How long can you keep up with logging

Dissecti0n

Like I did it for 3 months at the beginning of this year and got so burnt out. I want to be able to lose weight and maintain with out having to measure every single splash of bbq sauce on my nugget. It just seems like an unrealistic way to live out the rest of your life.

Like I get gun-ho about logging for a few weeks then its just like a job.

uconnwinsnc

I lost the majority of my weight by not logging. It isn't required, really, it just helps when you start getting closer to your goal and it is harder to lose.

editorgrrl

Flossing's annoying, but I do it because it's good for me. Same thing with logging.

My longest logging streak was 325 days.

arl1286

With the exception of a 4 day camping trip every summer and 2 months abroad this past summer, I have logged every day for 2.5 years. I tend to eat a lot of the same meals, so it isn't all that difficult to measure out and record a lot of the things that I eat.

hannibal28

Over 600 days straight. addicted to it. I had lost 50 pounds and then went to maintain mode and it didn't work for me and I regained some of my weight. I am now trying to get back down to 165 and stay there.

gcbma

I enjoy logging. I feel like its my accountability. And silly enough, I like seeing how many days in a row I go. Some days I'm not good at logging everything. Let alone every little thing. For me, it makes me keep going.

cingle87

I tend to have the same foods for 3/4 days on the run so what I do is log everything one day, and then I know what I can have till I change my foods, I just see the point in having days with the same things copied and pasted.

cwolfman13

I logged for 7 months while I was losing. During that time I took the time to learn proper nutrition and what my calories looked like on my plate, portion control and moderation. With that knowledge I've been able to easily maintain since (about another 7 months) without logging.

It is very beneficial to losing weight but logging calories isn't really the "lifestyle"...the "lifestyle" is proper nutrition and fitness, logging and counting calories are basically the training wheels...you should be able to take them off eventually.

_Zardoz_

It's not hard. You can easily set up recipes etc. It takes moments to log when your preparing food. In reality you're just making excuses

willnorton

Im on 1465 days in a row..... as of today..... I have lost and gained back and lost it again...thats life for me...but i find that if i log on and try to get a little info for the day...receive a positive word or give one...its been a good day.....

1465 ...just part of my life...


good luck no matter what on the logging

NavyKnightAh13

I have been on here for over 600 days...and logging wise, I used to log everything. When I went into maintenance mode back in Jan of last year (when my weight wasn't moving and I said well this must be it) i still logged, just not on weekends.

Granted I did gain some back (I went from 166 back to 175 and am still there), so now I have to figure out how many I need to get the scale moving again.

I won't keep logging forever but for right now, I have to log.

STrooper

So far, 712 days. I lost the last 20 pounds once I started logging. But I lost the first 60 without logging and doing just a slight modification to my food intake and lots of walking and hiking.

nccarolb

I log because it helps keep me accountable to myself. I do it every day unless I am in the Land of No Internet (aka visiting parents). By logging, I learn what foods have how many calories and it helps keep me from making bad choices. I've been logging since April (started out on another site) and have lost 66 pounds.

livingleanlivingclean

If I didn't have goals where keeping track of my food intake was necessary (bodybuilding - growing and then dieting for comps), I wouldn't choose to log. I think it's mentally draining and unhealthy.

Dollymaker

I actually like logging; makes me feel like I've accomplished something at the end of the day. My goal is to log every single day from here until next Christmas and see how much weight I've lost and if my health isn't a whole lot better by then -- we'll see!

nxd10

529 days and it gets easier every day. Like someone says - it's like brushing your teeth.

PikaKnight

I plan on logging for the rest of my life. It gets easier and just becomes routine (like brushing/flossng your teeth, brushing your hair, taking out the trash, etc).

And I'd rather go through the logging then find myself back to 245lbs. I have issues with overeating and logging everything has really helped me in regards to prevention and lessening the instances that it does happen, as well as the amount eaten.

ETA: I have logged in consistently for 409 days straight. I've logged in more days than that, but this is my current streak :bigsmile:

MelissaPhippsFeagins

130 something days so far. If I am going tonlose weight and keep it off, I have to. I don't have to weigh and measure every portion in order to log it. I have spent my whole life in/around food service, I know what a half cup of veggies looks like on a plate. I have been morbidly obese, bulimic, and obese in my life. I was at my ideal weight for about six monthhs after the bulimia before pregnancy 1 of 4. I was healthier obese than bulimic, but I decided earlier this year that healthier and healthiest aren't the same. If logging it all every day is the price of healthiest, then I will pay it.

themommie

So far I have logged for 3 1/2 yrs except for a 3 day camping trip....I plan on logging the rest of my life, because I dont want to gain the weight back I have lost 115 lbs since joining mfp, but 138 lbs total

blueham5

I just eat a really similar diet everyday. So I've memorised the calories of each food and can keep a rough total in my head. I only log if I eat a few new things or if I binge.

eldamiano

How long is a piece of string?

