Log For Life?!
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I logged for 3 years - lost 110lbs.....would never have been able to do that without obsessive pre-logging and checking everything I ate.
A year ago I was challenged to drop obsessively counting calories and try eating more intuitively ....becoming "calorie aware"
The "rules" Eat first class protein, Vegetables (LOTS) and Omega 3's with every meal - Carbs only when they have been earned (after weight or HIIT training)
I portion out my protein (after 3 years of logging I am pretty good on portions) and make sure I have 2 to 3 cups of vegetables in each meal. I also make sure I manage my carb portions
I have managed to maintain my weight using these simple guidelines (and still weighing myself daily) If my weight moves up I just go back to the basics until I am back at my "maintenance" weight.
I do still have a bit of weight to lose, so every time I decide to go into "shred" mode I do log for a week or so just to make sure I have my ballpark calories right - and then I follow the plan ....0 -
For me, there are two options, #1 - continue to log forever and work hard to maintain once I am at my goal weight OR #2 - stop logging and soon I would be back where I started, more than 100 lbs. over weight and have to do this all over again,0
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Hey there! So for awhile, I too become obsessive about logging every single piece of food I consumed. However after some time, I stopped because I realized that if I just stuck to normal (sometimes large even) portions of fruit and veg, I'd feel full and still be able to lose and/or maintain my weight. In other words, my advice to you is to eat tons of fruit, veg, water and of course a moderate portion of protein (white meat chicken), carb and a small treat (cherry cobbler) every now and then.
I'm not sure if this will help but here's an example of what a normal day might look like for me:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup raw oatmeal with 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp cinnamon
Lunch: 2 whole zucchini (diced), 1 plum tomato, 1/4 small white onion, 1/2 cup mushroom, 2-3 oz chicken breast, thyme, s&p (all sauteed in 1/4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil)
Dinner: 1 small sweet potato, 1/2 cup salad (consisting of mango, avocado, cucumber, cilantro, lime, jalapeno s&p)
Snacks: 1 cup raw cherries
*Treat: 1 serving of blueberry crisp
*Note that even when not logging, because you have now become more aware of calorie content in foods, you will try to eat smaller/fewer portions of treats. In the case of blueberry crisp for example, you should consider to only have a serving because while you will be eating fresh healthy blueberries, the dessert might also contain more sugar and butter than you would like it too. What I'm trying to say is that you definitely should not restrict yourself but also have in mind that calories add up quickly so don't have too much of a good (but not great for your body) thing
Hope this helps!0 -
After I reached my goal weight I stopped logging because by then I had a pretty good idea of portion sizes and calories. I do find that logging can be a pain in the butt when you make your own recipes. I never use the exact same amounts of ingredients, and having to weight everything that goes in and then weighing the whole thing when you are done making it so you can divide it into serving sizes is...well, it is somewhat time-consuming tbh. Eating out is a whole new kind of misery as there is just no way you can know what is in the food in terms of the heavies like butter, oil, etc.
With all that said, my approach has been to give myself a range of 5 lbs around my maintence weight. If I go over that 5 lbs, I start tracking again. It keeps me honest, as others have said, and that little reminder of what you would weigh if you ate like that each day is a good motivator.
I like this approach because I get a break from logging when I'm back to my maintenance weight and generally I am able to maintain that without logging. But after holidays or vacations I find going back to tracking gives me a feeling of control, which alleviates any guilt I might feel for overindulging, because I've already proven to myself that it works.0 -
Yes, me too. I think I'll be logging for life...I'm going to assume that even if not with MFP i'll be logging for life if no other reason than to keep myself aware of my habits in case i slip back into the bad ones. Love your avatar by the way.0 -
Logging calories is only half the story, logging exercise or calories burned is also important. I have found that with increasing fitness calories burned per hour as fallen, where once I was burning 850 calories per hour for the same exercise at the same intensity I burn 680 calories per hour. This can have real consequences when maintaining.0
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If necessary, yes! At this point I intend to log for 2 years minimum(I'm at 30 days this round) After that I plan to revisit MFP and keep in touch even if I'm not actively logging at all times.0
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After I reached my goal weight I stopped logging because by then I had a pretty good idea of portion sizes and calories. I do find that logging can be a pain in the butt when you make your own recipes. I never use the exact same amounts of ingredients, and having to weight everything that goes in and then weighing the whole thing when you are done making it so you can divide it into serving sizes is...well, it is somewhat time-consuming tbh. Eating out is a whole new kind of misery as there is just no way you can know what is in the food in terms of the heavies like butter, oil, etc.
