Has anybody continued to track every single thing they eat even after reaching their goal weight?

jessifieldsierra

I’ve seen amazing progress by tracking, 8.2 pounds down in a month, but I wonder how sustainable it’d be to do this forever. Has anyone had success tracking for years?

nossmf

Some people prefer transitioning away from tracking, then restarting when they notice the weight creeping up again.

Personally, if I don't track, it's almost guaranteed I gain the weight back. So I've continued to track for over a decade since reaching the weight I wanted to drop down to be. After 15+ years of practice tracking, I can record a full day's worth of food in under 60 seconds, so it's not a big issue for me.

Do I weigh everything these days? No, I do use an eyeball test (it LOOKS like about 8oz of chicken). But I still faithfully record in MFP.

claireychn074

Yep, been tracking for 7 years. As @nossmf said, I eyeball a lot of food rather than weighing it now but I record everything. If my weight goes up or down unduly then I tighten up my logging and accurately record the calories. I use it as a tool to ensure I get my protein for my sport - left to my own devices I’d probably exist on carbs.

It doesn’t take me long at all; my OH is used to it but some family members / friends think it’s obsessive. But then they also think me exercising 4x a week for my sport is obsessive; that my desire to eat well to keep myself fit and active into old age is obsessive, and that preferring to eat home cooked food is obsessive.

Strange how they don’t think their alcohol intake is obsessive (I do drink - just not to excess and usually only 2 days a week); or that the fact they don’t get enough exercise and will find lots of excuses not to go out for a 20 minute walk is obsessive.

Different strokes for different folks!

SafariGalNYC

Yeah i still track… interesting for me to see macronutrients etc..

Gisel2015

@jessifieldsierra
I have been in maintenance for almost 15 years, while keeping my wt. in check with few fluctuations (not counting the odd readings in the doctors' office-scales).
I wt. and log "most" of my food intake "most" of the time, but I also estimate amount and portions while skipping logging restaurant meals altogether. I don't log while on vacation either. The present food database in MFP is corrupted and the values are not accurate, and we are no longer able to update or correct wrong entries in the database. I take all the logins with a grain of salt, so I am careful and discipline with my cooking and food/portion choices.
I don't like measuring, weighting, and login everything that I prepare or go inside my mouth. I find it time consuming and not quite normal, so I need to keep a balance and my sanity. If I were to cook only for myself (I don’t like cooking) I would not be in MFP, but since my cooking is for two peoples and I prefer variety I am still around.
Once in a while I skip logging all together for several days, and as long I exercise my weight stays within a normal range of 2 lbs. (+/-). I also count on my clothes more than the scale.
I am using MFP to keep a better track of the macros rather than the calories. I am a very petite and short old woman, and what is normal (minimum of 1200 calories/day) for a regular female, is too much for me without exercise.
If you can have control on your eating habits, skipping tracking could work. If not, then you will have to log for eternity.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

I’ve been in maintenance for 10 years or so. I have periods of tracking but only loosely and I don’t weigh food. I do keep an eye on protein. It doesn’t seem to make much difference if I track or not. My weight stays within a five pound range.

AnnPT77

Some do, some don't. I mostly have. For sure, I logged everything in the first months of maintenance, because I was still focused on making sure I had the right eating habits dialed in to stay at steady weight. I'm now in year 8 of maintenance, year 9 of calorie tracking.

Eventually, after the first year or so, I got more casual, and would skip logging days that I knew would be unreliable wild guesses, and just relied on the scale as a backstop. (Long experience tells me that what I do on repeat nearly every day has much more impact on my body weight than what I do on some truly rare single day, whether that's eating indulgently on a couple of holidays, or working out for 5 hours now and then.

Lately, I haven't been logging online at all (last couple/few months), but still write down what I ate on paper. (My habit when logging online has been to write on paper while cooking/prepping meals, then logging later.)

A couple of thoughts for you, besides the idea that different strategies are best for different people:

If you've been doing this for a month, you're potentially still at a point on the learning curve where the process is not yet totally easy and automatic. IF that's true, then you may find logging more sustainable after you've been doing it for a while.

