Maintenance mode and stopping calorie counting

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  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Might I suggest you log one week out of 3 just to make sure you haven't changed your routine? And keep weighing every day?

    That way you can catch yourself before things go astray. I am pretty sure I could stop logging too, but not forever. I know I'd eventually start to drift upward.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I don't log. I do weigh things for which I am unable to accurately eyeball serving sizes, but not everything. Basically I am very mindful of what I eat...and along the way, I developed a lot of healthy habits. I don't really eat much differently than I did when I was losing, just a little more. I basically eat a lot of lean proteins, tons of veg, some fruit, some whole grains, and primarily healthy fat sources like nuts and avocados, olives and olive oil, etc. I have some "junk" from time to time, but it's pretty minimal. In my experience, trying to eat anything resembling the SAD and maintaining weight really requires paying extremely close attention and pretty much keeping a diary.

    I also make sure I stick to my workout regimen and generally just stay active. I step on the scale a few times per week or at least once per week to keep an eye on the trends and I pay attention to the way my clothes feel. It's important to pay attention because it's really easy to nip things in the bud...I've gone up and down about 5 Lbs a couple of times from my maintenance...it's always something that creeps into my diet...it's pretty easy to knock it off for a month or so and get back to where I want to be.

    The biggest thing is that you can't stop being mindful and you can't stop caring. If you just throw your hands up in the air and say, "whatevs"...you're going to find things very difficult.
    Everything he said. Everything.
    The more SAD like you eat, the more diligent you have to be.
    I eat pretty much as he describes (plus dairy) and have since I lost weight 13+ years without logging for the most part (I'll check in with new foods from time to time). I don't weigh, I eyeball.
    I lift, I run, and I get 10,000 steps or more every day.

    It's truly about finding what works for you. I think not logging is a great goal.
  • JagerLewis
    JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
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    I've only been in maintenance for 1 month, but before I started this, I quiet measuring my food. I still log everyday (well if I happen to have a few cocktails with friends on a Sat night I don't log) but don't measure/weigh my food. I think I will always log, because it helps keep me in check.
  • ldy_78
    ldy_78 Posts: 61
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I don't log. I do weigh things for which I am unable to accurately eyeball serving sizes, but not everything. Basically I am very mindful of what I eat...and along the way, I developed a lot of healthy habits. I don't really eat much differently than I did when I was losing, just a little more. I basically eat a lot of lean proteins, tons of veg, some fruit, some whole grains, and primarily healthy fat sources like nuts and avocados, olives and olive oil, etc. I have some "junk" from time to time, but it's pretty minimal. In my experience, trying to eat anything resembling the SAD and maintaining weight really requires paying extremely close attention and pretty much keeping a diary.

    I also make sure I stick to my workout regimen and generally just stay active. I step on the scale a few times per week or at least once per week to keep an eye on the trends and I pay attention to the way my clothes feel. It's important to pay attention because it's really easy to nip things in the bud...I've gone up and down about 5 Lbs a couple of times from my maintenance...it's always something that creeps into my diet...it's pretty easy to knock it off for a month or so and get back to where I want to be.

    The biggest thing is that you can't stop being mindful and you can't stop caring. If you just throw your hands up in the air and say, "whatevs"...you're going to find things very difficult.

    What is SAD?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    ldy_78 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I don't log. I do weigh things for which I am unable to accurately eyeball serving sizes, but not everything. Basically I am very mindful of what I eat...and along the way, I developed a lot of healthy habits. I don't really eat much differently than I did when I was losing, just a little more. I basically eat a lot of lean proteins, tons of veg, some fruit, some whole grains, and primarily healthy fat sources like nuts and avocados, olives and olive oil, etc. I have some "junk" from time to time, but it's pretty minimal. In my experience, trying to eat anything resembling the SAD and maintaining weight really requires paying extremely close attention and pretty much keeping a diary.

    I also make sure I stick to my workout regimen and generally just stay active. I step on the scale a few times per week or at least once per week to keep an eye on the trends and I pay attention to the way my clothes feel. It's important to pay attention because it's really easy to nip things in the bud...I've gone up and down about 5 Lbs a couple of times from my maintenance...it's always something that creeps into my diet...it's pretty easy to knock it off for a month or so and get back to where I want to be.

    The biggest thing is that you can't stop being mindful and you can't stop caring. If you just throw your hands up in the air and say, "whatevs"...you're going to find things very difficult.

