Do you accept that you'll have to log for the rest of your life(or atleast the foreseeable future)?

Addictead

I've been thinking about this because I've wondered if I could stop and still be successful and honestly I don't think I can. It's always been count calories to lose weight, slack off and regain 7, 15, 30 pounds. I accept that I'll have days where I won't or cant log, maybe even longer. But if I don't want to regain what I'm holding onto now I HAVE to log enough so my portions and snacking won't creep up like they always do without accountability of logging. It's so easy to think that "one bowl" was the same as it was a year ago except wait, you got a bigger bowl so it's 3 cups of soup not 2! Or your breakfast of one slice of toast has now grown to two because "it won't hurt".

I guess from here I just need to learn how to make long term logging successfully simplistic and ride it out for a very long time, It sure beats having to lose the weight again and again.

LivingtheLeanDream

How long have you been logging? I logged faithfully for 3 years, the first year while losing and then two while maintaining. It takes around 2 mins to log my days meals/calories - its not that much of a deal if it means keeping the weight off, right? If you eat the same things pretty much day in and day out its quick to copy from day to day etc.

p.s edited to add, I no longer log my meals apart from now and again to check the macros.
(6 years at goal weight range)

Kathryn247

Pretty much. Weighing and logging is a habit now, and it's way preferable to weight creep!
I eat more or less what I want on vacation and for some events, but I still log it as closely as possible. I just consider it being honest with myself.

RovP6

Isn't part of the process abut building sustainable habits? I certainly don't want to be logging for the rest of my life. Longest I've logged continuously for is 250 days, longest I've gone without logging is about the same length of time. Surely if we build habits around the meals we have on a weekly basis and the snacks we know are both good for us and not loaded with calories we should be able to get by without logging. If we start to gain weight over a period of time, and I don't mean after a couple of weeks, we can either change a snack or cut it out completely. If that doesn't see the weight stabilise or fall again we simply remove something else, but always maintain the balance of the 2 or 3 main meals we prepare and eat each day.

bustercrabby

I've weighed and logged nearly everything since April of last year. I don't feel right if I don't. Besides, I've lost so much weight in that time that I never want that insidious weight creep to occur.

suzannakmoran

It would be lovely if we just got into the habit of automatically eating the right types and amounts of foods every day without logging, but hey, I'm over 50 and haven't magically developed that habit quite yet (and I for one have been fighting my weight and impulse eating since I was 11), so I for one am not counting on good habits to protect me. Maybe if I'm in goal range for 6 years I'll change my mind. But I've never been there more than a year.

Every time I have stopped doing logging and weighing, pounds have crept or sometimes flung themselves back on. I think for me, slacking in logging and weighing is a sign that I'm already starting to slack in paying attention to nutrition and exercise, not a cause of it.

So yep, I think it does indeed have to be part of my life forever. Fortunately, I find it kind of interesting if not quite fun.

cmriverside

I've been logging food for most of the past 11 years.

When I stop I tend to eat way more. I need to see those numbers. It's well worth the five minutes per day.

LyndaBSS

I completely accept that logging is mandatory for me if I want to continue to enjoy my healthier lifestyle and watch the numbers on the scale and measuring tape go down.

I also just had great bloodwork results and checkups with both my GP and my endocrinologist. If that comes at the cost of logging, that's a pretty small price to pay. 😀

steveko89

RovP6 wrote: »

Isn't part of the process abut building sustainable habits?

I see logging itself as a sustainable habit. I've been a user here since May 2012, and in what many in the community would consider "maintenance" (being within the "Normal" BMI range) the entire time, and I don't foresee leaving. I'm sure one could/would argue I'm unreasonably dependent on logging my food and even making food decisions driven by the calorie and macro content, though I don't see how that differs from those who choose a certain WOE for non-medical and/or non-religious reasons. Much of that is centered around controlling what one puts in their body from a qualitative standpoint, what's the problem with being scrutinizing in the same way, just from a quantitative perspective?

kimny72

I expect to log in some form or another for the rest of my life. I honestly find it calming, I'm prone to worrying and I always used to worry about whether I was eating the right foods and the right amount, which would cause me to over-restrict. When I log, I know, and that eases my mind. I also like to make sure I'm getting enough protein and fiber, and that tends to not happen when I'm not monitoring.

Now that I'm in maintenance, I log more casually. I don't always weigh or measure, sometimes I don't bother to log the evening snack. But if my weight creeps up out of my maintenance range, I buckle back down. Maybe someday I'll be able to take weeks or months without logging and just go back to it whenever the scale sounds the alarm. But it takes literally a minute or two a day to log, less time than I spend doing all sorts of worthless things, so I don't see any reason to try to phase it out.

