Logging for life?

lisah180

Just curious what people plan on doing after losing weight and reaching goal. Will you continue to log at maintenance? I'm a long way from my goal weight but if I don't log, I overeat it's as simple as that. I'm either logging or gaining weight? So I can't imagine not logging and staying successful, but the thought of logging forever seems so daunting!

janejellyroll

I have been maintaining since July and I still log daily. It works for me because I like to eat a lot of different foods and logging keeps me in the calorie range I know I need to be in. I've lost weight before and regained it. Since I find logging to be pretty easy, it was an easy decision for me to continue to do it.

But I also know there are many successful maintainers who no longer log daily. If you find it daunting, I think there are ways you can avoid it.

juggernaut1974

lisah180 wrote: »

Just curious what people plan on doing after losing weight and reaching goal. Will you continue to log at maintenance? I'm a long way from my goal weight but if I don't log, I overeat it's as simple as that. I'm either logging or gaining weight? So I can't imagine not logging and staying successful, but the thought of logging forever seems so daunting!

I haven't logged consistently in several months now.

The caveat being, if I find myself not maintaining where I want to, I will start again.

ki4eld

I'll need to log for life. If "estimating and hoping" worked, I wouldn't be where I was.

joelo_83

331 day streak here. It's more habit now than anything else at this point. Helps keep track of things tho

glassyo

I don't care how long I've been at this (a long time), if there's free food in front of me, I'll eat it. Logging keeps me honest...and not having to do the math in my head.

When this computer fad is over, I'll go back to using a pen and paper.

Bshmerlie

I plan on logging forever. Just hoping for the best has never worked for me in the past. Once I lose this weight there is no way in @#*& I'm ever going to gain it back. Honestly I've been doing this for 8 months now and its not a big deal. It only takes about 3 minutes a day. That is a small price to pay for "skinny" in my opinion.

lorrpb

I logged only for about 3 months/-25 lbs. I am a consistent eater and carry around d a "template" in my head of what I can eat for each meal & snacks. I've done an additional 15 months/-95 lbs like this. I've logged 2-3 weeks this entire time, just to make sure I'm on track. I've seen losses every month and had no plateaus, although I do fluctuate a lot from week to week. Clearly, this doesn't work for most people, but just saying it IS possible not to log. Before I started, I came to terms with the fact that I would need to make changes I could stick with for life. For. Ever.
SW 301
CW 181
GW 150
18 mo.

abatonfan

I'll be logging in some way for the rest of my life (unless there is a cure to type 1 diabetes -it looks like we're closer than ever). With current treatment, I need to be able to identify how many carbs I am eating in order to adjust my insulin dosages, and MFP is the quickest way for me to do so.

cwolfman13

I've been in maintenance for over 2.5 years and don't log or otherwise keep a diary. My POV has always been that logging and keeping a diary is a great teaching tool...but like anything you learn how to do, eventually you should just be able to do it.

Logging helped me to learn proper portion control and showed me initially how unbalanced my diet was...logging taught me a lot about nutrition in general and I have taken everything I learned into maintenance and have had no issues at all.

If all goes well, I'll be alive for another 40-50 years or more...I really don't think it realistic that I would actually keep a food diary for the next 50 years.

kimny72

I find the data I get from logging really fascinating, so I will probably continue doing it. Plus, I think I will always have some kind of "goal" whether it is weight or fitness or body comp related that will be helped by logging. And as someone else said, it takes me maybe 5 minutes a day. The biggest problem is when I log my food, i then "glance" at the forums and end up wasting half an hour here

Lounmoun

lisah180 wrote: »

Just curious what people plan on doing after losing weight and reaching goal. Will you continue to log at maintenance? I'm a long way from my goal weight but if I don't log, I overeat it's as simple as that. I'm either logging or gaining weight? So I can't imagine not logging and staying successful, but the thought of logging forever seems so daunting!

