Taking a week break from logging food - What results have YOU had from a logging break?

nexangelus

Water weight gain. Was eating more carbs and enjoying two weeks' holiday. It was ace! Came back no problems logging and hitting calorie targets for deficit. Still losing now. I like the slow and steady approach. I like being flexible. I like the practice and the confidence eating at maintenance and slightly over has given me. Not logging did not stress me out either.

KateTii

For me, a logging break is a diet break - I don't find it difficult to log so if i'm not logging, it's generally because I'm overeating and don't care what the macros/calories are. I have found a week off after 4-5 months can be a great mental break, with minimal setbacks - however, you do need to be very aware of how to 'get back on the horse' - which I know i'm fine at. If you are someone who struggles to start, I wouldn't recommend it.

H_Ock12

Stopped logging. Started gaining. Went back to logging.

CindyWard2

Just started back today after a 2 week stay-cation. I do not log or worry about what I eat during vacations...the result...4 lb gain. It's hard as hell to lose 4 lbs in 2 weeks but easy as pie (and brownies and homemade bread, etc) to gain it.

sarahlifts

If it is ONLY a week, Maintenance.
If more than a week I can go up by 5-7 lbs due to my love of carbs some will be fat some will be water.

Taking a tracking break for 1 week does wonders for recommitting to tracking. I'd rather stop tracking completely than become lax in tracking.

davidylin

Taking a break from logging leads to a longer break from logging. I think of logging as being a good habit and see a 'break' from logging as being a 'break' from my other good habits.

I learned from previous laxness in logging that I cannot rely on how I feel about what I'm eating to control my intake. I've also learned that I'm not entirely honest with myself about how much I am eating. Logging has been an excellent counterbalance to my shortcomings, as well as the most effective thing I do for my health.

RoxieDawn

Its second nature for me to login every day and track food and exercise. It does not take much time for me to do it, but I have not met my need to take a break from it.

LivingtheLeanDream

I needed a logging break over a year ago....I'm still on that break and have maintained my weight fairly effortlessly. I do weigh regularly though so if I saw myself going to higher end of goal range I would just cut out a snack to get back to my happy weight.

WanderingRivers

Weight gain. I'm up a lb and a half. Not loving it.

pinuplove

A week turned into 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, then 3 months and I undid 4 months of hard work

GottaBurnEmAll

I take a break from logging when we go on vacation and don't really care what happens. I usually just have water weight gain.

Otherwise, I log.

jaedwa1

Logging is part of my life. I even log my food intake during my vacations, but because I'm usually eating out, I'm not as precise as I am at home. I haven't gained any weight by estimating my food intake for that short of time. Even though the input is imprecise, having that data helps me not lose motivation when I don't see the scale going down. In other words, continuous logging minimizes my ability to make excuses.

lorrpb

Don't stop weigh ins if you take a logging break and want to keep yourself honest. Also keep up your regular activity level during a logging break.

MegaMooseEsq

I've got a long vacation weekend coming up that I am greatly looking forward to. I'm planning on estimating using quick-add only and pre-logging the alcohol I'm bringing along. This will be the closest I've gotten to not logging in a long time, but I'm not especially worried - I've been losing weight for nine and a half months and tracking another six months before that, and if it's taught me nothing else, it's that three days only ruins a diet if you let it.

EatingAndKnitting

I didn't log for three-four months this summer. I lost five pounds during that time. But I was still keeping track of what I ate in my head for the most part. If I take a break from tracking entirely, even in my head, I gain weight because I go back to old habits. Not much in a week though.

Maxxitt

I didn't log while I was on a 9 day road trip. No change, which rather surprised me given all the meals out and sitting in the car for all those hours. Plus the amazing beer n burger at the usual first-night stop that easily was a day's worth of calories while I am eating at the usual deficit.

Go_Deskercise

weight gain..... reached my goal and thought, welp I'm done, bye! WRONG..... started gaining weight back so I started logging again. Back on track to my goal weight!

cwolfman13

I stopped logging when I went to maintenance...I do not find maintenance at all hard without logging. That said, it seems that a lot of people equate logging with being conscious and aware...I don't need to log to be conscious and aware of what I'm eating...and if the scale trends up then I know I'm eating too much and adjust accordingly.

My eating habits are generally the same now in maintenance as they were 4.5 years ago when I was losing weight...lots of home cooked meals made from scratch, whole ingredients and/or minimally processed food goods. I eat out more than when I was losing, but I still don't eat out that often. I exercise regularly. I have treats here and there, but they aren't a significant part of my diet.

Francl27

I did it twice.