Logging is a surprisingly subtle skill, plus there are parts of MFP that it takes time to learn to use efficiently. We need to get our recent/frequent foods populated with accurate entries, figure out when and how to best use the Recipes and Meals features and get those populated with useful stuff, etc. All of that makes the process easier.

I'd also observe that people sometimes hesitate to use a food scale because they expect that to be fussy and difficult, but once a person learns the tips, it's actually not only more accurate than eyeballing, but also quicker and easier than using cups/spoons. (Examples: Put the peanut butter jar on the scale, open. Zero the display. Take out a blob of peanut butter with the knife. See the negative number on the scale, log that many grams of peanut butter. Super quick, super easy. Also, build sandwiches (or whatever) right on the scale, zeroing between items, and noting the weights of each.)

For me, logging a normal day takes 5-10 minutes at most now. To me, that's a small price to pay for staying at a healthy weight for 8 years now, after around 30 previous years of overweight/obesity.

Finally, some people feel that logging forever can become dangerously obsessive, to the point that they don't want to eat things they can't log (like eating at non-chain restaurants or other people's homes), and they feel anxiety about precision. That's not good. Letting logging take control of our lives can be destructive. This is kind of a personality-driven issue. IMO, it's not the logging itself that matters, it's our feelings about it: Obsession, if it exists, is a thing happening inside our head, more than out in the world.

In that respect, I think we need to know ourselves. For me, calorie tracking feels like a fun, productive science fair project for grown-ups. If I forget to log something, or need to estimate, it's no big deal, a tiny drop in the ocean of life. I'm comfortable guessing (or skipping a meal/day) and going on with life. For me, I have less anxiety when I log, because I really, really want to stay at a healthy weight permanently - such a quality of life improvement! - and logging makes that easy and low stress. It would be different for some other people.

I want to underscore one thing: I feel very strongly that for weight management, the main focus is routine habits, the things we do day in and day out, our regular exercise routine and daily life activity level, the meals we eat in regular rotation, how we snack (or don't), etc. Whether logging forever is a good habit for a person or not, establishing the happy, practical new routine eating/activity habits is a key success factor.

Best wishes!

cmriverside

I lost 80 pounds in 2007-08. I still log food and I'm still at my goal weight.

I've taken some breaks from logging but like they said above, after doing it for so long I can log a meal in 30 seconds or so. It's just a part of my health maintenance like brushing and flossing.

When I don't log it doesn't take long until I start gaining so it's worth it to me.

spiriteagle99

I have been maintaining my weight for many years, after losing about 55 lbs. I don't measure or weigh my food, but I do log what I eat. It keeps me honest. I am less likely to eat a donut or an extra cookie when I know that it will show up on my log. I have a long history of yoyo dieting and I really don't want to go back to that, ever. It also means that I make sure to eat enough to fuel my running, especially when training.

jessifieldsierra

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies! Amazing to hear that many have stayed at their goal weight for years by logging

xbowhunter

I no longer track. I hit my goal weight about a month ago.

Tracking did enable me to lose the weight and understand the calories I was eating but for the most part I eat the same foods all day and very my dinners to keep things interesting.

momlongerwalk

I've been tracking on & off for roughly 40 years after 15-20 lbs reduction in my 20s. I ignore what's going into my mouth to the peril of the last 5-10 lbs. I settle at a higher weight than I'm comfortable at. If you think you might want to try winging it a bit, try partway . . . that is, only measure & weigh those foods that contribute more to your staying down. For me, it would be specifically high fat items like nuts & butter. I will underestimate those every time. If you can look your nemisis in the eye like that, go for it! It can be an experiment, because that's what maintenance is, one long experiment. I've had to change eating habits for other health reasons, I became lactose intolerant, can't eat onions, etc., so things morph. Right now I'm feeling mighty lucky after 3 long, hard years of strength training that I can have more calories because--ta da!!- I have more muscle mass! But it won't last forever because one day I, too, shall grow old.

springlering62

I’ve continued to log for three years or so since reaching goal weight.