I don't know. I've been logging for 407 days. It doesn't feel like a big deal to me to keep doing it. Forever is a log time though. I could see reaching my goal and after maintaining for awhile starting to log less frequently as long as my weight stays stable. I don't think I'll get to my goal weight and stop logging that day.

pstegman888

I like structure, and MFP gives me a framework within which to operate. I'm no longer eating what or how much I feel like eating, with the calories and weight slowly creeping up. Plus it helps me meet my protein goals. I anticipate that logging will be a way of life, and I'm very ok with that.

MorganMoreaux

I'm a healthy BMI (and was only overweight for a brief stint due to illness) and contue to log. I would like to lose vanity weight, but it's not a priority. I log for a few main reasons. The first being that it keeps me mindful about what I am putting in my body. The second is that I love metrics. This gives me the ability to track my calories, macros, and micronutrients. I no longer have health issues, and do not take medication (meaning I don't require medication, not that I'm adverse to it if necessary). Most days I feel good physically, and on days I don't (ie low energy, stomach not great, etc) I can look at my diary and see what I've been eating leading up to the days I don't feel great. Usually it is a consistent lack of protien, sometimes fat, or a sugar overload the previous day. I can then make sure I up whatever I've been deficient in, or consume less of something I've been eating to much of. So far, this has worked out well. The other reason why I continue to log is for health. If I should ever have problem arise, this is just more information to give the doctor. Our bodies are complex systems that are dependent upon us to ensure they get the proper nutrients to function. I feel that many conditions are brought on by what consume or don't consume, and by having everything logged, there could be a dietary reason for why I am visiting the doctor. It takes less than five minutes a day to log, and the benefits are well worth that time for me. I'm not getting any younger, and I want to remain as healthy as I can for as long as I can. I don't want to diminish the quality of my life (activity level, general comfort, etc) because I made poor food choices.

Strivingforhealth12

I think that I will have to keep logging. I lost weight a couple of years ago, stopped logging, kept it off for a while, but it slowly crept back on again. This time, I think that I will have to keep logging.

macgurlnet

I'm more or less maintaining right now but I plan to lose a little more so I'm still logging.

That being said, I may end up logging for a long while. I'll probably estimate more often vs. just weighing and see how I do, and, if my weight holds within the range I want, I could call it good and stop.

Stress, anxiety and depression can have a huge impact on my appetite and food choices, though, so continuing to log has been very helpful. I track the numbers in a spreadsheet and have a Fitbit that does a very good job of estimating my calorie burn. Between MFP and Fitbit, I can see if my weight should be going up or down. I know that I have a weight range, and I know that high amounts of sodium over the course of several days can mean I'll see a jump due to water weight, but having the intake & burn numbers gives me one more piece of info. If my weight goes up and the numbers show that I'm on track to start gaining, I work on getting back to a deficit.

November was tough, plus there was Thanksgiving, with several yummy foods I only get on holidays. I may have gained a pound over the course of the month, and that's OK. I have the numbers, and I can get back to my routine and go back to a deficit if the weight does stick around.

~Lyssa

rustyquinn

lisah180 wrote: »

Just curious what people plan on doing after losing weight and reaching goal. Will you continue to log at maintenance? I'm a long way from my goal weight but if I don't log, I overeat it's as simple as that. I'm either logging or gaining weight? So I can't imagine not logging and staying successful, but the thought of logging forever seems so daunting!

I have a while to reach my goal. I will probably have to continue to log in. I have counted calories in the past and didn't maintain and gained. It will be a life style change.

shadowfax_c11

I expect to be doing it for life. Might be able to take breaks here and there but I have a lifelong issue with food. If I could not get it under control on my own in the first 45 years I hardly think I will do so over the next 30 or so.

entwife

I don't want to log forever, and I'm a long way from goal too. But i need something to keep me honest and focused. So I'm logging everything but trying to learn rough calorie counts for my favorite foods. My favorite breakfast is 400 cals, a small latte is 150 cals, 2 slices of bread is 200 cals etc. That way I'll soon be able to keep a good mental track - i hope!

