Why can't I make myself weigh and log my fracking food?

Seriously. I know that the most successful vets on here weigh and measure and log every bite. I'm a perfectly rational person with plenty of will power and drive.... why the heck can't I make myself track all my food?!! I honestly don't understand why this part is so hard for me. Is anyone else struggling to weigh, measure, and log?

Edit: thank you everyone for your responses! I have successfully lost weight by logging everything in MFP before, and have been half-assedly logging most days since surgery but I need to do much better. Can someone with small kids chime in? I think the biggest difference between when I was able to be strict with logging and now is the toddler!

I found it much easier to use a small notebook that I took everywhere.

I kept the measuring spoon and scale on the counter all the time.

I often measure food and put a few days portions in small containers (from the dollar store) or those tiny 4 oz Madison jelly jars in batches ahead of time.

I logged water, vitamins, exercise and (at first) blood sugar and insulin on the left page and food on the right side page.

I have been weighing, measuring, and logging every single bite since surgery. I started with a book, but switched to an app after about 2 months.

For me, what works is that the night before, I plan what I'm going to eat the next day. I input the quantities in my app, and that's it. The next day, I just follow what I planned, and doing the weighing/measuring has just become second nature. I even have a small scale I carry in my purse that I use at my sisters or at work or at a restaurant. I don't give a hoot who sees me weighing what I eat...it's my thing and I just do it.

The advantage of the app is that if something unexpected comes up and I have to change my plans, I can look things up right then and there, and make adjustments accordingly.

If I was having to do it after the fact or wing it, I think it would be so much harder. If I want to make a recipe, I plan that as well, figuring up the macros beforehand and then measuring out what I'm supposed to eat and no more.

I track calories, protein, carbs, and fat.

ETA: I also log my weigh****er and exercise in the app (I happen to use Baritastic; I just like it better than MFP).

I have not had surgery yet but I have logged my food before. I have not been successful at doing it for longer than a couple months at a time. When I do log, I do well. I think my problem is preplanning. I like the idea of planning the meals and log all the meals in for the day ahead of time. This works real well and if you use an app it is easy to make adjustments if you have to deviate from the planned day. Good Luck.

It needs to be easy and become a habit. I know many people do find a notebook easier than an app. Because I have a phone, iPad or computer with me everywhere, MFP works best for me (can access it from all of the above). At first it was a struggle, but my tracking is habit now (416 day streak). Like some of the others, sometimes I put my planned meals in at the beginning of the day then adjust if necessary.

Your surgery was EXACTLY 1 year after mine. My 416 day streak on MFP, means that I didn't start tracking consistently until mid-June last year, so if you start now you aren't far behind where I was.

I will follow your posts closely knowing that you are exactly 1 year into my future! MFP says I'm on a 35 day streak, although I know it's not 35 days of total accuracy, so I'm only starting two weeks after you! I'm going to keep it going and make it accurate.

I pre-plan everything and log it all before work in the mornings. Of course, sometimes my plans change but it makes me accountable to that change and how it will affect my total calories. In my case, I thrive on knowing that I can't eat something without going over my calories or dropping a portion of my planned day and I generally know that my planned day is what is going to fill me up and get my protein goal in. I think I have an advantage over some folks because I tracked on MFP for a long time and lost a big chunk of weight in 2011 that way, so I'm used to it.

Personally, I work really well when I play mind games with myself. I set hard, fast goals and get very competitive about meeting them. One of those is not to break my streak in MFP!

I make the same recipes and keep them in my fitness pal. I just weigh out my portion.I use the same dishes to eat on that I have already measured so I know the cup size. I hace basically a rotating menu of recipes.

I feel the biggest issue is the How of logging. If you have a smart phone or tablet that you have with you then MyFitnessPal is a breeze. If you have to make time to sit at a computer then it isn't as easy, especially when you have a healthy toddler demanding your attention.

Planning out your meals along with planning the family's can work.

But assuming you can train the brain how much is 3 oz is impossible because the brain is subjective. Today after stressing about xxx, or that extra mile of walking, 3 oz measured will be smaller than what your eyes think 3 oz should be.

It is for those reasons that the vets here all recommend logging.

I'm lucky, I have both an iPhone and an iPad, so I can easily log as part of making or eating any meal.

I hope you find a technique that works for you. It takes a few weeks of conscious effort before a routine and habit will form. You can do it if you make it a priority.

Best of luck!