Weighing and logging.....forever??

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  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    juliebowman4 wrote: »
    Once you reach maintenance, how many still weigh and log everything?
    I'm hopeful that my end result will be a much better ability to eyeball portion sizes and calories as well as having a strong desire and personal accountability to keep moving forward, not backwards.

    Besides.....the thought of weighing/measuring and logging my food forever, makes me a little sad.

    I still log, but am no longer as strict with weighing. I have an intense gym routine, so I don't feel as guilty about potentially going over my cal-intake. More gains!
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Also, logging has just become a habit. I've found when I've had streaks of not logging, I don't gain anything because my habits have adjusted so well to the maintenance plan that it is easy to not go overboard with food. Mentally take note, make healthy choices, if you feel you ate too much then just up your work out to make up for it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    llbrixon wrote: »
    I do not plan on logging food the rest of my life. I will weigh daily to watch trends and if it creeps to much to the high end of my 5 pound weight goal...I will then start logging in again until weight falls off. You know what you can eat....it portion control and limiting high calorie foods.

    I took a break from logging last week to see how I would do. Toward the end of the week, I had pizza, I went to the fair (yes. I ate my candied apple with nuts, ate a funnel cake too, and sipped up shaved ice with lots of flavorings), them had a homemade sausage dog in a hotdog bun. From Friday morning. I gained 2 pounds and stayed at this weight for 3 days. I figured a lot of the weight was salt retention.

    I did not like the extra weight hanging around for 3 days, so I got back on track and started logging again. And, I dropped the extra weight on 4th morning since the gain. I am pretty sure now it was salt weight, it took 3 days to get rid of.

    I am hoping to start going log free soon again.

    I never get this. People having a high calorie day and drop all the weight in a few days... like it's just water weight and the calories don't matter. Just wish it happened to me!
  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
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    juliebowman4 wrote: »
    Once you reach maintenance, how many still weigh and log everything?
    I'm hopeful that my end result will be a much better ability to eyeball portion sizes and calories as well as having a strong desire and personal accountability to keep moving forward, not backwards.

    Besides.....the thought of weighing/measuring and logging my food forever, makes me a little sad.

    Why does it make you sad? The thought of being overweight, sedentary, and having lots of health problems makes me even sadder.

    I do not know how got by for so long without my food scale. I honestly wish I could bring it everywhere with me and weigh my food where ever I go, but I think I might get funny looks in public.

    I will never stop weighing or tracking, I will do this for the rest of my life. However I do frequently go over my calorie allotment, but if I put it in my mouth it goes in MFP.
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
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    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
    I admit I get so tired of feeling like I just have to weigh every single thing I eat. I remember a time when people could lose weight and maintain without all this trouble. I am certain it is totally possible to say, "this is a reasonable portion of this food" withh out having to weigh and measure and log. I also believe our idea of a normal portion size has been horribly distorted. Restaurants serve mammoth sized portions of food, if you go to a fast food place the drinks are insane. A medium is enough for 3 people. Ask for a small and that's still an insane amount of soda. Everything is always bigger and better! Now 25% MORE! etc..... I think our idea of a normal serving used to be very different. We have grown accustomed to food and drinks being unbelievably large and if the serving isn't massive we feel cheated. We have to get back to knowing that a scoop of ice cream really shouldn't be the size of a basketball. A burrito needn't be the size of a toddlers torso. So forth an so on. Weighing and measuring does help us see what a serving size actually is. And maybe some folks can go with out really measuring all of their food and drinks. It would be easy enough though to slowly slip back into having just a little more, and just a little more again until we get back to old habits. It's just one of those things.

    I think at maintenance I'd only log something when I wasn't sure what was in it and how much, like the above example when going out to a restaurant. I've looked things up like salads and such and was shocked at the amount of carbs and calories hiding in a stupid salad, sometimes more than just having a burger. Between the sugary dressings and the croutons it can be a nightmare. When we go to ihop I order myself breakfast and ask for an extra plate, and my daughter gets 1/2 my breakfast. You get an insane amount!

