Will You Use MFP Forever?

OpalFruitJam

When you have reached your weight loss goal (and you will) do you think you will continue to use MFP, even if it's just for a 'maintaining tool'? Or will you delete your account or use it less once you have reached your goal?
I'm very close to mine at the moment, but feel as though I will probably then set MFP to 'maintain' and continue to log, always- or at least I am very comfortable, knowing I will stay roughly the same weight.
Just curious ^_^

Aeriel

I think I will use it for a long time to come. I know if I don't watch my food and calorie intake, I know I will start to slip up, little by little. I am nearly at my halfway point to my main first goal, but may want to go further after that. A friend of mine lost her weight 6 years ago ad has kept it off for those years, but says she still does a food diary every day! It is a great tool and easy to use!

BetterVersion

I was just thinking about this earlier. I think I would have to continue to use MFP, just to keep me accountable, at least a few times a week. My nutritionist even says she observes and documents her calories several times a month, just to make sure she's not underestimating her cals (which a lot of us do! lol)

arewethereyet

yes
edited to add: The only people I know that have kept the weight off, are those that continued to be aware of their food intake. One friend lost approx 80 pounds. She said to me 5 yrs ago she will always write her food down.......forever.......I saw her at the gym the other day and she has kept off all her weight! My other friend lost 60 pounds thru WW....continues with her points and monthly meetings and has kept the weight within 10 pounds for 15 yrs

I feel this is a part of my daily life........it has been over 1 year of maintence for me and I actually LOST another 6 pounds!! LOL

LettyM62

I think so.

later......

I'll take my answer back...forever is a long time, maybe I'll just do it as long as I can, to keep myself on track and maintain.

alexwalper

I like food too much and am a bit wary of trusting myself, so I definitely will try at the least!

jeweljade

Definitely!! I have lost a lot of weight in the past and gained it back over time, and after thinking about it I think I realize now that it was because once I met my weight loss goal I felt I had nothing to work towards. So this time I will use MFP to maintain my weight and start new goals like working up to being able to run several miles without stopping. I don't want to just be skinny I want to be in great shape as well!

MMATrainer13

Goals should never stop. Weight loss is the most common goal, and once it is achieved, we must set new goals for ourselves. Whether it is running a 5k, increasing strength or endurance, losing body fat, etc, goals are what keep us moving. I always tell my clients that it is easier to stay running when you can see the finish line. That is why I always recommend short term goals, anywhere from 4-12 weeks. Keep up all your hard work, it sounds like it is definitely paying off! And never stop asking yourself, "What am I going to do next to challenge myself?"

Precious_Nissa

I believe I will because MFP is what has got me on track and I really and thankful for someone who made this a free site....

Mary_Burris

im addicted to it I know I will be on here as long as its here. lol. I Love how I Now know what I was doing wrong and this is the way I need to be FOREVER LOL.!!!

microtanya

It's become such a habit and so eye-opening, plus I don't trust myself to maintain without it, maybe for a few months but I can't even begin to think about it now, I would miss it too much!

cocacole77

Yes I will use it always to help me maintain my weight.

melodyg

I have a LONG way to go to get to my goal weight... so I am hoping that by then I will know what I can eat and how to eat without relying on MFP. My goal right now is to maintain using MFP for a few months, and then try to try it without (or maybe gradually cut down the days that I log in everything) and see how it goes! I do love the support here and I have no plans to delete my account and leave when I hit my goals... but I may cut back on the calorie counting.

SayRah

Even if I do reach my weight goal, prolly not! I'm kind of addicted, I think...

lilchino4af

Even if I do reach my weight goal, prolly not! I'm kind of addicted, I think...

Haha, that's kind of how I am. I love reading posts and the atmosphere here is just so positive it makes a bad day better after reading people's encouragements to one another. So yeah, I'll definitely use it once I hit maintenance mode, daily for at least the first year or so. After that, I might not be so rigid, but I plan to hold myself accountable because I plan to NEVER let myself go again!

mamagooskie

I am definitely the type of person that will need to watch what I eat for the rest of my life, and recording every bite seems to be the only way I have had any success so YES I will use MFP for a long time to come.

simona1972

I think I'd definitely use it for maintenance. It'll be a new thing for me to maintain a healthy weight do I think I'd have to rely on something to keep me on track. The last thing I'd want to do is regain the weight and start this all over again.

HeatherCanDoIt

I will have to! I believe that I will have to work hard every single day for the rest of my life to keep it off!!!

TabiHerbalifeCoach

For me, this isn't a diet, this is a life change, and MPF is part of my life now. Accountability is amazing the support is wonderful, and I did loose weight before, I use to be 230, I got down to 160 and over the last year I slowly got back up to 175, I know this needs to be a part of my life, even if its nothing else to give support to others who are where I use to be!!

iRun4wine

I don't know that I will always be on MFP per-say, but I will always find a way to be very aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. I certainly will NOT be on the message boards forever

MzMolly

YES!! Not only does it help me stay on track and see just what I am eating but I love all my MFP friends! I love this more then facebook. I think that if I stop logging my food I will go back to gaining weight!

AriesGrl

I agree...I think I will need to use this tool to help keep me accountable forever....lol...



Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Kath712

I will definitely use MFP for maintenance. Plus, I love all the challenges and posts about new things to try. I need to keep switching it up to challenge my body.

edorice

Goals should never stop. Weight loss is the most common goal, and once it is achieved, we must set new goals for ourselves. Whether it is running a 5k, increasing strength or endurance, losing body fat, etc, goals are what keep us moving. I always tell my clients that it is easier to stay running when you can see the finish line. That is why I always recommend short term goals, anywhere from 4-12 weeks. Keep up all your hard work, it sounds like it is definitely paying off! And never stop asking yourself, "What am I going to do next to challenge myself?"

Love this answer. I think that with the use of MFP and a heart rate monitor I will start to program my mind as to calories in and calories out automatically. Like, off the top of my head I now know that an El Pollo Loco chicken leg is 90 calories. It's now great to know what a meal should average and what a snack should average. These are great tools for sure.

ChellieIrish

Absolutely :bigsmile: I''ve lost weight in the past with WW and lost interest in the meetings so therefore lost interest in the whole idea :grumble:

Since joining here I have met some really wonderful people who I would hate to lose contact with their support has been priceless :bigsmile:

While I am here I am being held accountable for my actions so yes I think even when I reach my goal I will definitely stay here I have now gotten into the habit of daily tracking of my foods so why would I change something that is working :drinker:

My motto : If it ain't broke don't fix it :bigsmile:

donghaeboong

Probably not. There's a big chance I'll end up forgetting about the website, haha. I mean, I'm almost 19 (6 days!). Forever is a long time away, so...

Rhaeven

Like most everyone else, I will likely stay here for a very long time. I have been here for about a month, have gained/lost the same 2lbs over and over for the entire month, but I refuse to stop and give up. I have a long way to go still to reach my first major goal, so it will be a long time before I get even close to "maintenance."

I love that everyone here is so positive and full of amazing support. Once my first goal weight is achieved, I know I will have a ton of other goals to reach. This is the perfect environment for putting your goals out there and having people help hold you accountable for reaching them, or just the extra needed boost to get there sometimes. I agree with a previous poster. We should always be challenging ourselves to try new things and going just one step further. Aging is hard on our bodies if we let it, being healthy is the best thing we can do to stay strong.

Thanks to Mike and all the other people who stay here and offer up their wisdom, this place is an amazing FREE resource for those of us who need it. I will probably be here for as long as the site is.

Lisamarie1226

Well, I don't know about forever, ever! But definitely will use it for a long time. Yes, if you do research, it's been said that the people who are the most successful are the ones who write it down...not just WHAT they eat but when and why.

However, I think I will keep on with MFP because of the support and encouragement I've been receiving. It really is an addictive site but the comraderie I've come across, well, it's amazing! I feel like I've "met" some really great friends. I know that I can and will get to my goal weight, with MFP and "with a little help from my friends." :-)

DeeDeeLHF

I am not sure about forever but I do believe that I will need to do something in order to keep this weight off. I do fear that if I "stop" the weight will slowly creep back on.

D

lculian

I'm in it for as long as it's here! I learn so much every week. I think it's a tool that helps in so many more ways than just counting calories. The reports, the people and support I don't know what I'd do with out it!!

Maitenance is just as important as weight loss and I think it will take awhile to understand how to truly maintain my weight. Plus I know out of sight is out of mind for me. That will lead to weight gain so.....I plan on being an MFP member for life:)

JeanneTops

Well, I'm old enough that forever isn't as long as it used to be

I've lost and gained and lost and gained and lost and .... so many times that I've lost track. When I'm at goal (or close to it), something always happens - an illness, death in the family, get pregnant, lose a job, start a job, start school, graduate. And while I adjust to the change - good or bad - I lose track of what I'm eating, I get too busy to exercise. I give it up to get through the adjustment. The worst thought I have is: It doesn't really matter right now. I'll skip today, I'll skip this week, I'll start tracking what I eat when this is over. I'm too tired, depressed, busy or whatever to do it now.

Well, tomorrow never comes, as they say. But the weight gain does. And unless this is the first time you've ever tried to lose weight, you know what I mean.

I know I'm going to get tired of tracking all my food. This is a lot easier than writing it all down as I've done in the past. I'm on the computer every day so it's not so hard to log in and enter what I've eaten. But, still, I know I'm going to get tired of it. I'm going to think: Hey, I'm at goal, I don't have to do this anymore!

I've been on MFP for six months now. I've been lucky and haven't hit any life challenges yet but life is no bowl of cherries so its going to happen, sooner or later.

Nobody really knows how weight losers successfully keep it off. But I think it comes from giving up on paying attention. Whether its continuing to weigh yourself, continuing to track what you eat or continuing to exercise every day or a combination of all three, if you stop doing those things then you're going to gain the weight back. And the longer you stop doing them - a few days, a week, a month, then the more likely you'll gain enough that you'll have to work hard again to lose it. And that can be so discouraging, that you give up all together and then, slowly, the weight will come back.

So, yeah, I plan on logging in and tracking my food forever. I plan on weighing myself weekly forever. I plan on exercising three to five times a week forever even if I'm dragging myself around the nursing home at 105. I'm going to have one year MFP anniversaries, five year MFP anniversaries, 10 year, 20 year - hey 50 years if I'm lucky!

Those are my goals and I'm keeping them.