The only way I can figure is to break down my tracking by listing the individual ingredients -- which is a big hassle. One thing I dislike, is that all of the food searches turn up commercially prepared or restaurant items. It's not very good for folks like us who cook everything at home without using prepared ingredients. My meal is healthier than a frozen entree. It's a lot cheaper than a restaurant meal and has to be lower in calories, salt, etc. So I don't think I'm doing anything wrong nutritionally. However, once I try to get the ingredients in my tracker, it will probably show a bazillion calories. And that is my second gripe. I believe that anyone who only eats enough calories to be thin can't possibly be getting all of the nutrition and energy a body needs. And they have got to be hungry all of the time! Or maybe they just have a better metabolism than I do. OK and maybe they aren't as lazy as I am.
I don't know how I could be doing much better and it must be that food tracking makes me grumpy!
I have never counted calories when I lost weight. And, yes a person can eat calories and be thin and still eat nutritiously. And, no, I was not hungry all the time. When i did get hungry, I ate. But, I ate turnip greens...lol. No calories there to hurt me. Your food you cook is also missing all those unpronounceable chemicals, too. So, it has to be better for you. I refuse to count all the calories in ingredients when I cook.
ReplyDeleteIt takes all of the joy out of cooking when you base the meal on calories!
DeleteI use portion size and common sense. I do know about calories so they are a factor, but only in a very general sense, not in the detail. I haven't eaten out for months haven't wanted to) and cook from scratch. That way I know exactly what's going into my meals. :-)
ReplyDeleteIf food tracking is making you feel negative, do you have to do it that way?
J x
I don't know that I am going to do it much longer but I wanted to give it a shot. I have lost weight and what I need to figure out if the prospect of entering it all is part of what keeps me on track. But it is not enjoyable!
DeleteI don't food track or count calories. I just eat small portions and little to no carbs. I figure if I deprive my body of carbs, then it has to burn my fat stores for energy. At least I think that's how it works.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is that I like carbs -- I eat pasta (in moderation), barley, quinoa, etc. I know that using carrots in my pasta isn't a total solution because they are carbs too -- but they are also fiber. When I have tried to eliminate carbs, I was hungry all of the time. Argh!
DeleteAs someone who has lost a hundred pounds to date, I did count calories for a long time. Bt seriously, first use my fitness pal for the food tracking, and secondly give yorself a break, especially on salads and some mixed items. Keep your carbs at 200 per day and try for 150. My fitness pal has things like vegetable salads and the like, For what its worth I consider most fruits and veggies except for bananas and grapes to be mainly free foods, as does weight watchers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should not bother tracking stuff like that since the health benefits outweigh the caloric impact. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteOh, and a carb is a carb. Bread is not healthier than cake is not healtheir than soda is not healtheir than a banana when it comes to carbs. They all trn to sugar when you eat them. Something I fairly regularly ignore with my whole wheat half bagel in the morning.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I try to figure in with the "carb is a carb" train of thought is that I will try to eat more complex carbs.
DeleteI don't track food, I find it a pain in the arse too (maybe I should)
ReplyDeleteIt does take the joy out of cooking!
DeleteI don't track my food. I eat it. It goes in my mouth and on my hips, geez didn't you know that?
ReplyDeleteI have a deviation. In my case, it goes straight to my belly!
DeleteI gave up on counting calories decades ago. Instead, I focus on the proportion of veggies, protein & carbs. I try to make sure that at least half of the plate is full of veggies (and by veggies I mean the green stuff - squash & root veggies count as carbs.) Then if I'm just trying to maintain my weight I split the rest of the plate evenly between protein & carbs. If I'm trying to lose weight, I try to make the protein twice as big as the carbs. Fruit is dessert, and then the kicker... alcohol counts as a carb - so I try to abstain when I'm trying to shed a few pounds because that's what usually does me in!
ReplyDeleteI am making salad a part of each meal. I've also cut out all wine on weekdays/nights. I miss it but just doing that will keep me from gaining. My last job fostered a greater need to have wine with dinner. Now it's not necessary!
DeleteHahahah! Soo... since I don't even have a job, I'm not sure what my excuse is! :)
DeleteI can't help you with tracking, but I can tell you that your dinner looks SOOO good! And you are very far from lazy.
ReplyDeleteI know I could be exercising more...
Delete