OldAssDude

I'm about 20 lbs. from my goal and am training myself to eat right without logging. Mostly I lost my weight through exercising and ball parking my calories, and actually eat more now then I used to.

entwife

Also check out the "hunger fullness scale" - Im totally disconnected from my natural hunger cues but this is really helpful. My kids eat their dinner but often finish by saying "Mum, I'm full". They know when they've had enough. I need to relearn that.

senecarr

I think I might log in some form for life as I intend to do bulking and cutting cycles after I've reached maintenance. Plus I think my physiological appetite is too slow to kick in, and my mental appetite too high.
I think logging will get easier and easier though. Eventually plates or phones might be able to record things with just a sample.

dalielahdawn

Right now, I plan to log forever. I believe I have an addiction to eating. I've done this yoyo so many times, and would rather just keep logging than relive it again. Maybe I'll maintain for a few years and then change my mind, but for now... Forever it is.

rankinsect

Absolutely I plan to log forever. I think some people biologically don't experience hunger and satiety in a normal way, and that I will likely never be able to self-regulate weight like some can. It's possible that it's leptin resistance and will go away with weight loss, but I am not trusting my success to that hope.

That said, I don't mind it at all. I spend less than three minutes planning out each day in advance, and I actually really like having all my meals planned the day ahead of time so when I get home I don't have to think, I just need to do. It's less work than brushing my teeth, and my dentist is thankful I plan to keep that up for a lifetime too.

PinkPixiexox

I am now on maintenance and I log daily!
This is really vital and important for me. Sure, I won't be as 'tight' with my logging like I was when I was trying to lose weight but I think it's important to always be healthily aware of what we are consuming. Not tracking and being mindful of my portions and intake led to me being overweight time and time again, despite being 'educated' about the process. I don't think daily tracking has to mean you are constantly having to be obsessive - but just a rough idea of calorie intake is always going to be a good thing. The way I see it? I worked too hard to just throw all my learnt behaviours away.

duddysdad

I hit my goal weight in September and started maintenance until my vacation in mid October. I stopped logging for the week I was there and ate whatever I wanted. When I got back I had gone from 185 to 200 pounds. 1.5 months later I am back to 185 and still logging. I plan to lose another 20 more then maintain that weight while trying to build some muscle. I plan to keep logging until the site stops working or I die.

Phrick

I can't really decide. Even though I reached my goal months ago, I continue to track for the most part because my husband is still losing weight and since I do the bulk of the cooking I am the one entering the recipes still so I haven't had much of a chance or reason to fall off the habit of logging. I wake up crazy stupid early (I've been up for over an hour and it is only 3:16am here) so I preplan my day in the wee hours and then tweak as needed. I used to adamantly say "I'll log FOREVER!" Now I say "I'll log as long as I need to" which just might end up being forever - or it might fall aside over time, I just don't know. I'll WEIGH forever, I'm sure. I'm kind of thinking about the idea of random week(s) of logging just to make sure I'm still on track (like on a monthly, cyclic basis, because I can totally undo myself during shark week if I'm not paying close attention!). Oh, and around holidays, too, because we all know how easy it is to fall apart basically from Halloween through the end of the year!

Soopatt

I think I will keep logging because it has many benefits outside of weight-loss for me. I may relax some of the weighing and measuring rules, but I am not sure yet. I will decide when I get to goal.

Oflamez

all you gotta do is just quickly log into the phone and simply track everything to give you an accurate idea, obviously not as accurate as weighing everything but this can be done in 15 minutes a day and gives you a great ball park figure. Or just do this till you lose weight, tracking, then simply continue to eat reasonable and not overeat and when you gain 5 pounds unwanted you track again

ideas

Francl27

I pretty much have to log, yeah. I like treats too much and it's the only way to make sure that they actually fit in my days.

fidangul

My sister asked me this question just yesterday.

I don't want to log for life, but if I have to I will log. Once I'm in maintenance, I'll log for a couple of months and then slowly try to lose the habbit. I'll still have mfp there in case I need it, such as; family gatherings, weddings, festivals etc...

I would hope that it will come more naturally, but I do enjoy food and I definitely don't want to go back to being huge. So if I gain some back I'll log again before too much damage is done.