It's just like keeping a budget. You don't keep a financial budget hoping someday you'll be able to effortlessly spend and save the right amounts of money without planning and writing it down. My weight and health is just as important (if not more so) than my bank account.

Boondockpatrol

Yes, I have accepted this! At least until I have a 6 month habit or so going and I KNOW what I am eating and portion sizes.

VioletRojo

I'm about two years into maintenance and only log sporadically, maybe once every two weeks. I only do it as a check to make sure my portions aren't creeping up without me noticing.

lalalacroix

No I don't accept logging forever. I've been here logging for most of the past 5 years. I've finally lost most of the weight and I believe that I finally have learned how to eat in a way that supports health and a healthy weight.

I haven't logged since the end of June and have continued to lose weight at the rate I intend. I plan to continue weighing myself daily and if there is any weight creep the first thing I will do is get back to weighing and logging my food.

I don't think weighing takes a long time or is difficult, but for me it isn't part of my long-term plan.

cwolfman13

I haven't logged a single thing in over 6 years of maintenance...

sardelsa

No I never accepted it for me personally. I have no issue with check-ins once and a while or if I am trying to meet a particular difficult goal (weight gain at a high intake or getting ultra lean) otherwise I use the scale and adjust my intake accordingly since I am pretty good at estimating.

ceiswyn

I have accepted this.

My appetite has never matched my physical needs. It doesn't now, either. So logging it is; though probably a bit more loosely unless I start putting on weight and need to tighten up

MikePTY

I did a 1 month experiment without logging even though I'm not at maintenance yet, and it went pretty well. I was still mostly on track, until I wasn't, so then I started tightening up and logging again. I think that will probably be my maintenance plan going forward. Not logging every day, but going through cycles and logging as needed based off of how I am holding steady.

missperfectpitch

I'll continue to log for the foreseeable future (and maybe forever, but who knows). I actually enjoy logging as I view it as a sort of fun math project where I can see what I can fit in to eat on different days. I experiment with making different types of recipes, so my calories can be all over the place. Also, I enjoy eating desserts, especially ice cream (full fat, high calorie ice cream), a lot, as well as going out to nice meals pretty regularly, and I like having the comfort of knowing how much of these types of items I can fit into my calorie allowance without worrying that I'll regain the weight (which would likely happen if I didn't keep logging).

neugebauer52

Today is my day 499 on MFP. (lost 40 kg - 90 pounds so far.) Thanks to MFP and all those supporting members I have learned so much - to start with: "don't stress!" I am taking it day by day - prepare myself a basic meal plan for the next day and take it meal by meal. The way I am losing weight slooooowly, I will / might need another 499 days to get down to a reasonable weight - whatever that might be. BUT - but I know one think for sure: If I would not have started to join MFP and slowly change to a healthier life style 499 days ago, I would still weigh in on 170 - 375 pounds and chances are that I would be much heavier by now. So there - I am no Nostradamus and that's why I don't worry about long term. Just stick to MFP and all those amazing supportive members.

tcunbeliever

I think I will likely track forever, for different things.

When I'm lifting and gaining then I track to make sure I am getting enough protein since in my natural eating I tend to eat more veg and less meat.

When I'm trying to be less fluffy, then I'm more focused on still getting enough protein, but also keeping the calories down.

I usually don't get more than 5-10 lbs out of maintenance range before I will do something about it. If your clothes don't fit then there's really only two choices, slim down, or buy larger clothes...I always opt for slimming down.

JenasyJen

Anytime I stop tracking I eat way too much. I figure I do not have a healthy relationship with food. I never have. So if I stop logging I'm gonna gain it all back and fast... It sucks. But it's my reality.

oocdc2

I'm planning to log for the duration.

1. I just consider it daily maintenance, like taking vitamins and brushing my teeth.

2. I have so many other things in my life to track, I can't keep track of what I eat in my head.

3. I come for the logging, but I stay for the forum support.

rosebarnalice

I fought it for a long time-- a LOOOONG time. Like 12 years long time.

But I've come to accept that for me it's like brushing my teeth in the morning or putting on my seat belt in the car: it has become a ritual of self care that, while I may not particularly look forward to or love to do, I don't recoil at the thought any more and I know that it is in my long term best interest.

sijomial

I don't see the problem is logging or not logging food but rather that you "slack off and regain 7, 15, 30 pounds".

That you don't intervene until you have re-added a whole lot of weight is what you need to fix IMHO.
30lbs didn't happen overnight, it's the mindset you need to get right first. There are more ways than just food logging to reduce your intake but first you have to decide you need to.

(I haven't logged my food in years, but I have to intervene when I hit my upper limit to stop a drift becomming a slide.)

