6 months into "no-logging" maintenance

IrisFlute

Each person develops the style of maintenance that works for them, and I know that some people feel best when they continue to log calories. I just wanted to share my method because it has worked for me for the last 6 1/2 months. I'm 5'8", used MyFitnessPal to go from 161 lbs to 135, which took almost 4 months. When I reached 135, in mid-November, I happily put away my food scale. Since then, I have done the following:

I don't eat until I'm actually hungry. I stop eating as soon as I feel satisfied, even if I leave food on the plate. I don't drink any fruit juice or soda.

That's pretty much it. Today I'm at 132 lbs, but I only weigh myself every few weeks. I don't count calories or track my exercise. I just spent a couple months in France, so I've definitely been eating white bread and pastry every day -- but not a whole lot of it.

Just wanted to say that for me, maintenance has turned out to be sort of instinctive and hasn't required the super-focus on food that I had to do while losing weight. I'm grateful to the MFP community for all the weight-loss info and help.

Eudoxy

Sounds good, congratulations! Do you do more/less or the same amount of exercise as when you were losing?

IrisFlute

Thanks! I probably do roughly the same amount, overall. I don't go to the gym or work out, but in the normal course of living I end up doing quite a bit of bike-riding, walking and gardening.

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IrisFlute

Thanks! Whatever your personal style of weight loss and maintenance, the MFP community makes all the difference!

paradi3s

Sounds good! Congrats btw. I've always wanted to eat intuitively but am still not ready to get rid of my measuring cups. But this post does inspire me to do so :-)

rainbow198

Way to go! I love reading about successful maintenance experiences.

Outside of the not drinking calories, this wouldn't work for me, but it sounds like you have a great plan there for yourself.

Congratulations!

theconstantgardener

When it came to stopping how easy did you find it? I tried before but got paranoid about underestimating everything and found it hard not to just add it up in my head anyway. I'm soon to reach maintenance. I'm lucky because my instinctive choices are always healthy with an occasional craving, which subsides with a small amount of whatever that thing might be. So I'm not worried about getting sidetracked it's more about shifting my mentality as I would much rather have an avocado over a chocolate bar etc but sometimes I find thinking about calories alters my decision and I go for the less healthy option simply because of numbers.

TimothyFish

Nothing wrong with that. I maintained my weight for more than five years doing that. My big mistake was that I didn't continue to weigh myself and I let myself by with gaining weight.

brynnsmom

I think that's great that you've learned how to do this intuitively. I've continued to log for the most part. I find when I don't, I allow extra calories to creep into my diet and inevitably I'll gain a pound or two.

TitaniaEcks

My height, weight and maintenance method are pretty identical to the OP's. I think I found my twin.

For me, logging would keep me thinking of food all the time. Obsessing about food is a waste of my valuable time and actually encourages me to eat more.

Eyeballing portion sizes, carby-ness, richness of foods, etc. is pretty automatic when you've been doing this for a while. Eating till you're completely full becomes uncomfortable. You learn to "snack" on no-cal beverages instead of food, and sitting there picking at solid snacks a few times a day feels weird, unnecessary and fattening.

I think one of people's main diet/maintenance killers is failure to break the food obsession. Logging does not help this. Snacking does not help this.

Francl27

Very nice!

But you were hardly overweight to begin with, you got to keep that in mind. Probably easier for someone who has never been obese to rely on hunger and satisfaction signals, than someone who was used to eating 4000 calories at one point.

ExRelaySprinter

Really great that it's worked out for you!
Although, i dunno about the "I don't eat until I'm actually hungry" part.
With me, i have to eat every 3 hours.....i dont really like to get to the point of actually being hungry.

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Ewing69

great job and keep having regular weighs in

dalila747

I hope that I'll be able to do this once I get to my GW. I don't weigh anything right now as it is anyways. Great job by the way. You sound like you have a wonderful and balanced view on food and dieting.

mmocarr

I absolutely loved reading this. I am similar in that I believe and logging does make me a little nuts/overly focused on food. I am really hoping to find the right balance and keep it in check by regular weigh-ins BUT not counting calories.

