Quitting Logging Milestone

nowine4me

Today is the day. I will continue to weigh myself daily and track my weight. I will continue to use these forums and your wisdom for support. But I’m not going to log my food or track my calories while I’m in my maintenance range.

This is an awesome tool, but the logging part is keeping me in a “diet” mentality that I very much want to be free from. It feels like I’m flying blind — Wish me luck friends.

LiftHeavyThings27105

Best of wishes sent your way.....

And, I agree. I do not use MFP for logging of anything. I use another method that works just swell for me. Everyone is different.

kommodevaran

Welcome to the dark side I stopped tracking 9 months after I hit maintenance, but I still weigh myself every day, and I still plan my meals, so I still log, too, loosely.

zyxst

Best of luck. I don't have that inner discipline to go without tracking help.

Jaimeclmt

Great job! It took me a year and a half after I hit my goal to stop logging (just stopped a couple months ago), but I still track dinner just to keep things in check. I kinda figure my running will keep my calories balanced, and so far it's working.

nowine4me

Jaimeclmt wrote: »

Great job! It took me a year and a half after I hit my goal to stop logging (just stopped a couple months ago), but I still track dinner just to keep things in check. I kinda figure my running will keep my calories balanced, and so far it's working.

Good to hear Jamie. It’s been about a year and a half in maintenance for me too. Thanks for the feedback.

CarvedTones

I may try it again, but not for a while. Weighing yourself daily makes it sound less risky. I hope it goes well for you!

nowine4me

I almost put the food scale away too, but decided against that. It will help keep portion creep in check.

CarvedTones

I have experimented with trying to guess weight before putting it on the scale or trying to get out the right portion before weighing it and I can be off quite a bit. I am pretty good at cooked chicken often guessing within a couple of tenths of an ounce. I can pour a serving of cereal and be off 30%. I am almost embarrassed to say how far off I was on fresh pineapple; it was nearly double what I thought. Watermelon about 50% higher than I guessed. Those would be nearly harmless for most people but I eat a lot of fruit and melon and pineapple are a couple of my favorites. I get pretty close with apples and bananas. I usually serve myself too little rice or potatoes. I could easily be a couple of hundred off on a meal. I was off a hundred calories on a single piece of very rich chocolate cake a few days ago (Publix chocolate lover's delight; worth making room in the calorie budget on some rare special occasions).

EDIT - I logged the right amount on all these. I just tried guessing without weighing first.

JeromeBarry1

You can do it, buddy, and so can I. I got hideously over my calories Friday, and then again on Saturday, but I'm intent upon staying in my budget today and I'll resume weighing tomorrow.


In my household, all 4 of us are logging and trying now. I can't be the quitter now.

hesn92

Good luck! I am kinda halfway done logging lol. I do a lazy form of logging m-f (I don’t weigh and measure, just estimate) and then don’t log at all on the weekends. One of these days I hope to not log at all but it is a nice tool

workinonit1956

Good luck, you got this! Glad you’re staying around here

rheddmobile

Wishing you the best of luck!

I'm in maintenance intending to log for the rest of my life, because for me it greatly simplifies tracking carbs for blood sugar control. Also, I can add up the calories of things like salad toppings much easier than I can guesstimate them. For me, a 300 calorie salad versus a 700 calorie salad is just a matter of a few little tweaks. But different people are different. I hope you find a way that works for you!

ITUSGirl51

Good luck and congratulations!

I’m only 6 weeks into maintenance and still logging and feel like I’m still on a diet. I’ve either been overweight or obese my entire life and I don’t expect 50 years of overeating to stop now. I’m hoping I will feel more confident in a year.

middlehaitch

Congratulations. I am sure you will be a successful non-logger.

Keep your food scale on hand but really concentrate on knowing your portion sizes for your most common foods.

I had about 6 months of weighing myself, weighing my food, and logging once I hit maintenance over 8 years ago.

The easiest thing to let go of was the logging. I had the calorie values for my most common foods, in the portion I ate them, still fresh in my mind so I ran a rough tally for quite some time.

Once I had a good visual of my portion sizes the scale got put away. It was brought out every few months to check portions were still within range.

After a while I basically stopped weighing myself. I go by the mirror and clothing fit most of the time and just jump on the scale if I feel a bit pudgy.

I am not adverse to getting back to logging if needed, and will usually do it for a week or two if things really change.

Make sure you update the thread with your non-logging progress over the next while.

Cheers, h.

sijomial

Good on you - it's good to experiment and calorie awareness doesn't go away just because you don't log.

Stopping food logging felt for me like the final part of maintenance being the new normal.
Daily weighing, a casual awareness of developing trends and a few tactics to reverse an upward trend have worked well for me.

