Counting calories forever

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  • klkarlen
    klkarlen Posts: 4,366 Member
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    I'm going to keep logging when I get to my goal, because it keeps me accountable for what I eat on a daily basis, so I won't have a problem with the weight coming back.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    I stopped logging after 7 months of daily logging. I am currently testing myself to see how it goes and, so far, it's going well. I still keep a general idea through the day, not necessarily of the total but I know if I've had a light, medium or heavy meal and how to balance that with what else I eat. My weight loss has continued at the same pace it was when I was logging.

    I may start logging again as I get nearer to my goal weight and my deficit narrows, but I do not plan to log forever.

    I have continued to log in every day, I have a "test log" that I put in my food diary but I use it now to remind myself to be mindful of what I eat.
  • Derp_Diggler
    Derp_Diggler Posts: 1,456 Member
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    I was logging for over a year but I stopped once I hit my goal weight a few months ago. Since then I have stayed within 3 lbs of that weight, and the gain has been due to extra wine and ice cream, and a little less cardio when I started a new job. Overall I think I have learned enough not to have to count for the rest of my life. Portion control, smart choices, and a little will power should be enough for me to maintain a consistent weight. I hope :)
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
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    I hitnk you have to find some way of keeping yourself accountable after reaching goal.

    I think i will at the very least have to keep weighing daily. If that's not enough i will food log because with that i know i can lose weight and moderate it.

    I don't need to count calories but i like being to see how my macros go. However, think i'm starting to get the hang of even estimating those. Eating mainly whole foods helps. Is the key in fact.
  • singhal28
    singhal28 Posts: 2
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    In the past I have reverted back after reaching my goal weight at least 20 times. I am a poster child of yo-yo dieting. This time I am more hopeful. with the help of MFP consistent logging and running weekly reports, I have better sense of my weekly intake. I am a food addict. In the past once I indulge for 2-3 days in a row, I would just give up and go back to overeating since I felt it's over. This time I look at my data for last 7 days or so and get a sense that all is not lost.
    I am a data person and looking at numbers and graphs motivate me and give me a sense of control. With the help of motion chip in iphone and honestly logging what I eat, I think I can maintain this time. Time alone will tell. After all I have always failed in the past....lol.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
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    I come and go with it. When I need to drop weight though I definitely use it.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    why not? it helps keep track of protein, carbs and fat, as well as calories, vitamins and minerals. i logged in a notebook for a while before i found MFP. MFP is much faster and easier.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,039 Member
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    I have posted this before, but logging is comforting to me. It doesn't take so much time anymore, and I am fine with having to do logging as my safeguard to keep my eating in line and making sure my activity is high enough. I don't want to go back to being out of shape.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I'm less than 10 pounds away from my goal weight. 7 pounds to be exact. Which got me thinking...do I have to count calories forever? I am used to counting my calories of MFP so it's not a big deal if I continue to count calories. I'm just wondering if everyone is going to count calories forever if not, when do you plan on stopping?

    I don't know...have you managed to actually learn anything while you were logging or did you just obsess about the scale?

    I've been maintaining for 16 months plus and don't log...logging and keeping a diary is like training wheels on a bike...you're supposed to actually learn to ride without them...it's kind of the point. If you truly turn that corner and make a lifestyle change then logging isn'e necessary. If you just revert back to old ways and the SAD then good luck..and yeah...you'll have to log forever....which really, c'mon...how realistic is that?