First time, went to Disney, still 20 lbs overweight, I managed to maintain.

Second time, 2 lbs from goal weight, spent the week with relatives who only eat out and are not super active - gained 2 lbs... 3 years later and I still haven't lost those 2 lbs.

Honestly, it totally depends on the circumstances. It will naturally be easier to maintain a heavier weight while being active than maintain a lower weight while on vacations...

kristen8000

I'll be testing this theory during a week long All Inclusive Cancun trip in 3 weeks. I lost 4lbs more than I wanted, so I have a very large buffer, and I'm assuming any weight gained will be mostly water.

My saving grace? Since cutting, I haven't been able to eat much food. There literally is no room. But, beer/wine/booze fits in the cracks. LOL

Now, in the past when I was dedicated to logging, got to goal weight, then quit because "I got this", I slowly put it back on, but I feel the cause of that was because I just didn't care anymore. I've learned I have to ALWAYS care.

sytchequeen

Ok. I've recently been away on holiday... therefore was not logging for that week.
I weighed in when I got home and did have a gain, most of which fell off within 48 hours, so I suspect it was water retention from air travel (common apparently). I was aware I was eating the right things, but there was no weighing involved. I had a little alcohol, which I don't usually have, and I had one dessert, which I almost never have.

Long story short, I pretty much stayed the same give or take a pound.

If I hadn't been logging but been at home I wouldn't have had anything to drink, or the chocolate fudge cake. So maybe I wouldn't have budged at all.

Seffell

I just finished a 3 week log break. It went surprisingly well. I'm very reassured for the future when I finally get to maintanance. But I've been logging for almost 2 years so I just know all calories by heart and can make a quick calculation in my head.

Seffell

gebeziseva wrote: »

I just finished a 3 week log break. It went surprisingly well. I'm very reassured for the future when I finally get to maintanance. But I've been logging for almost 2 years so I just know all calories by heart and can make a quick calculation in my head.

I wanted to add that I've also been slim for 32 years (before gaining some weight several years ago due to major changes in my life). So this might actually be related to being able to maintain without logging.

kavahni

Peace and tranquility.

dwilliamca

I'm afraid even a week would break my losing streak and mentally set me back. Logging is a habit now and keeping to my goal a personal challenge. Previously I stopped logging once I hit a plateau and started gaining weight back not long after. I thought for sure after months of weighing and logging, that I had a pretty good idea of how much and what I should eat (and I probably did). But for me, once the accountability went away I started cheating one snack at a time knowing in my conscience that I was going over maintenance, but without the concrete numbers it was easy to pretend I was doing OK. Then as the pounds started adding back up, I went into denial telling myself I'll log back on soon and re-lose it. Took me 2 years to do it and by then I'd put it all back on, so here I go again and this time I'm not taking any breaks even when I hit my goal. 10 lbs. down....40 to go!

amusedmonkey

dwilliamca wrote: »

I'm afraid even a week would break my losing streak and mentally set me back. Logging is a habit now and keeping to my goal a personal challenge. Previously I stopped logging once I hit a plateau and started gaining weight back not long after. I thought for sure after months of weighing and logging, that I had a pretty good idea of how much and what I should eat (and I probably did). But for me, once the accountability went away I started cheating one snack at a time knowing in my conscience that I was going over maintenance, but without the concrete numbers it was easy to pretend I was doing OK. Then as the pounds started adding back up, I went into denial telling myself I'll log back on soon and re-lose it. Took me 2 years to do it and by then I'd put it all back on, so here I go again and this time I'm not taking any breaks even when I hit my goal. 10 lbs. down....40 to go!

That was my experience as well, but it took more than a week to happen, but in my case it was this gradual calorie creep. When you blow things out and eat everything in the house you know you're overeating, but what's dangerous are those "one extra bite won't hurt" or "not that big of a calorie difference between 40 and 50 grams" and similar. With no numbers to tell me "enough" these things start sneaking up on me after a couple of months.

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rickiimarieee

I haven't logged everything in a couple days and to my surprise, weight LOSS. I'm very honest with myself and portions and what to eat and what not to eat. I still weighed and what not just didn't log.

misnomer1

Didnt log for 10 days while i was out of city for work. No gym, sedentary activity level. Im back home today - Half a pound loss, and am expecting some water loss tomorrow.

MossiO

I went on my honeymoon in February to an all-inclusive in Cancun for a week. Ate and drank all the things, but I didn't stuff myself silly like I might have "normally." Ended up gaining 2-3 pounds (which might have been water/airplace/hormones), lost them over the next few weeks. No regrets.