Tracking calories forever!

arl1286

I plan to wean myself off of it-- first by trying to just eat when I'm hungry, and second by guesstimating how much I eat (and then going back and checking my accuracy after the day is over).

BinaryPulsar

I maintained my weight with and without tracking. When I track I can consistently eat more than I realize and more treats and I find it easier. Sometimes I take a one or two week vacation. Sometimes I loosely track. Sometimes I track until dinner, then have an idea of how to portion control for dinner. I track for protein as much or maybe more than for calories. This is a wonderful tool with many ways to utilize it. There are different ways to make it work. Some amount of tracking and awareness is helpful. Some days of breaks are helpful. Consistency to some degree is what matters.

Also remember the helpfulness of the concept, "One day at a time". Don't think in terms of forever. Nothing ever stays exactly the same forever. Our lives are always changing (at least mine is). Part of fitness is living an active and actively changing life that is fun, energetic, dynamic, always growing and learning, never becoming boring or stagnant. Happy!

brenn24179

I am thinking of this as a new hobby. It sure keeps me busy and I like the results. Seems like I am a little obsessed but I guess it is a good obsession when like I said we have good results. I agree with what people say about those that are naturally skinny and their thinking is so different, they may overeat and then don't want anything to eat for like 3 days. My daughter is one of those and says too much food is sickening to her in which my attitude is bring it on, I love it. Yes like the others I don't have the shut off button, I just hope I can quit counting on vacation or for a few days at some point. I am also grateful for this site and I should not complain because it works!

susanevenden

..... not logging, over eating, "normal"? I know there are people out there with high functioning metabolisms that can eat what they want, listen to their bodies, and do just fine. But not sure that's the norm?

I hang out with lots of those people and although it looks like they can eat whatever they want due to "high functioning metabolisms," they can't. Everyone I know who is lean and has maintained it is the same as you. They just move around a lot and are careful eaters.

Honestly, this thinking drives me nuts. I've been told that so many times in my life.

For almost every thin person out there, there are hours and hours spent running, cycling and eating to nourish the body they want to live in.

There is no magic gene pool. I wish people would quit dismissing thin people as not understanding what overweight people have to live with.

Trust me, we know how hard it is to lose weight and we applaud anyone who does. We know this because we have spent a lifetime maintaining our weight. It's not easy for anyone.

will2lose72

..... not logging, over eating, "normal"? I know there are people out there with high functioning metabolisms that can eat what they want, listen to their bodies, and do just fine. But not sure that's the norm?

I hang out with lots of those people and although it looks like they can eat whatever they want due to "high functioning metabolisms," they can't. Everyone I know who is lean and has maintained it is the same as you. They just move around a lot and are careful eaters.

Honestly, this thinking drives me nuts. I've been told that so many times in my life.

For almost every thin person out there, there are hours and hours spent running, cycling and eating to nourish the body they want to live in.

There is no magic gene pool. I wish people would quit dismissing thin people as not understanding what overweight people have to live with.

Trust me, we know how hard it is to lose weight and we applaud anyone who does. We know this because we have spent a lifetime maintaining our weight. It's not easy for anyone.

My apologies as that is not quite what I meant and I realize that's how I worded it and wish I hadn't! I would certainly not take away the effort anyone puts forth to live a healthy life!

Lives2Travel

I'm not yet at goal, but this topic is on my mind too. I think I'll continue to track everything and every day for at least 6-9 months. Then maybe I'll track only on days where I eat out or eat things I normally don't just to be aware of what I've eaten calorie wise.

I will absolutely continue to weigh myself every morning. I know from the last 11 months that if I overeat for a day or two, I can easily lose the increase shown on the scale within the next few days by just going back to eating at my calorie goal. I will not allow myself to avoid the scale just because I won't like the result. That's how I got so fat in the first place.

asdowe13

I'll always continue to track, only adds about 5 minutes to my morning when I prep my meals, and another 5 at dinner time to track my dinner.

I will admit I am getting better at "eyeballing" portions
I can nail the serving size of Peanut Butter and Cheese within 1-2 grams consistently now!