ExistingFish

I don't accept that as necessary for me, but I understand everyone is different. Being in maintenance, or slow loss (in and out) over the past year, I logged for some times, didn't log for others, etc.

Logging calms that nagging anxiety in my mind about eating too much, which sometimes causes me to over-restrict. However, logging also frustrates me and keeps me from being even a little relaxed.

I'm logging most days right now (probably 5/7 days) because DH is trying to lose weight. My logging is an example for him, and it's something we talk about. I feel I could stop and still maintain my weight. I'm on the computer a lot for work during the day. It gives me a sanity break to pop over and log anyway.

Phirrgus

Do you accept that you'll have to log for the rest of your life(or atleast the foreseeable future)?

There's very little that I actually "Have" to do, in the strictest sense of the word. I'm pointing that out because one day at a time works very well for me, and when it's put into the context of "Have to" for an undetermined period of time I tend to get rebellious, even if the activity is in my best interests, because it's become burdensome.

I'm not logging today, haven't for 2 or 3 days because I don't "have" to. If the need arises, then I'll log again, because I can and it benefits me, not because I have to.

/climbs_off_soapbox

nighthawk584

I eat many of the same foods over and over, so logging is no big deal for me. It's like brushing my teeth. I am NOT going to gain my weight back and all the health problems I had, so this is a minor "nuisance" compared to where I came from.

Addictead

sijomial wrote: »

I don't see the problem is logging or not logging food but rather that you "slack off and regain 7, 15, 30 pounds".

That you don't intervene until you have re-added a whole lot of weight is what you need to fix IMHO.
30lbs didn't happen overnight, it's the mindset you need to get right first. There are more ways than just food logging to reduce your intake but first you have to decide you need to.

(I haven't logged my food in years, but I have to intervene when I hit my upper limit to stop a drift becomming a slide.)

i understand most of my issue is that I get frustrated. Logging, What I can/can't eat calorie wise, Weighing even. All of it just really catches up and I quit because mentally I get into a spiral and it ends up sending me into a depression.

Which is why I'm concerned about making it as simple and non stressful as I can since I'm going there again, it sucks

Yes I have anxiety, yes I'm getting help for it.

sijomial

Addictead wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

I don't see the problem is logging or not logging food but rather that you "slack off and regain 7, 15, 30 pounds".

That you don't intervene until you have re-added a whole lot of weight is what you need to fix IMHO.
30lbs didn't happen overnight, it's the mindset you need to get right first. There are more ways than just food logging to reduce your intake but first you have to decide you need to.

(I haven't logged my food in years, but I have to intervene when I hit my upper limit to stop a drift becomming a slide.)

i understand most of my issue is that I get frustrated. Logging, What I can/can't eat calorie wise, Weighing even. All of it just really catches up and I quit because mentally I get into a spiral and it ends up sending me into a depression.

Which is why I'm concerned about making it as simple and non stressful as I can since I'm going there again, it sucks

Yes I have anxiety, yes I'm getting help for it.

You have my sympathies. You also sound similar to my daughter.

It's not a binary choice between highly detailed and accurate logging and no logging at all though.
Perhaps somewhere on that spectrum might be your personal sweet spot that gives you the control you want without the onerous pressure of weighing every last scrap of food?

For example:
When I lost my excess weight I made a deliberate choice to make logging easy, painless and quick but also consistent. Consistency plus adjusting based on actual results over time is also perfectly effective.
I weighed high calorie items a few times to get the serving portions dialled in. Grouped my average regular drinks, vitamins etc into one meal so I could copy forward in one go. Used Quick Adds for complex or difficult to estimate one off meals, estimated shared portions, used the barcode scanner, didn't bother about accuracy for low calorie items. Even with this a lot less than perfect methodology I was only about 200cals/day off. Just adjusted my daily goal by 200 cals.
Estimating is an art in practice as well as a science in theory.

DonM46

I don't weigh or measure anything; just estimate it, but I still log it.
I step on the scales almost every day to notice trends, but record it only once a week.
On days when I go over my calorie budget or my weight creeps up, I compare my intake with several days back and adjust downward a tad for a few days.
That ends the 'it won't hurt' for a while ... because it DOES hurt if not arrested.
Logging is no big deal. If it's getting close to midnight, I take a minute to log stuff.
If I'm not home, I'll use my phone.
Doesn't take long, & it's worth the long-term benefit.

LuckysGurl

kimny72 wrote: »

It's just like keeping a budget. You don't keep a financial budget hoping someday you'll be able to effortlessly spend and save the right amounts of money without planning and writing it down. My weight and health is just as important (if not more so) than my bank account.

I really love this analogy, and hadn't thought of it in these terms. I've been a faithful budgeter for YEARS. But always feel like I'm working toward not "having" to log my food. This really helped put it in a new perspective for me!