I'm wondering how strictly other people weigh/measure/record their food intake..? How long have you done this and how long do you plan to do this? Also, I am wondering how do you handle unexpected difficulties and planned aberrations (for example, do you still weigh/measure/record when you end up at the emergency room with your sick DD or when you go out for your anniversary dinner)?

For a long time I have used a Salter digital food scale to measure the grams of everything I eat and record it all in FitDay. The only exception is that I have allowed myself up to four pieces of sugarless gum per day and lemon in my tea without recording those things. But, when things go awry, I tend to completely abandon recording anything.

Lately, I have been thinking about not being so "obsessive" with the weighing and recording, but working on not letting the eating go off-track so much. I'm not sure if this is a good idea. I can't tell whether the endless weighing and recording is keeping me from responding to my bodies signals better or if it is keeping me on track. Ugh! I'd love to hear how other people do it!

Lindy

I've been counting calories since Nov 7 2005 and I expect to do it for pretty much the rest of my life (although I have said that when I reach 80, all bets are off). When I was losing weight, I was super strict about it. Just about everything I ate was measured and recorded. I think the only regular exception was sugar free candy.

I've been maintaining since August and I am a little less strict now. Here are a few of the areas where I've relaxed a bit:

• I'll allow myself a few laughing cow cheese bites, a few chocolate covered espresso beans, 3-5 pieces of sugar-free candy, milk in my coffee/tea, one crouton and one potato chip per day that I don't record.
• I eyeball a few other foods, including the raspberries in my AM cereal and lunch salad, and the lettuce and radishes in my dinner salad.
• My AM cereal is a little over 1 cup.
• I sometimes nibble as I am preparing dinner. I do try to restrict my nibbles to veggies, so that I'm not eating anything that is high in calories.

I'm currently trying to decide if I want to lose more weight. If I do decide to keep losing, I know the above habits are going to have to go.

My general rule is that if I am in a situation where I can count and record my calories, than I do it. So if I go out to eat at a restaurant that has nutritional info online, I decide what I will eat in advance and record the calories. If nutritional info isn't abailable, I don't worry about it. If possible, I'll guestimate, but I figure these guestimates are probably pretty far off so I don't put a lot of effort into it. If guestimating seems even a little hard to do, I don't log that meal. This was my rule even when I was losing weight. Because it is so hard to figure out the calories in restaurant (and because it tends to be so high in calories), I've really cut back on eating out. Gone are the days when we eat out because I don't feel like cooking. If I don't feel like cooking, I cook one of my emergency easy meals.

My body never thinks it is full when it is and always wants to eat when bored, so I don't trust it one inch!

I was very obsessive. And it was hard to change. I tried a few times and gained.

I'm having a shot at BFL and it took several weeks and some encouraging for me to let go of calorie counting.
Once in a while I put my stuff in fitday to check.
If I don't see the results I'm after ... I'll go back ... without a doubt!

Now having said all that, I realise that I still have precontainered things that I use all the time.

For me at least ... I think CARE is going to crucial all my life. As long as we have tools to help us before we fall too far off track.

I started counting calories September 4th of this year and I have been very successful and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon or at all for that matter. So yes, I plan to do this forever. You know you don't fix what ain't broke, although I kinda love what Bluetoblue said "At 80 all bets are off". I didn't start off with Fitday, I just looked up my calories and kept track of it that way. In the beginning I measured everything, just to get an idea what a 3 oz. piece of fish, a 4 oz. chicken cutlet, 1 cup of cereal, 1/2 skim milk look like. I occassionally repeat this so that I am constantly reminded of what the right sized portion looks like. And I always round up, always, always, always. I trust no one and nothing and don't want to make any errors.

And if I'm eating outside of my home, which I like to keep to a minimum, I'm a control freak, I again, always count higher then probably should be. Tacking on up to several hundred calories just to be safe.

