Why do you track?

Misterhyd3

What is your motivation for tracking calories?

Cynsonya

To lose weight. If I didn't track I'd undoubtedly overeat and continue to gain.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

To keep within my safe 5lb zone.

WendyLaubach

I discovered that I had no realistic sense of how much I was eating or how much I should eat. After three months, I'm starting to get a sense of it, but I'm nowhere near as conscious of it as I'll need to be in order to plan my meals without giving them much thought or calculation, especially if I'm incorporating new foods and dishes. I can imagine a future in which I have a strong enough sense of how much I can eat that I can dispense with counting and logging and simply check the scale every so often to see whether I should adjust. That will be after I hit my target and am in maintenance.

Darjaurhziva

I was very suprised, when I strated tracking calories and grams. I underestimated everything for about 50%.
I thought, I didn't eat much, but I was so wrong. Now, after 2.5 months and only 3kg lost, I know I should keep a journal if I want to lose 8kg more. And then maintain weight with MFP and after that, my goal is to maintain weight without MFP.

janejellyroll

I want to maintain my weight loss and I know from past experience I'm really bad at just winging it.

Rockstar_JILL

I track for the simple reason that it reassures me that I will lose weight if I am under my goal. It reinforces that I am doing well. There is accountability in it too.

CurlyCockney

I track because not tracking got me here in the first place.

katiebean

Because it works.

UG77

I track because it is just another reason to stay away from certain foods. I just don't want to put them on my log.

BoaRestrictor

Protein. Because I'm building muscle.

Lounmoun

thegorilla89 wrote: »

What is your motivation for tracking calories?

Because I wanted to lose weight and it is helpful to track calories to do that.

VintageFeline

To ensure I am consistently in a deficit to lose weight. Not tracking got me fat.

LaceyBirds

To know how much I am eating so I can lose weight - 71 pounds lost so far. Also, to monitor my sodium and fats in order to get off of blood pressure and cholesterol medications. I have already been taken off of one of them due to weight loss and lowering my sodium.

Because it works.

yesimpson

Because in the past I was 2.5 stone heavier, and tracking allowed me to enjoy food, make healthy choices and lose weight.
In the less distant past, after I hit my goal weight I stopped tracking but I was continuing to lose weight to the point I had a BMI under 17, and couldn't comprehend why; starting to track again showed me I wasn't eating enough for my lifestyle.
I love data, so knowledge is power to me. I'm just not quite as good at managing my intake intuitively as I would like to be, I suppose.

ashmaro

Tracking for accountability.

Fursian

thegorilla89 wrote: »

What is your motivation for tracking calories?

I thought it bizarre in the past. Hearing/seeing people fuss about the information on the back of food packaging. Fast forward a bit, to being overweight, and calorie counting didn't seem all that strange a thing to do anymore. Lose/maintain by numbers is the name of this game, it works, and I'm willing to play.

yourhiddengem

My anxiety.

When my anxiety gets really bad and I'm not tracking I just kind of stop eating and then it makes my anxiety worse in the long run.

MommyL2015

To lose weight. And when I reach my goal, I'll continue counting and tracking to maintain because I cannot eyeball portions accurately enough to keep it off. Maybe one day I'll dish out a spoonful of peanut butter and say, Yep, that's exactly the right amount, but I'm not that good yet.

FitGirl0123

Lose/maintain/gain depending on what phase I'm in. Unfortunately I've found that I don't maintain my weight for long periods of time without tracking