It seems like an especially impressive feat given that you were in France!

andympanda

congrats. Everyone needs to do what works for them. I hope. to be able to do the same when i reach my maintenance goal. Personally I think I might way my self a little more often, but that is just me.

sunnydays851

You don't log? I was wondering if I would be able to do that without being a body builder because that is probably the only way I won't gain weight back. 87 days in and I still eat when I'm bored. But then again, I eat a small breakfast and sometimes a small lunch if I'm not too hungry, so I'm open for a big dinner and a couple of snacks. Sometimes I wonder if I will be chained to logging forever. I don't want to have to worry all the time about what is in what I'm eating or avoiding all the good family owned or small restaurants because they aren't in the database. I like logging and all my new friends but I don't want to be chained to this rock for the rest of my life.

nxd10

I've been maintaining for 3 years, having lost 40 pounds. I had pretty good food habits, but had crept up to the top of my healthy BMI over 20 years.

I basically do what you do, but log. It's a fantastic technique and basically is what you need to maintain successfully even if you DO log. I like the logging just because I do, but also because sometimes I am hungry and feel like eating when I've eaten what I normally do. Logging gives me permission to trust my body without worry. It's almost always right.

Fizbi

I'm not that smart. I won't be able to stop counting calories until I'm in the grave, and even then I'll probably continue just to make sure I don't gain any more weight.

sharondtd

shell1005 wrote: »

[quote="TitaniaEcks;3267562

That's great that you've figured this out. For me, it is the opposite. When I am my best at maintenance is when I am continuing to log and track. When I don't....I convince myself it is okay to go off track and fill my pie hole.

I also don't think that logging means I am obsessed with food. It is pretty much the opposite for me. It takes 3 minutes out of my day to log and that helps me reinforce making good choices.

I get that it may not help others and that's totally understandable, but for me it's an absolute must.

I'm just about at goal, but will track for the rest of my life because colitis has required me to figure out what decided to trigger a flare. Logging using an app has really helped educate my brain and eye for portions and calories.

rainbow198

Francl27 wrote: »

Very nice!

But you were hardly overweight to begin with, you got to keep that in mind. Probably easier for someone who has never been obese to rely on hunger and satisfaction signals, than someone who was used to eating 4000 calories at one point.

That's an excellent point.

TimothyFish

sunnydays851 wrote: »

You don't log? I was wondering if I would be able to do that without being a body builder because that is probably the only way I won't gain weight back. 87 days in and I still eat when I'm bored. But then again, I eat a small breakfast and sometimes a small lunch if I'm not too hungry, so I'm open for a big dinner and a couple of snacks. Sometimes I wonder if I will be chained to logging forever. I don't want to have to worry all the time about what is in what I'm eating or avoiding all the good family owned or small restaurants because they aren't in the database. I like logging and all my new friends but I don't want to be chained to this rock for the rest of my life.

I'm a little concerned this time around. The last time I lost this much weight, I didn't log my calories, I just set a goal for about 500 calories per meal and I picked portions that I thought fit that. Occasionally, I would have a snack, when I was feeling particularly hungry (probably because some of my meals weren't a full 500 calories). But this time, I've been logging everything. My concern is that I've become too dependent on the tool. Instead of being able to look at what's on my plate and say, "Yeah, that's about right," I pull out the app and start adding everything up. Then, to make it worse, if I see I'm not at my goal for the day, I go raid the refrigerator, even if I'm not hungry.

betuel75

Thats great! I personally am so used to logging that i do it instinctively. I can go without logging and be fine as i ive got all the different foods i eat memorized and can mix and match daily to be where i need to be in my calorie goal.

LivingtheLeanDream

I love hearing success in maintenance stories - well done
I tried the not logging for a while last year but I ended up eating more than I needed and gained a little, so despite maintaining for a year I still feel the need to log but it only takes a few mins of my time a day and worth it to keep the weight off. As you say everyone can vouch for different ways to maintain, it's great to find what works for us personally

mistikal13

Good for you!

DeeDeeS13

I'm maintaining and continue to log. As a foodie, the weight creeps back up if I don't keep track of it. It's a pain to log daily, but it helps me to stay at my goal weight. I do know what to eat, and portion size, etc., but it gets out of control if I'm not logging. Would love to be able to maintain without it though.....