With all that said, my approach has been to give myself a range of 5 lbs around my maintence weight. If I go over that 5 lbs, I start tracking again. It keeps me honest, as others have said, and that little reminder of what you would weigh if you ate like that each day is a good motivator.
I like this approach because I get a break from logging when I'm back to my maintenance weight and generally I am able to maintain that without logging. But after holidays or vacations I find going back to tracking gives me a feeling of control, which alleviates any guilt I might feel for overindulging, because I've already proven to myself that it works.
This sounds like something that would work well for me! My main falling point(gaining point) is when my winter job hours fall off... big jump from 2800-3500 calories a day to my average 2100...0 -
I gained weight after mantaining for about 5 months. As soon as I get back to my gw, I'll log into MFP for as long as it takes for me to mantain. I've been losing much faster since I registered bc I'm much more aware of my intake and work outs and don't procastinate the latter as much. It's awful to re-gain weight I slowly lost ove a 6 month period, so I'm releived I'm being able to drop the few I regained. I'll be joining this forum in a month or so, maybe even less tan that. I don't want to be fat ever again, so I'll use any support I can get and hope to give back as well as much as I can. XOXOX Best of luck.
Edit to say: I had lost about 24 -25 lbs and now I have about 11lbs to drop again.0 -
It is a pain, I had rather log than be fat. That is a greater pain.
Maybe I will develop good habits over time and wont have to. But I really don't have a full button. I need something to tell me how much to eat.
It is worth it as I am sitting here fitting in my shorts!0 -
I quit logging last week. I think I know my body and portions well enough to give it a try. I am watching my weight and will start back if needed. The only thing I am doing wrong is I have upped my beer drinking on the weekends due to a renovation project. We'll see how it goes.0
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You may need to form specific habits around your eating such that when those habits are implemented you naturally eat within a range of calories that roughly meets your needs.
Due to individual differences in energy needs, preferences, and current habits, I don't think there's a blanket approach that is going to work for everyone. But if I were to list some general concepts that I think may be useful for people who are trying to implement this:
- Keep a simple log to document when you feel hungry and pay close attention to actual hunger. Allow yourself to feel hunger for a short time and embrace it. The process of doing this can help to separate hunger from other drivers to eat.
- Eat a set number of meals (3 or 4 seems to be a good fit for most people) and keep some form of structure in how you compose those meals. For example you can approximate protein relative the size of your palm, you can approximate vegetables in terms of "handfuls", etc.
-Either eliminate snacking or keep snacking consistent, minimal, and of low energy density (ie a piece of fruit).
This. If I'm not logging, I find that I maintain most easily by eating consistently, while not exactly the same foods each day. Portion control helps, as well as eating treats in small containers. I.e. I eat ice cream in a small 6 oz ramekin. You can't really fit much more than a half cup serving in a teeny tiny bowl lol.0 -
After I reached my goal weight I stopped logging because by then I had a pretty good idea of portion sizes and calories. I do find that logging can be a pain in the butt when you make your own recipes. I never use the exact same amounts of ingredients, and having to weight everything that goes in and then weighing the whole thing when you are done making it so you can divide it into serving sizes is...well, it is somewhat time-consuming tbh. Eating out is a whole new kind of misery as there is just no way you can know what is in the food in terms of the heavies like butter, oil, etc.