I am pretty religious with fitday recording. I've been doing daily fitday since July. I don't own a food scale so weights are usually estimated. I do use my measuring cups for my milk and rice as well as a measuring spoon for my peanut butter daily. I enter stuff from restaurants in as well (as well as I can estimate them), as well as from when I'm out of town, since it really does work to keep me making the healthiest choices I can.

I used to allow myself a day here or there to forget about counting or tracking or whatever, but not anymore. Allowing myself to lose control even a little bit even for a short period of time (like a day or less) sets off a horrible cycle of cravings anf mind games for me. I used to be more relaxed about food on the weekends, but not anymore. I realized that any deviation from my set plans can affect how I eat for up to the next week or so, not just that one meal or that one day.

I don't have any chicldren, so I can't say I've ever had to take them to the ER, but we all face unexpected changes in schedule. Obviously, if I'm in the ER witha loved one, I'm not oging to go home to get my dinner or anything, but I will still keep track of anything I do eat. Part of what we all need to do is work on our mindset and relationship with food, and eating poorly due to stress is a problem that must be conquered. Another problem that I think needs to be conquered is eating to celebrate. What is it about food that makes your anniversary any more special? I plan on eating as normally as humanly possible during the upcoming holidays, and I will record everything into Fitday (and, much like robin, I tend to over-estimate anything I'm unsure about). There's no reason I can't celebrate an occasion by going out to dinner to enjoy the company of those I'm with while eating a nice cut of meat and vegetables and then sharing a dessert instead of eating myself sick with a whole one.

I have been counting calories since January 2006. I am religious about entering everything into fitday and measuring everything...EXCEPT, I do not add my coffee or my green tea. I plan on doing this for the rest of my life. I do take one day off a month as I am, fortunately, a person who can go right back the next day. I used to take one day off a week but with progress comes the inability to have cheat days weekly. Now, I use those days each month on special occassions or when I donate blood. I plan for them. I find, however, that I no longer eat like a pig those days. I just eat more of the healthy foods I usually eat and add a few things I have been craving. I find I crave less junk and more real food. I know these once a month days may have to end eventually but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. This is not a temporary way of life...it IS my life and I need to enjoy it.

I've been recording everything since Aug 2005. I plan to do this for a long time, but maybe not forever.

When I'm home, I weigh and measure everything. When I'm out, I write everything down, and do my best to estimate amounts. I used to worry about it more, but I've been very successful and figure I'm doing something right.

While I'm religious about weighing and measuring at home, I figure the real issue is not that I'm 100% accurate with my numbers, but that I am ACCOUNTABLE for what I eat and I use the recording of the food to ensure I don't go bonkers and overeat too often! So I care less about being accurate -- I know it's not 100% -- but using this as a tool for other issues. So maybe I could stop someday, but the couple of times I've tried, I had this attitude of "well, I'm not writing it down so it won't count." That runs counter to what I'm trying to do, so I was right back at it.

Also, I have occasional days where I don't write things down. THanksgiving was one. I didn't go totally crazy that day, but decided to worry less about what I ate. I was right back at it the next day.

I suspect that if I stop recording every day, I may do it from time to time just to recalibrate...

I've been successfully counting since April 2006 & for me, it's become a necessity. Knowing that I've committed to honestly recording what I eat & drink (other than non-caloric things like water & Coke Zero) has made me make the right choice SOOO many times! Yesterday for my daughter's birthday, I passed up the cupcakes & the frosting (THAT is the hard part for me) & had one high fiber,low fat brownie instead Or Saturday, when I went with my husband to his Christmas party at a bar/restaurant with awesome food, I ate before I went & didn't have any bar food, because I knew I would HATE recording it. Having MyFitday as public keeps me in line. I don't know if anyone even looks at it, but it makes me feel great to record my meals & exercise and know I'm being honest!

That is SO true. If I choose to be a person who does not "eat for emotional reasons," then that should include more than just the negative emotions like stress, hurt, anger, etc. I need to be willing to not eat for all the positive emotions ("Whoo-hoo, it's Friday" being a big one.).

