February 4
Mrs_Hoffer
Posts: 5,194 Member
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
1
Replies
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Friday Feb 4
Exercise - Yes - walking the dog
Tracked all: Yes
Calories under: Yes
What a supportive lovely group this is! So much gratitude to be in it.8 -
Elsa had a question in the Feb 2 thread (below) and I wanted to post it here to make sure that she sees the answer... plus, other new people in the group might have this same question:koeitjiesa wrote: »Hi guys. I have a question. I was within my calories, but only with my exta exercise calories included. Does this still count as within my calories? I hope this makes sense...
Exercise :Yes
Tracked : Yes
Calories : Yes?? (only if my exercise calories counts)
(0 pass days used to date)
Elsa, @koeitjiesa one of the great things about the UAC is that YOU get to determine if that's "allowed" or not.... some people eat back their exercise calories, and some do not. It's an individual preference. Does that make sense?5 -
I also answered that (but with more detail) on the Feb 2 thread, and then copied it over to the What's On Your Mind Today thread to better corral the collective wisdom/experience that I hope this question brings to the surface. I am sure many of our newer members are wondering the same thing.4
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Thanks BeeJ!! I appreciate that you're always on top of things!
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THE IMPORTANCE OF TRACKING:
I know that some of us hate to think that we might have to track our food for the rest of our lives, but tracking is one of the things that's so critical to our long term SUCCESS! It's NOT hard, it's NOT difficult, and as Maddie said last month, we should think of it as a "safety line", especially once we get to maintenance.
Tracking seriously takes only minutes to do, (don't wait until the end of the day and then try to remember everything that you ate that day!!) And tracking helps us to spot issues or trends and (more importantly) to STOP them and turn them around QUICKLY!!
Maddie @MadisonMolly2017 said that after 5 years of tracking every single bite, a little voice began to creep up in her head and say “I’m sick & tired of tracking.” But just hearing that little voice in her head made alarm bells go off.... Danger!! Danger!! 💀💀💀
Tracking can help us to look at saturated fat or even sodium consumption, and keep those numbers where they should be. Tracking may very well be one of the most important techniques for us to master!
We've all heard of folks that lose weight & can maintain without tracking. But experienced people - in this group - who have kept their weight off for several years without yo-yo'ing - all say that they still track!!
For me personally, I've spent almost a year and a half losing 60 lbs.... and I have NO desire to have to go through that again! If tracking my intake every single day will help me to catch a "slow creep" and turn it around quickly and painlessly, then tracking (for the rest of my life) is what I'll do!!
Please share your perspective & experience with tracking.
What are you working on at the moment regarding "tracking"?
**(I've used much of what Maddie @MadisonMolly2017 posted last month regarding tracking.) Maddie, you're such an inspiration to this group, and it's also very impressive that you've just recently turned around what I like to call a "slow creep" of weight gain. High five!!
We appreciate you!
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!2 inches of new snow, 8 degrees temps, and my furnace decides to quit last evening! Go figure. lol !! Not whining, not complaining, just sharing with friends. Furnace guy was here this morning and will be back later this afternoon with parts.9
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@Bill70sStrong YIKES! That's Murphy's Law don't cha know! The coldest, snowiest night of the year..... hope he gets you up and running again SOON!!3
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04/02/2022
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
• DAY 9 of EPIC I | FULL BODY B/WEIGHT & DUMBBELL 60 min
• Walking 8.09 km in 1:26:43 (5.62 km/h)
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes.
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes7 -
I customized MyFitnessPro to report fiber. For me, I consider it one of the more important things to track, because high fiber days tend to be the healthiest days. Tracking has always been helpful to me because it makes me think about food in a way more based on the nutrition and less based on the impulse of desire.
I was thinking this morning about the pleasure of food. Once I have been regularly tracking for months, it seems I find that I get more pleasure of feeling good about my food and myself when I eat something I know is healthy and that satisfies me, and have less desire for some really palatable food (the stuff with more sugar, fat, and salt). I had homemade yogurt and walnuts today with no added sugar whatsoever. I realized that if I taste tested it right beside sweetened yogurt, the sweetened yogurt probably would have pulled more desire to eat more, but I felt good and happy, content with the unsweetened and with my feeling of doing something good for me, instead of deprived. It seems I always have to track for a few months to really get to that place where I am very content avoiding less healthy food.7 -
yes for 3
0/3 pass days
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Mrs_Hoffer wrote: »@Bill70sStrong YIKES! That's Murphy's Law don't cha know! The coldest, snowiest night of the year..... hope he gets you up and running again SOON!!
Totally agree with @Mrs_Hoffer & @Bill70sStrong Keep safe and I hope it is fixed now? ❄️🔥3 -
Thanks for your opening post Teresa @Mrs_Hoffer
I track and watch closely the following every day: calories (in and out), protein, fibre (totally agree with you @ideas2 on that), and sodium. I tweaked my MFP targets to 1500 for sodium so that I get “alerts” when a specific food or my daily intake are encroaching. It helps me with this. The other macros and micros are all tracked automatically, but I don’t keep watch on them daily, and when my dietician has reviewed my logs, I have been assured I don’t need to start.
I have done WW at two different times in my life, both times very successfully to take off weight at a good steady pace. It always bothered me though how people would post about how to “trick” the system (e.g., XX number of grams would be X Points but slightly over that — usually by one gram — would be higher points). Who were we tricking, really? I know that I didn’t have a clue about the calories, macros, and any other nutrition science other than the WW system.
