorie creep right now. Way to go!
For me after a bout a year and a half counting coffee creamer and gum are way in the past. My life can not be so focused on these little "indulgences" after a while it get's ridiculous considering how inaccurate most calorie counts are anyway. Obsessing about this stuff just gives you an excuse when you go over 100 calories to say oh well I blew it let's get ice cream.
Well, no matter what side of the counting you fall on, I thank you for this post. I've been keeping count "in my head"!! I guess it's time to get back to loseit App and keep up with those here and there bites before it bites me!!
Good for you for starting this thread. Several times I have noticed myself acquiring the calorie creep also ... for me, things that were already in the margin of error during my loss are 'okay' creeps so long as they are not moreso than they've been, but other things required my crackdown. I realize this is largely psychological since the two categories of items do not differ in importance -- calorie count -- really, but keeping ORDER (heh) helps me, so.
I count my daily coffee as 2 calories, and that's really to keep order, I know ... it has anywhere from 1 to 5 calories and my daily consumption varies slightly too, and it's well within the margin of error since my calorie counting is far from as exact as that (and like someone else said-- not sure anyone's is that exact).
Sometimes at the end of the day I try and think back on all the little "doesnt counts" (the 2 fish crackers off dd's plate, the 2 nuts in the dish, the teaspoon of sugar) and then I put in my log "random nibbles" and get as honest as possible at the end of the day.
I totally get this. When I pack lunches, I put cookies in DH's and sometimes would eat one. I'd think, just one, how bad could it be? They are after all reduced fat... (like that means anything! lol). 1 cookie = 50 calories. Plus the three or four cheetos I snacked on. Plus the extra bite of DH's dinner. And those 5 jelly beans. Yep.. it adds up!
To be honest, what's ironic is that while I'm more mindful of what I put in my mouth now, I don't track calories as nearly as often as I did while losing. I think it might be because I've settled into foods that I know are good and taste yummy, and because I've eaten them for the past 1.5 years I know what the calorie counts are. But I also know that if the scale is creeping upward two days in a row, then it's time to crack down again.
Calorie Creep Confession