Best of luck.

PS - the only things I use my food scales for now is baking and weighing the ingredients for my porridge so it is perfect every time and doesn't explode all over the microwave.

elisa123gal

I'm losing weight not logging... i hate it.. it's great to do for a while for self education on calories. but.. does make food a hassle and it should be a joy. i've seen you posting good advice for a long time now.. i hope not logging works for you and you can be more free.

nowine4me

Day one was liberating and it’s the first day in a month I’ve not had an urge to binge. I’ve been hanging on so tight for two and a half years, it’s liberating to let go, yet know there’s this amazing community to lean on when needed. Thanks y’all for that.

DamienAngelica

Sending well wishes your way! I hope the not logging works out well.

Hamsibian

Congrarulations! I reached my goal weight (gaining) right before I went on vacation in March, so I just stopped logging since. I am still gaining a bit, but I am fine with that since I know exactly where I can make tweaks overtime. It's so liberating, and I hope it works for you!

BeccaLoves2lift

Awesome! I tried mindful eating in March and ended losing weight so I went back to logging. I want to try mindful eating again here soon. Good luck!

jrwms714

Wishing you the best. It works well for some to not log. It doesn't work for me. 3 years into maintenance. 6 years total on MFP. Logging is so easy due to the technology that I don't mind it at all. And I never feel like I am on a diet. I just feel like this is as much a habit as teeth brushing and yes, weighing each AM. But I know lots of people on here do well without it. And, if you find yourself gaining outside of your goal range, you can always go back to it intermittently.

CarvedTones

BeccaLoves2lift wrote: »

Awesome! I tried mindful eating in March and ended losing weight so I went back to logging. I want to try mindful eating again here soon. Good luck!

I have tried mindful eating in the past but it kept morphing into bellyfull...

DX2JX2

Good luck! One tip - remember that there's a difference between logging and being cognizant of your calorie intake.

I still monitor and control my calorie intake to keep myself from drifting back to old habits with portion size and snacking (why I put on weight to begin with is not a mystery to me). That said, I don't keep a running log or anything. I just keep track of one day at a time.

LivingtheLeanDream

All the best

Its approximately 2 years since I stopped logging food here. Occasionally I log to see how my macros are doing but that's all.

I weigh daily still, use a trending app and have little issues of staying within my goal range. For me its all about being mindful. I mentally tot up my calories so I know I'm staying within my average TDEE. I have to say if I did see weight creep happening over time then I wouldn't hesitate to go back to logging again but it looks like I can maintain just fine on my own.

LivingtheLeanDream

nowine4me wrote: »

I almost put the food scale away too, but decided against that. It will help keep portion creep in check.

I still use the food scale, it does keep the portions in check for sure.

lorrpb

I logged only for 3 months/25 lb and went on to lose another 125 with no logging. I’ve learned to estimate portion sizes relative to a familiar plate, size of my hand etc. Maintaining within 5 lbs for 18 months now. Even without logging, I have to find ways to keep myself accountable.

fiddletime

I’ve been maintaining the past year. For the past two months I’ve stopped logging twice and gained 2-3 pounds. I’m back logging again to lose 2.5 pounds. I dont do do great not logging, but like the break and now know what trips me up. Junk food- a bite here and a biter or piece there. With logging that wouldn’t trip me up.

nowine4me

I ate a few things that were outside the norm today, had a mini panic attack about it, then logged. It’s a process, right? How come some people can just eat a cookie and not sweat it?

hesn92

I have to be very mindful of how I eat. The thing that messes me up is just mindless snacking. Like I’ll munch on chips or crackers or something as I’m cooking dinner and it adds up to basically a second dinner worth of calories. I have to make rules for myself. Like I only eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, one afternoon snack and maybe something small after dinner if I really want it. And nothing else

middlehaitch

nowine4me wrote: »

I ate a few things that were outside the norm today, had a mini panic attack about it, then logged. It’s a process, right? How come some people can just eat a cookie and not sweat it?

Because I could eat a cookie today ( sub in any highter cal option) but not eat one again for 10 days.

I could also do chicken breast and salad today (sub in a low cal option) but not eat one again for 10 days.

It really is starting to look at the long term picture, and I mean really long term, and being able to envisage the long term consequences.

I have had a crap year with a lot of travel (I am continent hopping like a bunny) around family needling me close. Right now I'm far from home and working on getting my 91yo mum's cals up after an illness. Heck, I have eaten so much cake and cream you could sink a ship, but I am cognizant of my input, and don't sweat the small stuff over a 4-8 week temporary deviation.

I just roll with the punches, knowingly.

Cheers, h.