That system taught me nothing about how to maintain, and especially how to adjust when needed unless I was willing to learn each new “system” they brought in, about every 18 months. I got bold and stopped even though I was at lifetime and WW access, for me, was “free”. I regained the weight each time.
The approach I take now using MFP and food tracking feels like it would be sustainable for life. I feel like I know more about my nutritional needs and that I behave in a more health centred way with this approach. I know that I will need to track forever and it really doesn’t bother me to think about doing that. What does bother me is the health issues created if I don’t get this weight off my frame, and then if I allow this weight to come back on.9 -
✅ Exercise: 110+ mins
✅ Calories: under goal
✅ Tracked
Remaining pass days: 3️⃣
Accurate Tracking was the very first habit I developed when I started this process. I believe it is a habit that is sustainable, and an invaluable tool, producing a wealth of information on which to base my choices as I move forward. It has been instrumental in creating a fit/healthy lifestyle, and maintaining that objective.
These days, it’s just what I do to ensure that I stay on track with all my new habits. It works in tandem with weighing and measuring food. Guesstimating and eyeballing are not an option for me.9 -
2/4
Exersised yes
Caleries yes
Logged yes
6 -
Exercise :Yes
Tracked : Yes
Calories : Yes
(0 pass days used to date)7 -
✅✅✅
1 pass days used
Got outside today. Wow my brain really needed that. Pretty icy trees tho. Drip drip drip.
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2/4
Exercise 45
Tracking complete
Calories under
Pass days left 3
6 -
Tracked logged exercised another day done7
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February 4
✅✅✅
0 pass days used
I wasn't able to do my planned strength exercise today, but I am choosing to allow my steps and stretching exercises to make up for it. I've managed to increase my average daily steps the last couple weeks. I'm hopeful that walk may resume by perhaps March.
As for the topic, outside of a few pounds of water fluctuations, your weight numbers are 100% determined by your calorie intake number vs your daily calorie expenditure number. If you are bothered by one number, but don't even care to know the other numbers, it begs the question as to whether that number truly is bothering you. If it is, it's time to crunch all those numbers.6 -
Yesx39
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✅✅✅
Rest day = Yoga.
I was put on a muscle relaxer before bed and I had dreams that it would loosen up my hamstrings. This yoga session taught me I need to keep dreaming 😂.7 -
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes 37 minutes of HASFit
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes
I have been tracking consistently since I started with MFP. My dietitian reviews it on my appointments and we adjust accordingly. I learned a lot by reading the posts today.8 -
✅ Exercise: Slow, steady hike (cold and awesome).
✅ Calories
✅ Tracked
Pass Days Used: 0
While losing, I tracked really carefully because I didn’t want to work hard without results. In maintenance I track carefully so I don’t sacrifice those results. I really don’t want to give up the control that comes with it. I’m also in the process of figuring out how to use my calories in maintenance to expand my options. I feel like I can fit in almost anything through budgeting.
That said, @ideas2 I’m having a similar experience in finding I prefer the healthy stuff even when I’ve budgeted for something less healthy. It’s a great NSV.7 -
Furnace update: I have heat!! And the furnace guy was so nice! Thanks all for hugs!!
Really wanted to slough off exercise, but then I thought...do I really want to take a pass day, do I really want to break my streak on the Peloton bike??
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes, 40 minutes on the Peloton bike.
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yep
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yep8 -
yup, yup yes!4
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Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
Yes!
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Erm...no. >.< oops
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
Yes5 -
Friday February 4
✅✅✅4 -
✔︎ 20+ mins exercise (57 min walk, 7 mins strength, 33 min brisk walk)
✔︎ Within calorie budget
✔︎ Track every BLT
Consistency Tracking (🔥=3 ✔︎'s, 🏴☠️=pass): 🔥-🔥-🔥-🔥-
Passes used = 0 / 3
Other habits I’m tracking this month:
✘ Morning meditation📿-📿-📿-✘- (got going right away on a project this morning and forgot... I plan to add some time onto my evening meditation but the two are just so different in purpose/intention that I don't see them the same)
✔︎ Drink >64oz water💧-💧-💧-💧(smashed my goal!!! 106oz)4 -
Yes x3. Too tired to catch up on the thread tonite, will have to check in tomorrow! Zzzzzzz4
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@Bill70sStrong My Peloton inspiration
You sure know how to get it done!!
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? 48 minute walk, 31 minutes on the Peloton, 10 minutes stretching
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes
Pass days used - 0/3
I've talked about this before, but I'm surprised at times how defensive or questioning certain people get about tracking.
I had this conversation with my Mom just the other day....
"I'm sure when you get to your goal weight you won't want to track so obsessively as you do now... that you'll just get on the scale and see that you're up and diet down."
My goodness this type of "advice" frustrates me!! To suggest that tracking when I hit maintenance is obsessive and somehow not good for me when I came from a place of morbid obesity and know without controls that binge eating my way right back up there could easily be in the cards....
All that to say = tracking is life for me! Obsessive? Sure, because I don't feel like suffering from obesity related issues... and I really have made the dream finally come true here shedding over 100 pounds. I'm not willing to turn my back on that.
One thing overall I will say is that I've felt proud of how even keeled and non-obsessive I've stayed during my journey, how I weigh daily and don't get frustrated with the upticks, etc. I understand the value tracking brings to me and I am not willing to make excuses for it.11
