Having a Hard Time with Recording Food and Gaining Weight

Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been having a hard time keeping track and recording the food I eat. In fact, I’ve gained four pounds over the past week. Though, not all of it will wind up as fat stores. I still have to digest quite a bit of what I’ve eaten. Still, it’s quite disappointing.

Not to mention how it doesn’t bode well for the photoshoot happening in just over two months.

So, what has caused such a massive lapse in judgment recently? To be honest, I’m not 100% sure. Though, it may have something to do with a lack of sleep.

Still Not Being Afraid of Red Numbers

A major part of my weight loss plan relies on keeping my calories in the green with MyFitnessPal. It’s a free app that I’ve been using since I weighed more than 300 pounds and will let me record every morsel of food I eat and exercise I perform throughout the day.

When you’ve eaten too much, the numbers will turn from green to red.

Back when I started, I was afraid of seeing those red numbers and would do what I could to turn them back to green. This is because MyFitnessPal connects with Fitbit and registers physical activity.

The more active you are, the more you can eat.

Nowadays, I’m just not as afraid of those red numbers as I used to be. It was a very effective method for losing the first 30 or so pounds, and I wish I could get back into that mindset.

Perhaps it’s more of a habitual thing that I need to get back into. In any case, I really need to figure out how to get back to where I was from a mental point of view.

Late Night Snacking…Still

You know, I have no doubt that I would shed all kinds of weight throughout the week if I could just quit the late-night snacking. Most of this has to do with not going to bed when I am actually tired.

Instead, I’ll stay up until 11:30 pm or so while bingeing on a bunch of small, albeit calorie-laced, snacks.

There are a lot of things that are playing into my lack of sleep lately, though. A rock-hard bed that I can’t seem to get comfortable on, the dry air messing with my sinuses, the heat, and continuous stress keep me awake.

It’s getting to the point where I am seriously debating on firewalling my network connection to shut off the Internet by 10:00 pm.

One thing that does seem to work exceptionally well is Sleepytime Tea. If I can get it into my head to have a glass at about 8:45 pm, I’ll surely be done by 9;30. My biggest issue is remembering that’s what I want to do.

I’m going to make a conscious effort to remember to drink my tea tonight. It’s a Wednesday and I don’t have to worry about streaming or anything social.

Judgment Impaired from Sleep Deprivation

Snacking late at night is only part of sleep deprivation. I’ve been finding it more difficult to maintain a good train of thought for the past several years. And nowadays, it takes so long for me to get clear-minded first thing in the morning.

I’m always in a haze and my neck is constantly tense. Right now, I am struggling to keep focused enough to just write this damn blog post.

It’s kind of funny, really. I need sleep to help improve memory retention, but I can’t remember to drink my tea to go to sleep at night. In fact, I bet a lack of sleep plays a role in how I handle my daily alarms to work out, as well.

Instead of doing what I set the alarms to remind me to do, I simply swipe it and continue to veg out.

I was doing great from the hotel in 2020. I felt fresh and ready for work nearly every morning. I dropped all the way down to 216 and was getting in far more steps. Though, I did have access to a far more comfortable bed than what I have right now.

I don’t want to say that a lack of sleep is the sum of all my bad decisions lately. But, it probably contributes quite a bit.

Getting Sucked Back Into Bad Habits

Since buying this house, I’ve been getting sucked back into a lot of bad habits of old. Mostly, the lack of sleep and snacking at night.

From a physical standpoint, I’ve been doing great this week. Between the dumbbell work and Kinect play, I’ve done quite a bit to improve my physical fitness. Now, I just need to curb my eating habits.

Why are habits that are bad for you usually the most difficult to break? Like, watching YouTube first thing in the morning or snacking late at night…neither of these is conducive to helping me achieve my goals.

I need to try to make more of a conscious effort in everything. As lame as it may sound to some, I might have to start slapping sticky notes on my monitor at night to remind myself to avoid certain things in the morning.

But, then I would have to remember to write those sticky notes. So, that’s probably not going to be very helpful.

It’s not just from a perspective of fitness, either. Even my workflow has been suffering quite a bit lately. Sure, I’m really close to breaking my record for words in a month for 2021. However, I really haven’t put a lot of work into the other blogs.

Maybe I am just feeling a bit overwhelmed and overworked. Perhaps I’ll have a much clearer picture of everything when I get back from Utah. It’ll be the most time I spent away from the house since I was living in a hotel last year.

I don’t get many vacations or weekend getaways.

Ah…and I’ll be able to sleep in an actual bed this weekend. If I’m lucky, the pool and hot tub will be open as well. It’s a much-needed weekend away to see my family.

Let’s See if I Can Keep Calories Green for One Day!

OK, let’s see if I can tackle one problem at a time, here. I’m not going to be able to solve everything overnight. But, perhaps I can at least keep the calories green today. This means getting off my butt and doing some stuff around the house.

Maybe if I can keep them green today, it’ll start a trend for myself again. That’s pretty much the gist of it. Once I can get that ball rolling down the hill, I have no doubt it’ll build momentum and become unstoppable.

So, today, I’ll try to keep in mind that calories have to stay green in MyFitnessPal. Can I make it through one freakin’ day?

About Author

Michael Brockbank

Since 2015, Michael has put in the effort to lose more than 80 pounds by gamifying fitness and eating proper portion sizes. He conducts extensive research into various health and fitness products to provide the best answers possible according to his own experience and knowledge.

See author's posts