Stopping logging and weighing?

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  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
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    I would like to stop food logging too. I tried it on the weekends and I ended up gaining weight. I think I might want to try a day or two during the week....then slowly increase it as long as I am not gaining weight. I seem to stay on track with my calories during the week compared to the weekend. Maybe because, I am walking during the week.
  • OlisMummy
    OlisMummy Posts: 19 Member
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    llbrixon wrote: »
    I would like to stop food logging too. I tried it on the weekends and I ended up gaining weight. I think I might want to try a day or two during the week....then slowly increase it as long as I am not gaining weight. I seem to stay on track with my calories during the week compared to the weekend. Maybe because, I am walking during the week.

    Yes maybe try not logging during the week or incoparate the walking during the weekend?
    I havnt weighed or logged my food for the past 2 days ( Saturday and Sunday) so onto day 3, if i see a gain I will start logging immediately.
    Not logging has made me more aware of hunger and fullness plus I'm scared of eating my child's leftovers because I have no idea if I'm over on my calorie goal
  • OlisMummy
    OlisMummy Posts: 19 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    I would consider a few of the following options:

    1) Start by taking away a few weekdays but continue to log on weekends. Typically people are more likely to over consume calories on weekends and/or have less consistent habits.

    2) Take a few days where you log everything at night after you've eaten. Doing this will allow you to eat by habit rather than by numbers and you can track it on the back-end as a way to monitor where your energy intake was for the day.

    Continue to weigh yourself and take an average of those weigh ins for the week. That will be your weekly average weight and you will compare this week to week to monitor trends in average weight. Set SOME sort of RANGE of body-weight that you are comfortable staying in such that if you go above or below that range you add tracking back in as a method of making sure things don't get too far out of control.

    Excellent advise thank you :)

  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
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    I think in order to stop logging on some days, I would have to be very strict with myself and force myself NOT to do any snacking during the day. Once I started snacking, I would need to start logging all foods that day. Little snacks add up very quickly.

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I think i may be able to stop logging eventually, it's the not weighing my food which worries me. I'd have to be very aware of portion creep, as i'm hopeless at guesstimating and my eyes are bigger than my belly!
  • mappeal67
    mappeal67 Posts: 28 Member
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    I read on an MFP blog, that maintaining your new weight for one year, after getting to goal weight, increases the chance of keeping the weight off. How you do that is, I guess, up to each individual.
    Weighing every week to keep an eye on your weight is a good start. If you feel confident about your food choices then don't log, but by weighing weekly you can nip any weight gain in the bud, by going back to the food diary.
    Hope this is of help!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I'm not logging at the moment - just got fed up with it one day and stopped. It's not had any impact on my weight.
    I use food logging as just one tool to control my weight. Main tools are daily weighing and making sensible choices - nothing too complicated!

    Restarted logging in the Spring when I had to lose some weight I gained after an injury setback as I find although I can maintain without logging losing weight takes more precision and attention. I was also training extra hard for an event so wanted to be more particular about my macros.

    I just flip in and flip out of logging depending on need, after a holiday gain I might log for a while for example.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I still log and I've been on maintenance for over 4 years. I miss a day here and there and it's no big deal because I'm basically paying attention most of the time. I also guesstimate on portions more often than I did before because I've gotten good at it, but still weigh the calorie dense things. I don't mind logging forever if need be. I'm so used to it that it's fast and easy like brushing my teeth, plus I eat a lot of the same foods from day to day, which makes it easy, too. It doesn't feel obsessive to me at all. It feels like a daily health maintenance habit. :)

    OP, you can go ahead and try not logging. If you start to gain again, just hop back on and start logging again. You can come and go as you need to. I personally prefer not to yo-yo around with my weight and just stay consistent, so I'll likely log forever. Good luck!
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    I haven't logged anything in months, and never weighed what I logged. I jump on the scale now and then, and that's about it. I might log when I go to drop some more weight, or to watch macros if I'm training hard. Other than that, I doubt I'll plan on logging anything long term.

