I write down everything I eat. It's all saved on my iPhone app, so I rarely actually write new things down. I can pull up a previous meal, make a change and I'm on my way. I don't spend more than 1 minute doing this several times each day.
I was struggling with the number on the scale a few weeks ago and I said to a friend "I don't get why I can't lose these 3 pounds, I've been so good." Then, I went to my Lose It app and looked at my eating history. That week, I'd had 3 nights where I'd eaten out and gone slightly over my budget for the day. No big deal, but then I reminded myself that I couldn't complain that I was 3 pounds up from my goal when I'm staring at the data that proves that I *really* wasn't being all that careful. Oops.
We get into the habit of forgetting things we don't want to remember. By writing down my food - I can be reminded when I'm good and when I'm not.
I don't make that big of a deal about splurge days. I've created a food item called "Restaurant Food" and it's worth 250 calories. When I've had days off from counting (like this weekend when I didn't count calories and am paying the price today), I put in the Restaurant Meal and change the serving size to go just over my daily budget. I don't care to sit and figure out how much I ate, but I do want to remind myself that when I look back on my week's progress, I had a big day and I can remember the impact that had on the rest of my week.
I read an article yesterday that was talking about using your mirrors for accountability. How many times have you avoided looking in the mirror (or stepping on the scale for that matter) just because you didn't want to know? It's kind of like my reminder that I had a bad food day. Just because you try to ignore the problem, doesn't mean it's going to go away. It's still there.
I got on the scale this morning as usual. I didn't like the number, but it helped me refocus on my day. I don't like to be reminded that I had a bad food day, but if I don't write it down, then I conveniently forget it and complain that I don't like the way my pants fit.
I guess I'm working on beating myself at my own game.