With all that said, my approach has been to give myself a range of 5 lbs around my maintence weight. If I go over that 5 lbs, I start tracking again. It keeps me honest, as others have said, and that little reminder of what you would weigh if you ate like that each day is a good motivator.
I like this approach because I get a break from logging when I'm back to my maintenance weight and generally I am able to maintain that without logging. But after holidays or vacations I find going back to tracking gives me a feeling of control, which alleviates any guilt I might feel for overindulging, because I've already proven to myself that it works.
This is all so spot on!! Perhaps I'm feeling extra guilty because it's summer, and I've been on vacation, which makes it feel like I have derailed!!0 -
Hey there! So for awhile, I too become obsessive about logging every single piece of food I consumed. However after some time, I stopped because I realized that if I just stuck to normal (sometimes large even) portions of fruit and veg, I'd feel full and still be able to lose and/or maintain my weight. In other words, my advice to you is to eat tons of fruit, veg, water and of course a moderate portion of protein (white meat chicken), carb and a small treat (cherry cobbler) every now and then.
I'm not sure if this will help but here's an example of what a normal day might look like for me:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup raw oatmeal with 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp cinnamon
Lunch: 2 whole zucchini (diced), 1 plum tomato, 1/4 small white onion, 1/2 cup mushroom, 2-3 oz chicken breast, thyme, s&p (all sauteed in 1/4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil)
Dinner: 1 small sweet potato, 1/2 cup salad (consisting of mango, avocado, cucumber, cilantro, lime, jalapeno s&p)
Snacks: 1 cup raw cherries
*Treat: 1 serving of blueberry crisp
*Note that even when not logging, because you have now become more aware of calorie content in foods, you will try to eat smaller/fewer portions of treats. In the case of blueberry crisp for example, you should consider to only have a serving because while you will be eating fresh healthy blueberries, the dessert might also contain more sugar and butter than you would like it too. What I'm trying to say is that you definitely should not restrict yourself but also have in mind that calories add up quickly so don't have too much of a good (but not great for your body) thing
Hope this helps!
This is great -- I find its a lot easier to keep on track when I mostly eating the same foods, but it gets tricky when I'm on holidays! Thanks for the tips!! 0 -
So as I mentioned earlier I had some thoughts on this.
I think that tracking is a great plan for a lot of people and for some people it's not a good plan. I think the goal for most people should be to get to a place where you do not need to track on a regular basis to maintain a reasonable body-weight.
But eating "without logging" isn't necessarily the same as "just winging it".
You may need to form specific habits around your eating such that when those habits are implemented you naturally eat within a range of calories that roughly meets your needs.
Due to individual differences in energy needs, preferences, and current habits, I don't think there's a blanket approach that is going to work for everyone. But if I were to list some general concepts that I think may be useful for people who are trying to implement this:
- Keep a simple log to document when you feel hungry and pay close attention to actual hunger. Allow yourself to feel hunger for a short time and embrace it. The process of doing this can help to separate hunger from other drivers to eat.
- Eat a set number of meals (3 or 4 seems to be a good fit for most people) and keep some form of structure in how you compose those meals. For example you can approximate protein relative the size of your palm, you can approximate vegetables in terms of "handfuls", etc.
-Either eliminate snacking or keep snacking consistent, minimal, and of low energy density (ie a piece of fruit).
-Limit the nutrient sparse, energy dense food items based on calorie availability (this assumes you are going from a calorie counting model to a non counting model). For example a person with lower energy output may need to limit to 1 small "fun" item per day or even less frequent. You may need to also keep tabs on bread/starches and other energy dense/lower satiety items.
- Consume mostly whole and nutrient dense foods. You may need to set a target for number of servings of vegetables and fruits.
- If I were to attempt this approach I would make sure each meal contains all 3 macronutrients for satiety purposes, and I would lean rather heavily on protein and fibrous vegetables when possible, again for satiety.