    The only time I would consider logging is to actually drop weight...maintaining weight is really ****ing easy without logging so long as you're eating right and rocking your fitness...really ****ing easy.
  • unapologetically_crystal
    unapologetically_crystal Posts: 278 Member
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    personally, i am pretty sure i will have to keep coming back. unless i keep changing and adapt to a completely clean lifestyle. maybe i wouldnt log as often.. but i really dont see that happening. i can do MAJOR damage if i dont log. i have 20+ years of habits to change.. so i dont really believe 3 years is enough. but thats me. do what works for you.
  • 4wesome
    4wesome Posts: 4 Member
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    YES!!! What wolfman said!
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
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    I don't want to log forever, but that require training myself to recognize healthy portions. I'm giving myself fewer days where I plan ahead and more days where I estimate and log everything at the end of the night. Once I reach my goal weight, I will probably start to focus on mostly logging at the end of the day. Once I'm consistently accurate (I'm usually way under or way over at this point), I'll start to move away from the logging aspect of MFP. I'll keep tabs on my weight with the scale and my measurements/how my clothes fit. If I start to gain and can't seem to keep it under control without logging, I'm okay returning. Whatever I have to do to make this a permanent change.
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
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    No fricken way I'm counting calories forever. For me, it's annoying as hell. I'm only going to do it when I'm bulking or cutting. Once that's done with, I'll probably say goodbye to MFP. It's fun, but I don't feel like I could be on here for the rest of my life.
  • EvelynR1967
    EvelynR1967 Posts: 78 Member
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    I am about 11 pounds away from my goal weight. I too think I will always be logging and watching to keep from ever going back. I think it's always part of our life style now....
  • Garcia_6
    Garcia_6 Posts: 39
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    Yes, I will count calories forever,that way I can keep track of the foods I'm eating,when I'm eating,why I'm eating & how much I'm eating. I have been a MFP user since Jan 2013,been 1 and a half years of logging my foods. I have lost 15.7kg & my weight now is 78.5kg. In the present & future I will still use MFP for counting calories forever.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,998 Member
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    I'm less than 10 pounds away from my goal weight. 7 pounds to be exact. Which got me thinking...do I have to count calories forever? I am used to counting my calories of MFP so it's not a big deal if I continue to count calories. I'm just wondering if everyone is going to count calories forever if not, when do you plan on stopping?

    I don't know...have you managed to actually learn anything while you were logging or did you just obsess about the scale?

    I've been maintaining for 16 months plus and don't log...logging and keeping a diary is like training wheels on a bike...you're supposed to actually learn to ride without them...it's kind of the point. If you truly turn that corner and make a lifestyle change then logging isn'e necessary. If you just revert back to old ways and the SAD then good luck..and yeah...you'll have to log forever....which really, c'mon...how realistic is that?

    The only time I would consider logging is to actually drop weight...maintaining weight is really ****ing easy without logging so long as you're eating right and rocking your fitness...really ****ing easy.

    I disagree with this.

    If not logging works fine for you that's great.

    But I dont think there is any 'supposed to learn to live without training wheels' deal.
    Some people have likened it more to cleaning your teeth - you don't eventually learn to keep your teeth clean without brushing- more like brushing takes a few minutes a day and you plan on doing it indefinitely.

    Myself I use a maitenance version of logging called approximate loose logging - I still log daily but I don't weigh and measure everything; every mandarine is just a small or medium mandarine, every subway sandwich is just logged as the same one, I don't count lettuce or measure the amount of milk in my coffee.

    This keeps me accountable without getting obsessed over it or spending much time on it.
  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
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    I plan to log forever. Guessing and estimating got me nowhere for 40+ years.
  • PSMTD
    PSMTD Posts: 106 Member
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    The more I do it, the easier it becomes to know what I'm eating but I don't plan on stopping ever if I can help it. I like keeping myself on track and I know without it I would be totally lost. I can't count how many times I've tried to go out to lunch and completely changed my mind on what to eat after looking up calories or whether or not I can afford to eat a midnight snack.
  • suej19
    suej19 Posts: 15 Member
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    After 6 weeks I've lost 15lbs thanks to MFP - would like to lose another 14lbs.

    Six weeks is the longest I've ever stuck to a diet and put that down to being so aware of the calorie count of everything I'm planning to eat.

    I think those of us with a tendency to gain weight will forever have to count calories - doesn't mean meticulous logging, as at present for me, but constantly being aware of intake.

    That's just how it will be, or the weight will creep back on! :smile:

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