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VEDDIE78

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tired of it all

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Im finnding that its all too much anymore. Im getting tired of being strapped to my computer. Tired of constantly tracking my food. Tired of searching for the nutritional info on something i ate, not being able to find it so now i have to manually enter all the info. Knowing that the exercise i put in is probably not an accurate refllection of what i burned which in turn probably makes my calorie intake not right. To try and figure out what it should be: yoour current weight + how much you want to lose by what date+ how many calories you plan burn each week equals your calorie range for the day.

Like i said its too much. Most weeks i burn close to 4000 calories so my food range is based on that. So if i have a few weeks where i can only burn maybe 2000 now my food range is too high which means i will most likely end up gaining weight.


I know tracking helps but im just finding it all tiring right now. It shouldnt be this hard. Im not saying that losing weight is easy but tracking shouldnt be so hard, it shouldnt be so much work to figure out the right calorie range.

I think i just need a break from it all and stop focusing so much on food and calories and calories burned.
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Member Comments About This Blog Post
  • JUSTA123
    tracking is important and the the suggestions in MPlane37 response are really good I think they may work. emoticon
    3301 days ago
  • GAS_SAG
    When I started I basically spent 2 months just tracking, not worrying about anything other then tracking. Then I looked back to see what needed to be changed.

    As for the inaccurate calories. I would get frustrated with that too. I actually went out and bought a HRM that tracks calories so that in fact everything is more accurate. It made me more happy and made me push harder. It gets easier.

    you can do this. It sounds like you just need to refocus
    3306 days ago
  • CRISSA1669
    I found for the first couple weeks tracking was time consuming but I stuck it out, made everything a favorite so now it just takes a minute to track and log. My sister exprienced the same thing when she started trying to track with Spark, we were both 260 pounds back last summer...she gave it up and said that she was going to just wing it and estimate and whatnot...well, today she weighs about 260 pounds and I weigh 209.4, see a difference...so does she. For me, that accountability gave me the portion control I needed, for my sister it was all too much. If you need a small break try "winging it" for a couple weeks and if it doesn't yield results then do what is proven to work because it WILL work over time. Anything worth having is worth working for...and our health is certainly worth it!! I wish you the best in this.
    3310 days ago
  • DDOORN
    Unfortunately, although it IS hard to make all these efforts...no doubt at ALL about it! ...it is the ONLY way to build a lasting and successful healthy and well lifestyle. That eternal vigilance is how we attain this.

    Check out my latest blog for the hard truths that research is learning about the science behind successful weight loss and maintenance!

    I would hate to see you have regrets from "taking a breather"...!

    Don
    3310 days ago
  • SLARTYB
    I totally agree. When I first started using Spark I found it really useful to judge how many calories I was eating/burning. I knew I wasn't being accurate but by consistently underestimating exercise & overestimating calories I knew I was on the 'right' side of the equation.

    However, after 6 weeks of this intensive tracking, I stopped as by then I felt I had a good feel for what was the 'right' amount of food/exercise to adjust my weight - A light breakfast/ light lunch with a plate full of dinner plus a few snacks was always roughly in my calorie range. I knew where the 'hidden' calories where & could avoid them, etc.

    So, why not try doing that for a while & see what happens? Monitor weight & see what happens. If you start to gain then you can always start tracking again. Take the training wheels of & start riding that bike!

    emoticon
    3310 days ago
  • ANNIE1114
    I leave a notebook on the kitchen table to track my calories and water intake. I tried the Sp. calorie log and found it to be a little time consuming. Also, if the calories are not written on the pkg or you can't find them in Spark you can always use google. Also, since I tend to eat a lot of the same things most of the time I can just look back in my notebook to find the calories. I agree with what some of the other people have said, maybe you are wearing yourself out trying to be so precise. When I don't feel like sitting on the computer for very long I will sometimes just log my water and fitness minutes and then log out. Hope this helps.
    3310 days ago
  • BETTERME369
    For this very reason, I chose to make my meals simpler - no eating out and I added everything to my favorites. Then I can copy meals from (lunch and breakfast are often the same) one day to the next. You don't have to enter each item one at a time. If logging in is too much, then jot it on a piece of paper - i did this too and sometimes still do just to keep a tally of my intake.

    Hang in there - it gets easier!
    3310 days ago
  • APED7969
    The advice you've been given already is great. Definately don't be afriad to estimate, if you can find a similar product it will probably be close enough. Also tracking gets easier as you enter more products and save them to your favourites. Taking the time now to create groups or favorites saves lots of time later.

    As for calories burned I usually have a look at my past 6-8 weeks tracked and if I have some low weeks and some high weeks I put my amount burned somewhere in the middle. If I feel like I'm getting less exercise (due to being sick or lazy) I try to eat to the lower end of my calorie range which would still see me losing weight.

    And if tracking really isn't working for you try to focus on freggies or portion control and see if you make progress doing that. I have to track or I eat too much, I've proved that to myself, but you might be different.

    It is easy to lose motivation but worthwhile to keep going until you find it again!
    3310 days ago
  • LISAW/3
    Hang in there! I know it is so complicated and time consuming! Don't be afraid to estimate- if what I am looking for is not already in the tracker, I look for something that is close enough.
    Maybe you could change your focus for awhile. Instead of counting calories, set a goal of serving of fruits/veggies, limiting meals out, or trying to eat clean. Instead of counting calories burned, set a goal of how many times to go skiing or karate a week/month.
    Good luck!
    emoticon
    3311 days ago
  • MPLANE37
    You are right, it should not be that hard. A few suggestions that may come useful:
    - Do not try to be precise to the second digit after the point when tracking your food. If you have difficulty finding exactly what you ate, estimate it. Yes, estimate it. There may be error, but let it be. Later you can fix it, when you find out about that particular food. It does not have to be right now. Trying to achieve perfection often causes burnout.
    - When programming your exercises, which determines your daily caloric allowance, put in some number of calories that you can easily burn. 2000 kCals a week is easy for you? Then enter that. Don't enter a 4000 kCals a week, which you could do, but not so easily. If the caloric allowance turns out to be too low for your taste, increase the time to your target weight. The point is not to lose the fat as fast as possible, but to be able to lose it first, and to be able to keep it off next.

    Don't get burned out. Hang tough!
    3311 days ago

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