    But find the combo that works for you and keeps you both happy and in control.
  • OlisMummy
    OlisMummy Posts: 19 Member
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    I
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    I still log and I've been on maintenance for over 4 years. I miss a day here and there and it's no big deal because I'm basically paying attention most of the time. I also guesstimate on portions more often than I did before because I've gotten good at it, but still weigh the calorie dense things. I don't mind logging forever if need be. I'm so used to it that it's fast and easy like brushing my teeth, plus I eat a lot of the same foods from day to day, which makes it easy, too. It doesn't feel obsessive to me at all. It feels like a daily health maintenance habit. :)

    OP, you can go ahead and try not logging. If you start to gain again, just hop back on and start logging again. You can come and go as you need to. I personally prefer not to yo-yo around with my weight and just stay consistent, so I'll likely log forever. Good luck!
    I didn't find weighing and logging hard at all, but the obsession with food was getting to me.. I was planning my next meal whilst still eating one meal, I couldn't even decide what to eat for breakfast because I had to overthink the macros etc my food is pretty much the same since my break from logging but I'm not just obsessing about the macros nutrient.
  • Jezreel12
    Jezreel12 Posts: 246 Member
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    I love to log stuff and keep record and I have resolved that log my foods is part of my life. I don't finding it tedious so for me is will always be even if I fall on maintenance. I will be cutting and bulking so will always log. I enjoy it !
  • OlisMummy
    OlisMummy Posts: 19 Member
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    Jezreel12 wrote: »
    I love to log stuff and keep record and I have resolved that log my foods is part of my life. I don't finding it tedious so for me is will always be even if I fall on maintenance. I will be cutting and bulking so will always log. I enjoy it !
    I enjoyed it too but I became too preoccupied with food and the numbers. My day would be ruined if I went over etc
  • Redwineandmuscles
    Redwineandmuscles Posts: 46 Member
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    I weighed and measured randomly for years after I reached my goal weight. It took about three years before the weight started to creep on again. That's why I just joined mfp again.
  • scrittrice
    scrittrice Posts: 345 Member
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    llbrixon wrote: »
    I would like to stop food logging too. I tried it on the weekends and I ended up gaining weight. I think I might want to try a day or two during the week....then slowly increase it as long as I am not gaining weight. I seem to stay on track with my calories during the week compared to the weekend. Maybe because, I am walking during the week.

    I did the same thing (stopped weekend logging) with the same result, and it occurred to me afterward that it would be better to choose a random day or two not to log during the week, as my eating is much more steady/regular then. I've been weighing portions a lot less, though. I've always had a good eye for that anyway.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    I actually did an experiment from this past Saturday until Tuesday on not logging.. lets just say the experiment ended Tuesday and it was supposed to go thru this Saturday. Not ready to let go of the reigns yet, I still cannot manage to not under estimate my portions. Not sure why after 2 years.

    My husband wanted to see if I could let go of the habitual and day to day logging and just be a "normal" person who did not do this type of thing every day. Let me just say the rest of my family does not know I count calories because anyone that did know will think that am not of this earth.. :( I told some colleagues at work a while back and they looked at me like I had two heads.

    Needless to say this is still my dirty little secret and just no ready to let go of the reigns just yet.

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    edited July 2016
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    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I actually did an experiment from this past Saturday until Tuesday on not logging.. lets just say the experiment ended Tuesday and it was supposed to go thru this Saturday. Not ready to let go of the reigns yet, I still cannot manage to not under estimate my portions. Not sure why after 2 years.

    My husband wanted to see if I could let go of the habitual and day to day logging and just be a "normal" person who did not do this type of thing every day. Let me just say the rest of my family does not know I count calories because anyone that did know will think that am not of this earth.. :( I told some colleagues at work a while back and they looked at me like I had two heads.

    Needless to say this is still my dirty little secret and just no ready to let go of the reigns just yet.


    You'll find you will become more confident each time you decide to have a logging break. I have tried several times, once after a few months at maintenance which didn't work well for me that time. I tried again a year later and went back to logging after 6 weeks when I was seeing a slight creep. Now in year 4, I have been successfully not logging for 6 months. I do still think in calories and will mentally tot up my meals the odd day but I always find I am doing absolutely fine. If anything in the last 6 months I have dropped 3lbs but I don't mind having those as a buffer for when vacation time rolls around. If I continue to keep losing albeit it slowly I will only worry about that if I lose more than 5 more lbs - I know then I'd start looking a bit to thin for my liking.

    Just keep logging and then now and again try another logging break and have confidence in your changed eating habits. I know I now eat like a 'thin person', it took time but I'm there, I have and am succeeding and I have confidence :smiley:

    Ruth

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