MFP is part of my life now, will I miss a few day? Probably, but that's life!

jhellwig828

I like logging. I work in accounting and numbers in little boxes that show me pie charts and results make me very happy I know that's weird, but it completely works for me. I wouldn't find writing things down in a notebook any easier. My phone is almost always on me and I am a creature of habit so most of the foods I eat are already in there. Easy peasy! It's worked for me to lose the weight, I have faith that it will work for me to maintain the weight loss.

jpapp13

I think this different for everybody, when I initially hit maintenance I was still logging every day / every meal.
Eventually mentally I hit a wall and couldn't accept that logging was going to be an 'for the rest of my life' thing.
I had to test what I've learned about portions, eating, etc to see if this is something I can do without the aid of a scale.

Currently I log Mon-Fri and take off the weekends and that's what works for me.
Eventually I'd like to gradually stop logging during the week as well but since I'm currently in re-comp mode and lifting heavy I need to make sure I'm meeting calorie needs during those sessions.

Do what you feel is right.
Not logging won't ruin what you've accomplished over night.
Also be sure to give yourself at least a +/- 5 pound allowance window for water retention, etc else you are going to drive yourself crazy with the fluctuations ..

Good Luck!

dopeysmelly

I like logging. I work in accounting and numbers in little boxes that show me pie charts and results make me very happy I know that's weird, but it completely works for me. I wouldn't find writing things down in a notebook any easier. My phone is almost always on me and I am a creature of habit so most of the foods I eat are already in there. Easy peasy! It's worked for me to lose the weight, I have faith that it will work for me to maintain the weight loss.

Oh this is me too! I love the data. All those data points gets me all giddy.. I even export it to excel so I can play with it more.

I generally look at it from the perspective of my health. I'm losing weight for my health, yes, but there's also a history of cholesterol and high blood pressure/strokes/dementia in my family, so I'm finding it just as helpful to track the nutrients of what I eat as the energy in it, and I don't see that changing when I reach some magical (mythical?) target weight. I love hitting protein, fiber and healthy fats targets as much as my calorie target.

tcbs99

Tracking keeps me focused. I have lost weight several times. So what that tell you. I believe if you don't continue what you did to loose the weight it returns. I can't wait to get to maintenance. I will track for about 6 months and then weight twice a week. My plan is to go back to tracking if I see a weight gain of 2 or more lbs. If I am not focused on whats taking place it comes back before I even realize whats happening. I am glad that right now tracking on MFP is not that hard.

Spiderkeys

I may look the same as thin people today, but mentally I'm not.

I have to track my calories everyday, they don't
I'm cold all the time, they're not.

I have to work hard, just to feel a part of the crowd.

sweetpea03b

Well, I don't miss "not being able to" eat big macs.... because since I've given up junky food like that... anytime I do slip and eat fast food it makes me deathly ill.

But... to get to the point.... I find now that I could probably still stay within my goal without logging as long as I stick with my "safe foods/meals" meaning... things I have on a regular basis and pretty much know exactly how many calories are in it. Where I get into trouble is snacking.... eating things I don't normally eat.... then the extra calories really sneak up on you.

So... I think honestly if you're true to yourself and you keep a clear mind about it... make smart choices... exercise regularly... you could probably maintain without tracking... as long as you're not going out to eat on the regular, drinking alot, etc. Not to mention, I think most people get into a comfortable "range" that's within 5# that they try to stick to so its not a huge deal when they see fluctuations here and there on the scale.

bakingforlife

i will have to tract forever.its ok i think sometimes its so time comsuming but when it boils down to it i need to see .makes me feel better to see it . but a day here a day there after loseinh the weght wont kill anyone .as long as i get back to it .life keeps going and good get into the way ....no worries it really up to you .up to me to keep focused on me if i dont.theres tomorrow.again as long as tomorrow comes .and i dont gain back all my weight life is good .:flowerforyou:

nxd10

I like logging. I work in accounting and numbers in little boxes that show me pie charts and results make me very happy I know that's weird, but it completely works for me. I wouldn't find writing things down in a notebook any easier. My phone is almost always on me and I am a creature of habit so most of the foods I eat are already in there. Easy peasy! It's worked for me to lose the weight, I have faith that it will work for me to maintain the weight loss.