- I would consider paying attention to environment if needed. As an example I would move energy dense ("junk" food to use a loose term) foods to a less convenient location so that I don't have to see these foods on a regular basis. Moving these foods from the countertop to a concealed cabinet for example, prevents me from seeing it and thus reduces the time I spend thinking about this food or deciding whether or not I should eat it. I would also move energy sparse, nutrient dense foods like vegetables and fruits to more open positions so that they are more present/convenient to eat.
-I would continue to weigh myself and track average body-weight over time. I would probably allow a window of 5lbs or so before determining whether or not it's "not working" or "working".
-I would consider implementing some of these habits while tracking if someone were to consider moving from a tracking to a non tracking system.
You could also pull away tracking piece-wise. With some of my online clients I'm starting the process by implementing some of the above behaviors while simultaneously removing the food scale on most items. This is sort of a "baby steps" process in which eventually we may reduce tracking frequency (example -- tracking 3-4 days/week).
These are just some ideas and I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out.
Thank you, this is just what I was looking for!!!0 -
So as I mentioned earlier I had some thoughts on this.
I think that tracking is a great plan for a lot of people and for some people it's not a good plan. I think the goal for most people should be to get to a place where you do not need to track on a regular basis to maintain a reasonable body-weight.
But eating "without logging" isn't necessarily the same as "just winging it".
You may need to form specific habits around your eating such that when those habits are implemented you naturally eat within a range of calories that roughly meets your needs.
Due to individual differences in energy needs, preferences, and current habits, I don't think there's a blanket approach that is going to work for everyone. But if I were to list some general concepts that I think may be useful for people who are trying to implement this:
- Keep a simple log to document when you feel hungry and pay close attention to actual hunger. Allow yourself to feel hunger for a short time and embrace it. The process of doing this can help to separate hunger from other drivers to eat.
- Eat a set number of meals (3 or 4 seems to be a good fit for most people) and keep some form of structure in how you compose those meals. For example you can approximate protein relative the size of your palm, you can approximate vegetables in terms of "handfuls", etc.
-Either eliminate snacking or keep snacking consistent, minimal, and of low energy density (ie a piece of fruit).
-Limit the nutrient sparse, energy dense food items based on calorie availability (this assumes you are going from a calorie counting model to a non counting model). For example a person with lower energy output may need to limit to 1 small "fun" item per day or even less frequent. You may need to also keep tabs on bread/starches and other energy dense/lower satiety items.
- Consume mostly whole and nutrient dense foods. You may need to set a target for number of servings of vegetables and fruits.
- If I were to attempt this approach I would make sure each meal contains all 3 macronutrients for satiety purposes, and I would lean rather heavily on protein and fibrous vegetables when possible, again for satiety.
- I would consider paying attention to environment if needed. As an example I would move energy dense ("junk" food to use a loose term) foods to a less convenient location so that I don't have to see these foods on a regular basis. Moving these foods from the countertop to a concealed cabinet for example, prevents me from seeing it and thus reduces the time I spend thinking about this food or deciding whether or not I should eat it. I would also move energy sparse, nutrient dense foods like vegetables and fruits to more open positions so that they are more present/convenient to eat.
-I would continue to weigh myself and track average body-weight over time. I would probably allow a window of 5lbs or so before determining whether or not it's "not working" or "working".
-I would consider implementing some of these habits while tracking if someone were to consider moving from a tracking to a non tracking system.
You could also pull away tracking piece-wise. With some of my online clients I'm starting the process by implementing some of the above behaviors while simultaneously removing the food scale on most items. This is sort of a "baby steps" process in which eventually we may reduce tracking frequency (example -- tracking 3-4 days/week).
These are just some ideas and I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out.
Thank you, this is just what I was looking for!!!
In addition, please see here:
http://evidencemag.com/flexible-dieting-week-3-stop-eating-when-satisfied/
I would also recommend reading/listening to Armi's other work. Look for his podcast with Georgie Fear as well.0
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