Staying or Going?

scrittrice

I've been maintaining for a month or so, and since I got close I've been trying to log more loosely and especially to cut back on weighing food. But I use MFP to keep track of my exercise (especially strength training, as I easily forget what I did the previous week) and, as someone else said, to make sure I've eaten enough to fuel my workouts. I like reading the forums, too, though I've never built up a friend list here. So I imagine I'll always come on, but I can imagine a day when I won't log food, at least not every day. I've taken off a week or 10 days for vacation and not had any issues, but I, too, am put off by the number of returnees and don't want to go there.

RaspberryTickleChicken

girlnamedsarah wrote: »

... Everyone seems to think that after you lose the weight the journey is over, but it's really just beginning a different path on the same journey.

+1

The longer I'm in maintaining the longer that realization is that this new life is a forever 'thing' to be continuously cultivated & nurtured.

tulips_and_tea

Also, there are a lot of us here who aren't trying to lose weight but use the many tools MFP provides to either track our nutrients, reach new workout goals, etc. Seems like newbies and returners get the most attention because the forums are generally geared towards them (other than this thread).

bennettinfinity

I've been using MFP for about 18 months now and hit my goal about 12 months in. What I've learned about myself in that span is that my natural tendencies are what got me overweight in the first place and flying by the seat of my pants will land me right back where I started. I plan on using MFP for the foreseeable future - maybe someday eating within my daily calories will become second nature, but for now, I need the feedback to keep me on track.

wibutterflymagic

I've been on mfp for 2yrs and back in March I started with a personal trainer. Within a couple months I stopped logging. I work on eating healthy with lower carbs. I find I don't need to be watching every single calorie I put into my mouth anymore. I'm still losing. I've been doing it very slowly but the changes are happening. I still come on mfp to have the support. Unlike facebook you can post things freely here with people that understand what you are doing and support you. I think I will probably end mfp when I get to my ultimate goal but whose to say that's a long time off in the future.

LumberJacck

I'm not at goal weight yet but when I reach goal weight I'll stay if there is a weekly weigh-in thread on the maintenance board. I can't really start one now since I'm not at goal, but does anyone want to start one and see if it's self-sustaining?

Iwishyouwell

LumberJacck wrote: »

I'm not at goal weight yet but when I reach goal weight I'll stay if there is a weekly weigh-in thread on the maintenance board. I can't really start one now since I'm not at goal, but does anyone want to start one and see if it's self-sustaining?

That's a really, really good idea.

cwolfman13

I haven't logged for over a year and a half save for a spot check here and there and maintained just fine...I'm losing just fine right now as well...trying to cut down to about 10% BF...don't need to log.

I know how to eat in appropriate quantities for my goals and am welled versed in nutrition...I also rock my fitness on a regular basis. For me, that's the lifestyle...not logging in some diary for the rest of my life.

Where most people go wrong is that they fail to adopt a healthful lifestyle in general...they just go back to old habits and generally eating the SAD...and in my experience, the SAD and weight control don't make very good bed fellows.

georgiaTRIs

I stay. I log my food. and I talk to all my friends. I get new food ideas and have changed my goal to lose more weight. There is so much support on MFP and now that I have lost 65 pounds I stay to encourage others through the same journey that I went through. Logging keeps me on track. and aware so I don't start to slowly put weight back on. Plus I love my friends

GBO323

RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »

SO I'm wondering:

• Do you plan to continue to use MFP & why? And how active do you think you will be? ie forums MFP friend status 'likes' & comments etc.

I will continue to use MFP. I need to boundaries of the calorie limits that the Food Dairy provides. Posting and commenting will continue so I can encourage others who are aiming toward goal...like I was at one time.

New lifestyle...my old one is no more...

CassieReannan

I plan to continue using MFP for as long as I am able to. I'm almost at 1000 days logged in in a row.

kkimpel

I am staying.. to support others and to be supported. I am not going to yo yo again

WildOkapi

I plan on continuing to use MFP because I haven't quite gotten the hang of eating enough per day without logging. Also, I know I'm going to have even more trouble once I have to up my calories to maintenance level. I'm not very active on the forums and don't interact with anyone here, so I don't think I'll be any more active in the future.

lcphipps

I am trying to maintain.. (although still losing) It has definitely become a way of life and I love that my fitbit and MFP talk to each other and keep me honest!
I will continue to use the healthy habits (logging, weighing and measuring foods) as long as I can.

Revonue

I had to return after first maintaining at a weight that is honestly too high for me, and then proceeding to gain about ten pounds. After seeing how my experiment with not logging went, I plan to never leave. It doesn't take too much effort and there is no excuse for me to ruin all my hard work through laziness. I have accepted that I will have to watch my weight all my life as part of a healthy lifestyle, and though it does make me a bit sad, I'm sure I will be happier and healthier for it.

As for how active I will be, I was never really all that active on the social parts of this site. I find myself a lot more interested in the forum than I used to be. So maybe I will actually become more active in that respect.

AgnesXNitt

I am back after just under a year, part of which I was using my new Samsung Health app. But that recently changed due to an update so I can't log my aerobic or circuit training workouts so that app - other than the pedometer - just doesn't work for me anymore.
I find, like a lot of people who have posted here, that I need the discipline of logging what I eat to make me think 'am I hungry or am I just thirsty/bored/being greedy/eating for the sake of it?' and it keeps me in check. I wasn't able to weigh in this week (visitors) and so I have eaten out a lot, so I am a little concerned how much I have put on. I have managed to walk a lot, and get to my work out classes so hopefully that has helped, but I am trying desperately never to go back to 'being the fat girl' ever again.

zichab

I will log onto MFP everyday as long as this site it here. I have not spent 2 years losing weight and increasing my fitness to go back to the overweight, low energy, sedentary person I was. :noway: It is like brushing my teeth now-a daily habit that reminds me to eat well and move! It seems a small thing to do for my continued health and well being.

gothchiq

I will stay, unless I find another site that I like better for the same purpose.

Rose6300

Staying. I like logging/measuring even though I'm at goal. Even when I have a piggy day or two, I find it useful to see what that does to my weight, as I'm now trying to up my maintenance calories a bit.

KeepTheFaith9

I plan/hope to stay. Great tools and support, and I think I will need to learn and log for a long period of time to be successful in maintenance.

farfromthetree

forever