For me, it really depends. I don't measure any fruit/vegetables at all, I never have (dried fruit being the exception). I try to always measure stuff like cereal/granola, pasta, rice, nuts, trail mix, because it's really easy for me to eat too much. I pay attention to serving sizes for other foods (chicken, salmon, etc) but I don't carefully measure. I probably SHOULD measure my peanut butter in the morning, but I just love it so much

I don't use Fitday anymore, I just got tired of it. I love to cook and it was just so frustrating to have to enter all the custom recipes all the time. I do "ballpark" my calories every day in my head, trying to stay within a good range. I still weigh once a week and pay careful attention to how my clothes fit If the scale is up, I bump calories down 100-200 calories a day for a week or so.

I dont measure obsessively, nor do I weigh. Every once in a while I will with a food, or to spot check, but I do record everything. But certain things I eat regularly like salad. I have a "salad" custom food in fitday that is lettuce, carrot, pepper, cucumber and tomato. I dont worry about whether or not TODAY's salad had the precise amounts of all those things. I just record salad. Same with my morning omelette - I dont care WHAT the veggies are today.

Eating out - if I cant find the nutrition info, I guesstimate. and then I add oil to my log. Restaurants are always oilier than they feel. If it seems virtually oil free I might add 1T but for most dining out meals I guestimate 4T for the full meal and then whatever portion I eat. (so for the chinese I ate the other day, the full meal had chicken breast (~ 8oz, mushrooms, celery, zucchini, broccoli, carrots ~1/2 cup each, then I guesstimated 4T oil to cook it in - then I ate 1/3) - thats 4T in addition to any fat contained in foods.

Eating out or emergencies is especially when I record. Even when it is bad. So it may not be accurate, but giving myself permission to not write it down is permission to binge.

As for me, I find fitday is currently holding me accountable but also showing me which foods need substitution and to be avoided based on their high calorie count. It just stinks to see the daily total going up so quickly. However, during my years of maintaining a healthy weight, I counted calories in my head since I was a very young age. It was just a habit I was into but I would always stop counting in my head on my bingy days but I wouldn't take the binge too far either. Hope everyone's having a great day!

I guess...also...well, I have a problem with the "food is only fuel" mentality. It is a good thing to remember with negative emotion, but the problem with forbidding celebration for me is well..then food becomes the enemy. Which makes me more likely to eat unhealthy food. I do go out to eat and enjoy it. I try to focus on the socialization and the tastes (I dont like to get anything I would make at home) and the relaxation from my normal life. Its not that the FOOD is the reward, but the entire experience.

Even simple stuff. Is pizza good for me? Well, now, its a bit high in fat and calories, and as a sorta SB gal there is that whole white flour crust. But it is actually something I eat about once a week. And Never at home where I could make a healthier pizza. Monday's after preschool my dd and I go out to pizza at this funky pizza store. It started because I had a cleaning lady helping out every once in a while when I was preggo and we kept it. Its a ritual and we talk and look at the funky artwork and try to get the tip in the jar without them noticing (if they see you tip, they ring a bell, honk a horn and cheer). It ends up being not only about the pizza. AND its one day I dont have to deal with getting her and me lunch. And I wondered about doing that once I restarted this diet. But I am finding that the more I let go of it and make room for it, the less "hung up" I am and overall my cravings for junk are much lower.

For the first time in many years I may be learning to enjoy food and not feel guilty.

Hi Girls........I just downloaded the "Fitday" so I can use it off line. It seems to be a lot of typing and horsing around but probably worth it. I just finished downloading it and put my food in. I was on WW program but decided to switch to calorie counting instead since it's done for me. I have a digital food scale and use it every day, especially for cereal. It more accurate and I know I'm not cheating myself. I'm going to skip journaling my food on paper since I'm home everyday and can put it right in the Fitday. I might bug the heck out of you that use Fitday with endless questions, it new to me!

Bobbi