It helps me make sure I’m reaching my protein goals, which are high because I’m very active.

It helps me monitor what’s going in my mouth, because I am an excellent rationalizer.

And when I travel for long periods, to unusual places, or both, I still log as best I can, even if I have to guess what the ingredients are.

I’ve gotten so good at it I can estimate to the pound how much I’ll gain by the time I return home.

And when I return home, having continued the habit of logging means I can more easily return to my good habits and get back to where I want to be.

It doesn’t take long to log these days. As @xbowhunter says, I eat similar stuff most the time, but vary dinner, so it’s easy.

My big gripe, in play yet again since I was traveling and eating many new foods and products, is that if I don’t log a food for 10-15 days, it drops off my list, and it’s a time-consuming PITA to re-find them again.

londoneye

I've been logging pretty consistently for over 10 years... accurately when I can, and estimating when I can't. For me the vital thing is logging whether I'm hitting my goals or not. In fact, logging calorie surpluses is the MOST important. It stops a couple of days (or weeks!) of excess sliding into months.

ninasuejones

Yes, I have continued tracking after a 98 pound loss 3.5 years ago. It’s a valuable tool for maintenance. Activity levels change as do nutritional needs.

ninerbuff

It's been part of my life for over decades now. I still get up in weight, but tracking has kept me from going way overboard.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 40 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

GigiAgape1981

I am not "tracking every single thing" but have been tracking nonetheless since my 80+ pound fat loss 10+ years ago. My "internal meter when to stop eating" has been broken since I don't remember when. Tracking has been invaluable to me with staying at a healthy weight for me.

sbrewingmarketing

The majority of people continue tracking their food intake after reaching their goal weight to ensure long-term success. They can keep track of their caloric intake, portion sizes, and balanced nutrition. It’s a tool for accountability and allows flexibility while preventing weight regain.

AdahPotatah2024

I use mfp as a mealplanner and prelog about 1400-1600 calories per day. I know as long as i stick to my plan somewhat, I'm not going to gain much weight. I don't spend time counting calories every day and weighing stuff as that is just not for me! I'd rather focus on healthy meals and moderation.

xbowhunter

AdahPotatah2024 wrote: »

I use mfp as a mealplanner and prelog about 1400-1600 calories per day. I know as long as i stick to my plan somewhat, I'm not going to gain much weight. I don't spend time counting calories every day and weighing stuff as that is just not for me! I'd rather focus on healthy meals and moderation.

This exactly!

springlering62

sbrewingmarketing wrote: »

The majority of people SHOULD continue tracking their food intake after reaching their goal weight to ensure long-term success. They can keep track of their caloric intake, portion sizes, and balanced nutrition. It’s a tool for accountability and allows flexibility while preventing weight regain.

Fixed it for ya.

If the majority of people would continue, the boards wouldn’t be overrun by “I’m back and need to lose it all over again” posts.

AmunahSki

springlering62 wrote: »

If the majority of people would continue, the boards wouldn’t be overrun by “I’m back and need to lose it all over again” posts.

I do agree… from personal experience, on previous ‘weight loss attempts’ I did tge hard work and arrived at ‘goal’, but then I stopped logging… and went right back to the eating habits of old, and gained it all back. Three times.

This time, it felt different. I wasn’t losing weight for a special occasion or an ‘end date’: this time it’s FOREVER. I’m in it for the long game, and I’ll keep using MFP to do it because it’s a great tool - not just for calorie tracking but also tapping into great advice.

reversemigration

I log only occasionally now. Part of it is because for 2 out of 3 meals a day, there's not a ton of variation from day to day - I know exactly what to expect from 80g of oatmeal, say. For the rest, I very rarely eat out and so know what's going in, the portion sizes, etc. The benefits of having logged for several years means I know what's in most of what I eat.

I do pay close attention to labels, though, of foods with which I'm not familiar.

That being said, I'd have no issues going back to logging if I started having problems maintaining.