Is myfitnesspal healthy longterm?

13

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    I’m currently still in the process of losing weight(I have 11 more pounds to go), but I’m curious what other members do after they reach their weight goal. Is it (mentally)healthy to continue to use myfitnesspal on a day-to-day basis? I’m sure using myfitnesspal would be easy and pretty accurate but I’m wondering if that’s too restrictive. On the flip side, I’m also worried if I ditch myfitnesspal that I will revert to gaining weight due to not being able to see my calories.

    What do you all recommend?

    I used MFP as a learning tool and to help me to develop healthier habits. When I went to maintenance I stopped logging. I maintain the healthy habits I learned while losing weight...I eat the same, just a little bit more and I continue to exercise regularly. I know what an appropriate portion of most foods are...I am mindful of that and mentally mindful of the calories I'm taking in even if I don't know an exact number. I monitor my weight weekly and it's easy enough to cut out a couple of snacks or something if things are trending up. I've maintained going on 6 years save for my annual winter weight which is around 8 Lbs every year. It comes off in the spring when my activity level goes back up.
  • foreverblissful
    foreverblissful Posts: 50 Member
    I think of it a little bit like being a recovering addict. I may never be able to be like "most" people who can naturally eat and drink in a controlled manner, so I have to always be "working the steps" if I want to stay in recovery. The trade off, though, is that I don't have heart disease, diabetes, lack of mobility, etc, that comes with living with obesity. It's just that I have to take those extra steps to be mindful.
    While it's certainly possible to cross over into the territory of being obsessive, tracking what you eat, even for your whole life, isn't obsessive in and of itself.

    THIS! I was really getting at that people make it seem like health and keeping a stable weight should be "automatically wired in our habits", and if it isn't "automatically wired in our habits" that using tools seems like overkill AFTER the weight is lost. This is what was fed to me growing up, so I felt self-conscious that I do want to continue with MFP it helps me so much with portion control, especially since I grew up eating big portions, which meant I was relatively chubby for most of my life, so it's easy for me to slip in an extra serving and shrug a shoulder because "the food tastes good why not eat more even though I'm full." It gives me a sense of accountability seeing that if I add an extra serving that I do not need(given I am not hungry) that it will set me off track maybe I shouldn't or that I can but I will have to "make up for it later." Most people in my life don't think like that and so I guess I was also worried about how that would look, especially since most people give me a look when I say "im logging my foods right now," but shrug only because they think I'm going to stop once I hit my goal. That was what really made me question "is this even normal?"
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,285 Member
    Maybe a quarter of a lime at a shot, rounded down? (I was curious enough to Google if any fruits had zero sugar. Not overly surprised to find out the answer was "no", but I got a list of low-sugar fruits: https://www.verywellfit.com/low-carb-fruit-list-2242528)
  • egaba
    egaba Posts: 5 MFP Moderator
    I’m currently still in the process of losing weight(I have 11 more pounds to go), but I’m curious what other members do after they reach their weight goal. Is it (mentally)healthy to continue to use myfitnesspal on a day-to-day basis? I’m sure using myfitnesspal would be easy and pretty accurate but I’m wondering if that’s too restrictive. On the flip side, I’m also worried if I ditch myfitnesspal that I will revert to gaining weight due to not being able to see my calories.

    What do you all recommend?

    Learning healthy habits can take a lifetime. Once you reach your goal, find a new way to improve yourself in one way or another.
    • Improve strength; incorporate strength training into your routine
    • Improve flexibility; strike a yoga pose
    • Improve endurance; increase speed / distance in your walk/run
    • Learn a new recipe; check out our blog for inspiration
    • ... the list goes on

    Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it - Albert Einstein