    The worst thing I've ever seen was when 7-11 lets people bring their own cups for their slushies, and people were bringing in kiddie pools and buckets and filling them with slushies. You might not be paying much for that slushie now but you'll be paying that back in health care bills later...
  • tenreps
    tenreps Posts: 136 Member
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    I always log, maybe not as close as when I was in weight losing mode, but I keep on tracking.
  • texasleahgirl
    texasleahgirl Posts: 96 Member
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    As a reformed yo-yo dieter I think I will always log my food even when I get to maintenance (amost there!). Right now I weigh and log everything, and do my best to overestimate when at restaurants. I hope one day my brain will learn what a proper portion for someone of my size (5'4" currently 137lbs) feels like, but right now I can easily match bite-for-bite with my husband (who is 6'1" and 230lbs). My plan is to log daily intake forever and to at least weigh dairy items forever as I will binge eat ice cream, cheese, yogurt etc.
  • KboxU
    KboxU Posts: 4 Member
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    This is all good information! I've lost 20 lbs. and I have 5 to 10 to go. I've never had to lose over 10lbs because I've always intervened and lost unwanted lbs. when my clothes got snug, or if the #'s on the scale increase. Earlier this year, my dear mom passed away and my lbs. seemed to increase in a mere 4 weeks, on top of the extra 10 that were just along for the ride. Losing 20 was a challenge, but I can say that being in gym was one of the things that helped to save my life, after my mom passed. We were so close...and the workouts helped to offset some of the stress and extra pounds I picked up. Anyway, now, being within 5 to 10lbs. away, I'm planning for maintenance and I do not want to have to lose again anytime soon. It's much more enjoyable for me to workout for fun vs. having to lose the lbs. :-)
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    My plan is to make the CI increase as I approach maintenance in order to slow the approach. The idea is that I'll be logging and weighing for multiple weeks in the last 10 lb. I hope that when I call it "maintenance" that I'll have enough experience and education at recognizing the trade-offs that must be made as variety is introduced. However, I do expect to be weighing and logging a lot of stuff for many more months.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    llbrixon wrote: »
    I do not plan on logging food the rest of my life. I will weigh daily to watch trends and if it creeps to much to the high end of my 5 pound weight goal...I will then start logging in again until weight falls off. You know what you can eat....it portion control and limiting high calorie foods.

    I took a break from logging last week to see how I would do. Toward the end of the week, I had pizza, I went to the fair (yes. I ate my candied apple with nuts, ate a funnel cake too, and sipped up shaved ice with lots of flavorings), them had a homemade sausage dog in a hotdog bun. From Friday morning. I gained 2 pounds and stayed at this weight for 3 days. I figured a lot of the weight was salt retention.

    I did not like the extra weight hanging around for 3 days, so I got back on track and started logging again. And, I dropped the extra weight on 4th morning since the gain. I am pretty sure now it was salt weight, it took 3 days to get rid of.

    I am hoping to start going log free soon again.

    Last time we went to the Texas State Fair my daughter used a pedometer to note that we had walked 8 miles.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
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    I have been weighing and logging for a while now, and I go through cut/bulk cycles but generally speaking live at maintenance...for me, I eat a LOT of nut butters, and no matter how long I go for, I am not great at estimating those.

    Further, I have found in the past that when I DONT weigh, I will tend to overestimate (most people underestimate)- and it can lead me to go underweight/flirt with a weight zone that isn't healthy for my mind. Additionally, I am not a set calorie number every day, I often do 3-4 days at a "cut", 1-2 at "maintain" and 1-2 at "bulk" level of calories every week, so having the log helps me remember.

    I think for me, for maintaining weight, weighing my body has become more important than weighing my food, but because I'm constantly in body recomp, I will continue to weigh my food, likely forever.
  • krazy1sbk
    krazy1sbk Posts: 128 Member
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    I still log but I don't weigh anything. I'm pretty good at eyeballing it at this point, but if I don't keep myself accountable then I know I'd eat a whole pint of ice cream, chips, pizza, etc., all in one day since I stress-eat...

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