Growing weary of tracking protein

 I know I have to, and indeed I will continue.  But I am growing a little weary of constantly walking around with a mental number of where I am at, and how much I need to still take in.  The same applies to carbs.  Funny, I used to always obsess over what I was going to eat, when I was going to eat, etc. pre surgery.  Now, I obsess over the protein, carb, and calorie numbers instead.  Oh well, at least it is a much healthier obsession!!

I understand how you feel. I use My fitness pal so I don't have to constantly think about it.

 I understand and quit tracking until I was told about myfitnesspal.com which I can access on my iphone or ipad as well - they sync up.  This has really reduced my angst.  Try it, see if it will help.

Hang in there!

I struggled with having to track those items as well. My struggle was more because I just wanted a break from having to watch and count everything, ugh! I was so tired of that, I really was.

I had to find a way tracking fit with my personality and lifestyle. I love gadgets and technology so when my NUT told me about myfitnesspal it was a match for me. I really enjoy and many OH members use it. The daily nutritional log gives you a quick view of your protein, carbs and calories and other measurements as well. And their food database is awesome. I've added 2 foods in the year I've been using it - has everything.

If you join ... friend me. My username is mrsfloflo.

Best of luck!

I track on my phone and plan ahead.  Something to keep in mind is that you don't have to be exact to the decimal.   There are rules of thumb you can follow. For example, for dense protein sources, 1oz cooked is about 7g of protein.  If you eat 2 to 2 1/2 oz of dense protein (by volume, cooked) 3x daily you're getting 45g of protein.  Add 1/2 cup of non-fat cottage cheese or greek yogurt and a 20g protein coffee, and you're at 80g without having to think too hard about it. 

Carbs will kind of fall into line if you focus on protein first, veg second. 

 Krazy, I like that suggestion.  I think when I am a little further out I may switch to that on occasion.  I do use myfitnesspal.com (I am idateacher2 there so feel free to friend up if you are interested) and I also track with paper and pencil in a diet journal so I have something to reference if need be at the NUT appointments.  The only thing that I have not gotten to is putting the app on my phone for myfitnesspal.com- I shouldn't use the school computer for it, but until I get the app going that is what I have relied on.  Beyond a doubt that website is helping :) 

I used to be quite thin once.  In high school I was 6'2" and weight a shade under 130 pounds.  I never obsessed over numbers, but used more general rules like 

1. Icecream only once per week
2. Never eat past 7 p.m.
3.  if I gain 3 pounds, watch what I eat for a few days until it vanished- not even a diet, just ultra healthy choices.
edit- I also played multiple varsity sports so I was an exercise fiend as a result.

That's it.  And it worked like that for a while, but then I let bad eating habits creep in.  

Interestingly enough, my youngest is now 5'11'" and weights 114 pounds- a near clone of me, other than a little shorter.  Trying VERY hard to instill in her the good habits now while she is so interested :) 

I find that planning meals ahead of time takes some pressure off recording totals every day.  It takes a little bit of extra time on the weekend to do meal planning, but the busy weekdays get easier that way.

 I am 4 yrs. out from surgery.  I continue to track (write down everything i eat) on a food log each day.  I don't necessarily look at totals for protien, carbs, etc (sort of know by now how much each food is worth) but just the fact that i am writing it on a piece of paper entitled:  FOOD LOG helps me to stay somewhat focused.  I my be crazy (no, not maybe...i AM) but i find it to be a technique that keeps me somewhat responsible and honest.  I think so, anyway.

Here's crazy...i weigh myself every Wednesday because i had my surgery on a Wednesday.  I write down my weight each Wednesday and have done so since surgey.  Don't do it...it's obsessive.... but it helps me.

I found that I tend to eat the same things together, so I created "meals" in My Fitness Pal that included each item. It's much quicker to select what you want. I also plan out most of my meals ahead of time, so I can sit and put them all in at breakfast. If something changes, I add or subtract it later. It's much faster this way.

yeah it can be a pain but you are right to recognize the necessity. I still do this after more than two years. its now a habit and i would feel odd if i didn't . eventually you will too. i just keep a little notebook since i don't want to log into a computer every time i eat something. i just keep minimal notes. at the end of the day if i am low on protein i make a protein hot choc.  but I find if I get in a good amount of protein at breakfast (ie 23 from greek yogurt) the rest of the day falls into place if i make healthy choices. I bet this will become more natural feeling for you as time goes on - especially when you continue to see results. Diane