Skrib69

For me it was a way of learning about portion control, good foods, calorie dense foods et al and now it is just a habit. I don't weigh everything but I have developed a pretty good idea what 30g of cheese looks like, know I can eat as much vegetables as I can cram in, and at what point on the pattern in the bowl is the right amount for my porridge at breakfast. You just get to know these things. Then it is just a question of building your own foods list over time; instead of 5 minutes it now takes 1 or 2.

Have you got the app on your phone or tablet??? Without these I would agree that it is a pain in the butt to get out the laptop and log, but the tools are there. Failing that, logging is possibly just the wrong tool for you or more fundamentally you haven't found the right motivation yet. I knew for several months that I needed and wanted to do something about my weight, but it was a question of tools and motivation. Once I found those, it worked!

Tools are easy to fix; the motivation has to come from within you - only you can do it!!

paperpudding

I have logged every day for almost a year - bar a 3 week period when I went overseas and was too hard to do with any measure of accuracy at all while on holiday.

I dont find it time consuming - but I must admit I take shortcuts now - every banana I eat, for example, is roughly the same size so I don't measure each one. If I have jam on toast I know I use about same amount each time so I just call it same amount as last time ,etc.

twixlepennie

While losing weight I logged every other day, since I was doing alternate day IF (JUDDD). When I first transitioned into maintenance I started doing straight calorie counting and did it during the week/took weekends off.

Now I've been in maintenance for several months and I'm not currently logging, because right now I'm maintaining within a three pound window without the fuss of keeping a food diary. But, I weigh myself every day and keep a very close eye on what's going on. If the scale creeps up over my maintenance window then I'll start logging again, until things get sorted out and stabilized again. This is my plan for the rest of my life.

Ninkyou

I'm currently at 201 days. I have a couple people on my FL that are in the thousands. I'm always impressed by their dedication to living healthier.

SlinkyAndHerAmazingBunsOfSteel

2 years and 4 months! :bigsmile:

Fuax75

239 days so far

HollisGrant

I've logged for 8 months and know i need to keep it up for a long time. I'm basically lazy and addicted to sweets and can easily snack a whole day's calories at work. The accountability has turned my whole life around.

I also like logging because it has educated me about how some innocent looking foods are calorie bombs: 11 raisins, a spoonful, have 130 calories. 3 spoonfuls equal a meal's calories. An apple is a better snack.

One of my goals was to wear jeans that looked great and be able to tuck my shirt in instead of trying to hide my fat stomach. I absolutely do not want to go back to being overweight, but know that could easily happen.

pkw58

I will log until I am called up yunder. Logging gives me great comfort. Not to mention keeping the excess weight off.

editorgrrl

if i log on and try to get a little info for the day...receive a positive word or give one...its been a good day.

I heart this.

MinnieInMaine

I take a few breaks here and there (weekends away, vacations) but I log pretty much every day. It can be tough in the beginning when you're estabilishing your routine but I think once you get used to it, the process becomes an easy habit to keep.

OP, from what you said, I think the problem is not the logging itseflf but more that you're trying to be so precise. I know a lot of folks are strict about weighing and measuring things and I even give that as advice if someone is stuck, but in the long run, it's not something I would worry about. Here's the thing, you're trying to make good habits for life, right? Well, will you be weighing and measuring things for the rest of your life? Obviously not. I leanred it's not for me and it's obviously not for you either.

So you have to learn to eyeball things as accurately as you can, and maybe set your calorie goal 50 cals lower per day to give yourself some wiggle room for the little tastes and bites (like that little bit of sauce you mentioned). For instance, say you want some macaroni. Measure it in a cup measure, then weigh it to see how much it comes out to. Now that you know about how much that works out to, from now on you can just measure it with the cup measure. Same with other dry things like cereal.

If you know that you're eating one of 3 pork chops in a container that is labeled as weighing 1.25 pounds. Then you can guesstimate that your pork chop is about 6.5 ounces (1.25 x 16 / 3 = 6.67).

Google for more tips on visually guesstimating portion sizes. You gotta do what works for you!