    What is SAD?
    Standard American Diet.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,712 Member
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    I think some people can maintain without logging, but learning proper portion size and sticking closely to it is important. You learn over time what you eat most, how much of it you should have, etc.

    I don't log every bite, but I keep a Word document that I update daily to list what I ate, what workout I did, etc. Then, if I'm feeling poorly or retaining water or whatever, I just look back a few days or a week and see if I"m falling into a bad pattern or what the cause was. That works for me because I'm on a computer all day every day for work, so I just fill in my Word document daily.
  • ldy_78
    ldy_78 Posts: 61
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    ldy_78 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I don't log. I do weigh things for which I am unable to accurately eyeball serving sizes, but not everything. Basically I am very mindful of what I eat...and along the way, I developed a lot of healthy habits. I don't really eat much differently than I did when I was losing, just a little more. I basically eat a lot of lean proteins, tons of veg, some fruit, some whole grains, and primarily healthy fat sources like nuts and avocados, olives and olive oil, etc. I have some "junk" from time to time, but it's pretty minimal. In my experience, trying to eat anything resembling the SAD and maintaining weight really requires paying extremely close attention and pretty much keeping a diary.

    I also make sure I stick to my workout regimen and generally just stay active. I step on the scale a few times per week or at least once per week to keep an eye on the trends and I pay attention to the way my clothes feel. It's important to pay attention because it's really easy to nip things in the bud...I've gone up and down about 5 Lbs a couple of times from my maintenance...it's always something that creeps into my diet...it's pretty easy to knock it off for a month or so and get back to where I want to be.

    The biggest thing is that you can't stop being mindful and you can't stop caring. If you just throw your hands up in the air and say, "whatevs"...you're going to find things very difficult.

    What is SAD?
    Standard American Diet.

    Oh thanks. I actually think I don't eat a SAD - I eat mostly Japanese and Pacific Asian Cuisine - fish, eggs, veggies, some rice now and again - oh and lots of fermented things like kimchi :)
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Like some have mentioned, i don't plan on quitting logging. When I am in maintenance and bulking I will be more lenient for sure, but I won't stop entirely. I happen to have 3 reasons for continuing logging: 1) cannot estimate my upper and lower needs just by how full I feel (e.g. I went to bed one night only eating 1300 calories - ate the missed calories the next day - but I wasn't really that hungry when I went to bed), 2) I have specific body composition goals, so I need to be aware of my caloric intake and protein intake, 3) I plan on doing bulk/cut cycles so if I want to minimize the cutting periods I need to track my intake when bulking.

    Since I do not eat the same thing every day (even though I do eat a lot of the same things regularly) and because I plan on doing bulk/cut cycles, tracking macros is something I'm fine with doing. if it ever does become an issue I'd just stop tracking calories and just track my minimum protein intake and then eat until I'm satisfied. Then I'd get back to logging if I'm not seeing the weight results I am wanting.

    In another thread someone said that it's like brushing your teeth. You just do it. Or there's the checkbook analogy. I need my food checkbook.
  • myfitnesspale3
    myfitnesspale3 Posts: 276 Member
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    If you are weighing and maintaining weight goal then full logging seems superfluous to me.

    I occasionally log a full day to check vitamins and minerals level.
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    gothchiq wrote: »
    Some people can get away with not logging. You may be one of them. But if I do that, I guarantee you my goose is cooked. I'll go to the effort rather than become fat again! So try it but be aware you may have to go back to logging if you start gaining.

    I'm in the same boat! I do not have the "chip" that allows you to know when to stop eating. Plus I eat a lot of variations of foods and eat out. I have relaxed in weighing and measuring every little thing (though I still do it in some cases), but I've come to accept that I will always, in one form or another, track what I eat. I changed my perspective from, "what a drag" to, "what a privilege and a necessary protection to keep me from getting back to 200+ lbs". That changed everything. But for those who don't need to do that, more power to ya! :)
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
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    myfitnesspale3 wrote: »
    If you are weighing and maintaining weight goal then full logging seems superfluous to me.

    I occasionally log a full day to check vitamins and minerals level.

    The exception to this for me,is I need to make sure I get at least 1 gram of protein per lb. of lean mass for lifting. I just entered maintenance this week,but I think I will always log,mostly for the protein.

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