Oh this is me too! I love the data. All those data points gets me all giddy.. I even export it to excel so I can play with it more.

snip

LOL! I do research and teach statistics and this is SO TRUE!

nxd10

I was thinking about what people say about skinny 'normal' people who can eat anything.

First, if it was 'normal' to eat anything, the world would not be obese. But it is.

Second, I have two very, very thin sons (both have BMI's under 19 - one age 26, one 15 but well over 6' tall). They LOOK like they can eat anything - and will sometimes eat a lot of food at a sitting. But they are also very mindful eaters. They stop as soon as they are full. They don't eat food just because it's there. They make healthy choices for the bulk of their calories and then enjoy a treat as a TREAT, not something they do every day.

Right now they're young and active and eat a lot more calories than I can. But the way they are eating is what makes them as slim as they are and the habits they have I think will help keep them slim. It's not effortless.

susanevenden

My apologies as that is not quite what I meant and I realize that's how I worded it and wish I hadn't! I would certainly not take away the effort anyone puts forth to live a healthy life!

No worries.

It's funny thin people feel misunderstood by overweight people and overweight people feel misunderstood by thin people.

The truth is our species survived to be the top of the food chain BECAUSE of our ability to store fat. Those who couldn't store fat died in famines 100,000 or more years ago and never reproduced. Those who had the gene that allowed them to store fat, had a better chance of famine survival and reproduction.

We are all the off spring of those "fat storing" ancestors.

hospitablegirl

I've thought about this for a while. I'm not near my goal yet, but it's still something that crossed my mind. Someone suggested that you track for a year for maintenance and see how you feel. I think that may be what I do. I have some idea of the food I'm eating, definitely better than 3 months ago!

At the end of the day, do what makes you happy. I don't mind logging as much as I did in the beginning. As my coffee brews in the morning, I start logging coffee, creamer, yogurt or oatmeal or eggs or whatever. I log while I pack my lunch or eat my breakfast. It's just part of the lifestyle that will keep my weight off. If I end up logging forever, it's the price I pay for allowing myself to get out of control. But in the grand scheme of things, it's not that great of a price. I could have gotten diabetes, heart disease, or any number of diseases. I'll log, thanks.

susanevenden

I may look the same as thin people today, but mentally I'm not.

I have to track my calories everyday, they don't
I'm cold all the time, they're not.

I have to work hard, just to feel a part of the crowd.

I track my calories everyday.
Until menopause I was cold all the time
I work hard to be the size I want to be.

I have done this for 40 years.

There is no THEM and US. We are all the same. We all struggle with our junk food (mine is cookies).

Let's remember that as team members of this human race, who wants to stay healthy, we ARE ALL THE SAME and we ALL work hard to be what we want to be.

laureneliset

I had a similar thought to the OP the other day and it scared me because I don't WANT to keep logging forever. (For those who have found it becomes part of their daily lives, that's awesome, but it's just not something I can sustain because I don't have the will to do it indefinitely)

However, I am gradually finding that my eating patterns are changing anyway. I build my meals around protein and I know what foods will pack a load of calories but not keep me full. Or which foods will give me an energy spike but make me feel sluggish and irritable once the crash wears off. I'm finding new recipes I love and new lunch choices in the work week.

Every so often I will go out somewhere or have a day where logging is difficult - I use these as "practice" days for when I'm not logging. What I'm practicing is identifying what are the better menu choices (so salmon, poached eggs and avocado for breakfast instead of French toast with syrup), and also mindful eating - i.e. listen to my body telling me that it's full, so I don't overeat.

Only time will tell, once I've entered the maintenance phase, whether this will work out. But I don't see how I could end up piling all the weight back on if I have changed the way I eat and exercise, because I will know if I'm falling back into bad habits and make the effort to change that. I'll continue to weigh myself once a month with my trainer and if I'm putting fat back on, then I'll take steps to lose it again (including temporarily logging if I need to). I can't see it being possible to gain back the 30kgs I want to lose in a month, so I'm not too concerned about putting a bit of weight back on while I'm trying to find a balance in maintenance.